Jump to content

Release Arachne engine beta


fvrmr

Recommended Posts

Posted · Release Arachne engine beta

Hi everyone,

 

We are very happy to announce our Arachne engine beta release. This release is more stable than the alpha that was released in December.

If you are new to Arachne please read this post about our alpha release.

 

So what is new in Arachne engine beta?

 

Line width color scheme:
A new color scheme has been added that shows the line width of individual lines in layer view.

2091035880_image(5).thumb.png.fb3dd1de29ba288a7c59d97eee4c9eb3.png

Model credit: By asimomagic is licensed under the Creative Commons - Attribution license

 

Static Outer Wall:
The outer wall will no longer adjust its width or position if there are any inner walls adjacent to it with the (inward) distributed line width strategy. This reduces ringing effects in thin shapes.

 

Which settings needs testing?

The improved Ultimaker Cura engine gives you new settings that will optimize printing thinner walls, including: 

  • Variable Line Strategy (3 options: Center Deviation,  Distributed, Inward distributed) 
  • Minimum variable line width
  • Wall transition length 
  • Wall transition angle 
  • Wall transition distance filter 

 

If you decide to tune these settings and doing so results in better print quality, please share your findings with us. Doing so will help us set default values for both Ultimaker and third-party printers. 

 

For all the bug fixes and known issues please read the release notes.

 

How to start testing:

1.       Download Cura Arachne engine beta.

2.       Run some test prints that you’re familiar with.

3.       Consider trying a print with thin walls to test the difference.

4.       Share any feedback or bugs via Github

 

Before you are sending feedback:

  • Please read the release notes (link). There you can find our known issues, this will prevent extra work on your end and ours.
  • Keep in mind that the profiles have hardly been tuned, even for Ultimaker’s own printers. Don’t expect perfection. In fact, the default settings as they are now likely result in a worse print quality that the stable release.

 

Note: This is not based on a specific stable version of the front-end of Cura (like '4.8.0' or similar), so there may be issues that have been solved or introduced since then that have little or nothing to do with the variable line width feature-set!

 

Now you have the chance to peek into Ultimaker Cura’s future, test these settings, and see how they work for you! 

 

Looking forward to see your prints 🙂 

  • Like 6
  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Posted · Release Arachne engine beta

Oh joy.  Another learning curve.

 

Torgeir, with so much work having been done under the hood, don't you think congratulations should wait until after the test drive?  I know there was a lot of effort put into Arachne, but will that translate into performance?  Will it be like putting a high lift cam and headers on?  Tuning the fuel injection?  Re-mapping the ignition curve?  Or will it be more like adjusting the seat.

Only time will tell sir... only time will tell.

 

 

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Release Arachne engine beta

    Hi Greg,

     

    Well, to be sure I've been playing a lot with "Alpha" and seeing all the changes done to "Beta" -just tell me a story..

    Ofc., it is still an experimental slicer, but with a "huge" potential.

     

    Torgeir

     

     

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Release Arachne engine beta
    On 3/12/2021 at 3:20 PM, GregValiant said:

    Oh joy.  Another learning curve.

     

    Torgeir, with so much work having been done under the hood, don't you think congratulations should wait until after the test drive?  I know there was a lot of effort put into Arachne, but will that translate into performance?  Will it be like putting a high lift cam and headers on?  Tuning the fuel injection?  Re-mapping the ignition curve?  Or will it be more like adjusting the seat.

    Only time will tell sir... only time will tell.

     

    More like a "Make sure the engine doesn't explore in the many ways that people have been able to let it explode"

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Release Arachne engine beta

    I'm constantly dazzled by the Cura Team's (and FieldOfView, SmartAvionics, et al) ability to keep Cura on the cutting edge while juggling the needs of:  multiple operating systems, computer platforms, gcode flavors, and printers.  As with any extremely complicated system, people (who ALL run operatorware "dumb1") will do something totally unforeseen that will cause it to break.  With the installed base of users/debuggers out here, the number of what I would call "valid" bug reports is amazingly low.

     

    I decided to make a color change to the dust/rain covers on my cafe bike.  Using Arachne and Arc Welder they came out superb.  They were very good before (using 4.6 I think), but between the new software capabilities and my own advancing slicing skills, they came out looking "store bought".

    While doing the above, I think I found a minor bug (duly reported on Github).  There is some satisfaction in making a microscopic contribution to the massive effort.

     

    The bug had nothing to do with wanting to run Cura on my Cray super-computer running Windows 3.0 with 5 monitors and my home built dual-extruder printer (one is a 2-in-1-out and the other a 3-in-1-out) that has firmware developed by NASA and is connected via parallel port.  Should I re-level the bed?  Should I wait for the wife to get up before I do that?

    • Like 1
    Link to post
    Share on other sites

    • 2 weeks later...
    Posted · Release Arachne engine beta

    Hello ,
     No I don't know if it has already been proposed or it is possible to implement such a function but I ask:

    Is it possible to make the print bed begin to cool slowly by itself after the print has reached a predetermined percentage of work so that at the end of the job it is easier to detach the piece from the print bed?

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Release Arachne engine beta

    You can use the post-processing plugin "Change At Z".  That plugin does have some issues (the "By Height" option does not work well with adaptive layers or Z hops - they confuse it) but the "By Layer" option will work fine.

    The second issue is that "Change Bed Temp" does not work with "Target Layer Only".  That shouldn't be a problem with what you're trying to do.

    So under "Extensions" select Post-Processing and Modify G-code.  In the dialog that comes up select "Add a Script" and pick "Change At Z" from the list.

    Within the Change at Z options select "By Layer" and then "Target Layer + Subsequent Layers" and then enter the bed temperature you want to finish the print at.

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1
    Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Release Arachne engine beta

    I noticed that the "spiral mode" function does not work as it should ... In the print preview I see 2 perimeters ... Am I wrong something or a bug?

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Release Arachne engine beta
    8 hours ago, tamerlanOne said:

    I noticed that the "spiral mode" function does not work as it should

    This is listed among the "known issues" here:

    https://github.com/Ultimaker/Cura/releases/tag/Arachne_engine_beta

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Release Arachne engine beta

    'Pause at height' does indeed work in Arachne. I just tested it out a day or two ago on a long print.

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Release Arachne engine beta

    Hello,

    Very interesting projet, is it still alive ?

    Cann we install it in parallel with the stable version ?

    Do they share profiles or should they be imported into this beta version?

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Release Arachne engine beta

    Yes it is still alive and yes you can install it in parallel.

     

    Not 100% sure about the profiles, but normally when you install a different version, all your settings will be copied to the new configuration folder.

    • Like 2
    Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Release Arachne engine beta

    One more point, I print since the "release" of the alpha version with it, and I have absolutely no problems. And I really like the new engine, it is so much better with curves and such things, that I never looked back to the normal version.

    • Like 2
    Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Release Arachne engine beta
    25 minutes ago, Smithy said:

    One more point, I print since the "release" of the alpha version with it, and I have absolutely no problems. And I really like the new engine, it is so much better with curves and such things, that I never looked back to the normal version.

    First print on the way 😀

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Release Arachne engine beta

    Very interresting, exactly what I was waiting for !

     

    1078038968_Capturedecran2564-06-29a16_08_54.thumb.png.70bd57dc5a04238cf7e802f86e48dbdb.png

    1458267517_Capturedecran2564-06-29a16_08_17.thumb.png.07b96856a40b76e1ed5dbe4b83e274cf.png

    • Like 3
    Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Release Arachne engine beta

    Me too, it was really annoying in the past. I hope we will see the new engine soon in an official Cura release.

    • Like 1
    Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Release Arachne engine beta

    This project is very much alive! We've not been spending 100% of our time on it (since we also had to work on the CAD file importing, which took a fair chunk of our time). We are currently picking up some work for Arachne again.

    As it stands, we will have at least one aditional pre-release of Arachne before the full release. I expect that there might be a few more prereleases, as the changes are pretty big, so we really need to get things right!

    • Like 4
    Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Release Arachne engine beta
    21 hours ago, nallath said:

    This project is very much alive! We've not been spending 100% of our time on it (since we also had to work on the CAD file importing, which took a fair chunk of our time). We are currently picking up some work for Arachne again.

    As it stands, we will have at least one aditional pre-release of Arachne before the full release. I expect that there might be a few more prereleases, as the changes are pretty big, so we really need to get things right!

    Thank you for this, a very great improvement for Cura. 

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Release Arachne engine beta

    Arachne engine is working really well, I have just saw one times a bug with gradual infill, that all.
     

    But I think not linked to Arachne engine I have some annoying general behavior bugs.

    - After a while I can not select an object  by clicking on it anymore, but it's working by the object list, the problem is you can not move or rotate object anymore (in fact mouse is not working anymore on the build plate area). Need to restart Cura.
    - Multiply model doesn't work at all (do nothing).

    - After installing archanee beta, Cura 4.10 doesn't start anymore.

     

    A nice day 

    ps: mac Bigsur with arcane_engine_beta

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Release Arachne engine beta

    is there a discord channel for arachne ?

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Release Arachne engine beta
    2 hours ago, iPa said:

    is there a discord channel for arachne ?

     

    Not that I know off.

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Release Arachne engine beta
    On 7/10/2021 at 10:31 AM, iPa said:

    - After a while I can not select an object  by clicking on it anymore, but it's working by the object list, the problem is you can not move or rotate object anymore (in fact mouse is not working anymore on the build plate area). Need to restart Cura.
    ps: mac Bigsur with arcane_engine_beta

    I have found about this issue:

     

    issue #8745 closed

    "the issue is resolved by the upgrade of Qt to 5.15"

    Hope this upgrade for the next beta released 😀 thank you

     

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Release Arachne engine beta
    On 7/1/2021 at 9:25 AM, nallath said:

    As it stands, we will have at least one aditional pre-release of Arachne before the full release.

     

    Hi,

     

    can you elaborate on the expected timeframe for the full release?

    To me, this new engine has been the single most substantial development of the last years for Cura, as it eliminates hours of fumbling with line width settings each week (when you run a 3D printing service, you have no influence on the parts being printed). I can work with the beta - it works very well already - but it would be more convenient to have a full release as a package approved by our IT, instead of working with non-network computers...

     

    thanks,

    Niklas

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Create an account or sign in to comment

    You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

    Create an account

    Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

    Register a new account

    Sign in

    Already have an account? Sign in here.

    Sign In Now
    • Our picks

      • Introducing Universal Cura Projects in the UltiMaker Cura 5.7 beta
        Strap in for the first Cura release of 2024! This 5.7 beta release brings new material profiles as well as cloud printing for Method series printers, and introduces a powerful new way of sharing print settings using printer-agnostic project files! Also, if you want to download the cute dinosaur card holder featured below, it was specially designed for this release and can be found on Thingiverse! 
        • 0 replies
      • S-Line Firmware 8.3.0 was released Nov. 20th on the "Latest" firmware branch.
        (Sorry, was out of office when this released)

        This update is for...
        All UltiMaker S series  
        New features
         
        Temperature status. During print preparation, the temperatures of the print cores and build plate will be shown on the display. This gives a better indication of the progress and remaining wait time. Save log files in paused state. It is now possible to save the printer's log files to USB if the currently active print job is paused. Previously, the Dump logs to USB option was only enabled if the printer was in idle state. Confirm print removal via Digital Factory. If the printer is connected to the Digital Factory, it is now possible to confirm the removal of a previous print job via the Digital Factory interface. This is useful in situations where the build plate is clear, but the operator forgot to select Confirm removal on the printer’s display. Visit this page for more information about this feature.
          • Like
        • 0 replies
    ×
    ×
    • Create New...