Scarf joint seams

[RJHuber 1]

Has there been any talk/work on the subject of scarf joint seams?
This would be a very big feature, IMO, if it could be implemented in Cura slicer.
Orca is working on it and it seems that they are having some very good results in hiding the Z seam by using the scarf joint seams proccess.

Edited March 2 by RJHuber

[taj1994 3]

I'm watching Teaching Tech's video on this right now, and the results look really good. Hopefully we can get it in Cura, even if it needs to be added using a plugin. While there are some features I'd like from the PrusaSlicer family (different top/bottom patterns for example), I just like Cura way more overall

[gr5 2,173]

This is an exciting new technology for slicers. I only first heard of this last night and now it seems everyone is talking about it. 

 

 

[Maric 0]

looks nice to me , i wonder if linear adv. works with it.Cura neead that plugin asap.

[gr5 2,173]

I don't get those lines.  I'm not sure why.  I probably just print slower than most people?  They aren't so obvious on white filament.

 

I'm sure the UltiMaker Cura people will do it but it may take a year or two.  Or someone not on the cura team will do it and do a pull request (PR) (this happens more often than you would think).  Or someone will make a plugin.  It's a pretty cool idea. It sounds like it's not a trivial feature and even though it works pretty well, there is still some tweaking to make it work in more situations. 

 

Reading what other people wrote, it's not a perfect fix. I'm not sure what the issue is but maybe certain geometry keeps it from working?  Or maybe it only works in "spiralize" mode?  Not sure.

[Slashee_the_Cow 267]

Is it worth putting in a proper feature request for this or do you think the devs are already well aware?

[GregValiant 1,252]

There is a feature request (#17713) and there has been much discussion.

From reading here and there my impression is that it appears to work well when the Z-seam is on a curve and not at all when the Z-seam is on a corner.

Maybe @Cuq can comment?

[Cuq 198]

2 hours ago, GregValiant said:

There is a feature request (#17713) and there has been much discussion.

From reading here and there my impression is that it appears to work well when the Z-seam is on a curve and not at all when the Z-seam is on a corner.

Maybe @Cuq can comment?

 

Yes you are right that's why the latest integration features an option that activates the "scarf joint seam" mode only on smooth contour. This option is currently only available in OrcaSlicer, and the latest discussions on the ongoing development are on the Github of this slicer : https://github.com/SoftFever/OrcaSlicer/pull/4317 

 

What's interesting is that the idea started from a user, who initially posted his idea on the Prusa and Ultimaker github sites, and then wrote a macro for a POC. And then the developers who contribute to OrcaSlicer quickly integrated the concept with rapid user feedback. For the moment, the function has not yet reached full maturity, but it should be present in the next version of Orca.  

Edited March 6 by Cuq

[GregValiant 1,252]

The noise being generated by this reminds me of the "Arc Overhang Support" feature request.  I wasn't terribly impressed with that one as it required extremely slow extrusion and gravity took it's toll.

 

[Cuq 198]

Not agree !

From the start, I thought that the "Arc Overhang Support" option had no future on the actual concept (too complicated, not very good results, etc.). Here, I think the subject is promising, there's still some work to be done, cases to be dealt with, perhaps, as @nallath said, flow management by print speed for the problem of bowden-type extruders. But for me it's of real interest.

 

In the case of the "Arc Overhang Support" a great part of the initial noise comes from CncKitchen.  I love his videos, he has a big audience and compared to other Youtubers a real scientific and technical approach. But unfortunately many of the ideas presented are often too complex to see any real application in slicers. 

 

Edited March 6 by Cuq

[GregValiant 1,252]

I agree with you.  I should have refined my comment that the "Volume of noise" is similar.  Both the Scarf Seam idea and the Arc Support idea have enthusiastic supporters.

[Dustin 129]

My only concern about these sorts of things..

There is not enough attention on the fact that most of these features are still proof of concept.
Or as mentioned above only good for specific use cases (currently not corners for example)

Too many people see these videos and consider it as "this feature is tested, proven and completed it just needs added to the slicer" when it very much is not majority of the time.

[Cuq 198]

51 minutes ago, Dustin said:

Too many people see these videos and consider it as "this feature is tested, proven and completed it just needs added to the slicer" when it very much is not majority of the time.

 

100% agree and most of them are the same people who say "I want this option right away, it's indispensable", and then forget all about it 2 days later.  

 

BUT (There's always a but ! )

 

What's remarkable in this case (as in the case of Arc Overhang Support) it's the contribution of a Free software and I realy speak about a Free Software and not just an Open Source software. A guy comes up with an idea, and with a little postprocessing macro, he can start creating and testing the concept.  A developer finds the idea interesting, and decides to take it further, without a hierarchy vetoing it because it's not on the list of planned developments, or because it's in line with the company's objectives, or because the code is likely to pose maintainability problems. etc etc etc.... As a result, a community of well-informed users got to grips with the proto, carried out tests, proposed recommendations on different geometries and printers, and finally developed the subject in record time.  

 

As with any development, there's no guarantee that the result will be a success. It's the same in any industrial or software development company.  But compared to a classic scheme, the speed of development of the technique and the consideration of different printer users brings a faster solution than a commercial company structure can achieve.   And if you don't offer the possibility of integrating technologies still in the development phase, then you can't benefit from the agility that can be found today with certain Slicers.

Edited March 6 by Cuq