Ultimaker/Cura Not Downloading Previously Added Ultrafuse 316L

[kevinkar 2]

Using an S3 purchased in 2021, I previously was able to add Ultrafuse 316L from the Marketplace via Cura and run it successfully.  Recently I had to have my PC reloaded due to a virus and I loaded up the latest version of Cura (couple weeks ago it was 5.2.1) and attempted to reconfigure it with everything I had before including Ultrafuse 316L.  I selected 316L and added it to Cura but, when starting up Cura and having it automatically sync with my account, I was presented with a dialog that said:

 

 

So I tried removing it, adding it again, reinstalling Cura, installing Cura on a completely different PC etc. but it seems the Marketplace does not want to add this material to the latest version of Cura due to "an incompatible Cura version" which I don't understand.  It worked since 2022.  No, I did not try Cura 5.4 yet since it's not approved for use here at work yet.  I don't see why it wouldn't work with the latest version and I admit to not trying an earlier version yet.

 

Sadly I did not backup any Cura data and, even if I did, it was lost during the computer reload (our workplace security did not let me back up anything due to the malware that was on the computer) so I can't simply restore anything.  Can't see how to manually add it to Cura either since it seems to want to do so via the Marketplace.

 

Does anyone know what's going on here and how I can add this previously used/successful material back to Cura?

 

Thanks!

[gr5 2,181]

@Dustin might know.

 

Oh wait.  So I believe marketplace items (pugins, extensions, materials) all have a version number range built into them saying which version of cura they are compatible with.  When a new version of cura comes out I believe that usually all you have to do is the owner (ultrafuse I guess?) would have to update the version.  Although rarely/occasionally there really is an incompatibility.

 

So I think someone from Ultrafuse needs to update it.

 

Is there a way to force install it even though it says incompatible?  I suspect the only correct answers are: 

A) contact ultrafuse and urge them to update, or

B) downgrade cura.  Try the latest Cura 4.X maybe.  Or whatever version you were using before.

[Dustin 136]

Works fine in 5.4...... 🤷‍♂️

[kevinkar 2]

GR5,

 

That was the thought I had - the Ultrafuse page on 316L says "Package Version 5.2.0"  which I suspected was the Cura version but it's ambiguous how it's worded and I didn't really think it was being THAT specific.

 

Here at work we appear to have several 3x and 4x available though I thought Ultrafuse had to be used with 5 and above.  So maybe 5.2.1 is not 5.2.0 and that's the issue.  But, if Dustin has it working in 5.4....!

 

Since it's not yet on our software archive here at work, I'll have to try 5.4 at home later tonight on a spare computer (I don't print at home.)   Sadly, work does not have earlier versions of 5.x either so I'll have to try those at home as well.

 

I'll report back later on this weekend if any of it works.

 

Thanks

[kevinkar 2]

FYI - Just installed 4.13.1. the latest version in our allowable software archive and I received the same pop up note of an incompatible Cura version.  So 4.x is out.

[gr5 2,181]

Oh.  Ultrafuse.  right.  There are expansion features in a recent version of cura which isn't in cura 4.X.  You can just manually scale x,y,z the right amounts using the scale tool in cura but it might be easier to use the right version of cura.  I suspect it's called "ultrafuse 5.2" because before cura 5.2 the feature is either missing or has some simple but serious bugs in how it did expansion in earlier versions.

 

When I say "expansion" I mean that you have to scale up X and Y dimensions because the part will shrink in X and Y (but not Z and a different amount in Z) when it gets sintered.

[gr5 2,181]

I'm going to link in an ultrafuse expert: @SteveCox3D

 

Steve are there some easy tricks to print ultrafuse in cura 4.13?  Choose some generic material and set certain settings and scale the part?

[SteveCox3D 85]

I'm not an expert in the software side, so I can't really shed any light of the incompatibility of the material with Cura 5.2.1. As far as I know this hasn't been highlighted as an issue previously.

 

Whilst I can suggest ways of manually setting up the material profile to work in 4.13.1 it would be much better to get the root cause of the problem sorted.  This is because BASF have spent a lot of development time getting the 316L and 17-4PH profiles right, and I don't know what all of the tweaks are that they have applied to the printing profile.

 

Also with Cura 5.X certain features were added which were targeted at improving mFFF printing that can't be replicated in 4.13. One of these was "Alternate Walls" which constantly alternates the printing direction layer by layer to even out the internal stresses in the part.

 

The standard expansion settings for the part are X/Y 119% and Z 125% and other printing settings to set things up manually are included in the BASF Ultrafuse 316L guidelines :

https://forward-am.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/UserGuidelines_2021_03_29.pdf

[kevinkar 2]

Sorry for the late reply but I was busy at work and finally got around to dealing with this at home.

 

I loaded Cura 5.4.0 at home, synchronized with the marketplace and it did take 316L right away.  However, when I restarted Cura it did not open and crashed.  I tried several times with the same result.  Reinstalled it with the same results.  I am running Windows 10 Pro.  So I gave up and uninstalled.  The good news is that it accepted 316L without complaining.

 

At work, I bit the bullet and downloaded 5.4.0 based on the fact the versions in our software library were the same as those on Ultimaker's site so it looks like our IT people are simply approving it and downloading from Ultimaker.  Given they'll likely upgrade at some point, I went ahead and gave it a try.

 

Good news is that it synced materials on the first try as it did at home.  Bad news is that it ALSO crashes on restart with what appears to be the same thing I got at home (data from the crash dialog box attached)

 

So, still at square one with 5.2.but a step back now that 5.4 crashes!

 

Note that at work there are additional corporate bits that could interfere which I'm not able to change but I do have administrator privileges.  At home my computer is a bit more "mine" and I also have admin.  So I doubt it's a permissions issue but maybe the log data will point out something I'm not seeing.

 

Thanks for the help so far.....

CuraError.zip

[SteveCox3D 85]

@kevinkar I would personally steer clear of using Cura 5.4 as there seems to be quite some issues with it.  I'm still running Cura 5.3.0 and it's delivering good metal prints

Edited August 15, 2023 by SteveCox3D

[kevinkar 2]

I guess I'll give 5.3 a try then!

[kevinkar 2]

OK, I loaded 5.3 and it also appears to have inducted 316L without complaint.  I also have been able to successfully shut down and restart Cura without it crashing.  I loaded a model, sliced/saved/quit/restarted and it appears to be functional once more.  Maybe I was simply lucky when I originally tried it and happened to load 5.3 (no way to tell now my PC was reloaded) and this would have happened with any other 5.x version.

 

I don't know if this is a legitimate fix - install multiple versions of Cura and see which one works if any.  That's more or less a trial and error "fix" so I don't think that's the real solution here.  There's clearly a problem (actually two) I can't see or figure out why they occur - inability to add a previously added material due to an "incompatible version of Cura" and a "crash when restarting after successfully adding that material!  So I don't think I can set any specific answer as a solution just yet.

 

Given this happens on several work computers as well as my home PC, I'm going with there being something wonky in Cura and in multiple versions of it.

 

I'll continue using 5.3 at work and see later if any later versions get fixed.

 

Thanks,

 

Kevin