The RDBlog

An update on Cetus Software. I have said all this before. Little has changed in my ongoing rant.

Just to prove I am not a total S3D Slicer snob… I DO use Soda3 (the Tiertime BETA for their new UPStudio 3. It presently will only run on my MAC mini as it somehow got hosed-up on the MS WIN10 system. I believe something to do with QuickTime drivers.

Since Tiertime is not an “officially recognized” Windows application there is no MS resource for information about fixing the display issues. Shame. It seems to only affect some WIN10 systems and not most.

MAC is fine so far, so I can run UPStudio 2 & 3 with little issue. (Nothing is perfectly perfect…)

My biggest issue is the Soda3 beta application and use of it is… is it’s quite fragmented. The slicer and the printer driver are separate applications. Things like material definition do not “partner” well between each other.

Define a new filament parameter in the slicer and it doesn’t automatically transfer to the printer driver. The material management in Tiertime is very complex and extremely lame implementation.

Example is the number of sidewall layers in UPStudio 2 are defined in the materials definition and not the slicer itself. That’s very lame. It could and should work together far better than it does presently.

That said, UPStudio 2 & 3 will get the job done when one has mastered all their foibles.

If it were simple, anyone could get good prints. But… isn’t that the whole point? It’s obvious to me that Jason Wu (the up front Cetus support representative) is a team of one for Cetus. He appears to really struggles getting corporate to give him adequate resources.

Cetus originally had its own printer software. It was abandoned and Cetus support added to UPStudio. I suspect Cetus is bottom on the list of Tiertime hardware and special print software was not permitted to cut into profit margins of their mainstream printers. So Cetus was “tacked onto” mainstream UPStudio. Only my guess.

Nothing wrong with that. Makes perfect corporate resource sense. Only issue is that UPStudio was never intended to be an “enthusiasts” print slicer/driver with a lot of user control points for the user to get incorrectly configured. Original UPStudio was literally designed for dummies.

Cetus has always been a minimalist and enthusiasts hardware system. Best for the least. It begs for first class user control features, so heated bed and auto leveling were added. But leveling via RAFT is still very lame.

UPStudio 3 beta (AKA Soda3 and Catfish) is a positive move to an enthusiast application. It is obvious development and test resources for this new version are extremely limited. It’s a free resource so no reason to complain about getting ones money worth.

I am pleased to see the effort and I do make excellent prints on Cetus using it. I can get good prints on a smooth glass surface with no raft. But it ain’t exactly easy.