Introducing Ultimaker Cura 5.8 Beta

In the Ultimaker Cura 5.8 stable release, it's now possible to tune Z seams to look better. Method series users get access to new material profiles, and the base Method model now has a printer profile, meaning the whole Method series is now supported in Cura.

New settings have been added that let you tweak how and where the Z seam is placed. The settings are:

• Z Seam On Vertex
• Seam Overhang Angle
• Support Z Seam Away From Model

When “User Selected” or “Shortest” is selected as your Z seam location option, the Z seam will follow the selected (or shortest) position exactly. However, when the new “Z Seam On Vertex” option is selected, the Z seam will instead be placed on the nearest vertices (usually a corner). This allows you to hide your Z seam on areas of your model where it will not be so noticeable. 

The new “Seam Overhang Angle” allows you to choose an angle after which seams will not be printed on overhangs (including when “Z Seam On Vertex” is selected). This improves print quality as seams placed on steep overhangs can cause ugly print defects. 

Finally, the “Support Z Seam Away From Model” setting will ensure when selected that the seam on the support material is placed away from the model itself so that the bulge caused by the seam will not intersect with your model and cause scarring or make removing supports more difficult.

All Method series printers now supported

The UltiMaker Method X and Method XL printers were added to Cura in the 5.6 release and, in this release, Ultimaker has added the original Method printer so that the full range of Method series printers is now supported in Cura.

The Method will have a material profile for Nylon12 Carbon Fiber as well as profiles for PLA and PVA, which have also been added to the Method X and Method XL. In addition, many existing material profiles have been tweaked and improved. With this release, it is easier to leverage the flexibility of Cura when using the Method series printer.

Search bar added to the “Add printer” window

When adding a new non-networked printer, it’s now possible to search for the printer you want to add, meaning you no longer need to manually look through the hundreds of printers that are supported by Cura. 

Additional improvements

The following improvements have also been implemented in the Cura 5.8 beta release:

• Updated Insert at Layer Change Post Processing Script so layers can be skipped. Contributed by @tastyratz
• Updated the Interleaved Prime Tower with Prime Tower Minimum Shell Thickness so it uses less filament
• Dual-Extrusion improvements (Updated retracts and cooling behavior during nozzle switching to reduce oozing)
• Various bug fixes

Check out the full release notes on GitHub for a complete list of changes. Also, there is a new 3D model for this release that was used to show off the Z seam changes.

Download now.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.