What’s Changed?

Cura 5.0 represents a “true revolution in 3D printing technology,” says company CTO Miguel Calvo, adding that it’s “the biggest leap forward in print quality that the software has ever seen.” But, essentially, what all the hoopla is about is line width.

If you’re a Cura user, you know that the line width used when slicing a file is decided by the diameter of the nozzle and the line width settings selected. Once chosen and sliced, the line width is consistent throughout the part. This means that if part of a print was two-and-a-half lines thick, two lines is used, and a small gap is left between them, or a series of diagonal lines would often be generated to fill it. This fault requires the print head to perform a series of small jerky movements when printing that cause concerning vibrations and noise.

Even if you tweak a lot of settings, eventually you’ll hit limitations when it comes to fine detail. This has been a common shortfall for FDM 3D printing in general.

Dynamic Variable Line Width

Now, however, the latest version features dynamic variable line width capability that improves the ability to print thin walls and finer details. The new slicing engine’s smarter variable line width feature increases and decreases line width to create the most efficient tool path and to print fine details more accurately.

Cura decides and adjusts the line width according to where the material needs to be deposited. The end result is a uniform fill of the parts, which become much closer to injection-molded quality, Ultimaker says.

Fewer gaps on the inside of parts and better quality when printing thin walls and fine details mean that printed parts are stronger, which may lead to more use of FDM technology for end-use products.

Because line width is such a core feature of Cura, its change has had a ripple effect throughout the software. Print profiles are updated and expanded. And you can now print parts and part features that were actually not possible before. Just take a look at the Benchy example below comparing the same model in Cura 4.13 and Cura 5.0. The grey areas represent parts of prints that were too small or thin to be printed.

Faster print profiles

As you might expect, a more efficient tool path results in faster printing times. Ultimaker says the new speeds can be up to 20% faster compared to Cura 4.13 on Ultimaker machines. How does it fare on other brand machines? Ultimaker is waiting for community feedback on that.

In fact, Ultimaker credits its active user community with the feedback and suggestions that brought 5.0 to life.

Betting on Better Metal 3D Printing

Among the printer profile changes in Cura, you’ll find those for using the BASF Ultrafuse 17-4PH and the Ultrafuse 316-L stainless steel metal filaments on the Ultimaker Marketplace. Two new features in Cura 5.0 – automatic scaling and alternate wall directions – offer better part control, an easier print preparation workflow, and a higher success rate when printing metal, the company says.

Plus, Ultimaker says it’s working on a new metal 3D printing solution that will unlock more industrial applications, with more news on that to be revealed in the coming weeks.

Additional Improvements

Other bug fixes and tweaks are also included in the Ultimaker Cura 5.0 beta release:

• Support for Apple M1 chips to fix a number of visual bugs.
• Streamlined the workflow for accessing the Ultimaker Marketplace inside of Ultimaker Cura. The UI has been improved and it’s now easier and faster to find and install plugins and material profiles.
• Updated menus and an improved virtual build plate.
• Shrinkage compensation is now available for PLA, tPLA, and PETG.
• Improved default Line Widths for Spiralize.
• Decrease resolution to remove some buffer underruns.

Once Ultimaker has collected feedback from beta testers and the user community at large, expect the final version of the software later this year.