Ultimaker Cura 5.2 Released in Beta

[Gero 54]

@GregValiant awesome catch! 

how do you find out about something like that?
Unfortunately, I have another challenge...

 

the gaps in the support interface still occur on the first level after the mounting groove as well as on the incline around the screw hole 😅

[GregValiant 1,287]

Because "where" a slice goes through a model is dependent on Initial and Layer Height then changing the numbers changes where the slice is in the Z.  Moving the slice up or down slightly can often make a difference.  Those numbers also have an effect on where the top of a model actually ends up.  

 

In the case of your model, it has a couple of Roofs that aren't an easily divisible distance apart.  You can tune one, then the other is wrong.  But there are ways to fool Cura.  Sometimes they aren't obvious.

Make these changes and take a look.

.28 Initial Layer Height.

.151 Layer Height.

Enable Adaptive Layers.

 

A couple of things to consider:

Turn off Bridge Settings.  The overhangs of this particular model are cantilevered and Bridging won't work anyway.

Change the Support Overhang Angle to 55°.  The chamfers are 45° and don't need support and at 55° you will knock about 20 minutes off the print time.  (The max overhang angle is a function of line width and layer height.  Generally, up to about a 63° overhang doesn't require support but quality can be better if you keep the Cura setting below 60°.)

 

I would consider this a bug, but it's inherent in the way Cura currently works in regards to Layer Height.  I don't see a fix getting much traction with the UM Cura team in the near future as it would seem to require a change in what is a very base feature of the way Cura works.

[Gero 54]

Thank you for all the helpful advice. I appreciate it very much. 

 

Playing around with the adaptive layer heights does provide "fixed" support interface layers in some cases, but unfortunately not in all places. 
It kind of feels like I have to work around a bug in cura all the time, which just feels frustrating after several tries. 

I have looked at previous cura versions and found that this bug originated with cura 15.1 and the new support structures. 
Along with the change in the order in which the outer layers are printed, I am constantly having to adjust settings on otherwise very suitable profiles for my S5 Pro bundles. 

 

Interestingly, this order has been reversed for the metal filaments from BASF, which are now being heavily polished...

 

Long story short, I think I will go back to cura 4.13.1 for the time being. The Cura 5 versions just don't feel smooth yet.

[Badgersurfer 2]

Can you tell me what Drop Down Model does please. I assumed it should drop the selected model to the build plate but when I tick it nothing seems to change. I cannot seem to find out anything in the help files either, is there a setting to turn on hints? I already have automatically drop models to build plate turned on, this particular one is one of my stock support models which I import and convert to a support mesh in per model. One other thing I noticed I don't know if you are aware is than when you import a mode and press CTRL-Z twice it moves it to 0,0,0 which is quite useful. The icing on the cake would be a tick box called "Zero Model" which would allow you to select a model and then zero it to the main component. Currently I click on the main component and note the zero coords i.e. 25,25,0 I then go to my support mesh(es) and click on move and enter the same coords. I may have up to 20 custom support meshes on a wide span so having to do this with each one is quite time consuming. It would be great advantage to have a method of selecting a model you want to move and then selecting a model on the layer list and it automatically zeros itself to that model. So in practice I could select 20 models and click the one on the layer list I want to zero i.e. 25,25,0 to and they all move to zero on that location... 

Just to point out my methodogy I create my supports fusion360 with 2mm base and taper the height so I only get 1mm contact on the bridge. This makes it extremely easy to remove, nice clean surface, very little material and considerably less time to print. 

Edited October 8, 2022 by Badgersurfer

[ahoeben 1,955]

@Badgersurfer this is just a hunch, but does the "Drop down model" option behave the same way if you (temporarily) change the model so that it is not printed as support?

[Badgersurfer 2]

40 minutes ago, ahoeben said:

@Badgersurfer this is just a hunch, but does the "Drop down model" option behave the same way if you (temporarily) change the model so that it is not printed as support?

That's interesting. I created another file and imported two components and did the same without converting it to a support mesh and it worked perfectly dropping it to the build plate. I then converted one to a support mesh and it also dropped to the build plate. Any combination seemed to work ok. I have now realised that the problem is with the Custom support plug in. If you add a custom support "F" to the build plate and then go to the 'Move' function and move +/- Z then click the Drop Model it does nothing. So to conclude it is fine with imported and converted mesh supports but not ones created with the custom support plugin. I will keep my eyes peeled for any other anomolies. One other point with the Custom Support plugin is that I cannot see how you can alter the internal dia of the tube support only the extetrnal which sort of defeats the object. (unless I have missed something of course)

[ahoeben 1,955]

Custom Supports (and, coincidentally, Support Blockers) are "parented" to the object you add them to. That way they normally transform along with the parent object when it is moved/scaled/rotated. Dropping down is not supported for models that have a parent.

[rseigel 0]

Does this new version allow Travel Speed above 120mm/s?

That's why I'm still on 4.13.1

[GregValiant 1,287]

The max speed is determined by your printer definition file.  Those are submitted by a member of the community, or by the printer manufacturer, to UltiMaker for inclusion in Cura.  I have no idea what printer you have or what the max might be.

 

It's possible that even if you could enter 500mm/sec as a print speed that it would get to the printer and the printer would enforce it's speed limit as contained in M203.

 

In the MarketPlace is a plugin called Printer Settings.  Load it and restart Cura.  Look through the settings and you will find the Max feedrate for each axis.  You can change them but they only effect the "allowed numbers" in the speed boxes.  The printer still won't care and will impose it's own limit unless you adjust M203.

[MariMakes 199]

Hey @rseigel,

 

I'm just super curious. 🔎🤔
Why do you want your travelspeed to be this high?
What kind of printjobs are you printing on what kind of printer? 

[F14Claude 0]

I use Cura to drive my Tronxy 5SA Pro via Usb (Sd card never worked on my printer).
I must say it has been working very well under Windows and Linux since version 4 ans I am very happy with it.
I found no particuliar problem with 5.2 Beta.
Some things could be changed:
    - end of job is never accounted by Cura and I must allways abort printing to finish it
    - printing time is under estimated sometimes greatly
    - it would be convenient to get estimated length of filament remaining to print as estimated time left
    - an effort should be made to clearly show problematic parts in non-watertight models
    - adding a tool like www.formware.co/OnlineStlRepair would be a considerable plus.
Thanks for your great product.
    
   

[MariMakes 199]

Hey @F14Claude,

 

Happy to hear that you don't have a problem with the 5.2 Beta. 

 

2 hours ago, F14Claude said:

    - end of job is never accounted by Cura and I must allways abort printing to finish it
    - printing time is under estimated sometimes greatly
    - it would be convenient to get estimated length of filament remaining to print as estimated time left

These are problems I do not encounter as an Ultimaker user. This makes me assume that it might be related to your printer's firmware, or the printer definition that you are using that has been contributed by a community member.  Since Cura is open source, you or anyone else is more than welcome to work on this issue and create a pull request yourself.

 

2 hours ago, F14Claude said:

   - an effort should be made to clearly show problematic parts in non-watertight models
    - adding a tool like www.formware.co/OnlineStlRepair would be a considerable plus.

We have a lovely plug-in for this provided by the community. 😃

The Meshtools Plugin. You can get it here: https://marketplace.ultimaker.com/app/cura/plugins/fieldofview/MeshTools
 

 

[ShopGeezer 2]

Like F14Claude my SD card does not work and I have printed via USB from Cura for Years. However as I get larger prints and print times go up my Cura 4.10 started crashing more, leaving 12 hour prints hanging after 11.5 hrs. This got so frustrating that I quit using the printer. I was disappointed to read in this forum that Ultimaker was not supporting USB printing because of persistent bugs. Is this still the case?  I am looking a Octoprint and other local servers but I just wish I could print dependably from Cura as I always have. Is there any improvement in the current versions of Cura? I am downloading version 5.1 to try again. Is there still no support for USB printing in Cura?

[GregValiant 1,287]

UltiMaker does most of the maintenance of Cura with a paid staff.  Since their printers don't use USB printing it would be a waste of resources for them to have their employees fix USB printing so I can use it on my Creality printer.  There's just no upside for UltiMaker in working on "USB printing".

 

Since Cura is open source anyone can work on it.  I've done a fair amount of work with serial communication over the years and even if I knew the python language enough to do it...I wouldn't take it on.  Foremost among a lot of reasons is all the different hardware combinations out there on both the printer and computer ends.  It would be like a black hole just sucking up time and effort.  From what I've read, very little has been done with the Cura USB printing plugin in the last 5 years.

The folks who use Octoprint and a Rasp PI seem real happy with the setup.  I'm an SD card guy myself but if I was going to go a different direction, Octoprint would be it.

 

The USB printing plugin is installed and active by default in all Cura versions through 5.2beta.  If it works, it works.  If it doesn't then there are other options using Octoprint or maybe investing in a Wifi setup.

 

 

 

 

[ShopGeezer 2]

It seems strange to me to offer a feature in your software package and then not support it. Perhaps this is the quirky world of open source software. I have looked at the Creality Wi-Fi box but it does everything via the cloud. There is a help file that shows how to upload a G-code file from Cura to the Creality Cloud using the Creality Cloud plugin but that involves a lot of uploading and downloading and doesn't seem be listed in Cura 5.1.  It is there in my older Cura 4.13.1.  Which leaves Octoprint as the only viable alternative. With Raspberry pi prices through the roof, even it you can get one, and all the hassles I have read about on forums in trying to get Octoprint to work I am not keen on going that route. Guess it is time to make the old Creality a door stop and buy a resin printer. 

[GregValiant 1,287]

Or get a new mainboard that has an SD card slot that works.

I control my printer over the USB and I can ask the printer to list the files currently on the SD and then pick the one I want to print on my laptop and send M23 and M24 and the file will print from the SD.

My point is that there are options besides putting it out on the front porch and hoping that some dummy will steal it.

[F14Claude 0]

I have no real problem using Cura with Usb. I have been printing some pieces for more than 38 hours without any crash.

The only problem comes from the fact that usb transmission has no autocorrection.

From my experience it works better with Ubuntu than with Windows (updates locked).

Having already a 32bit printer card I cant see any interest in buying a Raspberry PI.

 

[MariMakes 199]

We just released Cura 5.2 as our next Stable version. 
Thanks for all the feedback! 💙

 

You can download the stable release (with fixes for the Monotonic, and some support issues) here:
https://github.com/Ultimaker/Cura/releases/tag/5.2.0

[Badgersurfer 2]

On 10/12/2022 at 4:35 PM, GregValiant said:

UltiMaker does most of the maintenance of Cura with a paid staff.  Since their printers don't use USB printing it would be a waste of resources for them to have their employees fix USB printing so I can use it on my Creality printer.  There's just no upside for UltiMaker in working on "USB printing".

 

Since Cura is open source anyone can work on it.  I've done a fair amount of work with serial communication over the years and even if I knew the python language enough to do it...I wouldn't take it on.  Foremost among a lot of reasons is all the different hardware combinations out there on both the printer and computer ends.  It would be like a black hole just sucking up time and effort.  From what I've read, very little has been done with the Cura USB printing plugin in the last 5 years.

The folks who use Octoprint and a Rasp PI seem real happy with the setup.  I'm an SD card guy myself but if I was going to go a different direction, Octoprint would be it.

 

The USB printing plugin is installed and active by default in all Cura versions through 5.2beta.  If it works, it works.  If it doesn't then there are other options using Octoprint or maybe investing in a Wifi setup.

 

 

 

 

Makes a lot of sense what you say. I have a Creality Ender S1 Pro and just added the new Creality Sonic Pad and I have to say it is awesome. Initially when I upgraded to Cura 5.1Beta Moonraker didn't work with 'ufp' files but when I installed the 5.2 release version I noticed it also updated the Moonraker plugin and now everything works fine. I have it connected to ethernet and it has transformed the ease of use. No more SD cards I can even print remotely.  

[Badgersurfer 2]

On 10/12/2022 at 5:13 PM, ShopGeezer said:

It seems strange to me to offer a feature in your software package and then not support it. Perhaps this is the quirky world of open source software. I have looked at the Creality Wi-Fi box but it does everything via the cloud. There is a help file that shows how to upload a G-code file from Cura to the Creality Cloud using the Creality Cloud plugin but that involves a lot of uploading and downloading and doesn't seem be listed in Cura 5.1.  It is there in my older Cura 4.13.1.  Which leaves Octoprint as the only viable alternative. With Raspberry pi prices through the roof, even it you can get one, and all the hassles I have read about on forums in trying to get Octoprint to work I am not keen on going that route. Guess it is time to make the old Creality a door stop and buy a resin printer. 

Get yourself a Creality Sonic Pad, you definately won't look back... awesome piece of kit...

[Badgersurfer 2]

On 10/18/2022 at 3:43 PM, MariMakes said:

We just released Cura 5.2 as our next Stable version. 
Thanks for all the feedback! 💙

 

You can download the stable release (with fixes for the Monotonic, and some support issues) here:
https://github.com/Ultimaker/Cura/releases/tag/5.2.0

Yep it fixed the problem 5.1 Beta had not being able to upload 'ufp' files to the Creality Sonic Pad. Now it is perfect. Well done... 

[iceman2511 0]

Can we get more customizability for each custom filament?, since different filaments have a lot of variables, like flow rate, coasting volume and more.

Edited October 29, 2022 by iceman2511

[ahoeben 1,955]

On 10/29/2022 at 11:22 PM, iceman2511 said:

Can we get more customizability for each custom filament?

You mean in the Materials pane of the preferences? See the Material Settings plugin in the Marketplace. It will let you configure what settings are visible in the preferences.