rv7charlie

What flavor? 😉

Yeah, I did manage to find the setting, and changed it from '3' to '2'. If '1' works, then I'll tweak it again. 😉 From what you're saying, it's apparently 'not a bug; it's a feature' of the software. At least we can still repair the feature....

Hi, 'Newbie' here, just started using Cura 5.6, printing on Ender 3 v3 SE. If I've been interpreting info correctly, a skirt is intended primarily to prep the nozzle's flow, and to indicate whether bed adhesion is going well. When I switched from Creality's slicer to Cura, I noticed that the printer will make a couple of runs around to print the skirt, move to the actual build for a bit, then come *back* to the skirt and print another layer. Is this normal behavior? I was able to stop it by changing 'skirt height' from 3 to 2, but I'm wondering why Cura would print skirt material after starting the actual print.

Y'all have been very helpful (and patient) with my typical technique of learning a new subject by starting somewhere in the middle and randomly working my way to the edges. The 'F5000' phrase now makes more sense; it would seem that there's no reason to take it out since it can only (potentially) improve movement speed after the print is finished. It would seem that the earlier recommendation to use: G0 X0 Y{machine_depth} Z{machine_height} makes the most sense, since I did a quick check on the printer, and moving the extruder from max height to 'home' only took about 1:25. For my hobby purposes this isn't a big deal, since it will only slow the start of printing slightly, beyond the time it takes to start when using the Cura slicer to prepare the print. Cura seems to heat the bed to operating temp before starting to heat the extruder. This obviously takes longer than using the printer's firmware 'preheat' option which heats both at the same time, but I've decided that it's acceptable for me because the firmware preheat just causes the extruder to drool for several minutes before I get the print loaded up. Can the 'F5000' be inserted in the line quoted above, and (or) is there any reason to do it? Finally, I took a look at the physical limit switches on the Ender SE. there's one to limit bed travel to the rear, and one for extruder travel to the left, but no others. From my background of doing hardware maintenance on industrial equipment back in the previous century, this seems very strange. Industrial gear always had physical switches to limit (stop) powered movement before damage could be done. It looks as if the SE uses them only to determine some 'home' reference point, with no hardware protection from excessive excursions. Is this a common cost saving measure with hobby equipment? Again, thanks to all for your assistance.

Thanks to windy54 for letting me tag along on this subject. So, if altering "G1 Z10" isn't a great idea, but I don't want to take the extruder all the way to the top at the end of the print, I need to learn what G-codes actually mean. 😉 I see that 'G0' means 'absolute positioning'. For 'F5000', I've only found this (on a web site about start & end G-codes): 'G0 F5000 Z20: This command moves the Z axis up 20mm to allow the filament to ooze freely.' The Cura G-code for my Ender SE doesn't have the 'F5000'; is it needed? Does 'Y{machine_depth} mean to move the Y axis to the Y limit defined in Cura's file for any particular machine? Instead of using: "G0 F5000 Y{machine_depth} Z{machine_height}", Would it work to use 'G0 Y{machine_depth} Z50', to move the extruder up 50 mm above the print surface? Or, is there some other command, some conditional expression, to leave the extruder at least 50 mm above the bed but above the end of a print, without exceeding the Z axis max limit? I'd have expected any sensible printer design to have a physical limit switch for the Z axis, like the X & Y, but I confess that I forgot to check when I was in the shop today. That's on my list for tomorrow. 😉 Thank you all again for your help!

That sounds good. I don't really need it to go all the way up, but the SE has a magnetic bed and while it's fairly easy to remove the build plate, it's tricky to get it back on without scratching up the underlying heated bed. Also hard to inspect the nozzle for residue after the print. I think I'll try changing the '10' to around '50'; that should give me plenty of room. I appreciate the help!

Hoping Windy54 will forgive the intrusion by another newbie... I just saw this thread and I've had exactly the same question, but I have a heads-up for Windy54: Any keystroke you make while within the start or end G-code windows will be there; there's no 'undo' that I could find short of re-installing the printer. Also, in my copy of v5.6.0, Start G-code is on the lower left, and End G-code is on the lower right. Again, begging Windy54's forgiveness, my Creality Ender-3 v3 SE End G-code screenshot is attached (Cura wouldn't let me copy/paste). Based on your earlier post, it would seem that I'd need to change the 5th line, "G1 Z10 ;" to a larger Z value to move the extruder up higher at the end of a print. Am I on the right track? Thanks! (And I hope Windy54 benefits, as well.)