BETA: Slic3r 1.33.3 Prusa Edition

3Delight

(@3delight)

Moderator Moderator

BETA: Slic3r 1.33.3 Prusa Edition

Get it here: https://github.com/prusa3d/Slic3r/releases

Remember, this is a beta so do not use it for important work and please report any bugs on GitHub...

Summary:

This is the Slic3r 1.33.3 - Prusa Edition release. This is a beta release, introducing two new features: Variable layer height and reworked supports.

When using this release of Slic3r with the Original Prusa i3 MK2 printer, following configuration files shall be used: https://github.com/prusa3d/Slic3r-settings

Variable layer height
The idea to vary a layer height to improve finish of sloping surfaces is certainly not new. A paper by Pandey, Reddy and Dhand 2003 gives an extensive overview of algorithms to vary the layer height to limit the surface roughness, Florens Wasserfall integrated automatic layer height into his experimental Slic3r in year 2014 as a part of his diploma thesis and Autodesk has shown their flavor of the variable layer height algorihtm the last year.

We argue though, that while the automatic layer height looks good in scientific papers, it is less useful in practice as implemented in the above mentioned works. We want the layers to become invisible, which requires the layer height to vary smoothly, and we want the layers to be as thick as possible as long as the step artifacts are not disturbing. For an automatic algorithm it is difficult to judge the importance of a feature to be printed in a high detail, therefore one often ends up with the whole object being printed with the thinnest layers allowed, making the automatic layer height useless.

We therefore implemented a slick and quick manual layer height editing tool to give the user a complete control over the details and smoothness of the prints. The user interface is easy to use and the layer simulation gives a realistic real-time feedback of the layer height effects on the appearance of the printed object.

The variable layer height feature offers following settings:

Minimum / maximum layer height could be configured per printer nozzle, limiting the user adjustments. On Prusa i3 MK2 printer, a reasonable layer height span is from 0.07mm to 0.25mm for the standard 0.4mm diameter nozzle.

Interactive layer editing could be disabled per printer settings.

The layer height profile is loaded from / stored into an AMF file.

New supports
The supports were completely rewritten.

The old supports were very slow, for some objects they did not finish even after couple of days #91.

The new supports are aligned with a regular grid to guarantee their stability and a speed of calculation. A support tower covers at least a single grid cell, where the grid has the spacing of the base support lines.

If placed on top of an object, the old supports often fused to the object, being impossible to remove without leaving ugly scars. The new supports control both the top and bottom gaps with a high accuracy, therefore the supports could be removed easily while ensuring a good accuracy of the object overhangs.

The support interface layers were covered by "interface loops" by default in the old Slic3r. Now the "interface loops" are switchable and disabled by default. With the interface layers enabled but the "interface loops" disabled, the objects overhangs are well defined.

Spacing between the object and its support in the XY plane could now be configured by a new parameter "support_material_xy_spacing". Credit for some bits to @lordofhyphens.

Maximum support layer height respects the new maximum layer height configured by Printer/Nozzle/maximum layer height settings. This is the same parameter, which sets the cap on the maximum layer height in the variable layer height editor.

When the support extruder index is set to 0, support is printed with the current material without a tool change. This is useful for multi material print with non-soluble supports, where the tool change is an expensive operation, which should be avoided if possible.

As before, the supports are printed with layer heights independent from the object layers to speed up the print. To keep a tight control on the vertical gaps between an object and its support, the layer thickness is now being modulated during the print head movement to achieve a variable layer height effect without a movement in the Z axis.

Other changes

This release contains following improvements:

Calculation of used filament weight & price, thanks to @lordofhyphens #21. The filament statistics is displayed first after the G-code is exported.

Write the G-code to a temporary file before renaming to a final name, thanks to @alexrj. This prevents the user to copy an incomplete G-code to the printer.

Added an experimental "rear" seam option. While Slic3r is good at hiding seams into corners, there are no corners on round objects. The "rear" seam option moves those seams to the rear side of the object. It is left to the user to orient the object with the less important details facing the rear side of the print bed.

Background processing is now disabled by default as the background processing makes Slic3r unstable, and the default mode is set to expert.

Added Repetier G-code flavor to support its acceleration settings #106 , thanks to @lordofhyphens.

Added logging capability. A logging level is set by an environment variable SLIC3R_LOGLEVEL in the range of 0 to 9, where logging is disabled for SLIC3R_LOGLEVEL=0 and the most detailed logging information is produced for SLIC3R_LOGLEVEL=9.

Speed-up due to the parallelization of the slicing step, perimeter generator and fill-ins, thanks to @alexrj.

This release contains following bug fixes:

Number of solid top/bottom layers ignored #79, #60, #101, #108.

Fixed flickering on zooming in a 3D view by a scroll wheel.

Fixed an issue when loading an AMF file with multiple objects: Object names are now retained.

Fix of "Post processing scripts not working" alexrj#3698.

Fix of "Avoid placement of seams on bridging perimeters, if random seam is enabled" alexrj#3526.

Fix of "Stuck on 'Processing triangulated mesh...'" #75 alexrj#3613 alexrj#3614 , thanks to @alexrj.

Fix of a crash when a new Perl OpenGL module version 0.70 is used. Thanks to @lordofhyphens for investigation.

Prusa Research specific:

Our binary packages were missing Asian locales, without which the Slic3r refused to start on Asian Windows #73. The new Slic3r binary packages contain locales for Chinese, Japanese and Korean languages.

OSX builds have now the multi-sample anti-aliasing enabled for the 3D visualization and Slic3r declares itself as "retina compatible", therefore the UI is now displayed sharply on retina displays with the exception of the 3D visualization. The 3D visualization, while now anti-aliased, is still rendered with half resolution on retina displays.

Opublikowany : 10/02/2017 10:00 pm

gabriele.s2

(@gabriele-s2)

Estimable Member

Re: BETA: Slic3r 1.33.3 Prusa Edition

Should I wait for the release version to update the Ubuntu PPA or would users prefer it to be updated right away? (You can always choose to not install the update when prompted.)

- Gab

Opublikowany : 11/02/2017 3:12 am

herve.t

(@herve-t)

Active Member

Re: BETA: Slic3r 1.33.3 Prusa Edition

i was hoping it would work on my 10.8.5 Mac Pro...but as all new versions, it still doesn't 😕

Opublikowany : 11/02/2017 9:11 am

Daniel

(@daniel-17)

Eminent Member

Re: BETA: Slic3r 1.33.3 Prusa Edition

This sound as an amazing work! The variable layer height, multicore performance improvements for slicing, better supports generation algorithm and the long awaited "estimation" of the used filament are magic bullets! That means that we no longer need to recommend Simplify3d!

I'm so happy that selling a lot of Mk2 allow Prusa to invest in the development of the software!

Opublikowany : 11/02/2017 10:23 am

TH Sturgill

(@th-sturgill)

Active Member

Re: BETA: Slic3r 1.33.3 Prusa Edition

Three comments:
1) If possible, slicer costs should show after slicing, not wait for exporting.
2) Linux version, when slicing there appears to be a button beside the progress bar, but the height of the space is too small. The button label is unreadable. This is not a "new" issue.
3) on the variable layer height, it is not clear how that works if multiple objects are on the plate. If it applies to only the highlighted piece, is there a way to make it global? I print parts from PrintableScenery.com and and on floors and some walls I want a higher detail only in a small range (top 1mm of an 8-10mm object), but need it on several pieces, not always the same part.

Opublikowany : 11/02/2017 5:50 pm

gabriele.s2

(@gabriele-s2)

Estimable Member

Re: BETA: Slic3r 1.33.3 Prusa Edition

Variable layer height is amazing. 🙂

- Gab

Opublikowany : 12/02/2017 3:22 am

avi.s

(@avi-s)

Trusted Member

Re: BETA: Slic3r 1.33.3 Prusa Edition

Should I wait for the release version to update the Ubuntu PPA or would users prefer it to be updated right away?

Can you create an additional PPA so that we can install slic3r-prusa-beta in addition to slic3r-prusa, similar to the way you can install openscad-mcad and openscad-nightly? This way we can have the stable and beta version running side-by-side.

Opublikowany : 12/02/2017 7:35 am

gabriele.s2

(@gabriele-s2)

Estimable Member

Re: BETA: Slic3r 1.33.3 Prusa Edition

Should I wait for the release version to update the Ubuntu PPA or would users prefer it to be updated right away?

Can you create an additional PPA so that we can install slic3r-prusa-beta in addition to slic3r-prusa, similar to the way you can install openscad-mcad and openscad-nightly? This way we can have the stable and beta version running side-by-side.

Having them running side by side requires some extra work, I'll see if I can find the time but no promises.

I can add a slic3r-prusa-beta package easily but then they would conflict and you'd need to install either one or the other.

Note that if you want to run them both, downloading the binary is easy enough as if you have Slic3r Prusa Edition already installed via the PPA you already have all the dependencies, so you can try the beta by starting it from the folder you downloaded it into. [Of note, I was not able to get the --datadir option to work, in order to keep the settings for the two versions separate.]

Unrelated - am I blind or is there no way to see a print time estimate? The new estimates only show filament length, weight and cost?

- Gab

Opublikowany : 12/02/2017 11:42 pm

avi.s

(@avi-s)

Trusted Member

Re: BETA: Slic3r 1.33.3 Prusa Edition

Note that if you want to run them both, downloading the binary is easy enough as if you have Slic3r Prusa Edition already installed via the PPA you already have all the dependencies, so you can try the beta by starting it from the folder you downloaded it into. [Of note, I was not able to get the --datadir option to work, in order to keep the settings for the two versions separate.]

Thanks for the tip about running the beta binarty without a need for the PPA once the release PPA is installed. It works. I also tried the --datadir option and it worked for me in most case (see below).

I ran ./slic3r --datadir /home/avi/Downloads/t/

It went through the initial setting questions and filled the directory I pointed to with the following files/directories:

drwxrwxr-x 2 avi avi 4096 Feb 12 18:15 filament drwxrwxr-x 2 avi avi 4096 Feb 12 18:15 print drwxrwxr-x 2 avi avi 4096 Feb 12 18:15 printer -rw-rw-r-- 1 avi avi 301 Feb 12 18:15 slic3r.ini

So it seems that the --datadir option works as long as I don't have a space in the path. If I have a space anywhere in the path I get an error about Input file must have .stl, .obj or .amf(.xml) extension

Opublikowany : 13/02/2017 1:28 am

gabriele.s2

(@gabriele-s2)

Estimable Member

Re: BETA: Slic3r 1.33.3 Prusa Edition

Ah, that must have been it, hmm next time I'll try double escaping the spaces or just symlink to a path with no spaces. 🙂

- Gab

Opublikowany : 13/02/2017 4:48 am

avi.s

(@avi-s)

Trusted Member

Re: BETA: Slic3r 1.33.3 Prusa Edition

Ah, that must have been it, hmm next time I'll try double escaping the spaces or just symlink to a path with no spaces. 🙂

That's what I did. Linked '3D printing' to '3D_printing' 🙂

Opublikowany : 13/02/2017 5:16 am

Vojtěch Bubník

(@vojtech-bubnik)

Member Admin

Re: BETA: Slic3r 1.33.3 Prusa Edition

> i was hoping it would work on my 10.8.5 Mac Pro...but as all new versions, it still doesn't 😕

Sorry, we build on OS X 10.9 Mavericks. Cannot you update your OSX?

Opublikowany : 13/02/2017 4:38 pm

Vojtěch Bubník

(@vojtech-bubnik)

Member Admin

Re: BETA: Slic3r 1.33.3 Prusa Edition

> 1) If possible, slicer costs should show after slicing, not wait for exporting.

I have used the work by Joseph Lennox. Slic3r does not have the complete information yet about the G-code when the preview is ready, so it may not be technically possible before the G-code export, but I did not look deep enough yet.

> 2) Linux version, when slicing there appears to be a button beside the progress bar, but the height of the space is too small. The button label is unreadable. This is not a "new" issue.

Please create an issue https://github.com/prusa3d/Slic3r/issues

> 3) on the variable layer height, it is not clear how that works if multiple objects are on the plate. If it applies to only the highlighted piece, is there a way to make it global? I print parts from PrintableScenery.com and and on floors and some walls I want a higher detail only in a small range (top 1mm of an 8-10mm object), but need it on several pieces, not always the same part.

The layer height profile is set per object. If you print a single object multiple times, then I believe it will be applied on all of them, but you have to use the "+" button to duplicate the object, not load the same object multiple times.

Opublikowany : 13/02/2017 4:43 pm

Vojtěch Bubník

(@vojtech-bubnik)

Member Admin

Re: BETA: Slic3r 1.33.3 Prusa Edition

> So it seems that the --datadir option works as long as I don't have a space in the path. If I have a space anywhere in the path I get an error about

If you think there is a bug, please create a bug report

https://github.com/prusa3d/Slic3r/issues

Thanks

Opublikowany : 13/02/2017 4:44 pm

herve.t

(@herve-t)

Active Member

Re: BETA: Slic3r 1.33.3 Prusa Edition

> i was hoping it would work on my 10.8.5 Mac Pro...but as all new versions, it still doesn't 😕

Sorry, we build on OS X 10.9 Mavericks. Cannot you update your OSX?

today, i just install El Capitan, to try it...bad idea.
So i install Mavericks...was ok, but make my Old Mac pro really slow (with 20G ram?)
So i come back to Mountain Lion... 🙄

Opublikowany : 13/02/2017 11:16 pm

avi.s

(@avi-s)

Trusted Member

Re: BETA: Slic3r 1.33.3 Prusa Edition

> So it seems that the --datadir option works as long as I don't have a space in the path. If I have a space anywhere in the path I get an error about

If you think there is a bug, please create a bug report

https://github.com/prusa3d/Slic3r/issues

Thanks

I just did. #128

Opublikowany : 14/02/2017 6:54 am

Vojtěch Bubník

(@vojtech-bubnik)

Member Admin

Re: BETA: Slic3r 1.33.3 Prusa Edition

> today, i just install El Capitan, to try it...bad idea.
> So i install Mavericks...was ok, but make my Old Mac pro really slow (with 20G ram?)

Probably it requires a better graphics card for all the gimmicks they developed at Cupertino?

> So i come back to Mountain Lion... 🙄

If you are brave, you may try to compile Slic3r on Mountain Lion, but it is very lengthy and a pain.

https://github.com/alexrj/Slic3r/wiki/Building-Slic3r-on-OSX-and-Windows-for-Distribution

Opublikowany : 14/02/2017 1:11 pm

herve.t

(@herve-t)

Active Member

Re: BETA: Slic3r 1.33.3 Prusa Edition

> today, i just install El Capitan, to try it...bad idea.
> So i install Mavericks...was ok, but make my Old Mac pro really slow (with 20G ram?)

Probably it requires a better graphics card for all the gimmicks they developed at Cupertino?

> So i come back to Mountain Lion... 🙄

If you are brave, you may try to compile Slic3r on Mountain Lion, but it is very lengthy and a pain.

https://github.com/alexrj/Slic3r/wiki/Building-Slic3r-on-OSX-and-Windows-for-Distribution

few month ago i have already update my graphic card...(see picture/file)
and even if it is a old Mac, it is a good "old" one 🙂
anyway, thanks for your help

Opublikowany : 14/02/2017 2:08 pm

avi.s

(@avi-s)

Trusted Member

Re: BETA: Slic3r 1.33.3 Prusa Edition

Ah, that must have been it, hmm next time I'll try double escaping the spaces or just symlink to a path with no spaces. 🙂

Modify the slic3r script and replace

"$DIR/bin/perl5.22.0" "$DIR/bin/slic3r.pl" $@

with this

"$DIR/bin/perl5.22.0" "$DIR/bin/slic3r.pl" "$@"

The code in the repository was fixed already but no need to wait for the next release.

Opublikowany : 14/02/2017 9:45 pm

herve.t

(@herve-t)

Active Member

Re: BETA: Slic3r 1.33.3 Prusa Edition

> today, i just install El Capitan, to try it...bad idea.
> So i install Mavericks...was ok, but make my Old Mac pro really slow (with 20G ram?)

Probably it requires a better graphics card for all the gimmicks they developed at Cupertino?

> So i come back to Mountain Lion... 🙄

If you are brave, you may try to compile Slic3r on Mountain Lion, but it is very lengthy and a pain.

https://github.com/alexrj/Slic3r/wiki/Building-Slic3r-on-OSX-and-Windows-for-Distribution

...unfortunately, i am absolutely not able to do something like this 😕

Opublikowany : 14/02/2017 10:12 pm