QUESTION Cura settings: Improving naming and descriptions

[Guest maht]

Ultimaker Cura has hundreds of configurable slicing settings in custom mode. If you mouse hover over a particular setting, a description of what the setting does will appear. You can also search for a particular setting using the search bar to get what you need quickly and easily.

 

 

In an upcoming release, we've also made each setting's description searchable for more ease-of-use.

@ghostkeeper has also made a plugin that you can download from the Ultimaker Marketplace that adds even more description to each setting.

 

BUT: 

 

Are there settings names in Cura that you find confusing? Maybe"Spiralize Outer Contour" might be clearer to users if we added "A.K.A. Vase Mode"

 

- Maybe you'd like to see more detailed descriptions for each setting?

- Maybe you'd like to see some settings in a different category?

- Maybe you'd like to see a completely new category?

 

Give us your feedback in this thread and we'll consider it for future releases.

[ahoeben 2,012]

Dat Ultibot tho...

 

Edit: Vase mode? Oh, you mean Joris mode!

Edited July 10, 2020 by ahoeben

[TMicke 23]

7 hours ago, maht said:

Are there settings names in Cura that you find confusing? Maybe"Spiralize Outer Contour" might be clearer to users if we added "A.K.A. Vase Mode"

This was news to me and useful information. Vase mode I was familiar with previously.

 

just a thought; it’s hard to make examples of confusing names if you doesn’t now that there are two or more names for it, my point is that maybe you more knowledgeable guys could chime in here.
 

I really like @ghostkeeper plugin but how about a crossbreed, hover a setting and get a written explanation together with pictures and some examples. This would probably be really annoying for some so maybe it would be possible to choose different levels of descriptions depending on which ‘level’ you’re on?

 

I like screen dumps a lot, from the slicer explaining exactly how the different values come to play together with some words of why and when you should and shouldn’t use them.

 

 

[mkoic 2]

Any reason there can’t be context appropriate links to the descriptions and images in the Ultimaker Print Settings web pages?  https://support.ultimaker.com/hc/en-us/sections/360003548619-Print-settings

[SandervG 1,521]

On 7/11/2020 at 6:05 AM, mkoic said:

Any reason there can’t be context appropriate links to the descriptions and images in the Ultimaker Print Settings web pages?  https://support.ultimaker.com/hc/en-us/sections/360003548619-Print-settings

 

There is already a plugin that has similar explanation, it's called the settings guide.  I think the question is, before you find the explanation, does the name make sense if you are searching for it? Would any keywords make more sense to include in the description so they are easier to find using the search feature?

[sshaikh 0]

How about a mapping between Cura settings and the "popular alternatives"?

 

When I come across a tutorial or guide that's, for example, written by someone who uses simply3d, it takes a little bit of further research to understand what settings the article is talking about.

 

A searchable table that maps "vase mode" to "spiralize outer contour" would be pretty useful in those circumstances.

[Cuq 206]

Hello,

 

On my point of view a lot of existing parameters which are actualy in the "Experimental" section should be switch to the right section. After 3 or 4 releases, parameters in this section should be validate as regular options or removed if they are not really usefull.

 

This is the case for Tree Support options -> support

- Slicing Tolerance

- Tree Support Branch Angle

-Tree Support Branch distance  etc .

 

Break Up support in shunk parameters -> support

 

Coasting parameters -> Shell

 

Adaptative layers  parameters -> Shell

 

Bridge Settings -> Travel or Shell ?

 

Draft Shield parameters -> Cooling 

 

Infill Travel Optimization -> Travel

 

Small Hole and Feature parameters -> Speed

 

And we could reasonabily ask if it's usefull to keep the spaghetti  Infill options  and  Wire printing ?  does any one using this functions ?

 

[ghostkeeper 105]

Tree support is moved to the support section for the next release.

 

The other experimental settings are there for a reason: We know significant issues with (most of) them. For instance the Adaptive Layers feature messes up all of the Z distances because CuraEngine normally calculates Z distances by counting layers. So the Support Z Distance is too small or too large, skin is too thick or too thin, etc.

 

Those two settings you mention, Spaghetti Infill and Wire Printing, are actually also the two features that I proposed to delete recently, to reduce maintenance burden and confusion of the user. Spaghetti Infill has now been deleted for the 4.7 release upcoming. Wire printing not (yet).

[kayakbabe 12]

Wire printing is interesting to me. With translucent filament it makes interesting objects for things like retail displays of jewelry etc. 

 

I wish there was an edible sugar based filament I could put through my Ultimaker. There would be some

badass dessert decorating in my future with wire printing. 

[mkoic 2]

My biggest issue is that sometimes the flyout descriptions for the various parameters give no indication of WHY one might use them.  It would be nice if more detail was provided to help the user make more informed adjustments.

[ahoeben 2,012]

14 hours ago, mkoic said:

sometimes the flyout descriptions for the various parameters give no indication of WHY one might use them

 

It would be helpful if you could give some examples.

[mkoic 2]

5 hours ago, ahoeben said:

 

It would be helpful if you could give some examples.

Fair enough:

 

- Infill Layer Thickness (When should I consider using this?)

- Retract at Layer Change  (What's recommended?  Why would I want it or not want it?)

- Regular Fan Speed

- Maximum Fan Speed

- Regular/Maximum Fan Speed Threshold  (Why would I want to have different values for Regular and Maximum?  When would I need this?)

- Extensive Z Offset Processing (If it's recommended to leave it off, why does it exist and why/when would I want to consider using it?)

[ahoeben 2,012]

2 hours ago, mkoic said:

- Extensive Z Offset Processing

 

This is provided by the Z Offset plugin (which - coincidentally - I wrote). Keeping this setting "off" is much faster, since it only needs to insert a couple of lines of code. Turning the setting on will need to process the whole gcode file and modify all moves that have a Z value. The option is there because the better, faster way does not work on some specificly broken firmware versions and printers.

[towlerg 0]

I guess it's just me but I don't understand the rational of having the various temperature related settings in the Materials section of the Print settings profile. Am I supposed to modify them on the fly? Surely all temperature data should be in the Materials profile.

 

 

[ViperZ 0]

Many of the function names and descriptions translated into Japanese are wrong. That's why I use the English display, but I'm not very good at English.
For this reason, I often use translation software.
I would like one of the following.
1) Correcting the content of the translation
(2) Ability to copy a detailed description of a function to the clipboard

Best regards.

[ahoeben 2,012]

@ViperZ, it would probably be helpful if you could point out some wrong translations (and why they are wrong).

[ViperZ 0]

That's right. But I think it would be better to separate the correction requests for each translation language into a separate topic. Please consider this.