A Guide to Setting Up the Premier 3D Printing Software
Ultimaker Cura is considered one of the best free, open-source 3D printing software available today. Maintained by Ultimaker, one of the leading manufacturers of 3D printers, Cura has a reputation for being easy to use while still providing advanced features for experienced users. This step-by-step guide will show you how to download and install Cura on your Windows computer so you can start leveraging this premier application for all your 3D printing needs.
Table of contents
· An Introduction to Ultimaker Cura
· Downloading Ultimaker Cura
· Installing Cura on Your Windows PC
· First Launch and Getting Started
An Introduction to Ultimaker Cura
Ultimaker Cura is widely considered one of the best slicing software programs available. A slicer is an application that processes 3D design files and converts them into instructions for your 3D printer. Cura was specially developed by Ultimaker to integrate seamlessly with their own printers, but it works very well for most common desktop 3D printers.
Some of the key features and benefits of Ultimaker Cura include:
- Streamlined printing preparation workflow
- Powerful slicing tools and custom settings
- Superior file compatibility — reads STL, OBJ, 3MF, PNG, JPEG etc.
- Extremely user-friendly interface
- Constantly updated by Ultimaker’s team of experts
- Completely free and open-source
These factors have all contributed to Ultimaker Cura’s popularity in the 3D printing world. Both hobbyists and industry professionals rely on Cura for their projects. By following the instructions below, you’ll have this premier application ready for your own 3D models in no time!
Downloading Ultimaker Cura
The first step is to go to Ultimaker’s Cura download page. Here, you’ll find installers available for Windows, MacOS and Linux operating systems.
Since this guide focuses on setup for Windows devices, click the large blue button for “Win64.exe” under the Windows section.
This will trigger the Cura software installer to begin downloading to your default Downloads folder:
The file is approximately 283 MB MB in size. Once complete, locate the installer application (named Ultimaker_Cura_Setup_5.6.0.exe or similar) and proceed to installing Cura.
Installing Cura on Your Windows PC
Doubly-click the Cura installer .exe application to launch the setup wizard:
Click through the first few screens accepting the license agreement and selecting install options.
The rest of the installation will complete automatically within a minute or two. Finally, just check the “Run UltiMaker Cura 5.6.0 after installation” box on the concluding screen so that Cura opens up directly once setup finishes:
And that’s it! After a quick first-launch walkthrough, Ultimaker Cura will be ready to use as your 3D printing software.
First Launch and Getting Started
On its first ever launch, Cura will take you through a super-short introduction to get acquainted with the software:
Finally, you will arrive on the main Cura interface which looks like this:
Congratulations, you now have Ultimaker Cura successfully setup on your Windows machine!
You can start using the software right away to orient, slice and prepare your 3D models for printing. We highly suggest checking out Cura’s official documentation to understand all the settings and really optimize it as per your printer.
Over time, Cura will become an invaluable software companion in your 3D printing journey. This guide should have helped eliminate the very first hurdle — getting it installed and launched without any hiccups.
For additional help as you begin using Cura, . The collective experience of thousands of users makes it a fantastic troubleshooting resource!
We wish you the best prints ahead!
This post is originally published at 3dprintjunction.com
We thank everybody who has been supporting our work and requests you check out 3dprintjunction.com for more such articles
