ahoeben

Also check the X-Ray view. If there are red areas, your model may be faulty.

I'm just going to let that sink in.

Ouch, seems something is (quite) wrong if the HOMEDRIVE and HOMEPATH environment variables are not set. Perhaps this is helpful? https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/homepath-variable-has-disappeared/d1d12afd-4b06-4c6f-ba16-bd189fef198f

I can't get the plug in to work... :/ And I can't read your mind or access your computer... :/ Could you elabotate on what is (not) happening? The plugin must be installed into a folder named "PauseBackendPlugin" (not eg "PauseBackendPlugin-2.4"). Also make sure you get the correct version; 2.4 for Cura 2.4 (now the default version) or 2.3 for Cura 2.3 (see the "Branch:" dropdown).

For 2.3 and 2.4 you can download this plugin which will add a "pause" button to Cura: https://github.com/fieldOfView/PauseBackendPlugin Cura 2.5 will have this functionality built-in, but it will also have a mode that disables automatic slicing altogether (giving you that simple slice button, please!)

When switching extruders, a bit of gcode is executed (not too dissimilar from how start- and end-gcode are executed when starting/ending a print). This extruder-switch-gcode could do all sorts of things that could cause horrible collissions. The UM3 for example has to move from the current print to the extruder switching bay and back. If there is a print "in the way", the best outcome is that the head will forcefully break the print from the buildplate. That makes it dangerous to enable one-at-a-time for multi-extrusion printers.

That's one of the important new features of Cura 2.4

Switching nozzles may not seem to take too long, but if you have to do it twice for each layer that quickly adds up.

Cura 2.4 has/will have better support for this.

In Cura 2.3 that setting is not available for the UM2+ (but it is available for the UM2). This is fixed in Cura 2.4. See the "Machine Settings" on the "Printers" pane of the preferences.

Note that - at least in my experience - moldlay needs a much higher temperature than wax to melt out of your investment. A friend of mine uses steam to melt his wax, and the same steam just barely made the moldlay soft. There's also http://www.machinablewax.com/, but I have no experience with it.

Out of interest: What does it do that TweakAtZ does not do?

I am sorry, I somehow missed the UM3 in the mix. One at a Time printing has been disabled (for now) for the UM3. I think the reason was that there is a high risk of the printhead colliding with a previously printed part during a move of the printhead to the switchbay. This has to be prevented somehow in the CuraEngine. Until it is, it is just too dangerous to enable One at a Time printing.

If you load all 16 objects as a single file, Cura sees all 16 objects as a single model. You would have to load a single instance of the model, and use Cura to make 15 duplicates. Cura 2.4 will have a more convenient dialog to create multiple copies in one go. The old Cura had an option to "break apart" separate models if they were loaded as a single file. This function still has to make it across to Cura 2. It is not a trivial thing to add.

Your stl may not be suitable for 3d printing. Inspect the models in X-Ray view and you will likely see parts showing red. It is also good custom to inspect the Layerview before you start the print, because that would show you there's an issue without wasting time and plastics

It is very important there is no such gap. It could become the cause of many nozzle clogs. The path of the meltzone should be as continuous as possible.

The issue remains that this is a potentially dangerous change. At the very least this should be flagged in release notes.

I think @skdesign wants to do the slicing on his OctoPrint instance. OctoPrint has a plugin which uses the 15.04 version of CuraEngine, which uses the 15.04 profile ini files. Having said that, as the author of the octoprint plugin I agree with @nallath that you have much more control over the placement and print settings if you use Cura 2.3 (or 2.4 beta) with the OctoPrintPlugin.

Support Mesh is a special one. It only works in the Per Model Settings tool. Using the Per Model Settings tool, you can make an object be printed as supports. It is an - as yet not very userfriendly, but very capable - way to print custom supports.

Sketchup is not a great modeling tool for 3d printing. It was not made with 3d printing in mind. If you see a mix of white and blue walls in sketchup, that probably means you have one or more walls with 0 width, ie walls that only have a front face, but no back face. 3d printers cannot handle objects with walls that have no thickness.

Note that print cost calculation will be a part of Cura 2.5 (to be released in about 2 months).

You can do that in Cura 2.3 as well. Printers -> Manage Printers -> Machine Settings

Yes, AFAIK it does. Use the "Line Width" setting to specify your nozzle diameter.

If you want to do that, you would also have to forward port 80. I would not recommend you do that though, as you open up your UM3 to the world.

> But in CURA 2.X I can't find this option. Because it is not there. > I don't even get the feeling that Cura is "looking" for a printer Trust me, it is. Just not succesfully. > wonder if I am overlooking an obvious setting? No you are not. If it were obvious, we would have already pointed you to it. But since you insist on trying unsupported things, you could help us by telling if this works for you: Some users have reported success by making a change to Cura. It looks like it's probably possible to get it to connect just by going to C:\Program Files\Cura 2.3\plugins\USBPrinting\USBPrinterOutputDeviceManager.py and changing the line result = self.getSerialPortList(only_list_usb = True) to result = self.getSerialPortList(only_list_usb = False) Be careful not to change anything else.