Cube3 File Editor

I am not sure what John did with the output files. I suspect he is keeping the extension of whatever the input file was. The _MOD is the hint as to the newly saved file. Renaming the extension to the appropriate device is allowed and necessary.

There are a certain number of lines that are unique to Cube3 and CubePro. These are the park, wipe, and other commands that do the housekeeping. These have to be valid segments. Using an appropriate header from a pre-generated file from the proper platform is a good way to get the information. The 'body' of the print only uses a few commands. This is your slicer proper.

I don't know anymore what the M404 was. If it isn't found in .cube3 files then yes, delete those lines.

We've covered a lot of territory in this thread and I am certain a lot of good detail is buried among the rubble. I think John did try to add some information in the help. Not sure how far that got.

Your assumption is correct - the editor was a tool to simplify conversion from Cube3 to CubePro and visa versa. The hooks are there but the differences but implementing a complete conversion would have quadrupled the effort. I'm not sure if John has continued this further on his own. I heard he was customizing on contract. The editor's settings are made to change the two parameters that don't work identically between the two machines; pressures and speed. Temperature is an optional setting, mostly implemented for various material combinations.

I have a routine that changes Ekocycle prints to Cube3-abs prints where I run PETG from the spool;
1) Load the .cube3 file
2) Increase the pressure of the first two entries to manage the extra gap assigned to Ekocycle prints
3) Change 265C to 250C in all locations
4) Change to Cube3 header data (left pane)
5) Pick an ABS color currently chipped to my cartridge
6) Save Cube3 file which assigns _MOD to the original name.

Link me up with a CubePro and Cube3 file you want to use. Single color is pretty much a limitation for this combination. Ever filament change operation is a huge manual effort. Anyway, I can see what can be done with those and get them back to you. Also, which way are converting - pro to 3 or 3 to pro?

Double thank you!
You've cleared it up for me. I think I can work it out now, but if I get stuck I'll gladly take you up on your offer.
I'm converting pro to 3 - using pro slicer to print on a 3 printer.
If a procedure comes together, I'll post it here. (I like printing with PETG, too.)

I like the Ekocycle slicer for PETG.
Try this for Eko to Cube3...

Printer Model: CUBE3 / Firmware:V1.14B / Material Type: (match chip) (ABS or PLA) / Material Color: (any)
Temperature control - 265 to 250, both entries.
Reaction control - no change
Extruder Pressure - 37 to 40 (first layer perimeter) and 29 to 32 (infill, if present) <first two entries>
Generate Cube3

I'll give it a try!

Hey, thanks TD for replying. I did not see this in my email at first. Essentially what TD said. If you open up the MOD file with the editor, you should see that it is configured for Cube3. If not, please let me know. I can also modify the code to change the extension to CUBE3 (maybe add a checkbox or a dialog to allow you to select the save location and type)

buddybu - Thanks for the tip.
I learned that when going from EKO slicing to PETG printing, I need to a) be careful to properly select the correct extruder in Cube Print, b) double check that the left extruder has material and the Mid and Right do not, c) if changing Extruder Pressure change the value in the Extruder Pressure column (not Calculated Pressure), check the Selected box, click Calculate and click Update.
For Cube Print, I was not aware that you have to click and drag the correct (left or right) material icon onto each part. I had defaulted somehow to the right extruder, and even though in Cube3Editor I selected material for Extruder 1 and Empty for E3 and E2, the MOD file still contained the material Cube Print had in the right extruder, so the printer insisted I should change the spool.

TommyDee - For the no-name PETG filament I have, the temperature change to 250 worked well. However, when I changed the Extruder Pressures, the second one was 9, not 29. I went ahead and changed it to 32 as suggested above. The result was fairly clean printing for about 28 layers, then a blobby mess above that.
When I sliced with EKO and only changed the max temperatures, I got a very nice print.

BTW, when I sliced with Cube3 ABS and changed the max temps to 250, and printed with the same PETG, it came out decently - perhaps 80% as good as the EKO sliced version. You are right about the EKO slicer working well!

Thanks again for the helpful tips - all both of you!

If the second line for pressure doesn't have "29", that means there is no infill. No need to change any other value.

The Ekocycle slicer is 'calmer'. That is why I opted to use the Ekocycle slicer. Very consistent PETG prints.

I made it to the end of the thread. A long read but well worth it. There was so much information that much of it went over my head, or maybe it was out my ear, I don't know, either way I don't remember it all. But I think I can summarize what I have learned. Since I have only a Cube 3 and not a Pro or any other printers, and I am printing only in PLA so far, I don't have much need for too much of the fancy stuff you guys have discovered. But the problem is, need it or not, the knowledge that it is there has put an itch in my brain to use it.

I will experiment with temperatures to try to fix problems with strings and layers not filling the way they should.

Changing the retraction/purge length in M227/M228 to hopefully fix the start/stop lines.

I have already switched to the DIY Hub with the B2B bulkhead and nozzle adapters. My original cartridges are too worn out to be of any use, broken clips and snaps, just falling apart.

I have been printing okay mostly until recently when I began having failures of the clips holding the 4mm tube in place in the B2B nozzle adapter. I wonder if anyone else has had issues with this and what is the current best solution? Is it the printed clips or the 5mm tubing slices? For the time being I have gone back to the PC4-M5 push connectors on the hot end.

Also I am wondering about the little barrel nut they used in the extruder and the nozzle that clamped down on the filament so much. I have been running with just the original 2mm x 3mm tubing in the extruder without anything to hold it in place. Eventually it got chewed up by the toothed wheel in the extruder, it was just a matter of time. So I've been thinking of other solutions. I have some larger size barrel nuts that won't fit inside the metal extruder housing but might be fit in downstream just ouutside of the extruder somewhere. I have one in a hole I have drilled out between the clip and the B2B adapter on the hub as an experiment. In another one I have turned a section of 4mm tubing down to 3mm OD to fit into the channel in the extruder, leaving a 5mm length of it at the original diameter to fit where the barrel nut was meant to go. This holds the tubing in place so it doesn't get fed into the gears during retraction and it also avoids another discontinuity in the tubing by not having to switch from 3mm to 4mm.

I just realized that the latter part of this post doesn't really fit with this thread but the whole post all kind of goes together as a coda.

You could clip the thicker cartridge tube to make the keepers. I added the printed ones just as a last resort.

Keep inventing. There must be even better ways.

Too late I saw the thread "Cartridge Replacement Tube - The Machining Method". I should have guessed that there is nothing I will think of that hasn't already been done and better from the photos. Mine doesn't look nearly that good. Well, I still have a lot more threads to read in this forum. Such an incredible store of knowledge.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by TommyDee

You could clip the thicker cartridge tube to make the keepers. I added the printed ones just as a last resort.

Keep inventing. There must be even better ways.

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I have had better success with the printed ones than with the clipped tubing. I think it might have something to do with the tubing being teflon, but still the compression should hold it. It could also be related to the shoulders on my tubing grooves. I didn't get as clean of a cut as I would have liked. Had trouble with the cutter slipping back.

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To get back on topic for this thread, I just finished printing part one of a two part print job that was my first using a cube3 file I edited with Buddy's editor. It is still early to draw conclusions but so far it looks like 300 and 375 are both better than 450 was for the z line. I still have some interesting looking top and bottom surfaces. I will try to get photos posted later to see if this is something that I can fix or if it's just normal.