My custom Cartesian

wilriker

OK, some interesting discoveries with Slic3r PE so far.

I started with MK2 profile but ditched it and started with a completely fresh profile based on a custom printer. Also I left nearly all of the settings at their defaults as this will compare better to how I use Cura
The Gcode file for the Benchy is considerably smaller, i.e. nearly 40% smaller
It uses about 70cm more filament for the Benchy than Cura - this is probably due to larger line width and 3 perimeters
With all speeds set to default (except travel speed that I reduced to match my printers current set limit) it will take 1:46h compared to 1:28h when sliced with Cura (both values taken from Duet simulation result)
Slic3r said it would take 1:25h but I have not found where to set maximum speeds for axes, accelerations and jerk values. It can be entered in the advanced acceleration control fields if they are enabled by using a Prusa profile but not for custom profiles. But I don't want it to control the acceleration but only take it into account when calculating print time. Before the "Printer Settings" plugin existed these values had to be entered in configuration files with an external editor. ~~Is there something similar for Slic3r possible?~~ Just found it right after posting here.
Modifier meshes are a bit more hidden than in Cura but have the nice feature of adding generic shapes (cubes, cylinders, etc.) where I had to create those in advance for Cura
I like that Slic3r has Gyroid infill
I don't like the UI - it looks like from the 90s

whosrdaddy

@wilriker said in My custom Cartesian:

I don't like the UI - it looks like from the 90s

But at least it's fast!

wilriker

@whosrdaddy That's right.

OK, now I found where to set the values for speed, accel, jerk etc. but the default values contain two values and I cannot find which one stands for what. Any input on this, anyone?

whosrdaddy

what do you mean with 2 values?

I have these for my i3 clone:

alt text

deckingman

@wilriker said in My custom Cartesian:

@whosrdaddy That's right.

OK, now I found where to set the values for speed, accel, jerk etc. but the default values contain two values and I cannot find which one stands for what. Any input on this, anyone?

What @whosrdaddy said. Also, if you let the mouse hover one of the input boxes, you'll get a little pop-up that explains what it does.

wilriker

@whosrdaddy I mean the <printer profile name>.ini file where all the settings are persisted. There will be lines

machine_max_acceleration_e = 10000,5000
machine_max_acceleration_extruding = 1500,1250
machine_max_acceleration_retracting = 1500,1250
machine_max_acceleration_x = 9000,1000
machine_max_acceleration_y = 9000,1000
machine_max_acceleration_z = 500,200
machine_max_feedrate_e = 120,120
machine_max_feedrate_x = 500,200
machine_max_feedrate_y = 500,200
machine_max_feedrate_z = 12,12
machine_max_jerk_e = 2.5,2.5
machine_max_jerk_x = 10,10
machine_max_jerk_y = 10,10
machine_max_jerk_z = 0.2,0.4
machine_min_extruding_rate = 0,0
machine_min_travel_rate = 0,0

where every property has two values. After downloading and searching the source code I found out that the second value is for "silent mode printing".

whosrdaddy

@wilriker Oh I see now
I never bother with the ini files, the gui is easy enough to tweak the settings.
I am not even sure if these ini settings are used when choosing a firmware other than Marlin...

wilriker

@whosrdaddy AFAICT from the source code they are used for the print time estimation. Though I have to look deeper into it because changing it to my actual values set in config.g did not change the estimated print time at all. I must have missed some setting.

Also there is no GUI part where I can set acceleration, max feedrate and jerk settings. At least I have not found it.

EDIT: It did not change the estimates as the settings in the config file will only be applied if Gcode flavor is Marlin. Otherwise they use the hardcoded defaults.

whosrdaddy

@wilriker : hardcoded, so it means you cannot change it at all?
can you point the the correct source file, I can recompile the application so I would love to test this.
I must say that the estimate Slic3r PE gives me is actually quite close to the real world outcome...

Phaedrux

The time estimates may only be valid for actual Prusa printers running Marlin as they use the Marlin motion planner. The two speed values are for the MK2 and MK3 which have high power and silent mode. The silent mode speeds were just added in order to make their speeds more accurate.

The slicer defaults are probably 6 years old now and come from original slic3r. The Prusa profiles are a bit fresher take on it.

wilriker

@whosrdaddy I only looked at the source code part where they would be overwritten if the flavor is Marlin. That you can find at
xs/src/libslic3r/GCode.cpp:489
the defaults seem to be either in
xs/src/libslic3r/PrintConfig.cpp:961
or
xs/src/libslic3r/GCodeTimeEstimator.cpp:19

EDIT: since I have my acceleration very low (not tuned yet, still using the values from Marlin from times before Duet) and Slic3r has much higher defaults it will estimate print times considerably shorter.

Phaedrux

Just curious, but how long after installing slic3r before you were into the source code? Was that before or after you did a test print?

OBELIKS

I'm betting it was before.

wilriker

@phaedrux Man, what do you think of me? Of course it was before the first print. But I have to admit it was after slicing and uploading the generated Gcode to my Duet.

But seriously, I would not have done/needed that if there would have been any clue on what these two different values for every speed-related property in the .ini file meant.

Phaedrux

What gcode flavour do you have configured in the printer settings? Marlin or reprap?

wilriker

@phaedrux RepRap of course(?).

Phaedrux

It's starting to seem like the time estimates are only remotely accurate if using Marlin, otherwise it reverts to using the old way of estimating, which doesn't take into account any acceleration values.

wilriker

@phaedrux As I said earlier if it is not Marlin it will consider jerk, acceleration and max feedrate values but they are not configurable but only the hardcoded defaults.

Phaedrux

I suppose that's one advantage Cura has, since you can specify all speed settings and the path planner takes everything into account for very accurate time estimates.

wilriker

@phaedrux Yeah, in Cura my estimates are usually within single digits of what Duet gives as simulation.

Funnily I found a comment in Slic3r's time estimator that it is partially inspired by Cura's time estimator.

I am not in the mood of doing yet another patch-your-slicer approach (as I currently do with Cura until the next release when the Bugfix I require will finally be included) just to get those estimates right (just wait a few days and see me change my mind about that - or implement a UI part to set these values ).