@heartless, thanks for the file. I will use that as well. I did try the 20mm cube though as a way to learn how to do it first. So far, my second cube was 20.01 all the way around. I even adjusted the extruders steps/mm.. Its pretty simple, just a percent error calculation fix is all. I thought it would have been something crazy, but nope haha.

Thanks for the help guys.

In addition to the great answers above, I just wanted to make a very small correction on Cura's functionality for OP or anyone else who reads this.
Cura does support multiple infill densities using similar modifiers as Slic3r, however it's a tad less straightforward.

It's explained here at a stackoverflow post.
They've explained it on an older version of Cura, but it still applies to 4.0.
(The only difference is that you no longer need to put Cura into "Custom mode" as far as I can see.)

By default Cura tends to create walls within the modified infill, so you'll need to make the modifier's wall thickness's set to 0mm to mimic slic3r's modifier.

This is what it should look like once done on 4.0 using a blank 20mm cube uploaded to be a modifier:

There's an array of multiple different settings you could use with this modifier feature as well if you click "show all" on the top right when selecting a setting to change.

Another thing, there's a popular plugin on the Cura marketplace called "Custom Supports" that'll allow you to quickly place supports anywhere similar to S3D.

Regardless, still try out S3D and see how you like it!

Anyway... as a random babbling side note:
I also agree with S3D being over-hyped, and much prefered Cura over it the past few months despite some of Cura's flaws. I've never had an issue with Cura's supports as well.

The final kicker for me was that I only came back into 3d printing just a few months ago after a hiatus of years, only to find out S3D hadn't been updated/improved since I last used it. (I know it has recently though.)
Free slicers like Sli3cr and Cura have come a long way since then...

but again, make sure you mark it before removing it so you know which way is X and which is Y

there are 5 very specific dimensions with this piece.
75mm square for the largest section,
50mm square for the smaller upper section,
5mm high steps x 2 (10mm overall height),
and the central hole should be 25mm square

generally speaking, if your dimensions are within 0.5mm you should be fine for general purpose printing.
If you want to be able to do technical prints that need precise dimensional tolerances, you will need to do a bit of tweaking.

What calibration is it where i print the 20x20 mm cube and use my calipers to check to see if it is really 20mm or not?

thanks

First calibration you should do is to make sure the feed rate is correct.
Feed rate refers to how much filament is pulled into the hotend. If you ask it to feed 100mm, it should feed 100mm - not 98, not 103, just 100. period.

Second calibration should be on the filament itself - or what is referred to as flow rate (how much is coming out of the hotend).
Every single spool of filament will be different - even two spools of the exact same brand & color will be different.
The only way to get consistent results from your printer is to calibrate your filament properly.

for a rundown on the proper way to calibrate feed and flow rates, take a look at these links:

https://northwoods3d.weebly.com/blog/fi … ion-part-1

https://northwoods3d.weebly.com/blog/-f … coming-out

Tree supports are cool, but i can see how i need to use the other types of supports as well. to bad mesh mixer cant generate other types besides tree. That would be pretty helpful:)

thanks again

The newest version of Slic3r (1.3.0) has what they are calling "adaptive quality" - it automatically changes layer heights based on the topology of the model. or, you can set up different layer heights manually, if you prefer.

different infills are done a little differently in Slic3r, however.
It uses "modifiers" to specify areas of different fill density.
a modifier is just a simple shape placed in the area of the model that you want to use a different fill density than the rest of the model.
some simple modifiers can be created within Slic3r directly, or they can be created in a modeling program and saved to import.
Meshmixer is a useful tool for this as well.

I dont have any real prints yet, just basic cubes. haha.

thanks for sharing your guys knowledge and expertise, as well as the photos. much much appreciated:)

one other thing i wanted to ask, i do know the s3d has the multiprocess options such as, from 0-10mm print with this infill and settings, then from 10-13mm these settings, etc. is that avalable in cura or slic3r?

thanks

Hatchbox Gold ABS printed at a 0.3 layer height, no part fan, just good old fashioned tuning & proper calibration.

While this one used standard Slic3r supports..

Some things can be taught, like the proper procedures for calibration and tuning, but some things you just have to experiment with, trial and error, figure out what works and what does not.

it takes practice to decide what you need and when you need it. This is not something one can just tell you.

there is an analysis tool within Meshmixer that can help you decide, but it is not foolproof.

whole bunch of them out there, just search..

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ … er+support

hmm, this might be the move right here. Is there a reason to NOT to use tree supports?

thanks

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ … er+support