New feature ideas

[Rockbert 0]

Just a few thoughts for future features.

1) Add a layer preview stepping function where you can jump 1, 5, and 10 layers at a time.  The scroll bar is very useful most of the time, but not very accurate when you have over 1000 layers and are trying to troubleshoot a print.  Typing in the layer number each time gets tedious in very short order. :(

2)  When at less than 75% fan speed on my reprap the layer cooling fan will not start.  After I slice I need to go in and replace M106 S  with M106 B1 S to bump the fan to full speed for 1 second so that it will run at lower speeds.  I think that this would be a boon for people who do not have an Ulti, but still love Cura.

3) This comes from the engineer in me...   I think that if the outer layer was offset by 1/2 layer height it would increase the strength of printed parts, help with delamination and give a smoother exterior.  The down side might be in the loss of details.

Any who...just my 2 cents worth

Edited February 24, 2017 by Guest

[neotko 1,406]

About 2

Check yo change your firmware since Marlin has "Fan speed minimum" on configuration or in conf adv

Also check fan kickstart, since you can make Marlin to send a full power start for X milliseconds (for me 300-500 is more than enough) so your fans can run.

[DidierKlein 716]

Number 1 should be implemented i think, hold the shift key and scroll (not sure)

Number 3 also in Cura 2.4 with outer wall inset

[nallath 710]

The single layer jump is already possible. Try pressing the up key when the layer number box has focus (eg; when you can type numbers). You can also use ctrl + up (except on mac, as it already does something there).

[yellowshark 149]

And how about reinstatement of Print speed inheritance, present in all versions of Cura up to 15.n and then dropped from 2.n

Like many others I am sure, with the exception of the 1st layer speed, all my printing speeds are the same. This ensures a consistent pressure through the extrusion system with the benefits one would expect on surface finish. Just occasionally, if I have a large x/y dimension I will push up infill speed.

Now, without Print speed inheritance, every time I change the Print speed I have another 3 or 4 speeds that need changing. OK not the end of the world but extremely irritating especially if I am testing to get the optimum mix on a new part of surface quality and speed of production.

[yellowshark 149]

Having just read another post on the now multiple versions of extruder temp., maybe Extruder inheritance could be implemented too?

[nallath 710]

And how about reinstatement of Print speed inheritance

 

It's not possible by means of the UI, but it's quite simple to fix it yourself. The system of 2.x is far more advanced than that of 15.x

If you open your quality file (lets say my_quality_changes.inst.cfg), you can see a "header" named [values]. Beneath it are a number of settings with values. Those don't have to be values, but can also be formulas.

So instead of

speed_layer_0 = 20

use

speed_layer_0 = =speed_print / 3

In the future i'd love to let users write their own functions in the GUI.

[yellowshark 149]

Hi @nallath thanks for that. OK I tried it but with mixed success.

I set the temperatures as well as the speeds. So I set all the temps = to the print temp.

material_bed_temperature = 73

material_final_print_temperature = material_print_temperature

material_initial_print_temperature = material_print_temperature

material_print_temperature_layer_0 = material_print_temperature

And the speeds equal to the print speed

speed_infill = speed_print

speed_topbottom = speed_print

speed_wall_0 = speed_print (but no idea what this data item is referring to)

speed_wall_x = speed_print (but no idea what this data item is referring to)

What I got was

Temps

With Printing temp set as 250

material_final_print_temperature = 235

material_initial_print_temperature = 240

material_print_temperature_layer_0 = 255 ( I assume this is “Printing temp/. initial layer”)

 

So they are all wrong and should be 250.

Speeds

With Print speed set to 70

speed_infill = 70 Correct!!

speed_topbottom = 35

speed_wall_0 = do not know what this is

speed_wall_x = do not know what this is

The Cura Print setup display showed

Wall speed 35

Outer wall speed 35

Inner wall speed 70 Correct!!

I also note, strangely, that if I go to the Profiles dialogue page, with the two columns “Profile” and “Current”, I see under Current

Printing temp = 250 correct, input by me

Printing temp initial layer = material_print temp + 5 Incorrect!

Initial Printing temp = max_-273.15, material_print…. -10 Incorrect!

Initial Printing temp = max_-273.15, material_print…. -15 Incorrect!

Print_speed = 70 Correct, input by me

Infill_speed = speed_print Correct!

Outer_wall speed = speed_wall Incorrect; speed_wall is not listed in my .cfg file

Inner wall speed = speed_wall *2 Incorrect; speed_wall is not listed in my .cfg file

Top bottom speed = speed_print/2 Incorrect, this is not what I input into the .cfg file

[gr5 1,305]

You have to use the "two equal" notation that nallath uses.

The first = tells the parser where the setting name ends and the formula starts.

The second = implies it will be a formula instead of a number as in =x/3

[yellowshark 149]

Thanks - I did actually try that - not sure whether it was or was not a typo - and it did not seem to make a difference. But I will have to assume I made another error at the same time. So I will redo with double = and report back.

[yellowshark 149]

Ok thanks for that:) The temps are now spot on. The speeds look good too. I note that wall speed is sitting at 50% of print speed but I assume that is ignored as inner wall speed is showing correct and outer wall speed is showing correct

[nallath 710]

The extra = is intentional. I pushed for this so that we can add the ability to add functions in the UI at a later date. I'd love to have excel like functionality with hinting.