Introducing Cura 2.7
Since the release of the Cura 2.7 Beta, we've received a lot of useful feedback from the public.
The stable version of Cura 2.7 is now ready, offering new features and bug fixes!
For a complete list of new features and bug fixes, please see the release notes or check Cura on Griub.
Updating Cura
First time using Cura? Learn how to use it with our Quick Start Guide.
Below you'll find selected highlights of improvements and bug fixes:
Improved Features
Improved print surface quality
Top surfaces. You can now set the print of the very top layer independently. Change the top surface density and specify different layer patterns
(lines, concentric, or zig-zag). Using different patterns on the top surface can achieve higher quality.
As can be seen here, the very top layer follows a different pattern compared to the other lower layers.
Ironing (a.k.a. Neosanding). This feature fills any gaps on the top surface by reducing extrusion and pressing the heated nozzle onto the printed top layer,
resulting in a super smooth top surface. It can be found in the "Experimental" section.
No ironing - Note that the surface lines have a standard diagonal infill pattern. With ironing - Setting the extruder on the top surface of the printed object and reducing
extrusion creates a smoother top surface.
Side-by-side comparison of printed objects. The green object uses the ironing function - note the absence of diagonal marks on its top surface compared to the blue object.
Relative Z-seam. Includes a new option to relatively position the Z-seam coordinates at the center of each model, so that they remain in the
same location on each layer, regardless of the object's position. This makes them easier to remove during post-processing.
In Cura, parameters can be changed in the "Shell" option. Here's an example:
Seam lines are shown in green and are positioned relative to the center of each model on the build plate.
Print thin walls. Prints walls that are 2 times thinner than the nozzle size. See the example below:
The left and bottom sides of this square structure are printed with thin walls - note the difference in line width compared to other parts.
Improved Support and Control
Cura 2.7 introduces two new features in the default profile: Support Infill Layer Thickness and Gradual Infill.
These aim to reduce print time (average saving of 20-30%) and decrease PVA consumption (average use of 40-40% less PVA).
Using less PVA support material means faster dissolve times and lower material costs.
Support Infill Layer Thickness. Use this feature to fine-tune the height of each layer of support infill material.
Print materials like PVA at twice the normal layer thickness to save time, for example, for prints with a 0.15mm layer height,
PVA can be printed with a thickness of 0.3mm for most support infill.
Magnified example of support infill layer thickness - note the thicker purple support layers.
Gradual Support Infill. Gradually increases the density of support infill printed at the top and edges. This is particularly effective when printing with more expensive materials like PVA,
as a higher density infill at the model's edges means faster printing and dissolving times.
Gradual Support Infill is the default option for support material.
This scorpion model was printed with PVA support The density of the PVA support becomes denser at the edges.
Case Study: Gradual Support and Support Infill Layer Thickness
The sphere is composed of moving parts and has a very complex geometry, so printing with support is very important. Printing support with PLA
would be problematic for removing moving parts, so using PVA is the correct choice, as it can be easily removed by dissolving.
However, using PVA support adds a lot of print time, especially if using an "Extra fine" profile.
According to Cura 2.6.2, this object could take up to three days to print (excluding dissolving time) and would use a lot of support material.
Cura 2.6.2
Extruder 1: 20% PLA infill (default settings)
Extruder 2: PVA (default settings)
Normal profile (0.15 mm) (default settings)
Cura 2.7
• Extruder 1: 20% PLA infill (default settings)
• Extruder 2: Gradual infill PVA (default settings) (Support infill layer thickness 0.3 mm)
• Normal profile (0.15 mm) (default settings)
In this example, an object of normal quality was sliced with a 0.4mm nozzle and a 0.15mm layer thickness.
In Cura 2.7, it uses gradual infill with a support infill layer thickness of 0.3mm.
Sphere sliced from top to bottom in Cura 2.7. Gradual infill support is shown in blue. Note how the support infill density gradually increases towards each edge.
Most of the support infill will be printed with 12.5% PVA infill, with two steps of 25% and 50% density near the PVA edges.
The PVA edges themselves are thinner (0.6mm instead of 0.8mm) because they have more support.
Between Cura 2.6.2 and Cura 2.7, PVA consumption changed from 182g to 123g, a saving of about 40% material.
If the material cost for 1g PVA is 0.11 Euros, this represents a saving of 6.49 Euros.
Between the two versions, the print time was 2 days, 4 hours, and 20 minutes versus 1 day, 14 hours, and 12 minutes, respectively.
This represents a saving of 14 hours and 8 minutes - a 30% improvement.
Hollow Prime Tower Purge Volume. Fine-tune the amount of filament purged on the prime tower when wiping on it.
Purge can be used to compensate for filament lost by oozing through the nozzle during idle periods. This also reduces the possibility of the prime tower failing mid-print due to extrusion.
The amount of material to be purged can be specified in the "Prime Tower Purge Volume" setting under "Dual Extrusion."
A normal prime tower. A purged prime tower.
Initial Layer Horizontal Expansion in initial layer settings. Added functionality to change the horizontal expansion of the initial layer, improving the "elephant foot" effect.
This parameter can be changed in the "Shell" option under "Print Settings."
The "elephant foot" effect is shown below. By reducing the horizontal expansion of the first layer, this undesirable effect can be avoided.
First layer line width. Set a multiplier for the line width of the first layer. A smaller line width multiplier, resulting in a larger line width, improves bed adhesion.
Pause standby and resume temperature. Turn off the nozzle when pausing printing for extended periods to prevent filament burning and nozzle clogging.
At the end of the pause, the nozzle will resume printing temperature before printing.
Print functions per extruder. Assign print functions (walls, infill, top/bottom layers, etc.) to specific extruders.
Here are some examples:
Here, the print head assigned to the 0.8mm nozzle prints the infill here. Assigning different colors to the extruders can achieve beautiful effects.
Using a larger nozzle size for infill and inner walls can significantly reduce This object is printed with red PLA, with the top surface in black PLA,
continuous printing time. creating color variation. And the inner walls, then assigning the 0.4mm nozzle to print
all other features.
This object is printed with black PLA, and the walls are printed with silver PLA, This object uses an experimental material combination; black ABS with a blue TPU 95a outer surface.
creating contrast and highlighting details. This can be used for practical purposes, such as increasing grip on handles.
UI Improvements
Dark theme.Cura's dark theme.Working in a dark theme reduces eye strain.Activate it by selecting "Preferences > Themes > Dark".
New dark theme
Top navigation bar redesign.The top bar user interface has been improved so that "Prepare" and "Print" have moved from the right side of the interface to the left side.
The left side is used to select a printer.This gives the workflow a natural flow from left to right.
New keyboard shortcuts. You can now manipulate models on the build plate using hotkeys Q, A, Z, W. Q for "Move", A for "Scale", Z for "Rotate", and W for "Mirror". Use the Tab key to navigate between interfaces.
Plugin browser. Managing third-party plugins is easier than ever before. Download and install, and merge with the new plugin browser. Go to "Extensions > Plugin Browser > Browse Plugins"
to select. All available plugins are contained in one place. Simply select "Install Plugin" to install your chosen plugin, and restart Cura to merge it.
Plugins are installed on a remote server, so you don't need to reinstall them every time you install Cura on a computer. When updates are available for plugins, you can choose to manage
update upgrades.
Note: You can still install custom plugins using the same method as in previous versions of Cura.
Import SOLIDWORKS files as STL. This plugin allows SOLIDWORKS files to be directly imported into Cura and automatically converted to .STL format.
This plugin can be found in the new plugin browser.
Zoom to mouse position. Inspired by industry-standard CAD software, Cura now includes an option to zoom to the mouse position.
Faster scrolling in settings list. The scrolling speed in the settings list is now three times faster than in previous versions, improving the user experience.
Inherit themes. Themes no longer need to be re-added; functionalities can simply be inherited from default themes.
Additional tooltips. Added extra tooltips to make machine settings and features clearer.
Support for new languages. Polish and Simplified Chinese translations have been added. These can be selected in the primary options under "Language."
Support for new third-party printers
Cura 2.7 adds support for third-party 3D printers:
Monoprice Moai, DiscoEasy200, Cartesio, EasyArt Ares, 3Dator, Rigid3D, A Series 1, and HelloBEEPrusa.
Bug fixes
We have been working hard to fix several bugs, including issues with the Cura project Mac extension, crashes when adding printers, startup crashes, incorrect calculation fixes, and z-hop
over-extrusion problems.
Special thanks to the following contributors: Tsaaristo, Rudowinger, nallath, smartavionics, BagelOrb, fieldOfView, maukcc, nliaudat, moritzmair,
landru29, marcosfg, Rigid3D, 14bitVoid, PCDotFan, "Jaguś" PawełJagusiak, Andrzej "anraf1001" Rafalski, Ghostkeeper, and Neotko.
Are you ready to update? Download the latest version of Cura 2.7 now.
Original source: https://ultimaker.com/en/blog/50847-introducing-cura-27