GregValiant

I'll relate this as it is semi-interesting and there is some slight chance that it might have something to do with this. I bought an upgrade mainboard for my printer. Installation was fine, I calibrated the E-steps and ran a PID calibration and subsequent prints were fine. Three weeks later, my prints developed a problem in that they would start out OK but after 30 to 40 minutes of printing I would get under-extrusion and I would have to abort the print. (I became really good at tearing down and cleaning the hot end even though it never fixed the problem.) Immediately after one such aborted print (before the machine had cooled down) I tried to re-calibrate the E-steps and found that instead of 97steps/mm it was 320steps/mm. The next morning I checked again with the machine cooled down and it was back to 97steps/mm. After 30 minutes of printing - 270steps/mm. I put the old mainboard back in and everything was perfect. My conclusion was that the E-driver chip had failed. (After much back-and-forth Creality did replace the mainboard.) A second odd thing that can happen is that if the mainboard fan doesn't come on, the mainboard gets hot, and wonkiness develops somewhere in the chip set. It is something that is likely to be easy to check.

The thickness of the first layer is determined by a couple of different things. The "bed leveling" (which is a misnomer as it should be called "setting the initial Z gap"), by the extruder calibration (E-steps). A third consideration is the tendency of the material to stick to the bed. If you are under-extruding the first layer then you don't get enough squish and the material wants to curl and it ends up on the outside of the nozzle. Assuming that you have an ABL system, they work well but the "Z-offset" needs to be just right. If your "Initial Layer Height" is 0.2, but when the printer moves to 0.2 the bed is actually 0.3 below the nozzle, then you are effectively under-extruding and you don't get any squish. In general, if you change nozzles they won't be exactly the same length and consequently the Z-offset would need adjustment. I have some nozzles that vary by up to .4mm in length (but I don't have ABL so I level for every print). Some initial wear in the extruder gear can cause the extruder to go out of calibration. If it isn't pushing enough material then you will get less squish. Double checking your E-step calibration can't hurt. Even with the number of miles on my Ender I still calibrate it once a month. Since this is an initial layer problem you can do a quick test by slicing a calibration cube and setting the "Initial Layer Flow" to 110 or 115% and see if it makes a difference. (You can abort the print after the first layer.) If the flow change doesn't make a difference then the problem is probably not the E-steps or leveling/Z-offset. Give the build surface a good cleaning with a dish detergent, dry it, put it back on the machine and then wipe it down with 90% isopropyl alcohol.

As the self-proclaimed "King of Workarounds" I have the utmost respect for the fabulous work of @jeroent and I vote that the "Solution" tag stays. Of course if 5.7 is released tomorrow, it will be a very short term in the limelight but well deserved nonetheless. Prior to his discovery we had random randomness. Now there is an excellent chance at organized randomness. Ya gotta love progress.

When printing threads in a horizontal hole, only the apex of each thread needs support. If that tiny spot falls below the "Minimum Support Area" and the "Minimum Support Interface Area" then no support will be generated. Having the thread apex come to a point is not good. If there was a small flat on the end then engagement with the male is a lot easier. It needs some clearance at the thread root. A flat might allow support to build with the minimum at a higher number. I like inserts like THESE. I shove them in with an electronics soldering iron. They are better when installed from the backside, but that isn't always possible.

Wow. 53 files involved. It addresses feature request #4835 which dates to Nov 19, 2018. @Cuq - Does this qualify as "The development dynamic is more active on other slicers"?

I must have looked at arranging the parts a hundred times and this never occurred to me. It works! I wish I could award you with something more than an emoji, but it will have to do. But I'll throw in a couple more cuz, ya know, they're cheap. 🏄‍♂️🍺🌴💐🎺🤓

Well I'm a LOT younger (73) so maybe I'm mis-understanding. When you first install a printer, you can't make any changes to the "Machine Settings" even though the dialog comes up. I'm not sure why that is. After you dismiss the dialogs then yes, you can go back through Manage Printers and make any changes. Arc Welder is now included in Cura by default. The setting is under "Special Modes" so you need to change to the "Custom" settings to access it.

I agree with you. I should have refined my comment that the "Volume of noise" is similar. Both the Scarf Seam idea and the Arc Support idea have enthusiastic supporters.

The noise being generated by this reminds me of the "Arc Overhang Support" feature request. I wasn't terribly impressed with that one as it required extremely slow extrusion and gravity took it's toll.

There is a feature request (#17713) and there has been much discussion. From reading here and there my impression is that it appears to work well when the Z-seam is on a curve and not at all when the Z-seam is on a corner. Maybe @Cuq can comment?

"Cherish Chocolate Passion" please. The Publix house brand. With some chocolate syrup and a couple of dollops of Smuckers strawberry preserves I'm in heaven.

Double dip.

I made up a custom definition file. I have that in there as an override. I also don't like Support Horizontal Expansion defaulting to 0.8 so that's in there as well.

You will need to switch to "Custom" settings and unhide all the settings. "Skirt Height" is under the "Bed Adhesion" settings. Set it to "1". I find it annoying that when the feature was added the default was made "3".

If the printer is capable you can try the post processor "Create Thumbnail". It is under "Extensions - Post Process - Modifiy Gcode" and then "Add a script".

This doesn't look right. If you are going to put this into an accordion it won't pump air. Slashee - I couldn't get it to set flat on the build plate either.

Congratulations. It will now hold more than a capful. 🍺 Loft and Shell are maybe the two trickiest functions to work with when you are trying to make a printable model. A Shell feature needs to be in just in the right place in the feature tree. Lofts from a square to a circle is tough math. I will often break a circle into 4 arcs and add in extremely short lines between the arcs. It still looks like a circle, but Inventor will see 4 sides to the square and match them up with the 4 arcs. That will often eliminate any twists that might develop. For threads I use my own thread form that has a 70° included angle because they don't require support. Flat roots and thread ends are also helpful when printing.

304 naked edges and 4 planar holes. Lofts are always tough because the math of the surface is so complex. In addition, it is easy to get gaps between a loft and another feature. They look merged, but they aren't. This is what AHoeben is talking about. Errors in a model seriously affect a slice. Here is the transition between the lower rectangular shape and the transition loft. Cura was unable to decide if they should be connected or not. This model needs to go back into CAD and be repaired. A couple of fillets at the transition wouldn't hurt. When the loft is constrained to the other parts of the model, then the slice will be performed as you would expect.

You aren't giving much information here. What exactly are you trying to do? What does the model look like? Is there more than one model? If there is more than one model do they "merge" or are they always separate? A project file ("File | Save Project") always helps.

Slashee nailed it. You will need to splice two files together. There is a trick to smooth the process. Just talkin' here... Let's say you want the print to change from normal to spiralize at layer 250. Put a "Pause at Height" at layer 250. Slice the file with the "normal" settings for the base and save the gcode as "something_base.gcode". Switch over to "Spiralize" and touch up your settings. Do not change the layer height (you will learn how to do that in the advanced class). Slice the file and save the gcode as "something_upper.gcode". Open the base file and search for "PauseAtHeight". Delete everything from the line ";script: PauseAtHeight.py" to the end of the "base" file. Open the "upper" file. Search for PauseAtHeight again in the Upper file. Copy everything from the Z return line (similar to "G1 F300 Z15.2") to the end of the file. That line is usually 2 lines below the actual pause line. Paste all of that into the new end of the base file. Do a "save-as". I usually name the file "something_combined.gcode". The base will print, the printer will see the transition code and shuffle over to the start of the spiralize, the extruder location will be set to continue, and Bob's your uncle. ;TYPE:CUSTOM ;added code by post processing ;script: PauseAtHeight.py BASE FILE UP TO THIS POINT UPPER FILE FROM HERE DOWN TO THE END G1 F300 Z15.2 ;>>>>>>>>>This line might seem wrong if Z-hops are enabled. G1 F9000 X106.155 Y105.917 ;>>>>>>This is the XY "return to" G1 F300 Z15.2 ; resume height >>>>>double check this for sure G1 F2100 ; restore extrusion feedrate M82 ; switch back to absolute E values G92 E2271.49422 ;>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>This sets the E location so the print will continue smoothly. The same trick can be used to change layer heights. If the base is at 0.20 Layer Height and the upper is at 0.10 layer height then the "Pause" in the second file would be at layer 2X whatever it was in the first file. In the example above the pause in the second file would be at layer 500. You must always double check that the extruder location, XY return location, and the Z height are correct.

The same files still work for me in 5.6.0. The "creality_base.def.json" file calls for 4 possible extruders. Extruder 0 is included with Cura and the other three are contained in that zip file. Double check that you have the new "creality_base.def.json" file in the: "C:\Program Files\UltiMaker Cura 5.6.0\share\cura\resources\definitions" folder. Check that the 3 additional extruder files are in the: "C:\Program Files\UltiMaker Cura 5.6.0\share\cura\resources\extruders" folder. When the files are correctly placed you should see this in the Machine Settings in Cura and your Ender 5 Plus should be configurable with up to 4 extruders:

After sitting at room temperature all night my hot end and bed are different by 3°. 175° sounds pretty low but every thermocouple/thermistor thing is different. I can't get a new "minimum temperature" to save in the printer. At power up it always goes back to 170. If I was having a problem I would need to include an M302 in my startup.

I'm getting the same thing on my older Ender 3 Pro. Even if it's a relative move, max height is max height.

If "Ironing" is turned on and the settings are for something like a 0.1 line width at 10% flow then it will look as if the extruder has stopped because it is turning so slowly. That would pretty much effect Top Skins only. If the Hot End Temperature falls below some number (usually around 170° to 175°) the extruder will stop turning to avoid cold extrusions. At the end of "LAYER:0" in the gcode there might be an M104 line that is supposed to change the printer from "Initial Layer Print Temperature" to "Print Temperature". If that line is wrong or is mis-understood by the printer, then the hot end could shut down and extrusion would stop. Other than those two situations: if there is an E parameter in a movement line (G1, 2, 3) in the gcode, the extruder should move to push or pull that much material.

The Sidewinder has been around for a bit and I don't recall any problem like this. The files are in your installation or it wouldn't show up at all. FYI the build plate file is "artillery_swx1.stl" and it's in the "C:\Program Files\UltiMaker Cura 5.6.0\share\cura\resources\meshes" folder. As Slashee says, there isn't anything that is user configurable here. The definition file tells Cura which platform to load and there are a couple of numbers that tell Cura where to put it.