3D打印机制造商Ultimakerhas launched a beta version of its new open-source slicing software,Cura 5.0.
According to Ultimaker, the latest Cura features an enhanced engine that allows users to deploy a variable line width during slicing, and reach a “new threshold for finer and faster 3D prints.” The update also brings profile and user interface (UI) improvements among a slew of other upgrades, including greater M1 chip support, thus it should bring adopters ofApple’snewest machines a better user experience.
“We believe that even those who have looked at 3D printing before and concluded that it may not be ready for their use, today it is time for them to look again,” said Miguel Calvo, CTO of Ultimaker. “Until now, you had to make your design work for 3D printing. It’s time to turn the table… from designing for 3D printing, to 3D printing for design.”
“Ultimaker Cura 5.0 represents the biggest leap forward in print quality that the software has ever seen. This is the start of a true revolution in 3D printing technology.”
Ultimaker的软件投资组合
Since being founded in 2011, Ultimaker has built up a range of open-material Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) 3D printers, designed to accelerate what it describes as a global shift towards “flexible, empowering and sustainable” production.
One of the ways the firm has sought to work towards this goal, is via the introduction of its own software portfolio, including itsAcademy,Digital FactoryandCura产品。虽然前者旨在帮助用户提高技能，并且除了数据收集和零件数字化外，具有多个系统的简化打印管理人员，后者是一种建模软件，旨在简化切片。
免费提供以及升级要点,ProfessionalandExcellencepackages, Cura is based around an open-source slicing engine. Built over years of in-house R&D and user input, the slicer provides adopters with the ability to either rapidly prepare prints via pre-configured profiles, or dive deep into its more than 400 settings in ‘custom mode,’ which offers granular process control.
Cura also offers integration with several other leading CAD programs, including扎实的作品,Siemens NXandAutodesk Inventor，以及Ultimaker继续推出可为该软件带来新功能的附加组件，其中之一已经看到提顿模拟为Cura推出SmartSlice, a plug-in that enables users to assess part performance prior to printing.
Precision slicing with Cura 5.0
在最近的UltimakerShowcase2022年4月21日，最新的Cura包含旨在使用户更精确地打印的功能，甚至可能解决新的应用程序。这些添加的主要内容是该软件的升级引擎，该引擎现在允许在切片模型时使用可变线宽度。
In previous Cura versions, line width was decided by the diameter of a printer’s nozzle and the settings used. Though this allowed consistent line widths to be achieved in a given build, it also meant that if a print was two-and-a-half lines thick, only two would be used, leaving a small gap between them. In the case of smaller, less than one line thick details, meanwhile, these could be unprintable.
为了克服最重要的人所说的“ FFF 3D打印的常见短缺”，Cura 5.0增加并减小线宽度以创建最有效的工具补丁。在此过程中，据说该软件使采用者可以创建内部空白较少的零件并提高其构建质量，尤其是在那些具有超薄墙壁和精细表面细节的对象中。
建筑设计师和Cura 5.0采用者Carlos Castillo解释说：“精细的细节和小功能对于建筑设计师如何准确传达设计决策至关重要。”“虽然可以手工完成很多操作，但是当您可以利用软件来交付所需的东西时，这是更好的速度。”
“我一直在我最近的项目中的节奏中将新的Cura 5.0放在首位，并对我的3D打印机现在可以实现的功能感到惊讶。雷电竞app下载这是整个建筑行业的巨大发展。”
By providing parts with a higher level of infill, the program also effectively makes them more solid. This improvement in strength, in the words of Ultimaker, is set to be most beneficial when printing thin walls in which a fixed line width would previously have resulted in “internal gaps,” as well as in extreme cases where “walls would not print correctly at all.”
由于其新的切片引擎，该程序的打印配置文件也获得了进一步的更新，使其比以往任何时候都更快，Ultimaker表示，其机器的用户可以期望将打印时间缩短到20％。
Elsewhere, Cura 5.0 features an improved UI and revamped marketplace integration, meaning that it should now be easier to find and install plugins and material profiles. Ultimaker has also managed to fix various visual bugs affecting users of Apple M1 chip machines, enabling them to join the ranks of those deploying Cura to address new design, architecture and engineering applications.
Those interested in accessing the program’s beta can下载Ultimaker的Cura 5.0软件via GitHub now.
Competing for slicing supremacy
Ultimaker远非唯一启动自己的切片计划的3D打印机制造商，现在许多其他制造商都采取了行动来建立自己的软件投资组合。Raise3Dhas itsideaMaker切片软件, a platform built to allow users to skip lengthy CAD processing steps via ‘one-click’ parameter optimization algorithms.
普鲁萨, on the other hand, offers its普鲁萨Slicer 3D printing program, another free, open source slicing software. Previously called ‘Slic3r,’ the platform features a clear UI, custom support functionality and a rising number of material profile presets.
Away from the software created in-house by machine manufacturers, dedicated software developers have also come up with several programs designed to help users optimize their slicing workflow. One of these beingHelio添加剂, aPolymaker-backed start-up, which recently unveiled plans to launch anoutput and reliability-boosting slicer, capable of tweaking parameters to prevent print failures.
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特色图显示了Cura 3D打印软件用户。图像通过Ultimaker。
