Cura wishlist

[marko_m 0]

Since there's already a thread, I thought I'd add a couple of my favourites onto the "begging list" for consideration...

1. Separate processing of non-geometry affecting parameters so that, for example, an entire model is not re-sliced if I change the temperature of the bed or extruder head

2. I often have trouble with keeping my prints sticking (more so after the heated bed upgrade) and with curled ends (especially on the fan side, of course). I find the raft option very good at ensuring good starts and minimum curls. The trouble with raft of course is that it's a huge p.i.t.a. to get it off the bottom of the part itself. Protruding bits are quite easy to break off or slice off with exacto knife, but scraping it off the bottom is usually a nightmare (in a few rare cases bulk of it peels off - most often scraping it off takes quite a while). Many of the parts I print, I split along the "parting plane" and that plane is what is sitting on the bed. In that (for me, quite common) scenario - it is very important that the bottom is flat (not curled) so quite often (perhaps after a few failures) I end up turning on the raft to ensure flatness. Of course, then I am stuck with the tedious job of scraping the bottom. The thing is, with these types of models (because they get glued to each other) - the quality of the bottom layer doesn't matter (only that it's flat). In fact, a patterned finish (like raft produces) would be quite beneficial for retaining glue and giving it textured surface for better keying together. I would love to see another "integrated" raft - where the model does not sit on the raft itself but rather is sunk into the raft by a thickness of the raft itself. Sure, I can do this myself in the CAD program (when I split my model on what I decide should be a parting plane) but by doing it directly in Cura, you could integrate the outer wall into the raft mesh (which will make the seam smaller after gluing and also, probably, make it even easier to cut out the excess raft). While writing this and checking Cura's parameters, I noticed "Cut off object bottom" in advanced tab - which pretty much sums up what I was talking about (duh! :-)). It would still be nice to have an automatic option (perhaps in Raft Expert Config?) so that the amount of "sink" is automatically calculated by Cura based on raft parameters. Also (if possible) so that the outer shell of the object is incorporated into raft mesh).

3. I don't know how others feel, but I think the time has come for Cura to have its own file format (fitting between the stl model and the gcode) - basically recording all of the geometry and parameters of the print. Perhaps it could be saved automatically whenever gcode is produced? It would be nice to be able to go back and check the parameters used on a specific print later on (including exact positioning etc.)...

4. A really nice (simple yet very powerful!) feature would be the ability to designate a colour as a "fluff print" colour! It would allow us to easily create custom supports that would be very easy to remove. The way I see it working, is that we would import an STL file containing objects of two different colours and designate one of the two colours as "fluff print" colour - meaning that objects of that colour would be sliced and produced as fluff. I saw people asking for a "tree supports" earlier in this thread - well, those would be extremely easy to produce in your CAD program simply by making a cube (or another shape appropriate to your object) and subtracting your object from it (making sure that support cube is different colour than the object itself). Then export both objects as STL and tell Cura that the colour of the cube is the "fluff print colour". A little bit more work than automatic tree support generation but not hard and certainly more flexible than an automated process could ever be (since you can arrange your supports the way you want). Many CAD programs have a "drape" function which could be used to generate a support object and subtract the original from. It would be even better/more powerful if the fluff density could be controlled...

I have a few more thoughts (of course - don't we all) but Daid probably needs to sleep some time... :-)

Marko

 

[kvones 5]

As you are running 14.12.1, just get the 2 files from the thread I posted above and you can have the functionality you want....

 

I went to the thread and got the file for 14.12 but it doesn't work with my version - Cura just fails to start altogether when I install the file, but is fine if I revert. I then tried the 14.7 file, which works to a point but does weird things to the workspace, with the build platform appearing above the active work area. I could not find a file specifically for 14.12.1? Would love to do this to solve my problems with the slicing!

Nallath, what type of data could I supply for you to figure out the cause of my problem? Always happy to help improve software!

3Dcase, I will try moving the model away from the active area while adjusting it - that might be a workaround for the moment at least.

For me, Marko's suggestion No. 1 would also be a great help! Interesting discussions going on here.

 

[nallath 1,120]

Check the github page, we have a list of stuff that we need for an issue report. Most people ignore the list, which is a bit of shame as it costs us quite a bit of time to ask the same questions over and over again.

https://github.com/daid/Cura/wiki/Issue-policies

 

[super-saiyan-squirrel 0]

Fill options:

 

 

Display infill toolpath independently.

 

Bottom/Top overlap toolpath pattern and x,y,z rotations.

 

Shell overlap toolpath pattern pattern and x,y,z rotations.

 

Interior infill toolpath pattern and x,y,z rotations.

 

 

 

Fill Patterns:

 

 

The current pattern is only 4-sided. My most preferred additions are 8-sided, 6-sided, and 3-sided. My second most preferred addition is to be able to have the infill pattern generated using the shell's toolpath (concentric).

 

It'd also be nice to have some of the other differently shaped options Slic3r has.

 

It might also be nice to have as many sides as a computer's processing power can handle generating, if you can figure out a method of easily increasing the amount of infill slices which Cura creates (maybe just in 5-degree increments).

 

 

 

If these wishes would be too much work, then it'd be nice to at least have some official Ultimaker profiles for Slic3r; or maybe just a detailed tutorial of how to load the infill toolpath generated by Slic3r into the GCode created by Cura.

 

[Gizmojim 0]

I'm currently using Cura 3.3.0 Beta, which is loaded with features. One thing that I would like to see is the Post Processing (Modify G-Code) tied to a profile. This would simplify things greatly for those that change filament types frequently.

[mokush 0]

Hello,

I've installed the 3.3.0 and tried the support blockers... they are useable, but could be much better. It's tricky to place, move and scale those cubes. Also the software gets slow and lags at the first operation with the cubes. Placing is OK, but the 1st time I want to modify them I have to wait a lot. All next operations are OK again.

I'd much more prefer to remove the support structures just by click on them. Why have the developers chosen this strange solution?

 

I also would like to have a modified lay flat option. It would be nice just to select the face I want to be on the bed of the printer and Cura would place the model.