GregValiant

For this example I'll use a retraction distance of 6.0mm. If you are using "Relative Extrusion Mode" then there will be lines like G1 X120 Y120 E0.45678 ;the last extrusion G1 E-6 F2100 ;Retraction If you are using "Absolute Extrusion Mode" then they would look more like G1 X120 Y120 E123.45678 ;the last extrusion G1 E117.45678 F2100 ;Retraction In relative mode the extruder always moves from "0" and so every retraction will be a negative number. In absolute mode the extrusions are cumulative so the number keeps incrementing up and a retraction will be a subtraction. Sometimes at the start of a print the number might be negative, but mostly you will see it as in my example where the "117.45678" is "retraction distance" less than the preceding line. Generally, using "Relative Extrusion Mode" (it's in the Special Modes section of settings) can make a Gcode easier to decipher. In Absolute Extrusion Mode you can search the gcode for "00 E" and you should come across the retraction and prime lines. In Relative Extrusion Mode you would search for "E-" to get the retractions and "E5" to get the primes. In Absolute Extrusion Mode Cura will reset the E number about every 10,000mm³ to avoid rounding errors that occur in the math. For 1.75 diameter filament that's at about E=4158. As the E value approaches that number Cura will add a G92 E0 to reset the extruder.

That's a 3mf model file. I need a project file. Load it again and use the "File | Save Project" command. A project file contains everything about the printer as well as the model and all the Cura settings.

@Apostoliszev was last here in September. I don't know if he got it working or not. We can start over. Load a Benchy or calibration cube in Cura. Set Cura up to slice. Use the "File | Save Project" command to create a 3mf project file. Post the 3mf file here. How many extruders are on your printer?

All the Ender 3's are very similar. The "3" definition has reserved areas for the bed clips and the "3 Pro" does not so you get more build area with the 3 Pro. That's most most peoples choice.

You have "Alternate Extra Wall" turned on. I hope you aren't using that cube to "calibrate" the flow. If you do then all you will be able to print correctly will be single wall models.

@MariMakes I know we open a lot of files... This is at Line 1120 of @tomecko's "file.gcode" file. ;LAYER:1 M106 S85 and line 1215 ;LAYER:2 M106 S170 and line 1251 ;LAYER:3 M106 S255 Line 61716 at the end of the file M107 So it looks like the fan is off for the first layer and then the commands are there for it to ramp up to 100% at Layer 4 as it is set to. This may be a hardware issue. @tomecko can you turn the fan on manually from the LCD controls?

This is never an easy thing. I MIGHT be able to do this IF: You have a largish printer and there is an open space on the build plate where the Z can be zeroed. Remember that the gantry will be lowering with a print on the build plate. A back corner is the best spot. There will likely be a slight layer shift because the X and Y endstop switches aren't perfectly accurate. After homing the X and Y - the new X0 and Y0 may be in a slightly different spot in space than they were at the start of the print. I would need the gcode file and the exact layer number that you want to continue printing from. It would be the "Cura Preview Layer - 1" to equate to the gcode layer number. Any variations on the top of the model (splotchy extrusions that occurred before the hot end clogged completely) would need to be cleaned up so the "resume" layer doesn't whack the model and break it loose from the bed and the plastic of the resume layer has a good surface to stick to. Good luck. I've done this, but the best situation is to catch the problem right when it starts, and abort the print. If you are able to do that then you know right where the print failed and can avoid the bad top layer on the print. The STL file isn't enough certain settings (layer height in particular) need to be exactly the same as they were in the current gcode file. Resuming at 93.15 is not the same as resuming at 92.8 although both are very close to "93mm".

This is for reference and is something that I often do. Here is the model. (It's a fishing strike indicator that I designed. It contains a 9v battery, a slot type LED switch, a switch dog to trip the LED, and a buzzer. The male threads on this model come out too coarse at .2 layer height and so I want them to print at .1 layer height. I put in a Pause At Height at layer 200 for the 0.20 slice. Then I change the layer height to 0.10 and the Pause Layer to 400 and slice it again. I combine the gcodes at the pause in each file and the print comes out as I want with just the threads at .1 and the main model at .2. It works well when the layer height difference is 2X so if I wanted a main portion of the model at .30 layer height then it's easy math to figure out where the pause should go if the second layer height is .15. Additional Pause at Height commands could be used if I needed to switch back to the original layer height. The actual "Pause" commands get removed as I don't need the print to stop. I just use the pause code because it contains the "Resume XY" location, and the "Resume E" location. Sometimes I have to add a G92 Z to sync the second portion of the gcode to the height that the first portion of the gcode ended at.

Welcome other Greg. There are two types of 3mf file. A Cura project file has the Profile settings, Printer, and model. A "regular" 3mf file is just the model. The only way I can tell if a 3mf file is a Project is to open it. If the "Open Project File" dialog comes up it's a project file. If it doesn't pop up then the 3mf is a model file only. To create a Cura Project file you would use the "File | Save Project" command. To create a regular 3mf file: with a model loaded in Cura you would use the "File | Export..." command. When you export a model the "*.3mf" is the default file type. You could choose to export the model as an STL, OBJ or gcode or Ultimaker UFP file. None of those contain the settings.

I print gaskets and seals with TPU. I haven't had much luck printing taller items. So far as I can tell TPU is fuel proof and used as intake manifold gaskets it has stood up to the heat on top of the cylinder head of my motorcycle. The ones I was cutting from a sheet of gasket material would get misshaped from the ethanol in the gasoline. I would have to replace them at every carburetor cleaning. Now that I have a way to make them fairly quickly...I don't have to.

@Cuq is the author of the plugin and he can explain much better than I can. I'll give it a shot because I'm awake. If you have a G10 in the file you must have "Firmware Retraction" enabled in Cura. Turn that off. Cura changes it's own retraction settings according to the settings in the Post Processor. If you haven't done so go to "Extensions / Post Processing / Modify Gcode" and then "Select Script". One of the scripts is "Retract Tower". The default is for Speed. Below you can see that I've changed it to Distance. The setting for Firmware Retraction is in the Printer Settings which must be loaded from the Cura Marketplace to make the settings accessible. After you do your test (with Cura handling the retractions) you can set it back to Firmware Retraction if you like and the settings (Retract Distance, Retract and Prime Speeds) will get passed to the printer to handle with G10 and G11. M207 contains the Retractions settings to be used by the firmware.

Just for a reference, I have a bowden tube printer and I print TPU at 12mm/sec. Any faster than that and I get jams in the bowden tube. Because of my situation, I don't use retraction at all with TPU.

There are really two main possibilities: The printer is set to "volumetric" extrusion and Cura is set to "normal" extrusion - or vice versa. They both need to be set to the same mode. The printer is using 2.85 filament and Cura is set to 1.75 filament - or vice versa. Once again, they need to be set the same and to the correct filament diameter. The other thing I can think of is the E-steps are off but you seem confident that they are correct. Post a gcode file of that Benchy. I have some tools that will allow me to analyze it and to convert it to print on my Ender (if that seems necessary). That's a nice printer and folks have gotten them to work with Cura. I gotta believe this is a simple thing...it just knows how to hide well.

The purpose of allowing 5 volts to a mainboard is to cause an "External Reset" of the mainboard (if one was required for some reason). The pin could have easily been left unconnected where the USB socket connects to the mainboard. This makes me think something is different about your firmware. Most Creality printers (my Ender 3 Pro included) don't have a problem with the 5 volt power supply coming into the USB. When the USB cable is initially connected from the printer to a powered-up computer, it causes an external reset and the printer re-boots. That happens whether or not a print server (or Cura) is running at the time. The mere connection does not "open" the port for communication. It does however "power" the board. My printer is currently running a Creality1.1.5 mainboard and I have a 4.2.7 mainboard as well. Both react the same way to the 5 volt signal and neither has an issue with it. Neither has a problem with the Cura "USB Printing" plugin as both boards connect just fine.

What is your setting for "Walls / Wall Ordering"? When that is set to "Outside to Inside" then the outer wall goes down first and sometimes when the printer is making a circle around a hole, the extrusion will not stick where it is supposed to and instead the "loose" extrusion gets pulled across the center of the hole feature. In that case you get strings (until the extrusion starts sticking again) but the tool path is correct. So make sure you are printing walls "Inside to Outside". Slowing down the "Outer Wall Speed" can also help but you are already probably printing pretty slow.

Oh yeah...another senior moment. You might not notice in that project file but I've raised the model off the build plate by 1mm. When an organic shape like that starts with a real small contact patch it can often fail. Moving it up 1mm allows the print to start on support and the failure rate goes way down. I just noticed that the Support Top Distance is .4 and that should be changed to .2 (1 layer height).

Good Luck. 16th birthday will show up in a hurry. Start the Corvette fund now.

Sorry...senior moment. GVSkullPot.3mf

I like @MariMakes better but I thought I'd throw in an option. I altered the model in MS 3D Builder and subtracted an oblong block from the inside. (BTW the original model had some errors that needed repair.) In this model the back of the nose is walls and then infill. Yesterday was "Day of the Dead" and we ate at our favorite Mexican restaurant (Mi Pueblo in Venice). The entertainment was very good and the food (as usual) was excellent. I took a pass on the face painting.

Remember to save your version of the JSON file somewhere. If you update Cura the stock version could over-rule it. I do the same thing with my installation (alter the JSON files, Cura build plate file for my E3Pro, etc.). You have to use keyboard commands to cut, copy, paste in the Machine Settings dialog (for example: CTRL+V works for Paste on a Windows computer). As far as I know it's been like that on Windows computers for numerous versions. It might have something to do with the Qt controls used by Python for dialogs and controls, or maybe the developers work in Linux and missed something.

Surface Mode has a chance of working, but that's a really bad model. MS 3D Builder and Mesh Mixer were able to repair it, but it ends up as a solid with no openings. Online STL repair gave the following report on the model: --> Analyzed your file: --> 776 Naked edges (?) --> 17 Planar holes (?) --> 13 Non-planar holes (?) --> 202 Non-manifold edges (?) --> 218 Inverted faces (?) --> 0 Degenerate faces (?) --> 0 Duplicate faces (?) --> 0 Disjoint shells (?) -> Vertex count changed from 31902 to 33613 (+1711) -> Triangle count changed from 63191 to 67556 (+4365) Here is the X-Ray view of the original model showing large areas that have errors. Here is the repaired version sliced. It doesn't look much like the original model and the top and bottom aren't flat.

The information provided by any poster must be as complete and concise as possible. I saw in your screen shot that support was enabled but the project file said it wasn't. We've had project files submitted here that were totally different than what the poster was talking about. Even the model was different. It's hard to give advice or troubleshoot when we are talking about apples and the poster was talking about oranges. Support is often required. I have a special set of tools for support removal and it can still be a PITA. To eliminate support you sometimes can alter the model. In this case if it is printed as two separate pieces and glued together then neither piece needs support. With a little hole in the middle of each half, a piece of filament can be glued into one half and it becomes a locating pin for gluing on the other half. I used a cylindrical support blocker configured as a cutting mesh and placed them in the center of each model. One model prints right-side up but buried into the build plate 6mm. The other model prints upside-down with only 6mm sticking up. It will print without support and cyano-acrylic Super-Glue works really well on PETG (and PLA). This is an x-ray view and you can see the 2.2mm diameter x 4mm long Cutting Mesh support blockers that are at the centerline of each half. As a cutting mesh they will leave a hole. Here is the normal view So there are things you can do to eliminate support but sometimes support is the best way to go. Here is a project file so you can see what I did. Sometimes multiple locating pins are required. Sometimes the model needs to be altered in a program like MS 3D Builder. Sometimes you get stuck with support. GV_lid no support.3mf

The Search and Replace post processor (Extensions / Post Processing / Modify Gcode then "Add a Script") has some good options that can help. It accepts multi-line replacements so you can do something like this: Search = ;LAYER:200\n Replace = ;LAYER:200\nM106 S127\n Use regular expressions = Checked (The "backslash+n" is a newline character and they are required as shown.) You could lower the fan speed (if needed) by adding another Search and Replace. Search = ;LAYER:204\n Replace = ;LAYER:204\nM106 S26\n Use regular expressions = Checked

USB Printing is a plugin in the Cura Marketplace. It should be installed by default. You can go to the Marketplace and make sure it is enabled. It checks for ports every 5 seconds and has an automatic baud rate check. That's about all you can do. If it works it works and if it doesn't it doesn't. No Ultimaker printers use USB printing and so the Ultimaker Company won't be putting any time or effort (read that as "money") into USB printing. It is included with Cura but isn't maintained. Cura is open source and anyone could pick up the ball and update it. I think it is significant that no one has. There are so many different printers and mainboards out there and they update/change constantly. Maintenance would be a nightmare. I don't know Pronterface but can't you use it to send the file?

No problems. In that Project File "Generate Support" is not enabled. A team member will need to know exactly how you had the slice set up.