adding better multi core support for slicing

[codemaven 0]

Actually, I see you are using ClipperLib in the cura code for clipping... I believe clipperlib is basically using something similar to a BSP tree to do the clipping.

For my tree building, I build the tree from a stream as I read the stl file.. I found it to be in the range of a couple hundred miliseconds max for the largest models I could find on Thingiverse. I only need to build the tree once for the process. I tested on quite a few models including very large ones and very high resolution ones and none of them exceeded ~500ms for the building of the tree.

Holes in the mesh were an issue for me, but I think that can be caught and fixed in a pass over the tree or at slice-time with some intelligence to generate segments to make the later manifold. Because the BSP tree already has no intersections it's easy to find verticies that are not shared by at least 3 polygons, these would be holes. Adding new triangles to an existing BSP tree to 'patch' any holes is fast. I _think_ this is how netfabb does it, though obviously I'm just guessing.

 

[john-seaton 0]

Here is where I wish I knew C++ better and could help.

BTW, thanks Daid for all the hard work you have put into this.

[ultiarjan 1,223]

faster is always nice.

could not resist a small test, used the "Hell_Skull" model on an older basic i5 laptop...

14.07 : 61 sec.

14.09_RC2 : 54 sec.

14.10_RC4 : 52 sec.

assume the delta with go up on more complex models .... with a scanner on the way thats for sure good news.

 

[solid-print-3d 30]

Cura is plenty fast for me on a 4.8Ghz i7

@UltiArjan - what scanner did you end up going with?

 

[eldrick 65]

As to Mac multi-tasking, Slic3r does so in a brief part of its process, but Kisslicer will peg the processor usage on all cores of my 8-core I7 iMac for most of the slicing.

I wind up using Cura for casual stuff, and Kisslicer for anything complex, or where a smooth surface is important. The perfect slicer for me would be Kisslicer with TweakAtZ support.

 

[ultiarjan 1,223]

Cura is plenty fast for me on a 4.8Ghz i7

@UltiArjan - what scanner did you end up going with?

 

a fuel3D, was impressed after I saw it at the london 3d printshow .... ordered it via dutch reseller "makerpoint" so hopefully ETA somewhere november ...

 

[Daid 306]

assume the delta with go up on more complex models .... with a scanner on the way thats for sure good news.

 

Speed difference will be most noticeable with large amount of infill.

 

[VistaPanoramica 0]

I know its an old thread but Im using a 5950x and a 3090... Im no computer engineer nor a programer but I think that CURA could be faster... I sse no difference between this configuration and my laptop that uses an old core I7 with a 1080 in slicing times!!!

[ahoeben 1,948]

This thread is not just old, it is 6.5 years old. In 3d printing terms, that is ancient. The thread is about a very different version of Cura.

 

The GPU is not used in slicing. The part of Cura that uses the GPU is not GPU-limited with a 1080, so any faster GPU will unlikely give you a faster experience.

[VistaPanoramica 0]

On 3/10/2021 at 7:13 AM, ahoeben said:

This thread is not just old, it is 6.5 years old. In 3d printing terms, that is ancient. The thread is about a very different version of Cura.

 

The GPU is not used in slicing. The part of Cura that uses the GPU is not GPU-limited with a 1080, so any faster GPU will unlikely give you a faster experience.

I know its ancient LOL but still..........
I have a top of the line CPU with spare memory (128gb) and I think CURA could use all the power it could get and it seems like its using only a single thread.