Another newbie. Learning from Cura to Simplify3D - help

[nicholasgoss]

Hi all. I am trying to learn Simplify after being a Cura user. I am new to 3D printing like alot of people.

Look the main thing I am having trouble with is figuring out, what settings in Cura and the same in Simplify due to the different terminology used.

Can someone please point me in the right direction by telling me, what is the relevant Simplify setting, to the below Cura setting:

Layer height - (I think this one is primary layer height???)
Shell thickness
Bottom top thickness (mm)
Fill density %
Perimeters before infill yes/no

Print speed
Printing temp (I got this one figured out)
Bed Temp (I got this one figured out)

Support type (I got the suppport screen figured out OK)
Platform adhesion type

Filament diameter (I got this one figured out)
Flow %

Nozzel size (I got this one figured out)

Retraction speed (I got this one figured out)
Retraction distance (I got this one figured out)

Quality:
Initial layer thickness (mm)
Initial layer line width %
Cut off object bottom (mm)

Speed:
Travel speed (mm/s)
Bottom layer speed (mm/s)
Infill speed (mm/s)
Top/Bottom speed (mm/s)
Outer shell speed (mm/s)
Inner shell speed (mm/s)

Cool:
Minimal layer time (sec)

Now most of those settings I cannot work out which ones they are in Simplify so I am really hoping someone can be bothered to take the time and help me out by putting next to them, which ones are the relevant Simplify settings....

As it is I am blindly guessing and things are not printing either at all, or no where near as good as Cura... and I believe this software is much more advanced then Cura with even more options and settings, and it cost me $150 so I really wanna learn how to make this thing work !!

[CompoundCarl]

Most of these settings have a pretty clearly labeled match in Simplify3D. If you haven't already done this, make sure to click "Show Advanced" in the bottom left of the "Edit Process Settings" window. Then just click through the different tabs at the top to look at the settings. Again, most are labeled quite clearly.

For example, you asked about initial layer thickness and initial line width. On the Layer tab, you will see the first layer height and the first layer width. That would be the match for those settings. Just keep in mind, some of these may be in percentages or in absolute values, so check that before entering a number.

Another thing that was helpful to me is that each setting has a little tooltip that will pop up if you hover your mouse over that setting. So that can be useful if you need a longer explanation about what a setting does. There's also a great sticky topic on the forum that describes the settings on each tab in more detail. That's also really useful as you're learning more about the software: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2367

Good luck!

[nicholasgoss]

Yeah thanks I already know how to read. Not to be rude but that's essentially what your telling to do, go look it up myself..... Thats not what I was asking.

I was asking for some help to directly point to which was which.

If I knew exactly what each setting was I wouldn't be asking someone to help me point out, which setting was which.

Taking your example, to you it might make sense to YOU that when one says " initial layer thickness" and the other says "first layer height" that it means the same thing. But to people who are new to this, those two terms do NOT line up and could mean completely different things and end up doing something totally different.

If you cant be bothered helping me answer this thats OK then dont.

But please if you can be bothered to help answer this, even some of those terms that would be great.

[CompoundCarl]

Geez, that's a little harsh... Just trying to help point you in the right direction. That's the documentation that I used when I was learning. It was more than enough to figure out all of the settings and how they compared to the software I was using before.

Anyways, best of luck in your learning

[horst.w]

.... viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2367 ...

Point by point.
And there are a lot of informations when rolling over the mousepointer to the checkboxes.

Greetings
horst.w, GER

[SimpleScott]

Look the main thing I am having trouble with is figuring out, what settings in Cura and the same in Simplify due to the different terminology used.
Can someone please point me in the right direction by telling me, what is the relevant Simplify setting, to the below Cura setting:

I'll take a crack at some of these, having gone through the exercise myself a few months ago.

Layer height
In S3D, this is Primary Layer Height on the Layer tab.

Shell thickness
In Cura, you specify shell thickness in mm, then it calculates the number of shells needed for the given the nozzle size/extrusion width.
In S3D, you specify the number of "outline/perimeter shells" you want on the Layer tab.

Bottom/Top thickness (mm)
In Cura, you specify top and bottom thickness in mm (single setting for both), and it calculates the number of layers needed based on the layer size.
In S3D, you specify the number of "Top solid layers" and "Bottom Solid Layers" (separate settings) on the Layer tab.

Fill density %
In S3D, this is "Interior Fill Percentage" on the Infill tab.

Perimeters before infill yes/no
Not sure on this one. The "Outline Direction" on S3D's layer tab affects the order of the perimeter shells, but don't know about infill vs perimeter. Maybe someone else here can answer, or you may have to experiment.

Print speed
In Cura, you specify print speeds for various operations, in mm/s.
In S3D, you specify a "Default Print Speed" on the Other tab. That "top speed" is used for most Infill operations. There are several places you then specify a slower speed for various operations, as a "% underspeed" of the Default Print Speed. (The beauty of this is that changing the Default Print Speed then effectively changes all the other speeds, since you have them expressed as a percentage of the default.)

Note on Speeds.... By Default, S3D uses mm/min where Cura uses mm/s. If you prefer S3D to use mm/s, go to "Tools, Options, Preferences" and change the Speed Display Units from mm/min to mm/s.


Platform adhesion type
In Cura, that lets you choose brim or raft, for example.
In S3D, the Additions tab lets you choose a skirt, and you can turn it into a brim by making the "skirt offset" zero. The Additions tab also has a checkbox to turn on Raft, along with parameters for its construction.

Flow %
Cura uses "Flow %", as a percentage.
In S3D, the "Extrusion multiplier" on the Layer tab is equivalent, with 1.00 = 100%.

Quality:
Initial layer thickness (mm)
In Cura, you set the initial layer thickness in mm.
In S3D, you set the "First Layer Height" on the Layer tab, as a percentage of the "Primary Layer Height." For example, if your Primary Layer Height is 0.2mm and you want a 0.40mm first layer, set the "First Layer Height" to 200%.

Initial layer line width %
In Cura, you set the initial layer width as a percentage.
In S3D, the "First Layer Width" on the Layer tab is equivalent.

Cut off object bottom (mm)
In Cura, this setting lets you "sink the model below the platform" by a certain number of mm.
Equivalent in S3D is to Double-click the model, and change the position with the "Z Offset". Specifying -1.0mm there will "sink" the model below the platform by 1mm, eliminating that portion of the model from printing, same as Cura.

Speed:
Travel speed (mm/s)
In S3D, this is "X/Y Axis Movement Speed" on the Other tab.

Bottom layer speed (mm/s)
In S3D, "First Layer Speed" expressed as a percentage of the "Default Print Speed".

Infill speed (mm/s)
In S3D, the "Default Print Speed" on the Other tab is used for infill.

Top/Bottom speed (mm/s)
For Bottom, S3D uses the "First Layer Speed" on the Layer tab, expressed as a percentage of the Default Print Speed.
For Top, I'm not sure. I *think* (not sure) the "Solid Infill Underspeed" will set the speed for Top infill, as a percentage of Default Print Speed.

Outer shell speed (mm/s)
In S3D, this is the "Outline Underspeed" on the Other tab, expressed as a percentage of the Default Print Speed.

Inner shell speed (mm/s)
I think this is also controlled by "Outline Underspeed" on the Other tab.

Cool:
Minimal layer time (sec)
In S3D, this is achieved with the "Speed Overrides" feature on the Cooling tab. Similar to Cura, you can specify a minimum time for a layer, and S3D will slow the printing speed as needed (but not below the "Allow speed reductions down to" value) to enforce that minimum layer time.

Hope that helps get you started. The posts that you were pointed to by previous posters has a ton of good information about each S3D setting, so be sure to look at those for more information.