curasurf

That's really a bold profile. Let me try it. Thank you!

Could you slice a simple geometry and observe Z hopping? If yes, could you share the project file? Thank you!

Is there any easy way to detect the range on a model where layer printing durations are below the Minimum Layer Time? Thank you for sharing!

@nallath According to the recommended profile Ultimaker S3 / PLA 0.4 nozzle / Draft Fast 0.2mm, the picture would be: Layer height = 0.2 mm Line width = 0.4 mm Overhang angle = 60° Do you think it's ok?

Hi @nallath There seems to be no Z hoppig throughout the model. Thank you for your comment! I just tested a simple cylinder, and also no Z hopping. It seems that Z hop does not work. @fvrmr Could you have a look at this issue? You can simply slice a simple cylinder to see whether it's possible to observe Z hopping. Thank you!

Could you help look at why there is no Z Hop at the start of C? Thank you!

I created the model myself. It's a simple block with engraved label on the front face. Thank you for your comments!

Z Seam Alignment = Random Randomize Infill Start Layer Start X Layer Start Y

I studied the recommended Cura profile of Ultimaer S3 / PLA 0.4 nozzle / Draft Fast 0.2mm: Layer height: 0.2 mm Outer Wall Line Width: 0.4 mm Support Overhang Angle: 60° To my supprise, Support Overhang Angle is NOT a calculated value! My printer is Creality CR-10sp. In all its profiles Support Overhang Angle is calculated from a formula. My experiments also show that the formula is a sound choice. According to this formula, the Support Overhang Angle for the Ultimaer S3 profile should be calculated as: Support Overhang Angle = atan(0.4×50% ÷ 0.2) ÷ 3.14159 × 180 = 45° So the recommended angle 60° for Ultimaer S3 would surely lead to failure. Hope to know what you think about this. Thank you!

@fvrmr Thank you for checking it! ttt.3mf

@nallath Can you have a look at why there is no Z Hop at the start of C? You can see "Z Hop When Retracted" is enabled and travel C is over the printed part. Thank you!

I just figure it out. It's due to "Max Comb Distance With No Retract = 30mm". C is over 30mm and so retracted.

My understanding about items in the Time Estimation report, Retractions = retracted travel (light blue lines in Preview) Travel = non-retracted travel (deep blue lines in Preview) Is this correct? Thank you!

Because I often see retractions spending as high as 30% of print time, I try to understand why retractions happen. In the example below, A/B/C/D are 4 major travel moves (in the order of A >>> B >>> C >>> D) on layer 5. But only C is retracted. Why are A/B/D not retracted? Some clues, even very brief ones, are appreciated! ttt.3mf

Any comments? Thank you!

I believe that Adaptive Layers is a great idea. It automates and perfects the manual approach based on modifier meshes. It's absolutely a great idea. Thank you!

I'm sorry to say that I can't agree with you. I'm afraid that you have some misunderstanding about the extruder and the flow rate. If this is offending, I feel deeply sorry. Thank you!

I'm sorry to say that I can't agree with you. In my rooted understanding, the command sent to the extruder is only the flow rate (height * width * speed), not the height alone, not the width alone, not the speed alone, but their product --- the flow rate. If I set it as Setting 1 and Setting 2 above, the extruder would operate under constant condition. The speed might have delay, and the width and the height might not be as the gcodes told, but the signals are definite. The signal received by the extruder is not based on the real speed/height/width, but based the clear message of gcode. If the signal to extruder changes, the extruder would have some delay in response, but if the signal is constant, the extruder works constantly. Anyway, thank you for your patience!

I'm sorry to argue more, because this is related to my fundamental understanding of the fusion printing process. In my understanding, the extruder works ONLY on the FLOW RATE (=height*width*speed). If the flow rate is kept constant, the extruder would ALWAYS work in thhe same condition, completely NO delay, NO change. Is this not correct?

@ctbeke It seems that you didnot understand what I meant. I mean, in changing from setting 1 to settign 2 (below), there should be no flow rate variation and so no extruder delay. Is this correct? Setting 1 Layer Height = 0.3 mm Line Width = 0.4 mm Speed = 50 mm/s (Flow rate = 0.3*0.4*50 = 6 mm³/s) Setting 2 Layer Height = 0.2 mm Line Width = 0.5 mm Speed = 60 mm/s (Flow rate = 0.2*0.5*60 = 6 mm³/s) If you are talking about the nozzle speed delay, then yes there can be some delay, but the speed delay seems to be trivial when compared to the extrusion delay.

Don't you think it's good enough to increase the layer height while keeping ( height * width * speed = FLOW RATE) constant? Thank you!

Hi @nallath Two years ago, when I played with Cura to see how to position STL models, I found the workaround you mentioned. Merging two models can restore their relative positions, but as whole, the new group still forgets its original position. This is really very dissappointing. I never tried 3mf and obj files, because my modelling software does not export those formats. Anyway, thank you! And another thing again: When Cura command line is used to import an STL model, the models in current Cura window are LOST. This makes all the plugins for Cura to work with modelling softwares almost useless. Hope it can be fixed. In my personal opinion, it should be a very small project. (I might be wrong.) Thank you!

No, I can't do it. In most forums, only the original author can mark a post as solved. Here only "special" (?) user, but not the author, can mark a post as solved. This is a weird rule.

Generally it should be the original author who can mark it as solved. This seems to be a bug 😃

I did not fiigure out how to do it. Thanks!