TOP 6 Cura Plugins to Improve Your 3D Printing Experience

The Ultimaker Cura is definitely among the most popular slicers for 3D printing. For users’ utmost, we’d like to recommend you the top 6 Cura plugins based on Cura version 4.1.0. These Cura plugins would make your 3D printing experience much easier. 

Where to get Cura Plugins?

You could access to cura plugins in the "Marketplace" of cura. The Marketplace tab is on the top right of the cura interface. You could find all the plugins cura now support. And you could find the plugin you want and click to install it on your cura. After installion, you could find all your installed Cura plugins on the Extensions on the top of your Cura control pannel. 

ultimaker cura plugins

1. Settings Guide - Best Cura Plugin for Newbie in 3D Printing

Settings Guide is an awesome cura plugin for those who’re completely new to Cura and don’t know what all the Cura settings mean. Settings Guide is more of an encyclopedia of Cura. With Settings Guide installed, you can get detailed information of all settings you can make on Cura by simply right-click on the printing setting bar. This cura plugin would tell exactly of how each cura settings would affect your print results. It would help you to dial your printer in a little bit easier.

cura plugin setting guide
Cura encyclopedia of in-depth explanation of every settings in Cura

 

2.Thingiverse Plugin - Import Stl File to Cura

With Thingiverse plugin installed, you can directly visit Thingiverse and download abundant files from it. The Cura plugin give you a direct connection to the Thingiverse. You could add models you like right to your build plate. No need to download it on your computer or unzip file.

thingiverse plugin on cura

 

3. Auto-orientation Cura Plugin

Auto-orientation is a plugin that automatically orientate your object and calculate the best way to print it with the least material consumption. It’s optional for fast or extended optimal printing orientations. And you can also modify settings for more advanced orientation printing.  The plugin is quite helpful especially when you don’t know the support thing or anything else like that while printing.

Take printing a spiral object for example.  Open the file and Cura auto starts slicing the object into vertical printing. But after orientated, the object will be printed horizontally with less support.

Object after fast orientated

 

4. Barbarian Plugin

Barbarian plugin can convert a model in unwanted units like inches into metric with only one click. You may don’t often use it, but it really helps sometimes.

 

5. Cura Backups - Import Your Best Cura Settings Anywhere

It's really takes a lot of time to get a good or even perfect Cura profile settings for your printer. Different printers have different settings to dial in. Cura Backups plugin helps us to save special printer cura settings, that you may take a lot of time to work out, on cloud. And no matter which computer or what version of Cura you’re using, you can import and use your cura profiles whenever want. All of your cura settings now could back up on cloud and access everywhere. 

6. Z Offset Setting

This Cura plugin will allow you to set your Z offset via g-code from Cura. So if you're having a little bit of problem getting your nozzle a little bit too close or not enough close to your heatbed, this Cura plugin can help out immensely. 

How to Uninstall your Cura Plugins

When you don't want some Cura plugin any more, all you need to do is to uninstall it on Cura. Still go the the Marketplace tab on the right top of the Cura software interface. On the Installed pannel, you could easily uninstall your current Cura plugins by just clicking Uninstall button. 

uninstall cura plugin

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