matt-gajkowski

So, I've been printing a number of hollow cylindrical objects, and for a while now too, so I've experienced this problem in 13.12 and the version previous to that. It happens almost every time and I just haven't come forth because I thought the new version would fix it. So anyway, here's what happens: Looking at image 4 you can see there is a 'floor', which Cura handles just fine (as in image 1), and then it goes up vertically before opening up into a toroid. In image 2 you can see how Cura creates a solid layer (just one layer thick) throughout the entire inside instead of just the ledge area. Now, it would seem that something about that ledge 'tripped' Cura into doing this, but I have printed other objects such as a short pipe with spirals on the inside, and out of nowhere special it will make a solid layer. Sometimes this even happens twice. And this sort of thing happens to almost every hollow cylinder I make. For the time being I just remove this oddball layer with a hobby knife, but if there's any way to fix this I'd really appreciate it! Link to this particular STL below: http://www.filedropper.com/base-outertoleranced

I seem to be having a hard time choosing a reliable hosting service.. try this link: http://s000.tinyupload.com/?file_id=00560175329372125196 I've also edited the link in my previous post to save others some trouble.

Hmm, I see what you mean about the oozing, but that assumes that it should indeed jump around between far away blades. If the move was from one blade to another, it wouldn't be so much of an issue. I see what you mean about how the outer perimeter might not be sufficient for Cura to consider travelling over, although considering it's wide enough to have infill, I'm not sure why. For larger parts, I've seen Cura 'comb' over some pretty large distances. The STL I used in my first post is a newer, untested version of a previous turbine disc that I *did* print a few months ago. I can't for the life of me remember if I used Cura or Slic3r, let alone which version, but I recall there being no jumping around and the parts came out flawlessly. I'll upload a photo later showing how the new one started printing, and how there are blade chunks missing. There was indeed some stringing as well. I've attached the older (successfully printed) STL. The screenshot below shows how sometimes some pretty big jumps are made (although often times it's just from one blade to another). I feel as though the best way to print a part like this, in theory, would be to print it as a series of perimeters with no rectangular infill. http://s000.tinyupload.com/?file_id=00560175329372125196

I believe the "Enable Combing" is supposed to prevent the print head from passing over perimeters, but in some cases it doesn't work quite right. This may occur on other models, but it is very prominent on a bladed disc like what I am printing. Instead of staying 'on print' at all times, the print head jumps around between the blades, and leaves them full of holes. Hop + retraction could take care of this without having to go give up the optimum path, but for this specific application it would result in bulging mid-blade. Is Cura not detecting the spaces between blades as "holes" and therefore not avoiding themb? because I do have combing enabled. Link to STL: http://www.justbeamit.com/58fd6

Slic3r already has the "infill every X layers" function, not sure about any other slicers though. It might be worth having a peek at its source code. Not sure if that's remotely helpful, but I try. In any case, I love how the support material is coming along, so I'll stop distracting you!

Any chance there will be a 'true' half-height-skin setting appearing in the foreseeable future? Or equally good, an "infill every __ layers" setting? I mean, most people want the quality of a fine layer height but the speed of a larger one, and this would be perfect for those of us who don't want to compromise either one.

In the current (non-beta) version of Cura, one can adjust the flow rate for support material, but not spacing. In the latest beta (SupportTest2) one can adjust the spacing of the supports (it behaves like infill), but not the flow rate. I think the best approach would be to keep both parameters adjustable. Spacing will affect the print time and supported layer quality, while flow rate will affect the ease of removal of the supports.