Create option for Gyroid infill

[probonopd]

Please create gyroid infill that is the shape as graphene. This shape has been shown to be very strong as a 3D printed object and if used as an infill would presumably create very strong 3D prints

http://itsybitsymag.com/2017/01/11/mit-research-ten-times-strong-lightweight-graphene/

Reference: https://github.com/prusa3d/Slic3r/issues/92

[smartavionics]

OK, I've fixed the issue but the build won't be uploaded for a couple of hours as our internet is tied up for a while.

[Snypes88]

Amazing progress 😍 Never thought things would go so fast! @smartavionics When can we expect to try out your progress under Windows? Or is the Alpha channel only for Linux?

[smartavionics]

Sorry, @Snypes88 , I can only create Linux versions of my Cura as I don't use Windows here. All of the source is available on github so someone who can build Windows releases could build it but I'm afraid I don't know anyone who does build for Windows from source.

I don't know if it would work but if you have sufficient free disk and memory you could install a small Linux system using Virtualbox and try running my releases using that.

[agibson2]

I updated to your build from today. I have been trying to get a really good looking infill without walls or top/bottom layers and it is really looking good.

I disabled combing to reduce stringing. I also disabled Connect Infill Lines (seems to be default disabled). I then printed 2 cubes without walls or top/bottom layer. One of them using a 0.4 mm Infill Line Width. The other using a 0.6 mm Infill Line Width. I am very happy with the results. These things are very nice looking. The thicker line width version looks especially nice as the thickness just looks more solid and more to look at(can see through it easier for the same infill %).

I want to do some destructive testing with the two and see which ones breaks first but I don't know that I have anything to do that with. I am curios if the thicker but further apart lines are stronger, the same, or weaker than the thinner lines but closer together line spacing.

Left side is 0.4 mm Infill Line Width Right side is 0.6 mm Infill Line Width

image-3 3 image-2 11 image-1 29

Thank you for spending all the time that you have on this. The prints really show that you are doing a great job on this. Thanks!

[agibson2]

Another print using Gyroid. I like the pattern. It is a consistent pattern from all sides compared to the triangles that I always used before. Did I mention I really like this infill pattern?

This is a pencil holder.

image-2 12 image-1 30

[agibson2]

Print your infill separately and push it in. Lol. I am having too much fun with this I think :). image-1 31

One thing I noticed when increasing Infill Line Width (from a previous print) from 0.4 mm to 0.6 mm for a 0.4 mm nozzlie is that it shows as 2 lines when really it is just a thicker single line. I tried triangle infill and it showed the same thing so I guess that is expected?

[smartavionics]

Hi Adam, thanks for all the feedback, I'm glad you're happy with the results.

One thing I noticed when increasing Infill Line Width (from a previous print) from 0.4 mm to 0.6 mm for a 0.4 mm nozzlie is that it shows as 2 lines when really it is just a thicker single line. I tried triangle infill and it showed the same thing so I guess that is expected?

Hmm, I don't see that, can you provide some screenshots of the layer view?

[agibson2]

I think it is just a rendering/view thing with Cura on Ubuntu inside a HyperV (Windows 10). Regular Cura on Windows doesn't exhibit this weird looking rendering.

screenshot

[smartavionics]

Ah, that screenshot is showing the layer view to be using compatibility mode. The OpenGL in the VM must have a low version. I don't think there really are two lines there.

[agibson2]

I agree. It is just using whatever defaults HyperV and Ubuntu use. I am not worried about it.

Here is another print using transparent PLA. Really liking the pattern. img_1413 img_1412

[agibson2]

Cura has some big stuff in the works so unfortunately for now, no. This issue is marked as "Deferred" because we do not plan to devote any time to it in the foreseeable future, but would like it implemented eventually. Pull requests are very welcome.

@ianpaschal Any chance of this getting out of deferred status with the work and the pull request that has been done on it by smartavionics?

[probonopd]

He says

Pull requests are very welcome.

👍

[fieldOfView]

Note that the "deferred" status is only meant to show that UM devs won't spent time developing this. Fortunately for us, @smartavionics is not an UM dev.

[ianpaschal]

Yup! "Deferred" means we want it (or in the case of a bug, it should be fixed) but that we don't have the time/dev power to make it happen for the foreseeable future.

When Mr. Avionics has made a PR for us to review, we'll slap an "In Progress" label on the PR. 😉

[smartavionics]

When Mr. Avionics has made a PR for us to review, we'll slap an "In Progress" label on the PR. wink

https://github.com/Ultimaker/Cura/pull/4365

https://github.com/Ultimaker/CuraEngine/pull/850

Over to you...!

[ianpaschal]

Aha oops! I'm actually now officially working only the UM3 Networking Plugin, so I can't speak to whether or not anyone in Cura team has picked it up but I imagine @Appesteijn will put it in a sprint soon in the near future.

[probonopd]

Isn't Open Source great? :+1:

[smartavionics]

Isn't Open Source great?

Sure is. It makes a lot stuff possible that otherwise would be very difficult to achieve.

[agibson2]

The status changed to in progress several days ago... sweet! Looks like there is some disagreement upstream about how the code is organized though. Hopefully upstream doesn't let this new infill code gather dust. There is some good work put into this by smartavionics to get this going.

I haven't felt a need to go over 15% yet for the infill percentage with this infill. I mostly use 10%.

I am still using it even though my workflow is slower as I have to use another OS under a VM to get smartavionics' alpha build running. If anyone else gets a build of this going on Windows, please post it. We will likely get more people testing it. I have been trying for the past week to setup the compile environment on Windows but keep getting stuck (currently stuck on protobufs compile).

[smartavionics]

I can now build on Linux and OS X but cannot build Windows releases. I have posted a request for help on the forum but nobody has replied.

[fieldOfView]

It has been merged! 🍾 🍰 🍺 🎈

[filipgoc]

Whoa. What an amazing pace of development here. Congrats!

[probonopd]

Thank you everyone involved 💯

[Theagainmen]

It has been merged! 🍾 🍰 🍺 🎈 What does this mean? Will it be in the next Cura version?

[ChrisTerBeke]

It's not in time for 3.5, but 3.6 will have it (right @nallath ?)

[Appesteijn]

Yes it will be in 3.6

[agibson2]

I suspect someone will end up getting an alpha build with it compiled in that people will use unofficially... I think people are really excited for it. Ideally it would be 3.5 final code with only Gyroid infill compile in but I would settle for a mainly stable alpha master build too. As I mentioned... I am working on getting a Windows environment going but having a lot of setbacks that really has me puzzled. At the rate I am going though 3.8 will likely be released by that time :).

Thank you to all involved and especially smartavionics and the original developer on Slic3r who gave starting point code to work from.

[smartavionics]

Just letting you know that I have now posted a Windows version of my development release which includes the gyroid infill. You can find it at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/s43vqzmi4d2bqe2/AAADdYdSu9iwcKa0Knqgurm4a?dl=0

[agibson2]

Excellent! Get testing everyone with Windows that is interested! :) Thank you for this.

[blastarrow20]

Thank you so much!

[supermerill]

Congrats!

[jcobreros]

Hey @smartavionics, first: thank you for this build. It works great and I'm loving the infill. However, the fine resolution of the generated gcode chockes my serial bandwidth (and sd-card's), it creates micro motor stalls while the buffer refills, and it forces me to reduce the printing speed.

I've tried changing Cura's maximum resolution from 10um to 20um, but gyroid infill doesn't seem to listen to that variable, as the generated files are exactly the same size.

What would be the easiest way to change the resolution?

Thanks!

[probonopd]

So happy to see this :+1: in the Cura 3.6.0-BETA AppImage on Linux:

[smartavionics]

Hi @jcobreros , I'm sorry to hear that the line density in the gyroid infill exceeds your printer's capabilities but I don't think there's much I can do about that because the gyroid pattern is already being generated quite coarsely. Each wave cycle uses a max of 16 line segments. When the pitch (distance between waves) is small it will use even fewer line segments but I do feel that reducing the number of segments further will severely impact the quality of the wave shape.

[jcobreros]

Cool! I'm glad to see it's already well optimized. I'll look into my printer's bottleneck.

[ChrisTerBeke]

Using this as my go-to infill now :)

[agibson2]

@smartavionics , Do you know if line direction was expected to be working when you implemented this? I am printing an elevator for a wing that has to go diagonally across the bed and was hoping to set the line direction so that the few layers of infill on near the tips of the object would be straight with the diagonal wing so that any flex would be equal to both sides. Right now it looks like line direction doesn't change anything so the gyroid infill first lines are going straight with the bed and diagonal with the object I am trying to print.

[smartavionics]

Sorry, the gyroid infill ignores the infill line direction setting.