3D printers get a software update

Cura software now comes with all-new features for free to the 3D printing community.

Ultimaker, a 3D printer manufacturer, has released new Cura software for all of their 3D printers.

The original Cura software, the advised software for preparing 3D print files, has been completely reengineered from the ground up for seamless integration between hardware, software and materials, says the company.

New features include an optimized support structure, overhauled user interface, a time-quality slider, support for high-DPI screens and more. Ultimaker is sharing this software upgrade for free to the 3D printing community. The new Cura software can be downloaded here for free.

Thanks to its innovative Uranium framework, Cura’s ready for rapid expansion with a host of upcoming features to make it more powerful. The new Cura software is free for everyone to enjoy.

New foundations. Built on the robust Uranium framework, Cura is incredibly reliable and flexible, allowing Ultimaker’s dedicated software team to easily add new features as they become available. As it’s the start of a brand new platform, some elements from the previous Cura are yet to be incorporated, but these will arrive soon. In the meantime however, users can still use and receive support for the previous version of Cura.

Powerful new features. As you might imagine, Ultimaker has been working hard to make the whole experience even more refined and seamless. For example, there’s a new time-quality slider which replaces the three default profiles. This gives users more control over the balance between quality and time. Ultimaker is sure users will enjoy a handy new undo/redo button. The user interface has also been completely overhauled making it more intuitive and easy to use.

But to add, they also had to subtract. Ultimaker’s ambition was to create the best software for the future so they assessed every aspect of Cura to rewrite it from the ground up. As a result, some features were removed. Some are permanent and others will be added in future updates due to their complexity. For example, the Configuration Wizard and Bed Leveling Wizard for the Ultimaker Original and Ultimaker Original+ aren’t yet included. Rest assured the Ultimaker team wants these features as much as users do and will implement them as soon as possible. There will be some users that will miss certain features, but to make Cura viable for future growth, it needed to be reengineered. For the full list of what’s included and what’s not, visit www.ultimaker.com.

Support through the transition. While they work to implement new features, Ultimaker wants to reassure all their advanced users who wish to continue using the previous version of Cura that they will continue to offer support for it.