CURA on Ipad pro 2018.

[VitR 20]

Hi Ultimakers. 

I have one question. In this moment I really thinking about move my workflow to ipad pro 2018. With using 3dshapr, umake xyz, forgerapp, bellus3d or Scandy pro may be full fusion 360 in future is possible create many models without using PC. But I can’t find full slicer which allows me generate gcode with full 3d print settings. Question is if ultimaker have plan make full cura for ipad? Thank you for answer. 

[Smithy 1,144]

I don't think it will come to iOS, because this would mean, rewrite the application from scratch and maintain both branches. But I would also really happy if there would be a solution for the iPad Pro.

[nallath 1,122]

We're not planning to do this. It would indeed mean a nearly complete re-write of the code, as well as greatly increasing the maintenance cost.

[unteins 0]

With the recent WWDC Apple announced new technology that would allow the iPad and Mac versions to share the same code base - obviously there would still be the need to build the app to support this, the longer term maintenance would be greatly decreased.

 

Does this change your plans?

[Smithy 1,144]

I cannot speak for the Ultimaker plans, but the shared codebase still needs a lot of rework and rewriting of the code. And the MAC version is no special version for Mac OS, it is just compiled for Mac, so the current Code is shared between Mac, Win and Linux. Therefore I don't think, an iPad version will ever come.

[ahoeben 1,952]

If Cura for the Mac would be written in OSX-specific code, the WWDC announcement would help for an iPad version. However, Cura is written for a large part to be cross-platform between Windows, Linux and OSX. That makes Cura not entirely OSX-specific. Case in point, the Cura GUI is based on a programming language - Python - that is not available on iOS.

 

In other words: don't get your hopes up.

[nsomnac 0]

I’m curious about this myself. 
 

it’s technically possible given the Cura GUI is python Qt and there is apparently a way to deploy python Qt to iOS. 
 

https://www.riverbankcomputing.com/software/pyqtdeploy/intro

[ahoeben 1,952]

11 hours ago, nsomnac said:

it’s technically possible given the Cura GUI is python Qt and there is apparently a way to deploy python Qt to iOS. 

 

Unfortunately it is not so simple. Cura really depends on the Python interpreter being available for most of its functionality. Pyqtdeploy tries to "replace" Python with C++ in a way that is not compatible with the architecture of Cura.

[realheatherd 0]

Ok, it’s a year later, is there any change on this with the latest iPad Pro that apple has marketed as powerful enough to be your only computer?  I have a Mac mini, but it is not always convenient for me to access it, yet I’m able to do all of my designing on my 2020 iPad Pro 12in.  

[Smithy 1,144]

No, Cura is not available for iOS and I guess will never be, at least not in the near future.

 

19 minutes ago, realheatherd said:

I’m able to do all of my designing on my 2020 iPad Pro 12in.

What are you using, Shapr? 

I was also searching for a CAD app and Shapr looked great, but too expensive with the monthly subscription.

[Longtoke 25]

I question if it would even be possible just on the basis of how Apple operates. To have Cura on the appstore or the like would mean Ultimaker having to navigate the appstore listing issues. With Apple's stance on revenue generation via the appstore, I just can't see any sane company / developer going down that rabbit hole. 

 

Cura is an open source program that's ongoing development is directly funded by Ultimaker, with the contributions from the wider community. I would love to understand Apple's commercial position on that before you could even look at the difficulties In suitably rewriting all the code. 

 

Besides, its 2020...haven't people learnt by now regarding Apple products ?

Edited November 1, 2020 by Longtoke

[Smithy 1,144]

You can provide the app for free in the App Store. There is only a small yearly fee to be part of it. So from this point of view it is possible. But it is not possible to migrate Cura easily to iOS and then to maintain it with every release. It would need a completely rewrite and then you have two parallel code bases. 
 

I like my iPad Pro, it is a fantastic small device for a lot of things, but to design and to slice I still prefer a notebook or desktop.

 

34 minutes ago, Longtoke said:

Besides, its 2020...haven't people learnt by now regarding Apple products ?

Yes for sure, I use Apple products for more then 15 years now and I have learnt that I never will switch back to Windows. I like the products and I have nearly all of them, but I know some people are more happy with other ones. I have tried an Android phone more than one time, but was not happy with it.  But that's me, YMMV 😀

[Longtoke 25]

3 minutes ago, Smithy said:

You can provide the app for free in the App Store.

 

Until Apple decides that it's a retailing platform and want a steep cut of all sales along with exclusivity arrangements under the guise of "protecting users". Go have a look at the Epic Games debacle for a possible window into a world where Cura is on the Apple store...

 

5 minutes ago, Smithy said:

I use Apple products for more then 15 years

 

How many of those have you needed repairs on, only to find that Apple doesn't believe in right to repair. I have no problems with the functionality of Apple products, the problem is when it fails and needs repair or you need software compatibility. Apple are almost militant in "protecting" users. 

[nallath 1,122]

Having a way to sideload code is against apple policy. So we would have to remove the marketplace and any option to load plugins. It's possible, but it's yet another thing we would have to do.

Anyhow, it's just not really interesting for us. Sure it would help a number of people, but considering the huge development costs it would take to do it, it's just not worth it.

[Smithy 1,144]

9 hours ago, Longtoke said:

Until Apple decides that it's a retailing platform and want a steep cut of all sales along with exclusivity arrangements under the guise of "protecting users". Go have a look at the Epic Games debacle for a possible window into a world where Cura is on the Apple store...

Thats another story, but is also valid for the Google Play store. Epic has signed the contract and they were aware that it is not allowed to sell it outside of the App Store. 

 

9 hours ago, Longtoke said:

How many of those have you needed repairs on, only to find that Apple doesn't believe in right to repair. I have no problems with the functionality of Apple products, the problem is when it fails and needs repair or you need software compatibility. Apple are almost militant in "protecting" users. 

Maybe I have luck, but never had a problem with it. I had problems with the MacBook 3 years ago as they launched the new  thin keyboard. Apple changed the keyboard (whole top cover) 5 times on their costs. And last month I had a problem with my iPad Pro, went to the Apple Store and they replaced it 1:1 with a new (refurbished) one. And they were not able to reproduce the failure. So I am happy with the service. But I have to say, I have on most devices Apple Care and contact only Apple directly or an authorized reseller before we got an Apple store here.

[printing_bac0n 0]

On 11/2/2020 at 1:18 AM, nallath said:

Having a way to sideload code is against apple policy. So we would have to remove the marketplace and any option to load plugins. It's possible, but it's yet another thing we would have to do.

Anyhow, it's just not really interesting for us. Sure it would help a number of people, but considering the huge development costs it would take to do it, it's just not worth it.

With the change to ARM bases processors, won't this need to be addressed in the coming years anyway?  Otherwise you will ultimately lose your entire Mac base at some point when they stop supporting rosetta 2 (in the creative space is a pretty sizable population).  I know that is a number of years out, but might be worth thinking about for the long term.

Edited December 15, 2020 by printing_bac0n

[printing_bac0n 0]

On 11/1/2020 at 4:38 PM, Longtoke said:

How many of those have you needed repairs on, only to find that Apple doesn't believe in right to repair. I have no problems with the functionality of Apple products, the problem is when it fails and needs repair or you need software compatibility. Apple are almost militant in "protecting" users. 

It's kinda funny you bring this up because my wife and I were just talking about how I still have and use my original 20 year old G3 iBook, G4 Mac Mini, G5 iMac 2009 MBP, 2016 MBP and now I have a 2019 MBP as well as stacks of ipads, ipods (including my old 3rd Gen, pre click wheel!) and iPhones.  They all still work perfectly (well for their age) and that is why I can't bring myself to throw them out.  I have been using macs/apple products for 20 years, and I have NEVER spent a single dollar on repairs.  The only issues I have ever had have been with batteries (which dont last forever regardless of manufacturer) and when I walked into the ocean with my iPhone 3Gs in my pocket  X).  Even then, the only damage was a bad ear speaker, and I replaced that myself.
I think more and more people are seeing the benefits of a dedicated software/hardware manufacturer in terms of reliability, and service.  With the new ARM developments, it's a fun time to be an Apple owner.

[Smithy 1,144]

Fully agree!

 

35 minutes ago, printing_bac0n said:

With the new ARM developments, it's a fun time to be an Apple owner.

Lets see, I can remember the time when the change to Intel happened, was not an so easy task and I fear the same with the M1 CPU. 

[printing_bac0n 0]

20 minutes ago, Smithy said:

Fully agree!

 

Lets see, I can remember the time when the change to Intel happened, was not an so easy task and I fear the same with the M1 CPU. 

Fair point, may be a good time to be an Apple owner, maybe not as fun to be an Apple Dev.

[Smithy 1,144]

I am normally an early adopter, but I think I will wait for the second generation.....

....or no, I don't know 🙂 

[printing_bac0n 0]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

I am normally an early adopter, but I think I will wait for the second generation.....

....or no, I don't know 🙂 

I was ready to pull the trigger on the M1 MBP, but then Apple redirected my money when they announced the AirPods Max.  Now I will have to save my nickels and dimes again.😁

[Smithy 1,144]

They look good and are super expensive. But read that the quality should be great 👍🏻 

[nallath 1,122]

17 hours ago, printing_bac0n said:

With the change to ARM bases processors, won't this need to be addressed in the coming years anyway?  Otherwise you will ultimately lose your entire Mac base at some point when they stop supporting rosetta 2 (in the creative space is a pretty sizable population).  I know that is a number of years out, but might be worth thinking about for the long term.

Maybe, maybe not. It's not so much a problem of getting it to work for a processor architecture. Developing for a mobile ecosystem has a lot more hurdles (such as the whole "you can't sideload code" issue).

If Apple pushes forward with their support of Metal (and completely remove openGL support) I do fear the worst. It would cost us a lot of work to convert it and it would also add quite a bit of extra maintenance burden (since metal doesn't work on other systems, so we would have to support multiple rendering systems). We could try and switch over to the more agnostic system that Qt uses, but that would also require significant changes to the architecture, which also doesn't come cheap.