Cura autoslicing - poll

[bot 0]

I don't want you to think I don't love Cura for the amazing things it does... and freely. I simply urge you to change your mind. It's a simple option, it can be tucked away if you like.. it can be enabled by modifying an ini file... whatever you need to do to ease your stubborn mind.

Clearly a majority of users want the option to disable auto-slicing.

 

[dirkdirk 5]

Perhaps it would be a possibility to disable the automatic slicing only for the expert mode? Thus, the plainness of cura is maintained for beginners, but if you are in expert mode, you can enable a checkbox in the options that deactivates the automatic slicing and adds a "slice now" button. (default: off)

 

[Dim3nsioneer 557]

Wowowow... hey guys: everybody be nice in this thread please, ok? :cool: After all, this might be the Ultimaker forum but its my thread...

This poll was not meant to produce a GAME OF THRONES... or any kind of shitstorm...

At the moment, there are 20 votes so far. It looks as if only 15% cannot live with the present situation. As it happens I work with things like thermal comfort. There, studies say you can never satisfy more than 85% of the people with a certain temperature and humidity setting. It seems it's the same with software features.

So there is some interest to have a disable-the-auto-slicing option as a nice-to-have. Thus it will not have top priority. And as some already mentioned, Cura is open source and anybody can fork it and add this feature. However, IMHO such a person would have to keep the rest of the code up-to-date and would have to provide installation packages as those of Ultimaker. This is quite an effort.

 

[gr5 2,172]

I don't know what bot is talking about. I can have a part that takes a few minutes to slice but that doesn't matter as I can change a parameter and it seamlessly, invisibly starts slicing again. Sure the little progress bar is annoying but I don't think that's bot's problem.

@bot, @peggyB - what the hell are you talking about??!!?? I think your words are complaining about a feature but you are actually experiencing a bug. I don't know what that bug is but it sounds like you are experiencing a bug that most people don't experience. Or at least that I don't experience.

When the autoslice feature first came out there were TONS of complaints and quickly it turned out that all of them were BUGS and not the autoslice feature. There was a bug related to firewalls blocking the slice process that slowed down the gui. There was a bug related to... maybe SD cards? Or network drives? There was a MAC bug or two.

I suspect there is still a bug that a few people are experiencing (bot, peggyB).

Or maybe it's this bounding box problem but I haven't experienced it even with models that take well over a minute to slice.

So lets concentrate on the BUG and not the FEATURE.

Also bot don't get so riled up by Daid. He's just playing with you. He really *is* a nice person despite what he says and he *is* making improvements (pink unicorn) on this very issue (just not the way you think is the best way). Unfortunately it may be months before pink unicorn is out.

 

[bot 0]

Load up these models: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:455609

scale them to 1.6

Slice them, inspect the visualization and then accidentally nudge the model by clicking it or accidentally typing into a text box when you didn't know it had focus... and tell me that isn't a perfect use case for "don't slice unless I tell you to."

Don't get me wrong... when I eventually get the slice I want it's fine: http://imgur.com/a/GtFMN

 

[nallath 1,120]

I just did. The GUI does not freeze up on my computer. I don't have that impressive hardware (macbook air). Seems like gr5 is right, you have a bug.

 

[bot 0]

I'm not saying it freezes up. It just takes a long time to slice then re-generate the visualization. This is pointless if I accidentally changed a value... Oh, and at a .1mm layer height, make sure. Sometimes 14.09 will fail to completely slice the model... I presume due to memory limitations.

And we're back to comparing 64 bit vs 32 bit...

This is an issue if you actually USE the software. I use it. I print constantly, none-stop. I strive to NOT WASTE 10 minutes waiting for a model to re-slice just so I can see the visualization I was trying to inspect...

 

[nallath 1,120]

The visualization also works for me. Same for 0.1 mm.

So you're telling me that I don't use the software or is this miscommunication?

 

[Daid 306]

When the autoslice feature first came out there were TONS of complaints and quickly it turned out that all of them were BUGS and not the autoslice feature. There was a bug related to firewalls blocking the slice process that slowed down the gui. There was a bug related to... maybe SD cards? Or network drives? There was a MAC bug or two.

 

The Mac SD card bug was fun. Random 0.2 second hangs every 5 seconds. (Fixed that one)

The virus-scanner on windows bug was also fun, up to 1.5 seconds of GUI hang when the slicing started (also fixed)

The firewall problems are mostly fixed, except for some awkward version of zone-alarm that blocks local sockets by default.

(And there is a deep down "configuration setting". It's called the code. There is actually a patch somewhere on the forums that does manual slicing)

 

[anon4321 16]

Ok, here is my question, why is the bounding box calculated more than once? If this is the box that determines where the model is on the platform and the volume that needs to be reserved for it, seems like you could calculate it from the model when it is first loaded and sliced and then as long as the model isn't scaled or rotated, just adjust the bounding box as the model is moved around.

The other question is, why does changing things like the temperature effect the bounding box (if this is the reason for the unresponsiveness)? Or any of the slicing parameters?

I have to weigh in and say that in the latest RC, the hanging during what I perceive as the slicing for parameter changes that should really affect slicing (like temperature) is pretty bad for a large model.

 

[bot 0]

How many times must I explain the problem clearly?

It's not hanging... it's not a bug... it's just bad implementation of auto slicing.

THAT'S THE PROBLEM.

Say you have the terminator model I linked to loaded up, at 0.1mm or less, and you change a setting. How long does it take to go from seeing a visualization, changing a setting, and then seeing the visualization again?

 

[nallath 1,120]

None. The visualisation keeps on working. I don't even get a hickup.

 

[gr5 2,172]

I loaded the skull - very big model. I couldn't scale to 1.6 (too big for my platform) so I scaled to 1.4X. That thing takes a long time to slice - more than a minute.

Anyway it took maybe 3 seconds (slow!) to scale it but then everything was fine. I can change the layer thickness and the progress bar restarts but you hardly notice. I can rotate and look around the model during this time.

There's no delay. Visualization never stops. I can rotate, pan, zoom, all before the progress bar has moved one pixel. And while the progress bar is moving some more I can still rotate around the model in "normal view".

I think you found a bug, bot. And the cool thing is this wouldn't have been discovered if Cura didn't have the "auto slice" feature. I know you experienced great pain but your pain will help many other people who experience the same bug once it is fixed.

Do you use linux, windows, or mac? What version OS? Do you have a virus scanner? Something is probably slowing down the launch of the executable (CuraEngine.exe on windows) which is done I believe in the same thread as the GUI unfortunately.

 

[gr5 2,172]

Oh - I can also change other parameters during all this time. There's zero delay. Not even 1/4 second (less than that I probably can't get my mouse to the next parameter to change).

 

[bot 0]

When I mean visualization, I mean layer by layer visualization... with the infill completely laid out to the top... you know the part where cura says "Loading toolpath for visualization"

The wait for that, combined with re-slicing, can take quite some time. If it is a bug that's causing this, I'd be surprised.

 

[gr5 2,172]

Oh! Of course that won't change until the slicing is done *and* the gcode file is read back in by the gui.

So explain again what you want? You want to be able to slice once and then look at the sliced view and then... change some parameters without losing the view of the old sliced layers? Because you like to change maybe one parameter without restarting the slice right away?

Please explain to me the work flow that means you want to change parameters and still see the earlier layer view at the same time.

 

[Daid 306]

When I mean visualization, I mean layer by layer visualization... with the infill completely laid out to the top... you know the part where cura says "Loading toolpath for visualization"

The wait for that, combined with re-slicing, can take quite some time. If it is a bug that's causing this, I'd be surprised.

 

That. Pretty much has nothing to do with slicing. And more with the small clusterfuck that is the gui code right now. It's pretty much the part of the code that's on the chopping block and totally redone for the PinkUnicorn.

Yes, that code is slow. But that has nothing to do with slicing, and all with python code doing way too much processing.

 

[msurunner 2]

Wow, I'm a little blown away by the nature of this "conversation"... Bot, the feature you really want is not an autoslice disable it sounds like, but rather a lock on platform so that you don't "accidentally" bump anything... The fact of the matter is I'm with Daid and others, the autoslice is actually LOGICAL in that you are getting the code for what you have on the screen. Allowing the user to make changes and displaying those changes (like moving the part) without generating new code for it creates all sorts of pitfalls for new users. For experienced users, you should be able to understand what your part looks like before you bring it into the software and use some pretty good "approximate" settings to prevent five slices.

 

[bot 0]

MSURunner is correct. I essentially want the ability to lock down the build plate. I also don't want the process to begin again if I tweak a setting accidentally. Also, sometimes I like to tweak a lot of settings really quickly, and the starting and restarting of the process (we won't call it slicing anymore we'll call it "the process") bogs that down a tiny bit.

 

Though, the only reason I have to slice things five times is because the software forces me to. I am a very experienced user, I know how something should look when sliced. I've also learned NEVER to print something without making sure it sliced how you wanted it first. I seldom get a failed print. I LOVE CURA! I just hate working with it sometimes.

Part of it is that I want to have the exact G-code of the print I have going up on the screen, but also with the ability to modify the settings if a consequent print is needed. Saving the gcode to a file doesn't allow me to tweak the settings and the load profile from gcode function doesn't seem to work (could be plugins causing interference?).

So... what it comes down to is that I want to maximize efficiency while working with Cura. Right now, I'm constantly being set back 2, 5, 10, 20 minutes and more because the software is constantly processing things when I don't want it to.

Can I be any more clear? I honestly want to try and help you make this software even better than how amazing it already is.

 

[pm_dude 27]

Dont you love open source? I love open source... I can turn it off if I really want to and so can most people that take some time to look at the code.

This thread is so entertaining

Edit: but I dont turn it off because its usefull. And about the plugins... They are not looked into untill the slicing is complete

[bot 0]

I do love open source. I simply don't have the time or skills to modify the program to suit my needs. My skills and time are devoted to 3D printing... this software should enable that, not hinder it.

What colour is the pill UM ships with their printers?

 

[pm_dude 27]

No pills included just blue filament!

[pm_dude 27]

For the ones that are requesting it nicely:

https://github.com/pmsimard/Cura/commit/8d9693645324fc3047b5b66730d7ee789fd7afef

EDIT: this file contain other changes too. If you want the file from version 14.07 with only the changes for the manual slicing use this file instead:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Byhp9wWpyMGWd1V0OE1yVlg2NEE/view?usp=sharing

The update button will show up every time a scene update was requested if the auto update is off.

That was done in less then 10 minutes including testing (use at your own risk). I'm sure some of you have spent more time arguing that you need it instead of doing it.

This is for version 14.07. If you use another version please merge with caution.

Merry Christmas mofos

 

[bot 0]

Thanks. Was that so hard? I haven't tried it out yet, and I'm sure I'll get lost in the process and have to ask my brother for help. But thank you. I wouldn't have been able to do that in less time or effort than this "arguing."

 

[nallath 1,120]

Well, it was so hard, as adding it means maintaining it. And that takes enough time as it is already. Every 'new' feature takes away implementation time of future features, so at that point it's a simple; Is this feature cool enough.