Experience improved model arrangement on the virtual build plate, powerful new engine plugins, and remarkable productivity improvements for UltiMaker S series printers in the newest version of Cura!
Ultimaker S series printers can now print at up to twice the speed
At UltiMaker, we're always on a mission to refine our printers. This includes not only our latest machines but also those already in the hands of our users. This Cura release contains one of the best examples of our dedication to continuous improvement with up to double the 3D printing productivity for everyone using our S series printers together with UltiMaker materials.
While the raw speed of our S series printers has increased, we like to emphasize that, ultimately, it is the overall productivity of our printers that has been improved. That’s because we have been able to realize this speed increase without reducing print quality or increasing failure rates.
This is a huge achievement! Whether you’re using an S7 you bought today, or an S5 you bought years ago, you can now print parts in up to half the time, without any reduction in reliability or quality.
For instance, in the previous Cura 5.4 release, printing a part in PETG on an S5 with an AA 0.4 mm print core would have taken 2 days and 35 minutes:
But in Cura 5.5 it will take just 1 day 7 hours and 19 minutes using the same material, extruder, and printer:
Historically, when we've achieved such advancements, it’s been the outcome of rigorous testing and fine-tuning of our print profiles. We've done the same here, but we've also introduced new features that harness the full potential of our printers. A few prominent additions include:
Optimized print speeds for different line types
Outer walls, inner walls, and supports are all printed at different speeds. We have optimized the print speed for these and other line types, while also adjusting the acceleration and deceleration behavior when moving between line types. As a result, we are now able to print internal structures faster without reducing the visual quality or mechanical properties of your part.
Smooth internal wall pathing
Previously the inside of walls was printed using a diagonal pattern that resulted in the print head performing a jittery zig-zag motion during printing. This has been changed so that the inside of walls now print using long smooth lines which enables the print head to reach higher speeds.
Prevent infill crossing close to walls
Tweaks have been made so that infill no longer overlaps near to external walls. Overlapping infill near walls can cause artifacts on the surface of your print, this change prevents those artifacts and also reduces print head travel, increasing print speeds.
For a comprehensive list of all the changes that were made in this release, view our release notes on GitHub. Performance improvements will differ based on materials, nozzle dimensions, and model specifics. The biggest improvements can be seen when printing large models and when printing multiple models at the same time.
Intent profiles, higher speeds, and quality improvements come to AA 0.8 mm print cores
The AA 0.8 mm print profiles for UltiMaker PLA and Tough PLA have been optimized for both speed and print quality, as well as gaining access to recommended intent profiles.
The AA 0.8 mm print profiles for UltiMaker PLA and Tough PLA have been optimized for both speed and print quality, as well as gaining access to recommended intent profiles.
One of the easiest ways to print more parts in less time on an UltiMaker printer has always been to use a larger nozzle size. 0.4 mm nozzles have become somewhat of an industry standard and as a result, our 0.4 mm print cores have long been our most popular. However, we also offer 0.8 mm print cores, and for many users, these are often a better choice.
As mentioned, moving to a larger nozzle size means much faster print speeds, with the tradeoff that your parts will have more prominent layer lines and, therefore, may not look as nice. However, all the way back at the release of Cura 5.0, a new slicing engine was released that enabled variable line width. This resulted in improved print quality when printing thin walls and fine details. What many people may not have realized, is that it’s also now possible to print using a 0.8 mm print core while still getting great print quality. If you're looking for the absolute best print quality then a 0.4 mm print core is still your best choice but if speed is a priority then a 0.8 mm print core is the better tool.
Our new 0.8 mm print profiles will make this easier than ever, allowing you to select the profile that matches your requirements (Visual, Engineering, or Draft) and then print with the confidence that you are using reliable print profiles that have been professionally tuned for your needs. Better yet, with the combined effect of moving from a 0.4 mm to a 0.8 mm print core and the other speed improvements in this release, you will find that it’s possible to print huge parts in less than half the time!
Finally, we have also updated the Default intent profile to be called Balanced to better reflect that it is a middle point between the Visual, Engineering, and Draft profiles.
Introducing Cura engine plugins
This release sees a huge new addition to Cura which will fuel improvements for years to come: engine plugins with powerful new capabilities!
Since 2015, Cura has allowed members of the community to create plugins that add new functionality to Cura or augment existing functionality. Over the years, we improved our plugin system to make it easier to create and share plugins. Today you can find and download dozens of plugins through the UltiMaker Marketplace and many people have, with some of our most popular plugins being downloaded millions of times!
Examples of popular plugins include the Settings Guide plugin which adds additional context to the over 600 settings in Cura, and the OctoPrint Connection plugin which lets you use the popular OctoPrint web interface for remote printing and monitoring.
Regular users will know that the functionality of plugins, up until now, has been limited to tweaking to UI and manipulating your parts before slicing. Everything that happens after you start slicing your part could not be modified. In other words, if Cura was a car, plugins would allow users to modify the paint scheme, change the rims on the tires, and maybe even swap out the seats for something more fancy. But everything under the hood was off-limits. You could make the car look better, even feel better, but it would still drive the same.
With the new plugin capabilities in this release, that has all changed. It is now possible to fundamentally modify how Cura works by interfacing with the slicing engine at the heart of Cura. This allows plugins to add new settings, modify existing settings, and change how Cura behaves when slicing a model. The result is more powerful plugins with a much wider range of capabilities. Some examples of the kind of functionality that users could add with these new plugins include:
- Paint on supports: By combining the new and existing plugin capabilities, it would be possible to create a plugin that allows you to manually tag areas as requiring supports.
- Version number in print: It’s possible to create a plugin that modifies the skin area on layer 0 to have a version number or any other custom text that will appear on the bottom of the model when printed
- Texture: You can use a plugin to give your model a custom texture embossed on the surface.
These are just some of the countless possibilities that are unlocked with engine plugins. As has always been the case, plugins still need to be approved before they are added to the Marketplace so it is unlikely that a plugin will be dangerous but it is important to be mindful that the expected behavior of Cura may change drastically when installing engine plugins.
Streamlined model duplication and arrangement
Two new improvements have been added that make it easier than ever to fill up your build plate with models and organize them effectively.
The first is that you can now duplicate your models using the same copy-and-paste shortcuts you would when duplicating text. Just select the model you want to copy and press Ctrl+C, then Ctrl+V (Command+C and Command+V on Mac) as many times as you want to spawn additional copies of your model. Each additional instance of your model will be placed on your build plate as if it were a new model being loaded into Cura with the added benefit that any changes made to your original part, such as it being resized, will also be reflected in all duplicate models. Right-clicking your part will also bring up the copy/paste shortcuts in the context menu.
The second change is that you can now organize multiple models on the build plate using a grid formation. When multiplying your part or when using the new copy/paste function, parts will now be placed in a grid pattern. There is also a new option in the context menu (or when pressing Ctrl+Shift+R) that will arrange all instances of your model into a grid pattern.
These two features combined make it much easier to fill your build plate with prints and keep them organized when doing so!
Additional improvements
The following improvements have also been implemented in the Cura 5.5 stable release:
- A donation button was added for users to help fund Cura’s open-source development
- A new Apple Mac build of Cura is now available for users with ARM processors
- Numerous bug fixes
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