How to build Cura on Windows?

Question

I am interested in doing development on Cura. Initially I want to start with the UI rather than the Engine. I have found the repository and have cloned it to my PC. I have also looked over the Wiki and searched the web. For such a popular open-source product, I was surprised I couldn't find a build guide.

Can someone direct me on how to get started. I have a LOT of experience in Software Development (more years and languages than I want to admit to); but, I have never used Python. Consider that in your instructions.

For a similar saga see https://www.bountysource.com/issues/28750036-can-t-build-32-bit-cura-windows-10-32-bit. — markshancock, May 20 '17 at 04:04
I would LOVE to hear from someone that has actually gotten this to work! In nearly 50 years of programming, I have never seen such a tangled mess (though I have seen some close). — markshancock, May 20 '17 at 04:08
I found the source code to Slic3r. The build process appears to be MUCH better documented. https://github.com/alexrj/Slic3r — markshancock, May 20 '17 at 05:46

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered May 18 '17 at 03:52

3

The repository's README.md includes a section titled "Build Scripts", with a link to another repository: https://github.com/Ultimaker/cura-build

This includes dependencies and instructions for building Cura on Windows.

answered May 18 '17 at 03:52

mbmcavoy

818
5
10

Greenonline · Answer 2 · 2017-05-18T04:10:18.740

As you are an experienced developer, these links should help:

This is a related question, but for Ubuntu How to build CuraEngine?

Wikipedia has an informative page on Cura, which lists the Github development pages:

Cura Github development page

Cura Github legacy (pre-Ultimaker) development page

Cura slicing engine Github development page

Reading the development pages is a good place to start. The Cura Github development page does contain resources for Windows.

The top level Ultimaker Github page contains links to all of the relevant repositories, amongst other useful resources, including:

CuraEngine - CuraEngine is a powerful, fast and robust engine for processing 3D models into 3D printing instruction for Ultimaker and other GCode based 3D printers. It is part of the larger open source project called "Cura".

Cura - 3D printer / slicing GUI built on top of the Uranium framework

cura-build - Build scripts for Cura

With respect to Python, I, myself, am slowly making my way through this Python tutorial, Python Code Academy. However, there are a many other good Python tutorials out there, the best resource is probably Python.org.

One thing to note is that Python 2.x and 3.x are markedly different (see Should I use Python 2 or Python 3 for my development activity?). What should I learn as a beginner: Python 2 OR Python 3? is also an interesting read.

How to build Cura on Windows?

2 Answers2