PBCuraEngine is a plugin that adds the 'latest' CuraEngine slicer to OctoPrint running on a Raspberry Pi.
We use the "PB" prefix because Cura is a pretty overloaded term, but to be super-clear, this plugin uses "vanilla" CuraEngine with no modifications/enhancements.
Install via the bundled Plugin Manager or manually using this URL:
https://github.com/Printrbot/OctoPrint-PBCuraEngine/archive/master.zip
To use this plugin, you must have CuraEngine and its dependencies installed on your system. This plugin was originally integrated with the version 3.x CuraEngine code.
Under plugins->PBCuraEngine, you can set the following options:
default_profile: The default OctoPrint slicer profile.
setting_json: The default Cura setting.json (printer profile).
setting_json_path: Location of the setting.json config files.
cura_engine: Location of the CuraEngine executable.
Slicer Settings are controlled via three "layers" of settings.
(helpful image goes here)
Cura is designed to use .json "printer profiles" that describe printer-specific slicing settings.
If you have a Printbot Simple, there is a simple.json file installed in the app. This .json file inherits most of its settings from the generic profile "fdmprinter.def.json". This generic profile in turn uses a generic extruder profile "fdmextruder.def.json".
As the Cura developers add new slicer settings to the app, they add reasonable default values to them as part of the generic profile, so you don't have to constantly update your printer-specific profile.
These profiles are required by command-line CuraEngine, but the files aren't bundled with the CuraEngine code (they are in the Cura frontend, project.) We're including default and some Printrbot profiles as part of the slicer project files right now, but you can easily add others if you with.
TODO: Right now there isn't a way to manually or automatically change the printer profile used except editing the config.yaml file. This will eventually be added to the UI.
OctoPrint has a built-in idea of slicing profiles. There are the slicer settings options that are available in the default slicer UI in OctoPrint.
We intend to ship with a few pre-defined profiles that allow the user to select between different levels of print quality. This will be similar to Cura's Fine/Draft/Coarse slider.
Based on the print material you have selected, you'll want to adjust bed temperature, hotend temperature and maybe other variables. TODO: Eventually, the plugin will also deliver these adjustments to the slicer profile when you trigger a slice.