UltiMaker Cura 5.4 stable released

[MariMakes 199]

Hey @jlspeeddragon,

I can give you an update on these ones: 

• Unable to select and open more then one file. - Should already be resolved for the next release here.
• Lay flat option located in the rotate tab. - This is not new behavior. Can you share why you think it should change? 
• Can sometimes have minor conflicts with the custom cylindrical support extension. - It's hard to troubleshoot this without some more context but could also be related to the plug-in instead of Cura. 
• Does not always arrange larger models correctly. Sometimes it will push one outside of the printing area instead of aligning them correctly int - We are aware of this issue and are tracking it here, Cura seems to have way too much emphasis on an object being in the center of the buildplate rather than making sure that all the objects fit.

[fc2kool 2]

On 8/6/2023 at 10:27 AM, jlspeeddragon said:

Couple of things (bugs) that is wrong or need to be fixed / re-added with Cura 5.4.

• Lay flat option located in the rotate tab. (bug?)
  • It lays the part flat correctly. However it does not leave the part in same place after laying the object flat. It rotates it slightly and will place it randomly anywhere on the print bed graphic.

I also notice this and not sure if its a bug or a code error in the software but doest bother me and not sure if version 5.3 does the same thing.

[fc2kool 2]

On 8/6/2023 at 10:27 AM, jlspeeddragon said:

Couple of things (bugs) that is wrong or need to be fixed / re-added with Cura 5.4.

• Lay flat option located in the rotate tab. (bug?)
  • It lays the part flat correctly. However it does not leave the part in same place after laying the object flat. It rotates it slightly and will place it randomly anywhere on the print bed graphic.

I also notice this and not sure if its a bug or a code error in the software but doest bother me and not sure if version 5.3 does the same thing.

 

Opps sorry didnt mean to to post twice so i just click submit reply again because i wasnt sure if if the reply went through or not so could you please delete this message.

Sorry again.

Edited August 8, 2023 by fc2kool

[Gero 54]

I still think Ultimaker's decision to reverse the default order of walls is counterproductive. 

 

Here I have comparison images of an Ultimaker S5 and a Bambulab X1. Same objects, same filament PET-CF. 
Tested here on the Ultimaker with the new material profiles for PET-CF. 
The problem with the Ultimakers is clearly the order of the walls. 
The PET-CF settings in particular amplify the disadvantage of Bowden extruders: After a retraction, the 100% flow rate of material is not immediately present at the nozzle. 
Combined with the Arachne Engine, in which smaller details such as lettering are printed with individual small mini-extrusions, this inevitably leads to poor results. 

 

Even switching the wall order to the original value seems to work only conditionally well at the moment, as Cura first prints all inner walls and then jumps from outer wall to outer wall one by one. This behavior was also better solved in Cura 4.13 last time. 

 

We now have a divided printer farm, consisting of Ultimakers and BambuLab printers. I can name the following differences in the slicer that significantly improve the print quality on the BambuLab printers, which could also be applied to the Ultimaker printers:

 

- the Arachne Engine can be switched on and off with a simple click. The Arachne Engine is a super improvement in wall generation, but not for all objects. As with most settings, it depends on the geomitry whether they help or make things worse. It is definitely recommended for writing on smooth surfaces in Z direction. For writing on outer walls rather less. 
-The print order is from inside to outside by default. 
-Two contiguous walls are always printed. This is the second most important difference between the two slicers at present. For each outer wall, no matter how many holes the object has, the last inner wall and the outer wall are always printed together. In this way, two wall lines are always printed in one continuous extrusion. Important side feature here is that both wall lines have the same Z-seam, so there is no retraction within these two wall lines. 
In this way, the nozzle achieves full and uniform material flow for each outer wall, and thus no extrusion unevenness is generated. 
BambuLab does this because of the high printing speed possible. Due to the direct extruder, this would not necessarily be necessary at slower speeds. 

But especially the Ultimaker printers have this very necessary. All the previous settings (the combining for example) were used to create as little retraction as possible. Therefore, I don't understand why settings have now been made that have the exact opposite effect here. 

 

We print all sorts of different materials. Currently in the portfolio we have PLA, Tough-PLA, PETG, ABS, Nylon, PC, BVOH, PET-CF, PA6-CF and a few special others. 
It's really only PLA that can be reliably printed with the "new" wall order. With all other materials, the average print quality of our objects has become poorer. 

 

I'm sorry if it seems like I'm blowing off steam here. I can't deny a certain frustration with worse parts and constantly trying to adjust settings. The fact that my one request to Ultimaker support was ignored doesn't really help either...

 

I still think our Ultimaker printers are really very reliable devices that can do a great job. Now if we could just get back to our 4.13 print quality with the features of Cura5.4...

Edited August 17, 2023 by Gero

[LePaul 322]

I've noticed with the newer versions my once perfect z seams are looking worse.

[onsergey 0]

BUG in 5.4!
------
Two extruders. Made draft tower (for two extruders), but had not draft tower and in preview mode you see same picture - absent draft tower. And same project I load in the Cura 4.13.1 - this is all right!

Project for Sovol 02 for two extruders from Cura 5.4  in upload files

DUO_PLA_PVA_cat3d.3mf

[MariMakes 199]

Hey @LePaul,

 

We made some improvements in Cura 5.3 for the Zseam.

Could you check if you get the same result if you change the Seam Corner Preference to None?

Hey @onsergey,

 

Welcome to the UltiMaker Community 🎉
Thanks for your report 👍
It seems like you've uncovered a bug with the Sovol 2 machines. 
I'll bring it up to the team to see what they can do to fix it. 

I do have a workaround for you: 
1. Go to C:\Program Files\UltiMaker Cura 5.4.0\share\cura\resources\definitions (if you are on Windows)

2. Find the SV02.def.json and open it with notepad/notepad++ (but in admin mode)
3. Remove the following line

"prime_tower_min_volume": { "value": "((reveOrValue('layer_height'))/2" }

4. Open Cura again
5. Load and slice your file

[MariMakes 199]

Hey @onsergey,
 

Quick update, it should be resolved for the next release.
A fix was made here.
Thanks again for the report. 
 

[SensataPDS 2]

Hi, i have tried to install this version but i can't get it to run, i get the pictured error after install and the .exe file is not in the directory.

***Fixed, my problem was anti-virus software in my company***

Edited September 12, 2023 by SensataPDS

[keith20mm 0]

Extruder fan control:  I have

M106 S191

 in my job start for this printer.

 

Once the layer 1 begins, Cura sets

;LAYER:1

M106 S85

 

then, later, Cura sets

;LAYER:2
M106 S170

 

and then later, Cura sets

;LAYER:3
M106 S255

 

 

First, where do these M106 Sxxx values come from, and

Secondly, How do I override them with my own desired fan speed settings?

 

TIA

 

[GregValiant 1,271]

In the Cooling settings, if you set the Max Fan Speed to occur at say Layer 10 then Cura will increase the fan speed incrementally by layer until it reaches the set point.

If you change the cooling to 75% fan speed at Layer 1 then you should get what you are aiming for.

 

I've scribbled up this post processor (Advanced Cooling Fan Control) and it's in the works and might make it into 5.4.1.

If you are in the mood to be a lab rat tester then unzip the folder and put "AdvancedCoolingProfile.py" in the Scripts folder within your "Configuration Folder".  In Windows it's:

"C:\Users\...user name...\AppData\Roaming\cura\5.4\scripts".

You can adjust the fan speed "By Layer" and turn it on and off during a print, or "By Feature" through a range of layers.

AddCoolingProfile.zip

 

Edited August 23, 2023 by GregValiant

[fc2kool 2]

There something wrong with the skirt line height cause i saw video on YouTube from "3D Printing Geek" about the 5.4 update and talks about brim removal and the new skirt feature which is skirt height.  I tried this but when i did a preview the skirt height is only affect the closes innermost object and not the outside skirt.

I added a picture of the skirt height with added text in color.

 

My other problem is the brim easy removal. I'm not sure if its intended for a "heated glass surface or all surface" which are intended for small or large thin objects (meaning half inch thickness and longer/higher than 5 inches or more) but i tried to print on a non glass surface which is similar to PEI but the brim is still a pain in the *********************** to remove so i had use a sharp chisel to remove the excess brim. I dont remember if checked the smart brim option.

Edited September 14, 2023 by fc2kool

[mech-thkoeln 1]

UltiMaker Cura 5.4 crashes on Opensuse Leap 15.5

 

I got the package run and resolved libstdc++ dependencies with:

QT_QPA_PLATFORM=xcb LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib64/libstdc++.so.6 ./UltiMaker-Cura-5.4.0-linux.AppImage 

 

Cura comes up and shows the changes window. If i try to load a file it crashes:

 

(UltiMaker-Cura:10473): Gtk-WARNING **: 11:44:10.929: Could not load a pixbuf from icon theme.
This may indicate that pixbuf loaders or the mime database could not be found.
**
Gtk:ERROR:../../../../gtk/gtkiconhelper.c:494:ensure_surface_for_gicon: assertion failed (error == NULL): Failed to load /usr/share/icons/Adwaita/16x16/status/image-missing.png: Format der Bilddatei unbekannt (gdk-pixbuf-error-quark, 3)
Bail out! Gtk:ERROR:../../../../gtk/gtkiconhelper.c:494:ensure_surface_for_gicon: assertion failed (error == NULL): Failed to load /usr/share/icons/Adwaita/16x16/status/image-missing.png: Format der Bilddatei unbekannt (gdk-pixbuf-error-quark, 3)
/tmp/.mount_UltiMa1BHwLu/AppRun: Zeile 25: 10473 Abgebrochen             (Speicherabzug geschrieben) $scriptdir/UltiMaker-Cura "$@"
 

/usr/share/icons/Adwaita/16x16/status/image-missing.png is a generic png and exists. Cura 5.3.1 is running fine...

 

[MariMakes 199]

Hey @fc2kool,

 

Thanks for the report. That's something I hadn't noticed before but can reproduce on our side. 

I'll bring it up to the team to see what they can do to improve it.

 

@mech-thkoeln,

 

So I'm a Windows user but I've been told that you can try to `apt install xdg-desktop-portal-gtk`

You can set the `QT_QPA_PLATFORMTHEME `to one of the following values: 
- gtk2
- gnome
- kde
- qt5ct
- xcb
- xdgdesktopportal (current default).
 

Or start the Cura AppImage with the argument `-platformtheme ` with one of the following:
- gtk2
- gnome
- kde
- qt5ct
- xcb
- xdgdesktopportal (current default).

There could be more, possible values are scattered over the internet; Feel free to complete this list.

 

Can you let us know if that works for you? 

If that's not the case please let us know and we'll be happy to take another look. 

[mech-thkoeln 1]

Quote

So I'm a Windows user but I've been told that you can try to `apt install xdg-desktop-portal-gtk`

You can set the `QT_QPA_PLATFORMTHEME `to one of the following values: 

Thanks for the reply, I tested all combinations above. Only the "xcb" option works for Opensuse Leap 15.5 / Gnome Desktop. All other options end up with: Could not find the Qt platform plugin

 

The error seems independent of the QT_QPA_PLATFORM... option.

If i do not use the QT_QPA_PLATFORM... option cura starts and the issue with crashing by clicking the file button remains.

[keith20mm 0]

GregValiant, I appreciate your reply.  I have looked at the post-process. 

 

I need the fan to come on immediately before the extruder temperature control:

 

;MAXZ:30
;Generated with Cura_SteamEngine 5.4.0
M140 S65
M105
M190 S65
M106 S191      ;  Turn on fan, 75% (of 255), before turning on hot end.
;                 Desire is to prevent heat creep stoppage
M104 S205
M105
M109 S205
M82 ;absolute extrusion mode

 

 

Here, M106 Sxxx is before almost everything else..

 

Once layer 1 commenced, I would prefer M106 S255 (100%) but S191 appears to work fine.

 

As to the post process, does this post process proceed, with no other input, other than having the file present (added), or or is there some additional setting that must be made in the print profile?

 

keith

[GregValiant 1,271]

The post processor controls the Layer Cooling Fan which shouldn't have any effect on heat creep.  The output from the fan should be delivered to the plastic coming out of the nozzle, not at the heat exchanger.

The Hot End fan generally cannot be controlled.  There is a firmware setting that can turn it on and off at a temperature (usually 50°) , but that would be hard coded in the firmware and it isn't adjustable.

You are turning on the Layer Cooling Fan in your startup.  That's fine and it might even help.

What printer are we talking about here?

 

Regarding the Post Processor...

Once you have put the file in the correct "scripts" folder, Cura will notice it.  Like any post processor, you have to enable it in Cura when you want to use it.

In Cura, go to "Extensions / Post Process / Modify Gcode" and then "Add a Script".  Select "Advanced Cooling Fan Control" from the list of post processors.

Once it loads the default is "By Layer" and the box "Remove existing M106 lines" will be checked.  That's how you will want it.

In the top layer setting box put 1/75 which will indicate that at the first layer set the fan to 75% speed.  You could add more fan settings.  For example you could put 10/100 in the next box.  That would crank the fan to full speed at layer 10.

 

 

[keith20mm 0]

GregValiant:  What I find is this:  If I use the gcode as produced, then the hot end fan comes on after the extruder comes to temperature.  I generally get a heat creep clog that blocks the filament from ever moving again, as it has heat-set some distance above the bitter end of the teflon tube.

 

However, if I edit the gcode file and move the MM106 S191 as shown above, I get perfect flow, perfect part, no media starvation, etc.

 

I shall either make my own post process to set as shown above, or alter the Marlin code, which happens to be 2.1.2.1 (new release), and this is all on an Creality Ender-4 h-bot that happens to, otherwise, work perfectly using the new Creality 2.2 board, which replaced the original board.  The original board poofed the y-driver when -> I manually lifted the Z-axis, apparently too quickly <-- 

 

And, of course, Creality no longer supplies anything Ender-4, or even acknowledges the existence of the machine.

 

By the way, I never had this heat problem using the prior board/Marlin (again, Creality would only say "here's the github URL)...   I also have an Ender-5 Plus, which has an additional, from Creality, fan, on the hot end box.

 

I can also (via menu), set bed, hot end temps, and fan speed, and end up with a fine part, using the output direct from Cura.

[GregValiant 1,271]

You might want to take another look at the main board and make sure the fans are plugged in to the correct sockets.  It can't hurt to double check.  The hot end fan should either run constantly (likely) or come on at 50°.

[keith20mm 0]

GregValiant,

 

That is a very good idea, and there are two board headers available.  I think I shall try that.  I was under the impression that that particular fan should always be under program control, maybe not so.  The original Ender-4 pdf shows FAN2 as the nozzle 4010 fan, and is the only fan on the head.  Creality never provided the original code (versions, various features), nor configuration files, only way to know is to dis-assemble the .hex files.. not worth that kind of effort.

 

keith

[Geckoas 1]

Deleted

 

 

Edited August 27, 2023 by Geckoas
Posted as own topic

[Gero 54]

I'll take the liberty of stating that there are more than one or two changes that currently prevent us from using cura 5.4 for our printer farm and service. 

[Dadkitess 19]

Can we expect a patch / minor update soon to benefit from 5.4 without all the bugs stated ?

 

5.3 is not really stable either and I can't really ask for admin rights again and again to test various versions, I'd like to wait for a 5.4.1 or 5.5 if something is planned already ?

 

 

[MariMakes 199]

Hey @Gero and @Dadkitess,

 

I don't influence the release schedule, but most of the reported issues in this list have a fix lined up for the upcoming 5.5 or have a workaround.

Can you let me know what is blocking you? Perhaps I can help you out. 🤷‍♀️

[Gero 54]

3 hours ago, MariMakes said:

Hey @Gero and @Dadkitess,

 

I don't influence the release schedule, but most of the reported issues in this list have a fix lined up for the upcoming 5.5 or have a workaround.

Can you let me know what is blocking you? Perhaps I can help you out. 🤷‍♀️

 

Hi MariMakes, I tried to write a detailed post above about our current problems with Cura 5.4.
We have been experimenting with cura 5.4 for some time, with cura versions from 5.0 onwards in general and just feel like we have to trick around more and more "hurdles". 

In fact, I still have to mention the wall order thing as the biggest shortcoming at the moment. 
I have now spoken directly with several dealers and another manufacturer and all said the normal order is of course the "inside to outside". 

In fact, I've been using cura 4.13 more and more again lately for our orders on the Ultimakers. 

Do you know if there is any change/optimization planned for the next Cura version?