Ultimaker Cura 3.0 offers users the simplest and most convenient experience, for both novices and professionals alike. With the new interface, preparing your 3D
printing models will be easier than ever.
With third-party plugins opening up all new possibilities, we decided to move from 2.7 to 3.0 to mark this new era perfectly. Serving over a million users worldwide,
our software has been designed to be the solution for professionals adopting 3D printing workflows.
Ultimaker Cura 3.0 offers:
Brand new UI interface. Use recommended settings, prepare prints with intuitive sliders, or use custom settings to individually adjust over 200 unique slicing parameters for quick and easy print setup.
Reduced printing time and material consumption. The recommended mode features new default settings aimed at saving printing time, material usage, and material costs.
Professional plugin collection. Seamlessly integrate Ultimaker Cura into your workflow. Use industry-standard CAD software packages (like SolidWorks and Siemens NX),
or develop your own custom plugins to meet your specific needs.
Below are some features, improvements, and bug fixes in Ultimaker Cura 3.0:
Improved UI
Ultimaker Cura 3.0 features a completely updated UI and color scheme.
Faster startup speed. Startup speed has been halved compared to previous versions.
Redesigned splash screen. The splash screen has been redesigned to align with the new interface.
Sliders. The recommended mode now uses sliders to change slicing parameters:
•Layer height and print speed. Easily control print quality proportionally to print speed.
•Infill. Infill density can now be easily increased to 10% using sliders.
Easily control printing features with intuitive sliders.
Rasterized build plate. The print bed can now display 10mm and 1mm increments for more precise model positioning.
The print bed now displays 10mm and 1mm increments for more precise model positioning.
Printer buttons. Printer buttons have been changed from tabs to buttons, and button colors have been changed to match the new color scheme.
Layer view position. The layer view dropdown has been moved from the bottom left to the top right.
Print time position. The print time position has moved from the bottom right of the 3D navigator to the left of the Print over network/Save to file button.
Tab width. The width of tab features will change based on font space (supporting multiple languages).
Third-party plugins and CAD collections
Third-party plugin functionality. Professionals can now gain more functionality from Ultimaker Cura with their own developed plugins to streamline their workflow.
Compatible plugins for SolidWorks and Siemens NX are currently available and can be found in the plugin browser. Plugins can be installed with a single click and will update automatically when in use.
SolidWorks integration. Compatible with SolidWorks 2016 and above, this plugin enables seamless integration between the two software.
Prepare your design in SolidWorks.
Click the "Export to Ultimaker Cura" button.
Open Ultimaker Cura, import your design, and prepare for slicing and printing.
Siemens NX integration. Designs created in Siemens NX can be sent to Ultimaker Cura with a click of a button. If the design is modified in Siemens NX,
it can be updated in Ultimaker Cura with another click. This plugin is compatible with Siemens NX 10 and 11.
New slicing features
Gradual PVA support. Printing time and material consumption are reduced by printing less PVA infill in the support structure and decreasing it closer to the top. This also reduces
the time for PVA to dissolve. In (extra) fine and normal quality settings, PVA infill layers will print at double thickness, further reducing print time.
Infill becomes denser at the edges, requiring less support material.
The print on the left was sliced using Cura 2.6. The print on the right was sliced using Ultimaker Cura 3.0. Note that the print on the right has less dense
support – the support gradually increases density as it moves up and towards the edges.
Z-seam selection. Allows users to control where to place seams - hiding them in convex corners or easily removable locations. This does not allow sharp corners to affect seam placement.
Cross infill. This fractal pattern infill requires less retraction compared to other infill types.
This is useful for flexible materials as it results in less material stretching during extrusion. The internal structure provided gives flexible models greater resistance,
maintaining a "soft" characteristic in all directions.
Cross infill in Ultimaker Cura Example print using TPU 95A
Quarter cubic infill. Similar to tetrahedral (octal) infill, but half of the lines are shifted by half a period. This pattern sacrifices some rigidity of octagonal
infill for greater toughness.
Remove surface width. Removes thin surfaces from the model to prevent print nozzle deflection, which in turn prevents vibration. The absence of vibration also improves the print quality of slight overhangs.
Surface expansion distance. Slicing steep overhanging surfaces makes the print less sturdy.
By expanding the appearance of wall thickness, the feature will be better supported. Additionally, features like towers on top of infill will be stronger.
Increased surface wall count. This feature is now enabled by default. Printing additional surfaces directly on top of infill can lead to gaps and curling.
This is reduced by first printing walls around the surface and also increases print speed.
Surface minimum extrusion. Prevents Ultimaker Cura 3.0 from filling small gaps that may already be filled, thus reducing thin lines, and improving top
detail and faster printing.
PVA retraction. The retraction length for PVA is increased during print nozzle changes. Combined with reduced retraction distance and a slightly higher maximum count,
this ensures reduced stringing and more reliable results. The minimum travel distance for retraction is reduced, and the maximum count is slightly increased. This significantly reduces print time.
Bug Fixes
With the help of our community, we have addressed the following issues:
•Custom material profiles will no longer be sent to Ultimaker Cura when connected to a printer.
•Synchronizing z-hop with layer changes.
•Memory leaks on MacOS.
•Printer names not loading when files are opened.
•Doodle3D Wifi box selected by default on non-Ultimaker 3 machines.
For a comprehensive breakdown of features and new developments, please check out Ultimaker Cura 3.0 on Github.
New to Ultimaker Cura? Our quick start guide video below will show you how to set up your 3D printing model.
Be among the first to see the benefits of Ultimaker Cura 3.0, download it today!
https://ultimaker.com/en/blog/51439-welcome-to-ultimaker-cura-30