Saving Cura files

[3doftom 61]

I see that I can save the .stl, g-code and a profile out of Cura.

-Is there a Cura file type that saves the model that is currently in the build area along with it's orientation, scale, and other settings that can be loaded back up at another time? Is that what saving the profile does?

Thanks!

[ultiarjan 1,223]

No there's not (to my knowledge) it is in simplify 3d, called a factory file. And I use them all the time.

Would love to have it in the new cura. You can import a g-code file in cura to get the use settings.

[3doftom 61]

No there's not (to my knowledge) it is in simplify 3d, called a factory file. And I use them all the time.

Would love to have it in the new cura. You can import a g-code file in cura to get the use settings.

 

Thanks ultiarjan. Yeah, Makerware has a save as function like that as well; .thing file.

It would be really cool to see something like this in Cura. I've really loved working in it so far though!

[DidierKlein 729]

If you use the save model from the files menu (i think it's called save model) you can save the loaded STL with the orientation scale etc...

The settings can be saved to a profile as you said or you can save the gcode and import the settings from the gcode.

But no there's nothing to save both of these in one file at the moment. Maybe the next version of Cura could do this with a plugin?

[nallath 1,122]

I'm considering building a workspace saving function. There are some problems with it; Do you make a file that holds all the data, or do you use a workspace file that holds references to other files (eg; a file that simply saves profile / objects / transformations)?

[ultiarjan 1,223]

My vote goes to save all the data in one file. I'm sure I'll break reference by moving files around. Since I have it in S3D I use it a lot.

[3doftom 61]

@DidierKlein : yeah, your solution of saving the model and the profile as two separate files sounds like it will work for what I need for now. Thanks!

@nallath : Why not make both saving methods an option at some point? I have really high poly count models that I think would benefit from being referenced, so I don't have to save large files more than once on my hard drive. Might also be a nice workflow when making small adjustments to the source model and not wanting to do redundant setup in Cura.

Having everything in one file would be nice if passing it off to someone else to print out. Or just for simplicity. I know it's more work, but I think they would both provide nice workflow enhancements.

Thanks!

[nallath 1,122]

Both is possible, but this increases the complexity on the implementation side and on the workflow side for the user (eg; Its easy to explain the difference to medior / senior users, but not so much to the newbie users).

[3doftom 61]

Both is possible, but this increases the complexity on the implementation side and on the workflow side for the user (eg; Its easy to explain the difference to medior / senior users, but not so much to the newbie users).

 

Yes, those are good considerations. For a user who is coming from a 3d content creation background it would be a natural transition. I think I am for encouraging newbie users to learn and understand the industry terminology rather than make it too simplified for the sake of the newbie. To satisfy both sides for now, it would probably be best to implement a feature that saves everything into one file first.

I know that I have a lot to learn when it comes to the terms and concepts of 3d printing, but I am hungry to learn

Just my thoughts. thanks for all the feedback and comments on this!

[valcrow 145]

Oh i can get behind this! I've been asking for it for a while

Maybe just have a checkbox in the save option? By default it would embed the STL, but if you check the box (for advanced users) it would allow for dynamic links.

I'd like it to hold position, orientation data as well as the advanced settings like support details.

I go back to prints often, and usually it's small parts that require a fairly specific setting. It's hard to remember sometimes what settings were successful in the past. This would greatly help workflow.

[z-axis-3d 4]

There is still no way to do this, right? Even in the latest Cura. Maybe there is a plugin now that I haven't found. This thread is a little old now, just want to make sure I haven't missed the boat! This thread did answer one of my questions though : "Does S3D have this feature?" because it is possibly the single biggest feature I would pay for.

Is there an official feature request / voting system for Cura?

[nallath 1,122]

There is still no way to do this, right?

 

Writing to .3mf should do this. We only support the basics of .3mf right now, but I expect that this will be expanded in the future.

 

Is there an official feature request / voting system for Cura?

 

There is no voting system and there probably won't be one either. Requesting features is always possible and anyone is free to work on features if they feel like it.