Infill Density: 20% is standard, 50% is pretty strong and heavy, 75-80% is virtually fully filled (Note! 100% infill is a no-no because it overfills your print and causes it to warp and bulge!)

Infill Pattern: Different patterns have different strengths and weaknesses (I prefer Gyroid because of its strength in virtually every direction)

I've never used most of these, but here are the important ones:

Wall Thickness: Line Width (Quality) * Wall Line Count. Basically, the outer shell of the 3D print has a certain thickness before the Infill starts, you get to set this thickness with this setting. A higher wall thickness would lead to a stronger print.

Top/Bottom Thickness: Same idea, do I really have to explain this?

Top/Bottom Pattern: The pattern of the layer creation (I've never changed this, but maybe Concentric would be better for circular parts)

Enable Ironing: This is a really non-important setting, but it literally just makes the print slower and maybe marginally smoother. I tried it once but wasn't noticing any major differences. It works by using the hot extruder to remelt the plastic of the top layer to smoothen the layer lines, purely aesthetic, no structural use.

Profiles let you save settings across projects so that you can use them again!

A star in the top right means you made unsaved changes, be sure to either "Create profile from current settings/overrides" or "Update profile from current settings/overrides"

Temperature depends on your FILAMENT BRAND, not your plastic type. Check the package carefully for the temperature range and pick a number in the middle. PLA tends to run around 200C while ABS is around 245C.

The build plate temperature for PLA is around 60C and around 110C for ABS.

Don't mess with the flow rate until you are so proficient with the 3D printer that you know more than this tutorial's writer.

Windows

Head to Ultimaker's website here, click on "Download for free", download the .exe installer and install as you would any other program.

Macintosh

Head to Ultimaker's website here, click on "Download for free", download the installer and install as you would any other program.

Linux

Ubuntu Linux (+Derivatives)

Simply run apt install cura as root to install the latest version.

Arch Linux (+Derivatives)

Simply run pacman -S cura to install Cura.

Other Distributions

Head to Ultimaker's website here, click on "Download for free", download the .AppImage.

1. Run chmod +x [filename] to allow the .AppData to be executed

2. If you wish to allow Cura to be activated as a command, run mv [filename] /usr/bin/cura as root.

Don't do anything here.

In general, more speed = less precision

Depends on your printer. In general if you experience poor bed adhesion you should increase the bed temperature or decrease the print speed of the initial layers.

Here, only the type really matters.

Skirt: A distance away from your print it makes a ring a few lines thick to purge old filament to prime the extruder. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO USE INSTEAD OF "NONE"

Brim: Exactly like Skirt but this TOUCHES your prints so that they don't separate from the bed as often. ALSO PRETTY RECOMMENDED

Raft: Makes a thick, slow, wasteful, costly, stupid platform under your whole print. DO NOT USE

You just have to click "Generate Support" and then play around with the first 3 settings.

Support Overhang Angle: if the angle between layers is greater than this it will generate supports. This is measured from the normal (vertical).

Support Pattern: Zig Zag is very good for easily removable supports. Under the Experimental Tab, Tree Support is very good for easy to remove, lightweight, quick supports.

When you first get Cura, you'll be asked to add a printer. Choosing the printer does not matter as long as you set up the size dimensions of the build volume based on specifications you can find online. (my Ender Pro 3 is 220mm*220mm*250mm)

Now, I'll walk you through the tabs and tell you the important stuff in the coming pages.

Tree Support: Unclick "Generate Supports" in the Supports section and then click this box. The support options should reappear in the Supports section. Tree supports are awesome because of their speed, efficacy, and material saving.

Draft Shield: For people printing ABS without an enclosure and are having warping or delamination, a draft shield builds a wall around your 3D print with minimal plastic that protects it very well.

Adaptive Layers: Maximizes the speed of your print and detail by making layers with curvature much thinner while making straight faces have thicker layers. In other words, each layer is a different size depending on the detail needed.

Don't do anything here.

Layer Height: A smaller layer height is a fine print, but it takes longer! (I stick to the default options generally that are found in the dropdown right above this one labeled "Profiles")

Initial Layer Height: I've found no reason to mess with this, but it may help with adhesion for some people.

Line Width (and subsettings): Normally the width of your nozzle. (I've never found a reason to play with this either.)