Sending Print Settings to UM3

[pdihawk 0]

I am under the impression that when you make settings in Cura, those settings go along with the .3mf file that I send to the printer.  However it seems like none of the print settings change on the printer.  For instance, the build plate temp is always set to 85C and the Cooling fan on the print head is always at 0% until I tun these settings.

 

Should the slicing process in Cura send build settings?

If it should, what could I be missing?

Edited August 10, 2021 by pdihawk

[gr5 2,224]

This is a complicated subject!

 

The .3mf file does not get sent to the printer.  You should be sending ufp or gcode file.  (ufp can be renamed to zip and if you look inside there is a gcode file in there).  A 3mf file can either just hold a model or if you saved it from within cura using "file" "save project" then it indeeds hold all your settings (and you STL file and your machine config and your profile chosen and much more but it doesn't store the results of the slicing - just everything you set up the moment before you slice).

 

The gcode file is meant to be computer and also human readable so you can read it with any text editor.

 

Among the gcodes is one that sets the build plate temp and one (actually typically 6 to 10) that sets the fan speed.

 

After you slice and save the sliced file, open it up and search for M140 and M190 - either of those will set the bed temp.

 

Also search for M106 which sets your fan speed but the value isn't in percent - it's a number from 0 to 255 so:

M106 255 is 100% fan and M106 S0 is 0% speed.

 

HOWEVER, your confusion is probably from the cura settings.  Cura has over 500 settings and it has 10 or so for the fan speeds.  You have to look at all of them to fully understand.  By default Cura does 0% fan on the bottom most layer and then increases that up to your goal fan speed (not sure what it's called in Cura) linearly over several layers (typically 5).

 

So most likely you have a M106 S0 at the start of your first layer (by the way there are lots of comments in the gcode including comments that mention the layer number - you should really try reading some gcode some time).  If you manually set the fan to say 5%, when it starts the second layer there is likely another gcode to set the fan to some other value, say M106 S25  (10% fan).  That will OVERRIDE what you set.  The printer just does what you tell it.  If the gcode tells it one thing then you tell it something else the printer just follows the most recent instruction.

 

Similarly with the heated bed - there may be several cura settings.

 

 

[pdihawk 0]

That makes sense now.  I assumed that the 5% fan setting would be all the time and not ramping.

 

I'll have to see about the build plate temp too.

 

I will definitely be checking out the g-code.

 

Thank you for all of that information!