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greens83

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Posts posted by greens83

  1. Hi @Slashee_the_Cow. Thanks for the reply. I suspected svg could not include z co-ordinates. It gave me hope when 3ds max exported as .ai and then illustrator exported as svg. The spline wasn't visible in illustrator but it did show up in the layer preview, so it was there. I guess it just flattens it.

     

    I did try to turn the spline into a surface by extruding, I have had success doing this in the past and using the surface mode in cura to create a print path. However it only works in 2d/ planar sliced terms. I actually want the toolpath to basically be helical. like spiralise. I cant just use spiralise though, I'm basically trying to do a non planar hack. I know the printer could do it, I just cant find a way to get the printhead to follow the path I want it too.

     

    Any other ideas/theories on how to turn a 3d spline into a toolpath would be appreciated!

     

     

  2. Hello utlilegends, I'm trying to find a way to design my own toolpaths using a 3d modelled spline. I tried to use the SVG toolpath reader which seems to be restricted to 2D. Im not sure if SVG files are inherently 2D, I did seem to be able to convert a 3d spline into a svg file via illustrator.

     

    Does anyone know if this is technically possible? Id like to take a spline modelled in 3ds max and have cura create a 3d toolpath following the spline. Extrusion can be a constant.

     

    Any input or ideas appreciated.

  3. I often struggle to get cura to travel where i want it to/don't want it to.  I wish there was a setting that forced the nozzle to follow an already printed toolpath. The avoid printed part setting wont help you here since I think you want it to travel within the model to avoid stringing?  Have you tried different combing modes? Sorry not a solution but just wanted to say I also have this problem!

    • Like 1
  4. Ok this is an odd one.....

     

    Is it possible to force Cura to comb in the infill like it would a perimeter path.  So there is no stringing within the infill?

     

    I am making open honeycomb parts with no top or bottom layers (for glare control on light fittings). So I want the honeycomb to be perfect, without the stringing caused by the tool head travelling across the infill.

     

    Any suggestions very welcome!

  5. Thanks for the info. I thought it might have something to do with the temp being controlled at the printer. However, I also have a CR10 which lets cura control the temp but the 'auto temperature' option still isn't available.

     

    I can't find any info on that 'auto temperature' option either. Does anyone have any experience using it? It sounds like a very useful feature to automatically change the temp based on flow rate per layer.

  6. Hello, Ultilegends,

     

    I recently came across a setting (in the setting visibility window) called 'Auto Temperature'. The info pop out says it will automatically adjust temp based on flow. Sounds very useful!

    However, I can't get it to actually show up in the print settings even though its ticked. Does anyone know why this could be? I'm using a UM2+

     

    Thanks in advance for any info

  7. @GregValiant to the rescue again! That's exactly what I need to do. I was getting around the lost feature by editing the fdmprinter.def.json file. It worked fine for a while but then it just didn't and I have spent hours trying to figure out why and wat other settings influence it. I cant get to the bottom of it and now  it just doesn't allow spiralize per object even when its ticked in per object after the file edit. Even If I import settings from g-code I know let me set spiralise per object (after fdmprinter.def.json edit).

     

    Is there any chance you could share your post processor or is that not possible?

     

    S3D options on changing print settings per mesh/at heights are pretty much limitless, but everything else about the software needs work, especially the UI. Such a shame they seem to be pretty much out of business.

     

    I was really hoping @ghostkeeper would chime in but I guess he has bigger fish to fry. 

  8. 4 hours ago, Nosybottle said:

    @greens83 I might have some workarounds for you, if you'd be willing to make the extra effort.

     

    Regarding printing bottom part of the model regularly and the top in spiralize, you can do this by setting the whole part to spiralize and increasing bottom layers. The "bottom layers" part would be printed solid (no infill), which may or may not be acceptable.

     

    The other workaround is to slice each part separately and splice the gcodes together (I imagine a script could be written to automate this) or modify them to start at the height of the previous segment. Lost in Tech has a video about this.

     

    None of is it as good as what you're asking for, but if you really want to use new Cura for you prints it might be worth the effort.

     

     

    Really appreciate the reply @Nosybottle. This would be fine for a handful of prints but its time consuming and not really feasible as part of my business workflow. I guess I'm stuck with S3D. Cura has a lot more going for it in general and seems like development on S3D is dead in the water which doesn't bode well either. I may have to investigate prusa slicer to see how that handles per model/spiralize.

  9. @ghostkeeper

     

    I think you understand this subject very well from wat I've read on github. I am part of a small start up business and this feature of spiralise per model or at a height is vital. I've had to start using S3D but Id really prefer to stick with Cura. How difficult is it to bring this feature back? We have a very small budget but I may be able to pay someone to develop a plugin perhaps. Any input from you would be very much appreciated. 

  10. On 6/26/2022 at 7:54 AM, Dim3nsioneer said:

    I miss the logic here. Spiralize is a concept that asks for a single object to be printed. Layer height, independent of being fixed or adaptive has to be the same for all objects on the build plate. And that is how the Cura setting works.

    I understand Spiralize has to be used on a single model. I am stacking parts on top of each other and just need to change the settings at the base of a single printed piece in the center of the build plate. It works well in Cura 2.5. But spiralize was taken out of per model settings after that version. There's been a lot of development since 2.5!

     

    Ill try to explain the application. 

     

    I design and print a lot of lighting products. Think reflectors. At the base of these reflectors I need some fixings. Sometimes its just holes. Sometimes its a captive nut or a snap fit design.

     

    So slicer wise, I need to print a base with some level of complexity, infill and retractions. Then straight on top of that base piece I need to print the reflector or body of a luminaire as a single wall with no Z-seam.

     

    Regarding the adaptive layers - per mesh. Again I understand layer height has to be the same for all objects on the plate if they are separated. I am talking about stacking meshes on top of each other to be one printed piece.

     

    Perhaps that is where the possibility of adding these settings back to per mesh lies.

     

    Would it be possible to limit these settings in per mesh, to a single object but using a support blocker/overlapping, or some sort of 'changing settings at height' mechanism? That way it cant be asking cura to do the impossible with multiple seperate meshes in the build plate?

     

  11. Hello Cura aficionados. I'm hoping someone might be able to tell me If something is possible in cura.

     

    I'm trying to print some honeycomb attachments for light fittings (to reduce glare)

     

    I'm doing this by using honeycomb infill and having n top or bottom layers.

     

    I've attached a screenshot. It prints ok but I get stringing where the nozzle travels over the infill.

     

    Is there anyway to get the travel to follow the inner wall around the perimeter or stay within the infill paths?

     

    I have played with combing settings but it always travels straight across the infill.

     

    Any suggestions or input very much appreciated.

     

     

    Screenshot 2022-08-03 09.08.15.png

  12. I understand Spiralize has to be used on a single model. I am stacking parts on top of each other and just need to change the settings at the base of a single printed piece in the center of the build plate. It works well in Cura 2.5. But spiralize was taken out of per model settings after that version. There's been a lot of development since 2.5!

     

    Ill try to explain the application. 

     

    I design and print a lot of lighting products. Think reflectors. At the base of these reflectors I need some fixings. Sometimes its just holes. Sometimes its a captive nut or a snap fit design.

     

    So slicer wise, I need to print a base with some level of complexity, infill and retractions. Then straight on top of that base piece I need to print the reflector or body of a luminaire as a single wall with no Z-seam.

     

    Regarding the adaptive layers - per mesh. Again I understand layer height has to be the same for all objects on the plate if they are separated. I am talking about stacking meshes on top of each other to be one printed piece.

     

    Perhaps that is where the possibility of adding these settings back to per mesh lies.

     

    Would it be possible to limit these settings in per mesh, to a single object but using a support blocker/overlapping, or some sort of 'changing settings at height' mechanism? That way it cant be asking cura to do the impossible with multiple seperate meshes in the build plate?

     

     

     

  13. Is there an scope for spiralize and adaptive layer settings being made available in the per mesh settings?

     

    I am currently going into the fdmprinter.def.json file and making spiralize available for per mesh. However this seems to becoming more problematic/unworkable in later versions. I am now having to go back to version 2.5 to get the prints I need but then other useful settings are missing. Adaptive layer per mesh would be also really useful imo.

     

    Does anyone know of other slicer options that have more flexibility in per mesh settings? Does anyone have an experience with Simplyfy3D?

     

     

     

     

  14. Hoping someone with more knowledge than me can tell me if something is possible. I have an ultimaker 2 which I upgraded to a UM2+ apart from the extruder stepper motor. I did this quite a few years ago. I vaguely remember having to alter the firmware to account for the stepper motor difference, steps per E I think. Anyway I have come into the possession of another UM2 and I have bought the same parts to upgrade (excluding a new stepper motor).

     

    So I'm wondering If it is possible to copy the firmware from the modified UM2+ to the newly upgraded one? Is there a way to download firmware from a machine or copy it over to another?

  15. Hey Gdog, I think Ive finaly got it all sorted now thanks to gregvaliant. 

     

    The thing that I think needs fixing the most is the preview that shows a seam when you have smooth outer contour selected. 

     

    Here's the humdinger, that seam doesn't appear on the print, you do need smooth outer contour on to get rid of the seam.

     

    I disregarded the smooth out contour on the basis of the preview. 

     

    There are other settings involved but thats the problem that confused me the most. 

  16. @GregValiant You are my hero! Its extremely useful to know that the preview is essentially wrong and to see what the toolpath will be you have to import the g-code after slicing.

     

    I don't think it was the fact the model showed errors (as an open surface not a solid) that was the issue though. I have managed to get it to to slice perfectly as a true spiral as the original stl.

     

    Copying your print settings over to my UM2 profile has made the true spiralise work even with the surface model. I'm not 100% sure which one made the difference. Its either the top/bottom thickness up from 0 which I had (even though its still set to 0 layers) or its the smooth contour. I had assumed from the preview that smooth contour wasn't fixing it though. So knowing it just doesn't preview properly is a game changer.

     

    Anyway whatever it was I would not of got there without your help. Thank you. May the fishing gods smile on you! (I think I read you were going fishing once? I'm also an angler!)

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