travel speed in cura

Cura Speed – Everything You Need to Know!

Printing speed in Cura plays a massive part in getting excellent print results. At first, you’ll only see “Cura Speed” and “Skirt/Brim Speed” in the main drop-down menu, but if you open up the settings, you can access many Cura speed settings.

Cura print speed is the speed at which the print head moves while printing. Cura speeds are represented in mm/s. You can adjust the print speed of specific parts of your model for increased accuracy or to decrease the print time.

Fine details are printed well at low speeds while basic models can be printed faster. By using the right print speed for the specific model you’re printing, you can improve your print quality and increase its strength.

Here’s everything you need to know about Cura speed and how each setting affects your print.

Cura Speed Settings

To make all of the speed settings visible, go to the settings tab and click on “configure setting visibility”. Type the word “speed” in the search bar and check all the boxes for the speed settings below. Print speed and Skirt/Brim speed are enabled by default and won’t need to be checked off.

• Print Speed

Adjusting the print speed changes the first six advanced speed settings on the list below. For example, the “Wall Speed” is automatically changed to half the value of the “Print Speed”. So if your print speed is 50mm/s, your Wall Speed will automatically be set to 25mm/s. However, you can change any value after you’ve set the main Print Speed.

The default speed values are unique to your printer.

Print Speed Affects:

Infill Speed

Top/bottom speed, travel speed.

• Raft Print Speed

The speed at which the infill is printed . By default, the infill speed is set to the same as the print speed but you can make it faster in most cases. You can make it faster because the infill isn’t visible in the end and doesn’t require flawless precision.

I like to keep the infill speed the same as the default print speed but if you want it to print faster, you can usually increase the infill speed by at least 20% to save a few hours depending on the model.

The fastest infill pattern is the lines pattern, but it’s also the weakest. The honeycomb pattern is the best in terms of material required and strength.

Infill Speed is affected by:

The speed at which the walls are printed. By default, the wall speed is set to half the print speed. If your print speed is 50mm/s, the wall speed will be set at 25mm/s. Changing the wall speed will change the outer and inner wall print speeds but you can adjust the different wall speeds independently.

Wall Speed Affects:

Outer Wall Speed

Inner wall speed.

Wall Speed is affected by:

The speed at which the outer wall is printed. The outer walls should be printed at a lower speed to minimize errors because the outer walls are what you see in the completed part.

• Support Speed
• Bridge Wall Speed

Print Speed is affected by:

The speed at which inner walls are printed. Inner walls can be printed slightly faster than outer walls because you won’t see them in the final print.

Inner Wall Speed is affected by:

The speed at which the top and bottom layers will print. Similar to the outer walls, the top and bottom speeds are half the print speed by default.

Top/Bottom Speed Affects:

• Ironing Speed
• Top Surface Skin Speed
• Support Interface Speed
• Prime Tower Speed
• Bridge Skin Speed

Travel speed refers to the speed at which the extruder head moves when it’s not printing. This will usually be much faster than the print speed, around three times faster. It can be this fast because it doesn’t lay any plastic down while traveling. Don’t set it too high though or your printer may become unstable. Two to three times your print speed should be perfect.

Travel Speed is affected by:

• Initial Layer Speed

The speed at which the printer head prints and travels during the initial layer.

Initial Layer Print Speed

Initial layer travel speed, skirt/brim speed.

The speed at which the initial layer is printed. This is usually around 40% of the print speed by default to assist with bed adhesion and to decrease other structural issues like warping.

Initial Layer Print Speed is affected by:

• Initial layer speed

The speed at which the printer head moves while it isn’t printing . This is usually at least 100mm/s but can be faster if your printer is stable enough.

The speed at which the Skirt/Brim is printed. Normally this would be the same as the initial layer speed if you don’t change it. Both of which are printed at lower speeds for better bed adhesion.

Skirt/Brim Speed is affected by:

How Do I Change The Speed In Cura?

To change the speed in Cura:

• Click on the main drop-down menu on the top right to open the print settings.
• Expand the “Speed” section of the menu.
• Input the Print Speed you’d like to print at.

By adjusting the “Print Speed”, most of the other speed settings will be adjusted automatically. If you want to adjust the other speed settings independently, open the settings visibility in the settings tab at the top and check off all the speed settings you’d like to adjust. Speed settings you check off will be available in your main drop-down menu.

How Can I Speed Up My Cura Print?

To speed up your Cura print in the settings, expand the “Speed” section of the main drop-down menu. Increase the “Print Speed” in small increments, like 50mm/s to 55mm/s and evaluate the results each time to make sure there are no major defects.

You can also decrease the “Infill Density” to speed up the print. Of course, the lower the infill density, the weaker the print will be.

What Is A Good Print Speed For PLA?

50mm/s is a good print speed for PLA in most instances. It’s fast enough to print without oozing while being slow enough to print with detail. Most 3D printers can print PLA at speeds of 20 to 100mm/s while producing excellent results.

Which Infill Pattern Is The Fastest?

The “lines” infill pattern is the fastest to print. Lines take little material and the printer head doesn’t need to change direction as much as other patterns require. Using lines for the infill will cause the model to have a weak structure so it’s best only to use for prints that don’t require much strength.

Can You 3D Print Too Slow?

You can print too slow, which causes deformations in your print. Printing too slowly causes the nozzle to come into contact with the plastic it laid and causes defects. Slow printing can also cause stringing.

Related Articles

• Create a Temperature Tower Using Cura – The Easy Way
• Cura Profiles
• Cura VS Simplify3D – Which is Right for You?
• Cura Brim Build Plate Adhesion – Everything You Need to Know!
• Cura Hacks – My Picks!

In most cases, you can leave your Cura print speed on the default value. Cura has default speed values for the printer you chose during the setup. You can increase the speed with certain prints but the physical stability of your printer will limit you. If the print speed is too high, the printer will shake and ruin the print.

If you increase the speed by a large percent, you may need to increase the nozzle temperature to help the plastic flow fast enough.

Decreasing the infill value and increasing the infill speed are ways to print faster without sacrificing visible detail on the end product. You can also use the lines infill pattern to make it faster if the part doesn’t need to be very strong.

Make sure you check out our YouTube channel, and if you would like any additional details or have any questions, please leave a comment below or join us on Discord . If you liked this article and want to read others click here .

I'm Rob, the founder of 3dprintscape.com. I’m a Marine Corps vet with a master’s degree in Information Systems and have been working in the technology field for over a decade. I started working with 3D printers because I was fascinated by the technology and wanted a hobby that my kids and I can enjoy together.

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Most Important Cura Settings for 3D Printing (Print Quality, Speed & More)

If you have a 3D printer, then there’s a 99.99% chance you know about Ultimaker Cura. It’s only the most popular 3D slicer for FDM 3D printers out there (and it’s free)!

Cura is home to literally hundreds and hundreds of different settings and options, making it perhaps the most versatile 3D printer slicer software. While most experienced 3D printing enthusiasts can read and understand these settings like basic English, they can be a bit confusing for those new to the hobby.

And, to be honest, the technical terms in Cura, such as “Infill Overlaps Percentage” and “Combing Mode” sounds a lot more intimidating than they actually are. But, nonetheless, knowing how to use these settings is very important if you want to achieve the highest-quality prints.

Today, I’ll be going over the most important settings in Cura in simple terms , explaining what each one does and how you can use it. In no time, you’ll be able to figure out what settings to change to improve your 3D prints!

Table of Contents

Why Use Cura?

Cura settings for 3d printing, layer height, initial layer height, wall thickness, wall line count, top/bottom thickness , top/bottom layers, enable ironing, infill density, infill pattern, infill overlap percentage, printing temperature, printing temperature initial layer, build plate temperature, build plate temperature initial layer, print speed, initial layer speed, travel speed, enable retraction, retract at layer change, retraction distance, retraction speed, combing mode, avoid printed parts when traveling, avoid supports when traveling, z hop when retracted, enable print cooling, initial fan speed, regular fan speed at height, generate support, support structure type, support density, support overhang angle, support z distance, build plate adhesion type, skirt/brim line count, dual extrusion, print sequence, surface mode, spiralize outer contour, make overhang printable, use adaptive layers, tuning settings.

But before we dive into the settings, you might be wondering why you should even use Cura. The simple answer: it’s the best and most versatile slicing platform around .

Furthermore, Cura has the most adjustable slicer settings than any other slicer software (including PrusaSlicer and Simplify3D). This means you have the most opportunities to fine-tune the print quality.

Additionally, Cura’s interface and layout make the platform usable for anyone, whether it’s their first day with a 3D printer or their thousandth. Moreover, beginners benefit from Cura’s default setting selection, which only covers the high-level, basic settings, like layer height and infill density. This makes slicing 3D prints a lot easier!

But, at the same time, 3D printing professionals can set Cura’s setting selection to “Expert” or “Show All” to have more setting options so they can make more specific adjustments to the print quality.

It’s also worth pointing out that Cura is open-source and has a large community following , so it’s always being developed and new features are added monthly. Plus, there’s a repository of plug-ins that expand what Cura is capable of. Check out our article about the best Cura plug-ins to learn more about this.

With that in mind, let’s get started!

There are hundreds of different adjustable slicer settings within Cura’s interface, and below, I’ll be explaining the most useful and practical ones. As there are so many settings, I’ve organized them into their respective sections in Cura, like “Quality” and “Infill”.

And, if you can’t see a setting, it’s probably because your Cura setting selection is not set to “All”. To fix this, click the settings menu in Cura and then click the three-dashed-bars icon in the top right. Finally, select “All” to show all of Cura’s available settings!

Now, let’s get to it!

Our first section of Cura settings is Quality. The heavy hitters in the Quality section include settings like layer height, line width, and more! These settings are usually the most impactful on the print quality and visual appearance of your 3D prints.

The first setting is layer height . Layer height controls the Z-axis distance of each layer of your print; in other words, it’s how much the nozzle moves up after each layer.

The layer height is usually considered the most relevant setting for what we call print quality, which is basically how good and detailed your 3D model comes out. The smaller the layer height, the more layers make up a 3D print, giving the machine more space to include detail and small features on the 3D model.

On the reverse side, a larger layer height yields larger layers and less detail on your 3D print. But, on the upside, a larger layer height provides more strength for your 3D prints , making it useful for printing functional models (e.g. mechanical gear).

The most common layer height for FDM 3D printers is 0.2 mm , and this provides a good mix between detail and strength on your 3D prints. Feel free to change this value, though, if you’re printing high-detail models or parts that require a lot of strength.

The initial layer height setting controls the layer height ONLY for the first layer of your print job. This is a useful setting because too small or too large of a layer height may cause issues with the bed adhesion for the first layer of your print.

Moreover, if you’re using a very high or very low layer height but don’t want issues with first-layer bed adhesion, you can use an initial height of 0.2 mm, which usually works great regarding bed adhesion.

The line width setting controls the width of each line (of melted filament) that the nozzle lays down. For example, if this value is set to 0.4 mm, a single nozzle pass will create a strand of plastic that’s 0.4-mm in width.

Make sure to keep this setting at Cura’s default value, which should be equivalent to the size of your nozzle. For example, if you have a Creality Ender 3, which (by default) uses a 0.4-mm nozzle, then the line width should be set to 0.4 mm.

The Walls section in Cura includes all of the relevant slicer settings for 3D printed walls (sometimes called “shells”). For reference, the walls on a 3D print are the completely-solid structures that separate the infill portion of your model from the outside of the part.

Perhaps the most important wall-related setting in Cura is the Wall Thickness. This setting, as it sounds, controls how thick the walls of your print are . The thicker the walls, the more durable and sturdy your 3D print is. Also, if you’re printing a model that you want to be waterproof, then use a high wall thickness value.

For standard, normal 3D prints, I like to use a wall thickness of 0.8 or 1.2 mm.

The Wall Line Count setting is directly related to the Wall Thickness setting we just went over. Moreover, this setting is set to the wall thickness divided by the line width setting. If you want a certain number of walls, then make sure to adjust this setting which will automatically change the wall thickness setting.

Next, the Top/Bottom section in Cura includes settings related to the top and bottom layers of your 3D print. The top and bottom layers of your print, just like the walls, are another part of the “shell” of your model. These sections of your print are completely solid and separate the infill portion of the model from the outside.

The Top/Bottom Thickness setting controls how thick the top and bottom sections of your 3D print are. The higher this value, the more filament will be used, the longer your print will take, but, also, the stronger and more durable your model will be!

I like to use a Top/Bottom Thickness of 0.8 or 1.2 mm, but feel free to increase or decrease this value depending on if you want strength or speed for your 3D print.

Just like with the Wall Line Count setting, the Top/Bottom Layers setting is directly related to the Top/Bottom Thickness setting. Moreover, this value is automatically set to the Top/Bottom Thickness divided by the set line width. You can change this value if you want to set the wall thickness as a number of layers rather than a distance.

Ironing is a very special slicing feature that uses the heat from the nozzle to essentially iron (just like you would with clothes) the top layer of a 3D print. This smooths out the layer lines on the topmost layer of a 3D printed model to make it look better.

To activate ironing, you can turn on the “Enable Ironing” setting in Cura, and a list of ironing-specific slicer settings will appear. While I won’t dive into these settings, I do recommend turning on ironing if you’re printing a mid-large-size 3D model that you want to look super smooth, like a trophy.

The next Cura settings section is Infill. If you didn’t already know, infill is specific to 3D printing and basically, no other manufacturing style allows you to control the internal density of a part. As such, the infill settings listed below, like Infill Density and Infill Pattern, are super important.

The Infill Density setting is a percentage value that controls the “full-ness” of the inside of your 3D print. An infill density of 100% means your part will be 100% solid, while a 0% infill density makes your 3D model hollow (with the walls and top/bottom layers still present).

Obviously, the higher this percentage, the more filament your print will consume, the heavier your 3D model will be, and the longer your print will take. But, it also makes your model more sturdy and durable!

For most prints, I suggest using a 20-30% infill density . And, if you’re printing a part that needs to be strong, consider going up to 50-80%.

The infill pattern is the arrangement in which the infill material is laid out inside your 3D model. While you can’t see the infill pattern on a 3D print, it’s still an important slicer setting as it impacts the strength of your print, as well as its weight and print time.

I recommend the cubic infill pattern as it provides strength across all three axes (X, Y, Z), and doesn’t make your prints too long or too heavy. The grid, lines, and triangle patterns also are available in Cura and work well for any type of 3D model, whether it needs to be strong or contains a lot of detail.

Check out our related articles on the best Cura infill patterns and strongest infill patterns here to learn more.

The Infill Overlap Percentage controls how much the infill portion of your 3D print overlaps with the walls of your 3D print. In Cura, the default value for this setting is 30%, and I recommend leaving it at this so the infill is well-bonded to the shell of your model. This makes your part stronger!

The Material section in Cura covers everything related to heat, including the nozzle and bed temperatures.

The Printing Temperature setting in Cura is the nozzle temperature, and it is one of the most important settings on any 3D slicer. That’s because the nozzle temp is directly correlated with the flow of filament.

Moreover, the higher the Printing Temperature is set, the hotter the nozzle gets, and the faster filament will be melted. As such, if you want to increase the print speed, make sure you also increase the printing temperature.

And, if you’re experiencing under-extrusion in your 3D prints, consider raising the Printing Temperature. The reverse is true for over-extrusion.

Sometimes you may want to use a higher Printing Temperature for the first layer, and the Printing Temperature Initial Layer setting allows you to do this. When I’m having bed adhesion issues, I like to make this setting about 5 °C higher than my normal Printing Temperature to ensure no under-extrusion occurs.

The Build Plate Temperature setting, also known as the bed temperature, controls how hot your printer’s heated bed gets . A heated bed is practically a necessity on a 3D printer as it helps a ton with achieving good first-layer bed adhesion and preventing issues like warping and elephant’s foot.

You should set the Build Plate Temperature to the value suggested by the manufacturer of your filament. And, if you’re having bed adhesion issues, try increasing the bed temp by 5 or 10 °C.

Just like with the Printing Temperature, you may want a different Build Plate Temperature for the first layer of your print. If so, use Cura’s Build Plate Temperature Initial Layer setting. When I’m printing in a cold room, I like to set this value to 10 °C above what my normal Build Plate Temperature is to ensure no warping occurs on my print.

Next, in this section, I’ll go over some of the most important settings related to the speed of your printer.

The Print Speed setting in Cura is a blanket setting that controls how fast filament is pushed out the nozzle . Obviously, the higher this value, the faster your 3D model will be printed.

And, as I mentioned, this setting is a blanket setting, meaning changing it will adjust a handful of sub-settings, each related to a specific print action. For example, changing the Print Speed from 60 mm/s to 30 mm/s will make the default Wall Speed go from 30 mm/s to 15 mm/s.

Also, it’s worth noting that you should accompany any increase (or decrease) in your Print Speed with a similar adjustment in the Printing Temperature setting.

Check out our more in-depth article on the best print speed settings for different types of filament here to learn more.

The Initial Layer Speed setting controls how fast filament is pushed (and the printhead moves) during the first layer of your print job. By default, the Initial Speed value is set much lower than the regular Print Speed setting, and I recommend keeping it this way.

The Travel Speed controls how fast your machine’s printhead moves during non-extrusion moves, such as when it’s moving from one section of a print to another. A higher travel speed will yield faster prints (lower print times), but don’t go too crazy. A Travel Speed as high as 200 mm/s should work fine, but be careful of raising it past this as it could cause some printing issues.

The Travel section in Cura contains a handful of useful settings related to retraction (when filament is pulled back from the hot end) and anti-stringing actions.

First in this section is the “Enable Retraction” setting. Retraction describes the process of the extruder pulling back filament from the hot end assembly to relieve pressure in the hot end and prevent stringing from occurring.

I suggest turning this setting on. Doing so will reveal a handful of retraction-related settings, some of which, I’ve gone over in the other sections.

The Retract at Layer Change setting is a boolean setting (can be turned on or off) that tells the printer to make a retraction move every time a layer is finished. This helps eliminate stringing, and I suggest turning this setting on.

The Retraction Distance is one of the most important settings related to retraction and it is the distance of filament that’s pulled back each time a retraction occurs. The higher this value, effectively, the more pressure will be relieved from the hot end, so increasing this setting is a good way to reduce stringing on prints. However, increasing the retraction distance too much can cause nozzle and hot end jams, so don’t increase it too much.

The retraction speed is another important setting related to refraction and it controls how fast the extruder pushes and pulls filament from the hot end during retraction moves . Just like the retraction distance, increasing the retraction speed can help reduce stringing on prints.

Make sure to check out our article on the best retraction speed and distance settings to learn more.

The combing mode is a multi-option setting in Cura that controls how the printhead moves around the print space. There are a few different options for the combing mode, including “Off”, “All”, “Not In Skin”, “Within Infill”, and “Not On Outer Surface”.

I won’t go into how each combing mode works, but it’s worth noting that the “Not In Skin” and “Within Infill” options are most effective at reducing stringing on prints.

There’s not much to explain here; the name says it all! I suggest turning this setting on!

Just like the previous setting, the Avoid Supports When Traveling works just like it sounds. Moreover, when this setting is turned, the printhead won’t go over the support structures when moving around the print space. This reduces the chances of the printhead accidentally knocking over a support structure.

I suggest leaving this setting turned on!

The Z Hop When Retracted setting tells your printer to move the printhead up every time a retraction move occurs. It helps reduce stringing and the chances of the printhead hitting a section of the print.

I recommend turning tis setting turned on!

Next, the Cooling setting section in Cura covers all the fan settings which impact how filament is cooled when it comes out of the nozzle. Cooling is very important to the 3D printing process, so make sure you know how to use these settings.

First off, the “Print Cooling” setting is just as it sounds: it turns on the part cooling fan on your machine’s printhead. You should turn it on most of the time as cooling is helpful for printing most filament materials (e.g. PLA , PETG ).

However, when printing certain materials, like ABS or ASA, you might want to turn print cooling off as cooling can hurt prints made with these filament materials.

If you enabled print cooling, you’ll have the ability to set the Fan Speed setting, which controls how fast the part cooling fan spins . The higher the Fan Speed, which is expressed as a percentage, the more cooling on your printer. As such, if you notice droopy sections of a print, consider increasing the Fan Speed.

The Initial Fan Speed setting in Cura controls the fan speed for the first layer . It’s common practice to leave this value at 0% as cooling the first layer can cause warping and other bed adhesion issues.

Next, the Regular Fan Speed at Height sets the layer at which your printer switches from using the Initial Fan Speed to the regular Fan Speed percentage. I like to keep this setting at 3-5 layers, as this gives enough time for the first layer to properly adhere to the build plate.

Next, the Supports section controls the settings related to support structures on 3D prints. For reference, supports on 3D prints are structures generated by your 3D slicer software that help your machine successfully print overhangs on models. 

First, you’ll have to decide whether to use support structures or not on your 3D print. I recommend turning the “Generate Support” setting on only when you’re printing a model that has somewhat large overhangs that you don’t think your 3D printer can handle without help.

There are two different types of support structures you can choose from in Cura, including Normal and Tree supports. I’ve discussed each type below:

Normal supports in Cura are support structures that have regular geometries. They start right beneath the overhang on the model and end right below the overhang to make it easy for the printer to successfully lay down filament in the overhang.

On the other hand, Tree overhangs are a special, algorithmically-generated type of support structure that’s meant to reduce filament usage, and print time, and make the bottom surface of the overhang as smooth as possible. Using Tree supports, though, does increase the chance of a print failure as these structures are a bit more complicated than Normal supports.

The Support Density is the infill density of the support structure. This setting is expressed as a percentage, and raising the value is a good way to ensure your supports are sturdy and don’t fall over. However, I recommend leaving this setting at the default 10-20%, as supports don’t need to be too strong to function properly.

The Support Overhang Angle is one of the most important support settings and it’s a threshold value for overhang angles on prints. So, if you’re printing a model that has an overhang that has a 40° angle, but your Support Overhang Angle is set to 50°, then no support structures will be generated for that overhang.

I suggest leaving this value at 45°, as this is a limit that most printers can handle.

The Support Z Distance setting controls how much space is placed between the final layer of the support structure and the first layer of the overhang area of the actual 3D model. A higher Z distance will make support structures easier to remove!

Build Plate Adhesion

Next, the Build Plate Adhesion section has all of the settings related to bed adhesion, like for skirts, brims, and rafts .

The most important setting in this category is the Build Plate Adhesion Type, and there are three of them you can choose from. I’ve gone over each below:

A Skirt is the least-intensive bed adhesion assistant, and it is simply a few single-layer outlines of your 3D model that aren’t connected to the base of the part. As such, a Skirt provides no help with bed adhesion. But it does get your hot end ready to go for the real print by priming the extruder!

A Brim is my personal favorite Build Plate Adhesion Type and it’s like a Skirt, but only more outlines it’s actually connected to the base of your 3D model, so it does help with bed adhesion.

Lastly, a Raft is basically a base surface, standing a few layers tall, that is printed first and serves as a base for printing your actual 3D model. It provides the most bed adhesion for your print and helps the most with eliminating warping and other bed adhesion issues.

If you chose to go with a Skirt or a Brim, then you can set the Line Count, which is the number of nozzle passes (AKA outlines) that your printer makes for the skirt/brim. I like to use 4 for both skirts and brims!

While most people use Cura with single-extruder 3D printers, like the Creality Ender 3 , the slicer also has features to cater to dual-extruder 3D printers .

Moreover, there are a handful of settings related to dual extrusion in Cura, such as “Union Overlapping Volumes”, which merges internal sections of a 3D model so prints are less likely to fail. There are also settings like “Extensive Stitching”, “Remove All Holes”, and “Maximum Resolution”, which enable further control over your dual extruder printer. You won’t see these settings, though, unless you’ve configured your machine to have two extruders in Cura’s “Machine Settings” tab.

If I’m being honest, though, Ultimaker Cura probably isn’t the best slicer for dual-extruder printers, and other options, like Simplify3D and IdeaMaker, are better suited for these types of machines.

Special Modes

Special Modes is another section of useful slicer settings in Cura and, here, you’ll find many options (AKA “modes”) that enable very special and specific printing styles. I’ve gone over the most important special modes settings below:

Print sequence controls the order in which models are printed. Due to FDM 3D printers’ layer-by-layer approach, the default option for this setting is “All At Once”. However, in special scenarios, you can switch this to “One At A Time” if you want to print your 3D models one after another.

As you might expect, printing models one at a time requires them to be spaced out a good bit. If you don’t space them out enough, Cura won’t be able to slice the model.

Surface mode controls how Cura’s slicing engine treats the imported 3D models. The default option for this setting is “Normal”, which tells Cura to view your model like a regular volume and print every part of it, including enclosed areas.

However, you also have two other options for surface mode, including “Surface” and “Both”. The “Surface” mode, unlike the normal surface mode, tells Cura to treat your model like a non-volume surface, meaning your part will be printed with no infill or top/bottom layers. Finally, the “Both” option entails printing your part’s enclosed volumes regularly but treating the rest of the model as a mesh surface.

You shouldn’t need to change this setting at all unless you have a really niche print and want to try out the feature!

Next, the “Spiralize Outer Contour” feature in Cura is what most people call “ vase mode ”. Turning this setting on will tell Cura to print just the outer wall of your imported 3D model as well as a few bottom layers. This creates a vase-like version of your model.

Additionally, using the Spiralize Outer Contour setting will make your machine print the model with continuous extrusion. This yields a much higher-quality surface on your vase-like 3D model because continuous extrusion eliminates many printing issues like stringing.

You can check out our article all about Cura’s vase mode to learn more about this setting.

Experimental

Next, Cura’s Experimental section contains new, special-purpose settings that aren’t finished products yet. In other words, these settings are still in the works and might have a few bugs here and there, but offer next-gen printing abilities.

The make Overhang Printable option in Cura is a tool you can use to automatically modify the geometry of your imported 3D model so that the Minimum Support Overhang Angle isn’t met. 

This, as the name of the setting says, makes the overhangs on your model printable (without supports). I suggest leaving it turned off unless you don’t mind a slight change in the shape of your 3D model.

The Fuzzy Skin option is a very fun setting in Cura that, when turned on, will adjust how Cura tells your machine to print your 3D model so that the outer-most layer is…fuzzy. It’s not a super useful or practical setting, but, in some situations, it proves useful.

Finally, the Use Adaptive Layers option in Cura is a super practical setting that allows Cura to automatically change the layer height in some sections of your print when it makes the most sense. Moreover, when Adaptive Layers is turned on, Cura will use a larger layer height in the more basic sections of a print and a smaller layer height in the more heavily-detailed areas.

If you’ve familiarized yourself with the settings I discussed above, you might be wondering how to use them to your advantage. Well, if you want to employ your settings knowledge to improve the print quality, then you’ll have to be able to diagnose an issue, pick the right settings to change, and adjust them in the right amount and direction.

To help you out, I’ve provided a few examples of common print quality issues and some slicer setting adjustments you can use to solve them:

• Increase Printing Temperature
• Decrease Print Speed
• Lower Retraction Distance
• Decrease Printing Temperature
• Increase Print Speed
• Increase Retraction Distance
• Increase Retraction Speed
• Activate Spirzalize Outer Contour setting
• Use a Brim or Raft
• Increase Line Count (for a Brim)
• Turn on Z Hop When Retracted
• Increase Support Density
• Increase Fan Speed
• Increase Support Overhang Angle

Overall, there are many different settings in Cura, and all have a purpose and control of a different aspect of how your 3D printer actually prints a 3D model. But learning each and every setting is almost impossible and, to be honest, not very practical.

There are, though, many Cura settings that you should definitely know if you want to be able to solve different print quality issues, whether it’s under-extrusion, stringing, zits, or something else! Make sure you’ve read through each of the settings I went over in the above sections as all can be used to improve your print quality!

Hope this helps!

Related Articles:

• Best Cura Settings for Ender 3 (Pro/V2/S1)

About The Author

Jackson O'Connell

UltiMaker Cura - Speed settings

Nov 22, 2023 • knowledge, information, article details.

This article describes the various speed settings in UltiMaker Cura. These settings are available when opening the Custom mode.

The settings in the Speed category control the movements of the motion system, including speed, acceleration, and jerk.

Print speed

The print speed defines the speed (in mm/s) at which the print head moves while printing. Based on this setting, Ultimaker Cura calculates the extrusion flow. The print speed can be visualized per feature in the Layer view → Speed .

A higher print speed will lead to a shorter print time. Keep in mind that increasing the print speed means that you may have to increase the temperature as well to ensure the filament is properly melted.

Although you can choose one overall print speed for the complete print, it is also possible to use different print speeds for specific parts of the print:

• Infill Speed: The speed at which the infill material is printed. If the visual quality of the infill is not important, you could use a higher speed for the infill. However, keep in mind that this may affect the strength of your print.
• Outer Wall Speed: The speed at which the outer walls are printed. Printing the outer wall slower usually results in a better surface finish.
• Inner Wall Speed: The speed at which the inner walls are printed.
• Top Surface Outer Wall Speed: If the object has one or more top surface layers (this can be set in the Top/Bottom section), the outer wall speed for this layer can be adjusted separately.
• Top Surface Inner Wall Speed: If the object has one or more top surface layers (this can be set in the Top/Bottom section), the inner wall speed for this layer can be adjusted separately.
• Top Surface Skin Speed: The speed of the top surface skin layers. You can set the number of top surface layers in the Top/Bottom category.
• Top/Bottom Speed: The speed at which the top and bottom layers are printed. A lower speed increases the reliability of closure on the top layers, especially for large-area prints. Additionally, slower bottom layers will increase the surface quality for overhangs.
• Support Infill Speed: The speed at which support structures are printed. The quality of the support is not usually important, so a higher value can often be used here.
• Support Interface Speed: The speed at which support roofs and floors are printed. Since these need to adhere to the model properly, they should be printed at a slower speed. The settings for roofs and floors can be adjusted separately.

Example: This image shows the visualization of the different print speeds per model feature. You can see that the outer walls are printed slower than the top layers, and the infill is even faster.

Travel Speed

This is the speed at which the print head moves when it is not extruding. A higher travel speed decreases the chance of filament oozing from the nozzle, resulting in a cleaner object. However, higher speed could also cause the nozzle to hit a previously printed part, which may damage the print due to the heated nozzle. This can be prevented by using Z-hop when retracting. Additionally, very high travel speeds may cause accuracy issues.

The travel speed for the initial layer differs from the rest of the print to ensure proper adhesion with the build plate.

Initial Layer Speed

This setting controls the speed for the initial layer, the very first layer that is put onto the build plate. By default, the speed for the initial layer is lower than for the rest of the print. This ensures that the object adheres well to the build plate. There are two sub-settings controlled by the initial layer speed, but these can be adjusted separately:

• Initial Layer Print Speed: This is the speed at which the bottom layer is printed. By default, this is slower than the regular Print Speed settings.
• Initial Layer Travel Speed: This is the speed at which the print head moves when not extruding on the very first layer. Using a lower travel speed can reduce vibrations on the build plate. If your project contains many small parts on the first layer, using a lower travel speed will reduce the risk of these parts getting pulled away from the build plate by the print head.

Skirt/Brim Speed

It is possible to adjust the speed at which the skirt or brim is printed. This setting is the same as the Initial Layer Print Speed by default, but it can also be adjusted separately. Printing the skirt or brim slower ensures that they stick better to the build plate.

Z Hop speed

This setting changes the speed for all build plate moves during the print. This includes all layer changes and Z Hops. Faster Z-hops can reduce the chance of blobs or stringing on the model (when Z Hops are enabled). However, the horizontal movements are usually limited by the maximum acceleration rates of the Z axis.

Number of Slower Layers

This setting defines the number of layers it takes to reach the print speed from the bottom layer of the print. The speed will incline linearly over the number of layers specified, based on the Initial Layer Speed and Print Speed . A higher value decreases the chance of warping, but can also increase the print time significantly.

If the number of slower layers is 1, then only the very first layer will be printed slowly (according to the Initial Print Speed setting). The rest of the print will use the regular Print Speed settings. This can mean a sharp transition, especially if the difference between the two speed settings is big. Gradually increasing the speed over several layers can have a positive effect on print accuracy and ensures a smoother flow rate transition. However, using more slower slayers will increase the total printing time.

Example: In the picture below, the number of slower layers is set to four. During the first four layers, the speed will increase. From layer 5 onwards, the regular print speed settings will be used.

Flow equalization ratio

Printed lines with variable line widths are printed at different speeds to ensure the flow within the nozzle changes as little as possible. The Flow Equalization Ratio determines the correction to this flow and can be adjusted to compensate the flow further when needed.

This setting is a ratio. When set to 0%, the flow rate will be adjusted, while at 100%, the print speed is adjusted. Values between 0% and 100% combine the two. If this ratio exceeds 100%, the flow rate is reduced to produce thicker lines but the speed is reduced more to compensate. Higher values have the following effects:

• Higher likelihood of more accurate line widths.
• More equal flow rates, increasing reliability.
• Some chance of ringing due to faster movements in some places.

Example: This 3D model has been sliced with the default value of 110% Flow Equalization Ratio . As seen here, the line widths vary while the flow remains the same throughout the printed part.

Enable Acceleration Control

Acceleration is a very important part of printing. Just like a car, the print head needs to accelerate to get to the speeds as explained above. The acceleration reduces the speeds set in the firmware, making the print a little slower, but more accurate. Disable the setting to get the maximum acceleration.

When enabled, the acceleration settings for each part of the print can be adjusted separately. The biggest impact is on the outer parts of the printed model. Reduce the acceleration for the walls to reduce ringing (especially the outer walls) and for the top and bottom layers to increase watertightness.

Enable Jerk Control

Jerk defines the speed at which the print head can go through corners. When the print head changes direction, it would theoretically have to come to a full stop, which is not desirable for the print quality. Instead, Marlin allows for an instantaneous change in the velocity vector in each corner. Jerk is the magnitude of this change. Disable the setting to use the default jerk settings in the firmware.

Note: As this is a Marlin-based feature, the jerk settings will be ignored by every printer using a different firmware type.

Adjusting the jerk settings to higher values can have the following effects:

• Reduced print time because the print head slows down less.
• Less chance of blobs forming on the corners due to slow speeds.
• Increased vibrations can cause ringing on the print's outer surface.
• Extremely high values can cause the print head to miss steps and lead to layer shifts.

This is a theoretical image that shows the difference between speed, acceleration, and jerk.

Tip: Continue learning about all UltiMaker Cura custom settings. The next section is Travel .

The 3D Printer Bee

Creality K1 Max – Perfect Cura Settings for PLA, ABS, PETG, TPU

• Recent Posts

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Disclosure: Links marked with * are Affiliate Links. I earn from qualifying purchases if you decide to make a purchase through these links – at no additional cost for you!

The standard slicer for the Creality K1 Max is Creality Print, but it can also be operated with Cura. Compared to Creality Print, Cura offers greater flexibility and customizability in the settings. And since Creality Print is based on Cura, you always have the latest features when using Cura.

Therefore, during my detailed testing of this 3D printer, I optimized the settings in Cura for the K1 Max. In this article, I’ll share them with you and also show you how to create a new profile for this 3D printer.

Tip: The values shown here will deliver good results, but you will only achieve perfect results after calibration.

You can find out how to calibrate the K1 Max in this article . For an even more comprehensive understanding, here is the link to my 3D printing course , which covers the topic of calibration in more detail.

Table of Contents:

• 1 How to Create a Cura Profile for the Creality K1 Max
• 2.1 Print Temperature
• 2.2 Print Bed Temperature
• 2.3 Print Speed
• 2.4 Accelerations & Print Jerk
• 2.5 Retraction
• 2.7 First Layer
• 3 Conclusion

How to Create a Cura Profile for the Creality K1 Max

The Cura profile is divided into two main areas: the machine settings, which define the physical and technical specifications of the 3D printer, and the print settings, which define specific parameters such as print speed, layer height and temperature.

First, we need to define the machine settings correctly, for which Cura provides an empty profile as a starting point.

To add a 3D printer in Cura, follow these steps:

• Click on ‘Settings’, then on ‘Printers’, and select ‘Add printer’.
• Click on ‘Non-networked printer’.
• Select ‘Custom’ from the list and then ‘Custom FFF printer’.
• Enter the name of your printer.
• Finally, click on ‘Add’ to integrate the printer into Cura.

The machine settings for your K1-Max are shown in the screenshot above so that you can easily adopt them. You will find the G-code snippets listed again directly below so that you can copy them more easily:

Start G-Code:

• START_PRINT EXTRUDER_TEMP=[material_print_temperature_layer_0] BED_TEMP=[material_bed_temperature_layer_0]

End G-Code:

Once you have created the printer profile in Cura, the next step is to define the print settings. These settings include important parameters such as layer height, infill pattern, print temperature and speed.

You can find more information on how to create a 3D printer profile in Cura and what you need to pay attention to in this article: How to Create a Custom 3D Printer Profile in Cura

The Cest Cura Settings for the K1 Max

Now that I have introduced the machine settings for the Creality K1 Max, let’s focus on the specific print settings and how to calibrate them optimally to achieve excellent print results.

Print Temperature

The best printing temperatures for the K1 Max in Cura:

• PLA : 230 °C
• ABS : 260 °C
• TPU : 220 °C
• PETG : 250 °C

Incorrect printing temperatures for 3D printers can lead to a number of problems:

• Too low a temperature can lead to the filament not melting properly, resulting in poor adhesion between the layers and therefore a weak structure of the printed object.
• However, too high a temperature can cause the filament to overheat and become too liquid, leading to deformation and stringing.

It is therefore crucial to determine and set the correct printing temperature for the specific filament.

To calibrate the printing temperature of your FDM 3D printer, using a temperature tower is an effective method. A temperature tower is a specially designed 3D model that is printed at different temperature levels.

Start printing at the highest temperature at the bottom of the tower and gradually reduce the temperature with each segment as you move upwards. By observing at which temperature the best results are achieved, you can determine the ideal printing temperature for your specific filament.

It’s a simple and accurate approach to optimizing print quality and avoiding problems caused by inaccurate temperature settings.

Print Bed Temperature

The best print bed temperatures for the K1 Max in Cura:

• PLA : 55 °C
• ABS : 100 °C
• TPU : 70 °C
• PETG : 80 °C

The PEI coating on the print bed of the K1 Max provides excellent adhesion, making it easier to find the right temperature. The above temperature values should work reliably in most cases.

The heating of the print bed should be switched on five to ten minutes before printing with ABS filament so that a homogeneously warm temperature environment is present in the closed print volume as soon as printing is started.

Print Speed

The best printing speeds for the K1 Max in Cura:

• PLA : 300 mm/s
• ABS : 300 mm/s
• TPU : 80 mm/s
• PETG : 200-300 mm/s

The K1 Max is characterized by an impressive printing speed, which is achieved by the integrated vibration compensation. This technology enables the printer to work quickly without compromising the quality of the print result.

Despite the high theoretical print speed of the K1 Max, I found that the above values worked most reliably for my projects.

Accelerations & Print Jerk

The best acceleration and print jerk settings for the K1 Max in Cura:

• Infill & Travel accelerations : 12000 mm/s²
• All other accelerations : 5000 mm/s²
• Travel Jerk : 30 mm/s
• All other Jerk values : 8 mm/s

The acceleration values in Cura play a decisive role in controlling the movements of the 3D printer. They determine the speed at which the printer starts and ends its movements, which has a direct influence on the print quality.

High acceleration values can lead to faster printing times, but also to more vibrations and potential printing errors. Lower acceleration values, on the other hand, lead to smoother movements, which can improve print quality but reduce print speed.

Print Jerk in Cura is another important factor that controls the movements of the 3D printer. It determines the maximum speed at which the printer can change its movement in a new direction without stopping. The right balance is also crucial here, as values that are too high can lead to vibrations and printing errors, while values that are too low unnecessarily extend the printing time.

The values given above are recommended by Creality and I have had good results with them.

The best retraction settings for the K1 Max in Cura:

• PLA : 0.5 mm at 40 mm/s
• ABS : 0.5 mm at 40 mm/s
• TPU : 0.5-1.0 mm at 30-40 mm/s
• PETG : 0.5-1.0 mm at 30-40 mm/s

Incorrect retraction settings can lead to printing errors, such as so-called “stringing”. Thin threads of molten filament appear between the parts of the print object, which affects the surface quality of the print result.

The above values are a good starting point for setting the retraction, but do not guarantee perfect printing results. Careful calibration of the 3D printer is necessary for optimum results. Every printer and every filament behaves differently, so individual adjustments and tests are essential to achieve the best possible print quality.

Calibrating the retraction is an essential step in achieving optimal printing results. A simple test object such as two columns can be used to gradually adjust and improve the settings.

Start by calibrating the retraction distance. Observe the print result closely and adjust the retraction distance if you notice stringing. Gradually increase the distance until stringing no longer occurs.

You can then calibrate the retraction speed. Repeat the print, this time with the optimal retraction distance, and adjust the speed. If the retraction is too slow, dripping/oozing could occur, while too fast a retraction can damage the material. Gradually increase the speed until you achieve the best possible print quality.

Repeat this process iteratively until you have found the perfect balance between speed and retraction distance. Keep in mind that any change in filament type or brand will likely require a recalibration.

The best infill density for the K1 Max in Cura:

• Decorative objects : 0-15%
• Standard objects : 15-50%
• Stable objects : 50-100%

The infill density has a significant influence on the stability and weight of the printed objects. When selecting the correct density, it is important to consider the intended use of the object. Decorative objects that do not require high stability can be printed with a low infill density of 0-15%, which saves material and speeds up the printing process.

For standard objects that require moderate stability, a density of 15-50% is recommended. For objects that have to withstand high forces or need to be structurally stable, an infill density of 50-100% should be selected. It should be noted that a higher infill density will result in a heavier object and a longer printing process, but will significantly improve the structural integrity and durability of the object.

First Layer

These are the best Cura settings for the first layer with the K1 Max :

• Layer height: 100-200%
• Line width : 100-200%
• Print temperature: Same as the rest of the object or 5-10 °C higher to achieve better adhesion to the print bed.
• Print speed: 10 to 20 mm/s
• Raft/Brim/Skirt: Skirt as standard, Brim/Raft only if you have problems with adhesion.

A warmer filament has more time to bond to the print bed. This is an important factor in achieving a stable first layer and therefore a successful print result. The above settings aim to extend the time the filament remains liquid.

By increasing the printing temperature and decreasing the printing speed, the time the filament is hot on the print bed is maximized, resulting in better adhesion and a higher quality first layer.

The first in this series of measures is to reduce the print speed to the values indicated above. It is by far the most effective measure against poor print bed adhesion.

If you have problems with print bed adhesion, you should take another look at this article: 3D Print Not Sticking to the Bed: How to Fix it Step-by-Step

The K1 Max is an ingenious 3D printer. However, it can only deliver perfect results if it is fed with the right slicer settings.

I hope that the values in this article will help you. And if not, the calibration article linked above or my course should help you! Have fun with your K1 Max!

Disclosure: This website is the property of Martin Lütkemeyer and is operated by Martin Lütkemeyer. Martin Lütkemeyer is a member of the Amazon Services LLC and other Affiliate Programs. These are affiliate advertising programs designed to enable websites to earn advertising revenue through advertising and linking to Amazon.com and others. Links marked with * are affiliate links.

Cura retraction settings explained

Retraction is a useful feature of fdm 3d printers that helps to prevent common issues like oozing and stringing. cura retraction settings enable precise control over the retraction process, but the parameters can be confusing to beginners..

03 May, 2022. 6 min read

Adjusting retraction settings can prevent stringing and other issues

Most newcomers to 3D printing don’t think about retraction settings until they’ve succumbed to stringing. This is a common printing problem during which the nozzle leaks excess filament over the printed part, resulting in a mess of plastic strands that look like cobwebs.

Stringing can be caused by several factors. Too much heat in the hot end is a common culprit, while some materials — PETG , for instance — are more prone to stringing than others.[1] When reducing the printing temperature doesn’t fix the problem, a great way to counter stringing is to adjust the retraction settings found in software like Cura, the popular slicer owned by 3D printer company Ultimaker.

There are several Cura retraction settings to play with, including retraction distance, retraction speed, and minimum travel distance, and knowing how these parameters affect the printing process is a great weapon in the fight against stringing.

This article lists all of the Cura retraction settings available to users, explaining what they do and how they can be optimized to suit different prints.

Recommended reading : 3D printer stringing: How to fix it

What is retraction?

During FDM 3D printing, the printer’s extruder uses gears to move plastic filament to the hot end, where the filament is melted and pushed through a nozzle onto the build area below. Meanwhile the print head is constantly moving around in order to deposit the molten material in the right places.

Every now and again, the print head needs to move from one area to another without depositing any material. In 3D printing terminology, this type of movement is called travel. However, since there is always a bit of melted filament in the printer’s hot end, the plastic can sometimes accidentally ooze out of the nozzle and onto the build during travel. This is a problem for printer users, because that oozed material can cause an ugly, stringy mess over the printed parts.

One way to counter oozing and stringing is retraction.[2] This is when the extruder stops pushing the filament towards the hot end and pulls it back instead. It can do this by reversing the direction in which the extruder gears move.

Retraction cannot magically eliminate oozing, because the already-melted section of the filament cannot itself be retracted. However, by retracting the solid section of filament immediately above the melt zone, pressure is relieved on the molten material, making it less likely to ooze out from the nozzle during travel movements.

By adjusting Cura retraction settings, the slicer can adjust the g-code sent to the printer, altering the retraction process in various ways. Users can specify when retraction should happen, how much filament should get retracted, how quickly it should get retracted, and more.

Cura retraction settings

Cura’s retraction settings can be found in Print Setup. Most are grouped under Material settings, while some others are grouped under Travel.

The first two retraction settings, which can be checked or unchecked, are fairly self-explanatory: “Enable retraction” allows users to toggle whether retraction takes place at all, while “Retract at layer change” instructs the printer to perform retraction once a 2D layer is complete.

The remaining Cura retraction settings, most of which are defined using numerical values, may be less intuitive to beginners. Related settings like print speed and coasting are not discussed here, but may be adjusted in conjunction with retraction settings to deliver the best results.

Retraction distance

Retraction distance refers to the amount of filament pulled back by the extruder.[3] If the value is greater, then a longer length of filament is retracted.

The retraction distance is usually set in the range of 0.5–15 mm, depending on the extruder and material type. A greater retraction distance can help to prevent stringing, but this can cause stress on the filament and potentially cause clogs, as well as resulting in longer print times.

Bowden and direct-drive extruders require different retraction distances. Bowden extruders can require a retraction distance of up to 15 mm, while direct-drive systems generally only need a few millimeters.

Retraction speed

Retraction speed is the rate at which the extruder retracts the filament. In Cura, retraction speed settings are divided into two values:

Retraction retract speed is the speed (in mm/s) at which the extruder pulls back the filament

Retraction prime speed is the speed (in mms) at which the extruder returns the filament back to its original position at the tip of the nozzle

Faster retractions can help to prevent oozing but run the risk of damaging the section of filament by grinding it. Most users set their retraction speed in the range of 30–80 mm/s.

Retraction extra prime amount

During retraction, priming is when the extruder returns the filament to its original position — by pushing it forwards after it has temporarily pulled it backwards. However, since a bit of material may have oozed during the travel movement, it can be helpful to extrude extra material to compensate for this loss.

The retraction extra prime amount is defined in cubic millimeters. A greater value helps to build pressure in the nozzle, which can prevent issues like under-extrusion. However, the required amount depends on several factors, including nozzle size and travel distance.

Cura users can download plugins that set the retraction extra prime amount automatically based on travel distance.

Retraction minimum travel

During printing, a travel move is when the print head moves from one area of the build to another without depositing material. Sometimes the print head travels just a few millimeters, but sometimes it moves all the way across the build.

The retraction minimum travel distance setting allows users to define whether the printer should perform retraction even during short travel moves, or just for very large jumps. A small minimum travel distance (in mm) can help to prevent stringing but can cause issues like filament grinding.

Though not specifically a retraction setting, users can also adjust parameters like travel speed, with faster travel moves potentially reducing oozing and stringing.

Maximum retraction count

This print setting lets users set a maximum number of retractions on a given length of material (defined in the “Minimum extrusion distance window” box).

Setting a maximum retraction count can be useful, because repeatedly retracting the same piece of filament makes it more susceptible to grinding, which can ultimately reduce print quality. However, capping retractions can potentially make the print more vulnerable to oozing and stringing.

Nozzle switch retraction

Cura can instruct the 3D printer to carry out a retraction when the nozzle is put in standby mode. It offers two adjustable parameters for this situation:

Nozzle switch retraction distance (mm) works in the same way as general retraction distance, but users can set a higher value as there is less negative impact on overall print times

Nozzle switch retraction speed (mm/s) works in the same way as general retraction speed

Found under Travel settings, combing is a feature that instructs the printer to avoid any travel moves that stray beyond the perimeter of the build.

Combing can be useful for several reasons. Although it can result in greater travel distances, it allows for a degree of looseness during printing, since any oozing or stringing can take place inside the part and therefore be invisible. This makes retraction less of a necessity and allows users to print faster, with fewer retractions.

Users can select from the following combing modes:

Not on outer surface

Not in skin

Within infill

Sometimes called vertical travel, Z-Hop is a feature of Cura that instructs the print head to move upwards (or the build platform to move downwards) while retracting and making a travel move. This can prevent the nozzle from dragging along the top of the build and causing scratches or blobs.

If Z-Hop is enabled, users can adjust the following parameters:

Z-hop only over printed parts

Z-hop height

Z-hop after extruder switch

Testing retraction settings

With so many Cura retraction settings to play with, it can be useful to carry out test prints after adjusting certain parameters in small increments. A good retraction test print is a stringing tower, a simple model purposely designed to be susceptible to stringing. If the stringing tower exhibits a large amount of stringing, then calibration has not been carried out successfully.

It is best to use Cura’s default settings as a starting point, then make small adjustments and test the new retraction settings with the stringing tower.

Key takeaways

Finding the best retraction settings depends on different factors, like the type of material, the purpose of the printed part, and the dimensions of the printed part. However, Cura’s range of adjustable parameters gives users a great degree of control over their prints, meaning that there is a suitable set of retraction settings for any project.

[1] Mueller T, Elkaseer A, Charles A, Fauth J, Rabsch D, Scholz A, Marquardt C, Nau K, Scholz SG. Eight weeks later—the unprecedented rise of 3D printing during the COVID-19 pandemic—a case study, lessons learned, and implications on the future of global decentralized manufacturing. Applied Sciences. 2020 Jan;10(12):4135.

[2] How to fix stringing [Internet]. Ultimaker Support. [cited 2022 May 2]. Available from: https://support.ultimaker.com/hc/en-us/articles/360012016280-How-to-fix-stringing

[3] Saini P, Garg D, Choudhury T. 3D Printing: Factors Influencing its Quality and Nature. In2018 International Conference on Computational Techniques, Electronics and Mechanical Systems (CTEMS) 2018 Dec 21 (pp. 480-486). IEEE.

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Travel Speed Issue

By gfisch9862 January 17, 2022 in UltiMaker Cura

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Gfisch9862 0.

In relation to my previous post where I was having trouble printing the infill, I found that changing the "travel speed" in Cura changes the speed of the infill printing.

Is that a bug, or is there some relationship between infill and travel that I need to learn about?

Link to post

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GregValiant 1,342

What version of Cura?

I read your other post BTW.  The travel speed should not be related to the infill speed.  It isn't in my installation of 4.12.1 at any rate.

Post a gcode file that shows the problem.  Let us know what printer as well.

Right now, I'm using 4.13.0 Beta, but had the same issue with the previous version, 4.12.1,

I'm using a stock Ender 6, but with a Capricorn Bowden tube, and Overture 1.75mm white PETG.

Here is the .gcode file of a 20% XY scaled version of the part, but with 100% Z.  This makes it easier to test.

I'm not sure what I'm actually seeing, but it almost looks like the travel speed multiplies the print speed.  Changing the travel speed makes a difference, but changing print speed makes a bigger different when the travel speed is high (100-150), but only when it's printing the infill.

CE6_CE6Mainbody1b.gcode

I went through the Gcode file.

All the extrusions are at 40mm/sec and the jog from one extrusion to the next is at the travel speed of 80mm/sec.  (Cura speeds are in mm/second while the gcode speeds in mm/minute.)

This is the Infill in Layer:21. 

;TYPE:FILL G1 F2400 X127.156 Y149.58 E1183.7912 G0 F4800 X127.513 Y150.119 G1 F2400 X133.762 Y148.444 E1184.00638 G0 F4800 X133.762 Y149.511 G1 F2400 X114.811 Y130.56 E1184.89778 G0 F4800 X116.15 Y128.317 G1 F2400 X133.762 Y123.598 E1185.50422

This is in Layer 82 (I picked it randomly).

G0 F2160 X125.244 Y120.457                    ;Wipeout (90% of print speed) G0 X124.597 Y120.038                                ;Wipeout G1 F2700 E2808.09505                               ;Retraction at 45mm/sec G0 F4800 X124.705 Y119.871                    ;Combing at 80mm/sec G0 X125.126 Y118.112 G0 X126.339 Y117.503 G0 X142.389 Y109.433 G0 X142.982 Y109.135 G0 X142.773 Y108.664 G0 X143.071 Y108.59 G0 X143.207 Y108.833 G0 X144.043 Y107.718 ;TYPE:WALL-INNER G1 F2700 E2814.09505                                     ;Un-Retract G1 F2400 X144.378 Y107.644 E2814.10646   ;Print at 40mm/sec G1 X144.561 Y107.607 E2814.11267               ;Print at 40mm/sec G1 X144.043 Y107.718 E2814.1158                 ;Print at 40mm/sec G1 F2700 E2808.1158                                        ;Rectraction at 45mm/sec

Once again the print speed is 40mm/sec and the travel is at 80mm/sec.

The skirt is printing at 13.5mm/sec but from what I see you had "number of slower layers" = 2.

I don't see a problem in the Gcode that Cura generated.  I'll think about it, but right now I don't see a way that the speed can be fluctuating like you have observed.  The printer is supposed to do what it's told.

One thing you can try is to shorten the file name.  I know that seems odd, but it has been an issue with CR-10's and if your printer has the same mainboard (and it might) then maybe it will make a difference.

I adjusted the temperatures in that file so I could print it in PLA.  There are no issues at all.

Thanks for going through the gcode.  The last time I tried to print the full-size version, the infill was printing REALLY fast... faster than anything I've seen on that printer before.  When I checked the setting, the infill speed (which was calculated) showed 360mm/s.  I certainly didn't set that value.  I think it must have been created while changing some of the other values, but I don't know that for sure.

I'll try the shorter file name to see if that makes any difference.

After that, I think I'll go back to PLA+.  It was suggested that I use ABS or PETG for these structural parts, but I seem to have too many issues with them even though the Ender 6 is enclosed on the sides and I got the plastic top cover.  Unfortunately, the top cover warped severely when I was using ABS temperatures and fell partially into the printer, jamming the print head.  Another time, the cable assembly got too warm and sagged into the printing area causing another jam.

I don't think the problem would be specific to the material.  If you are out of other options and the problem occurs with PLA you might try to reset the mainboard with M502 followed by M500.  If the mainboard saw some of that heat it may have caused an issue.

Thanks, GregValiant.  That sounds like a great idea. I have had a number of issues with the Ender 6, especially after adding the BLTouch.  I had been in contact with Creality several times and they are sending me a new BLTouch, but I think there is something else happening.

A mainboard reset definitely seems to be worth trying.

The heat in the enclosure was around 47C according to the little thermometer built into the cover.  Since the main board in underneath, it shouldn't have gotten too warm.

Here is a picture of the odd bed leveling I was getting with the BLTouch.  Note the high and low spots.  I now do only manual bed leveling until the new BLTouch arrives.

I damaged the build plate with the completed print right before this one.  It started out with the low spots, but I let it print anyway.  Once completed, the low spots were really stuck tight.  Even chilling the plate in the freezer didn't help.  Removing the PETG part took some of the coating, and the glass, with it when I had to finally pry it off.

Reset and shorter file name did not make any difference.

This is the last thing to try.  M203 sets the max feedrate for the printer.  Unfortunately, it gets applied to both G0 (Travel) and G1 (Print).  If you put it into the front of that "bad little gcode" it should limit the top speed of the printer.  I would think adding it as the line before ;LAYER:0 should work.

M203 X40 Y40

As I said, that will also limit the travel speed to 40mm/sec.  It may give you another clue as to what is going on.

OK, GregValiant, I'll give it a try.  I got another test running now, so I'll try it in the morning.

Thanks so much for your help.

GregValiant, I sent you a PM, but thought others might benefit, so I'm posting it here again.  Thanks.

After seeing other people's success printing the same R2D2 parts using PETG, I noticed one major difference... they all had direct drive extruders, or very short Bowden tubes.  My Ender 6 has a very long (0.85m) Bowden tube.  That might explain why small parts look great, but the large ones have issues.  The large parts are flexing the Bowden tube quite a bit and with the flexible and stretchy PETG, the extrusion amount varies considerably.  That would also explain why the different extrusion settings had little, or no, effect.  That might also explain why the stiffer materials, like PLA, were less affected by the long Bowden tube.

What do you think?

I saw the PM but I'll answer here.

What I think is:  That's a really long bowden tube!

Bowden systems are simple and cheap to produce.  Any of the softer filaments are going to have problems with a bowden system.  My Ender 3Pro HATES TPU.  I print some things with it because it's fuel proof and makes good gaskets, but flat gaskets is where I stop.  I'm printing at 10mm/sec with 0 retraction and I have to stand there to maintain the loop coming off the spool and lube the filament once in a while.  PITA.

DD's add weight (sometimes a lot of weight) to the X.  That has to be accelerated and decelerated constantly during a print.  Cura itself doesn't have an option for using different acceleration settings on X vs Y but an M201 X300 (or something) in the startup gcode would keep the heavier print head from beating up the printer on starts and stops.  Also, that extra weight is cantilevered off the X beam and so the front side is going to want to droop unless you are meticulous in maintaining the print head carriage wheels and belt.

Over on Reddit there are constant posts regarding problems with DD systems.  I think a person with some decent mechanic skills would not have problems and the DD can certainly be tuned in.

In regards to PETG - it's soupy.  With the limited retractions possible with most DD's I don't know if you can pull back enough material to keep it from being stringy.  With your current bowden setup (and considering that it's about a mile long) you might need to go to 7 or 8 or 9mm of retraction in order to pull back the filament a couple of mm's at the nozzle.  There is a lot of slop in a bowden system that long.

I haven't been 3D printing all that long but one thing I know is true - throwing more money at a problem doesn't guarantee that it will be solved.

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