GregValiant

Post one of the canned Gcodes that prints. I looked at the gcode you posted but nothing jumps out as being a problem. With a stock gcode I can compare them.

It's the Build Plate Adhesion. If you are using a skirt change Skirt Line Count to "1" and the Skirt Distance to 1 or 2. The gray area will change size based on the Skirt/Brim width and it's distance from the model.

The red circle indicates that there are updates available for plugins you have installed. The number in the circle indicates how many plugins have updates available. Clicking on the MarketPlace icon shouldn't crash Cura though. Maybe @nallath or another team member will address that. I have found that the MarketPlace can take 30 seconds to load and populate its dialog box.

Since no Ultimaker printers use "USB printing" the plugin has not seen any updates or fixes for years and my understanding (after reading posts here and on GitHub) is that it isn't likely to be updated. The main alternative is using RaspberryPI and Octoprint. The problems that occur when printing via USB are not unique to Cura. Pronterface and Repetier Host have issues as well. I was sort of enamored with printing via USB and tried to write my own program. It quickly turned into a quagmire and I ended up throwing it all away in favor of a program that is a front end for the printer and controls the printing from the SD card. It's much better when the printer can just pull the next line of code when it needs it rather than going through buffer over-runs and under-runs.

Actually it is kind of possible to do it in Cura. You can send one command line at a time using the Monitor screen but unfortunately there is no window to view the responses from the printer.

"What are the dimensional considerations operator should consider before selecting the values of any slicer parameter ? so that in we can achieve good quality print without any wastage of material and time." Designers that are familiar with material removal type machining processes need to understand the differences between machined parts, injection molded parts, and parts created using FDM. I think the #1 difference is that the strength of an FDM part varies according to the layer directions and hence how the model is oriented for slicing in Cura. This part will get a velcro strap through the slot. The sides of the slot will be weak as it will be printed using Silky PLA and layer adhesion will be poor and the loading of the sides will be in tension. In this case it wasn't a question of dimension but rather of intended function. Knowing that, an astute designer (ahem!) will add features to mitigate the weakness. In this case I added 2.2mm holes down through the weak points. After printing; a piece of 1.75 filament gets super-glued into each hole. This will both glue the layers together at the hole and provide a "non-layered" piece of plastic to provide additional strength in tension. Although the holes will be accepting 1.75mm filament they had to be designed at 2.2mm because the molten plastic always wants to pull towards the center of a hole making the ID smaller than designed. My experience shows that on my printer and using PLA that a 2.2mm hole will come out at about 1.8 to 1.9mm ID. In the end, it is important for the tech doing the slicing to communicate with the designer so each understands the others needs. Changing things is always cheaper before fabrication starts.

On my LCD (Ender 3 Pro running Marlin) the setting is under "Control | Motion". You cannot set the steps from within Cura. If you know the current steps/mm then you can send G92 E??? or include G92 E??? at the beginning of a gcode file followed by M500 to save the setting. If you are running Windows I wrote this little app (Greg's SD Print Tool) for printing and calibrating the E steps. Among other things it will get the current value from the printer and send your new value. The app requires a USB connection to the printer.

That's a basic Ender 3 gcode file. If you haven't tried HairSpray - Aquanet Super Hold is a good Adhesion Promoter (it's available in the US but is probably country specific). Try using a piece of parchment paper or a store receipt for leveling. They are much thinner. Looking at the Cura workspace, just above the Settings is the Settings Search box. To the right of that is an icon with 3 lines on it. It is the Settings Visibility tool. Click on it and set the visibility to "All". Under Material you will find "Initial Layer Flow". Try slicing something simple and set the Initial Layer Flow to 115%. When you are new to 3d printing your leveling is inconsistent and that initial layer ends up being too tall and the nozzle doesn't smear the plastic onto the surface. Increasing the flow is a crutch to make up for poor leveling but it often works. As you get more practice you can start backing that down. I still have it at 105% though and I find that I rarely need to restart a print. When I first received my Creality glass build surface I had trouble with adhesion. After a few prints and cleanings it was much better. Maybe there is just a wearing in period.

It's just a step-by-step program. Each step tells the printer where to go, or how to act, and it's one thing at a time. Once you have the basic commands down then the others don't come up very often. The MarlinFW site has their gcodes and the RepRap site has essentially all the gcodes in normal usage. And congratulations on passing Gcode 201. 🥂 You're moving up now baby!!!

The build plate in Cura is a "virtual" build plate that is "MachineWidth" x "MachineDepth" as you set them in Machine Settings. The 0,0,0 is usually at the left front corner for most cartesian printers. When Cura generates a gcode the X Y Z locations are calculated from that origin. Cura will take into consideration the distance between the nozzles and note the areas of the build surface that they can't get to. When a gcode file is read by (most) printers, the printer puts the 0,0,0 of the gcode file (the virtual build plate) at the Home Offset 0,0,0. The Auto-Home position is measured from the Home Offset 0,0,0. That means that when you Auto-Home the print head it should read something like X=-5 Y=-3 Z=0. That is where the nozzle is in relation to the Home Offset 0,0,0. I know it isn't intuitive, but it's the way it works. The Auto-Home 0,0,0 is not absolute, it's just a position where it is up against the switches. If you change the Home Offset position then you change the location of the Auto-Home position. For a dual head machine there is a distance between the nozzles? That should go into the Machine Settings on the Extruder tabs.

How are you making out with this? It's something I do a lot of and it's kinda like pausing a print to change colors. Instead of continuing the same print it does a different print. Of course the printer doesn't know that and just goes where it's told.

Well that's a plain Jane Ender much like mine. I'm sure if I was to print that mini that it would print fine. I'm in the middle of a long print though. I think something is in error with the printer. The number 1 problem is a nozzle too close to the bed so the plastic can't escape. The main symptom is that the extruder will click as it misses steps. I'm attaching a gcode file that I used my Ender 3 Pro as the printer which allowed me to use my own profile. The machines are functionally identical so this should print fine on your machine. (The start will be slightly different as I have a modified startup gcode - but the print is the print.) Shoulkion.gcode

"Max Comb Distance with No Retract" = 70. That means no retraction until a travel move is over 70mm and your part isn't that big. Try changing it to 2mm. I counted 1760 moves in the Z in the gcode sliced with your 70, and 7000 Z moves when changing that setting to 2mm. A Z move results from either a retraction, a prime, or when lifting to the next layer. I didn't actually go through the gcode and count retractions. I don't like "Retract before outer wall" or "Retract at layer change". The resultant primes always seem blobby with my Ender. They have their uses but generally I avoid using either of those (or Z-hops) except in special circumstances.

@gr5 is a moderator here and put this video together. It could be titled "Everything you wanted to know about Build Plate Adhesion (but we're afraid to ask)" It is a tad on the long side but there is a lot of good information in it.

Centering the print is a matter of the build surface size in Cura coupled with your Home Offset 0,0,0. In the Cura machine settings make sure you have the build plate sizes (Max X and Max Y) set to a number 5mm less than your build plate measures. After Auto-Homing the printer, use the LCD to move the nozzle to a point 2.5mm in from the left, 2.5mm in from the front, and at Z = 0. Then select "Set Home Offset" on the LCD and then "Save Settings". You will have a safety border 2.5mm wide around the build plate. If the build plate is 300 x 300 then after doing those adjustments raise the Z a couple of mm and then send the nozzle to X=147.5 and Y = 147.5. It should be at the mid-point of the build plate. The printer uses the Home Offset location to place the 0,0,0 of a gcode file. In Machine Settings make sure that "Origin at Center" is NOT selected. Your origin is the left front corner. Shifting in the X and/or Y is generally a mechanical problem (loose belts, loose wheels, etc.). If your belts twang like guitar strings and there is no wobble (loose wheels) then do a slow calibration cube with the print speed at 30mm/sec and the Accel Control enabled at 500 and Jerk enabled at 8. It really shouldn't be moving around at those adjustments. As the cube builds up you can use the LCD to crank up the speed and see if you find a point where the mistakes start to occur.

A 3mf project file contains your printer, your settings, and the model and is good for debugging. STL is the most popular model format.

That's pretty vague. Load a model and use File | Save Project and post the 3mf file here. Post a picture of the printer too. What printer definition did you use to install your machine in Cura?

Load a model in Cura and set it up to slice. Use "File | Save Project" and post the 3mf file here. With the nozzle 5mm above the build surface and heated up - can you extrude using the LCD to move the E?

There are no circles, arcs, or curves. Just triangles. The greater the number of triangles in the model file then the smoother a print looks. A low resolution model results in large facets like you have in that preview because Cura is slicing large triangles. You can try using the ArcWelder plugin. Sometimes it helps.

Hello @Shoulkion. Did you follow @ahoeben's advice and install an Ender 3 in Cura? Gcode flavor should be plain Marlin and NOT Marlin (volumetric). On your LCD "E in mm3" should be turned off.

https://help.prusa3d.com/en/article/prusa-specific-g-codes_112173/

There are a couple of things about your Startup Guide in regards to Marlin firmware. These may be because your "Prusaware" is different. G28 does not list a "W" flag. G80 is not a leveling command. Typically it would be G29 or M420. G1 Y-3 is an odd move. The purge line appears to be from X0 Y-3 to X60 Y-3 and then continues to X100 Y-3. There is no mention of a Z height so it appears to be at a Z of zero or some offset called by M851. I think a Prusa forum would be your best bet for support.

Best to figure out why the temperature is wrong. Use File | Save Project and post the 3mf file. Let @Smithy know what printer as well.

The first file: Cannot shutoff the steppers or heaters or fan. Comment out M84, M104, M140, M106 S0/M107 from the end of the file. The second file cannot have purge lines or build plate adhesion or G28 or G29. Some end stop switches are terribly inaccurate and homing/re-leveling can cause a layer shift plus the base is sitting there in the way. You can do this with a single STL by using a support blocker configured as a cutting mesh and placed to keep the letters from slicing. That will be File 1 and is the base. Then remove the blocker and sink the model into the build plate to slice just the letters with no build plate adhesion as file 2. Use M206 at the beginning of the second file to change the home offset Z. EX: base is 5mm tall so M206 Z-5 will adjust the lettering to print on top of the base (use your numbers). You should add M206 Z0 at the end to reset. Practice makes perfect. Check out M32 but it must be enabled in the firmware. Copying file 2 to the end of file 1 also works. It's all about the transitions of XYZE. Use G92 to sync the extruder position. The "From" point of an extrusion is used to sync the X and Y so make sure it's correct. Thinking and staring at the gcode is good. The printer pays no attention to layer numbering. Going from layer 25 to layer 51 is not a problem but the Z location is.

It's in the model. This is with Top Layer Only displayed in the Cura preview. I would have to say that Cura is "faithfully reproducing" the model. You can see that this artifact appears on layer 266 but the real clue is on layer 262 where Cura leaves a hole in the surface for when this artifact shows up. There is another area like this at the back of the model but that 2nd area is inset into the surface. I have it high-lighted in the PrusaSlicer screenshot. Sketchup is notorious for leaving artifacts and for surfaces facing the wrong way. This model is complicated and you did a nice job putting it together and there aren't many errors. If you view it in "X-Ray View" you will see one. The error doesn't seem to have anything to do with this area though. These modeling errors should be easy to fix in SketchUp. This is the same model (after repair) sliced in PrusaSlicer.