Troubleshooting Poor Part View Performance in Eiger

This article goes over a few troubleshooting steps that can help diagnose problems with Part View performance within the Markforged Eiger software. These problems can include poor frame rate and be unable to completely load part graphics.

As cloud-based software, Eiger can be accessed from any device that is able to utilize Google Chrome. However, this also means that there are very rare scenarios where Eiger can be impacted by certain hardware or software settings. One issue that can occur with Eiger is the low Part View frame rate when zooming or rotating.

If you are experiencing any performance issues with Eiger, the steps below are typically enough to diagnose what the problem is.

Test Eiger with Incognito Mode

As with many cloud-based applications, a quick first step can be to determine whether or not your stored browser data is causing a problem. With Google Chrome, you can do this by selecting the "⋮" symbol in the upper right-hand corner of your browser and clicking New Incognito Window. From the new window, test Eiger for performance.

If Eiger performance improves, you can clear your browsing data by following the steps listed in this Google Help Center article: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/32050?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en

If performance does not improve with Incognito Mode, proceed to the next step.

Verify that Hardware Acceleration is Enabled

After ruling out browser data, the next most likely cause of poor Eiger performance is Chrome not taking advantage of your GPU to render the software. To verify that Google Chrome has this setting enabled, follow these steps: 

1. Select the "⋮" symbol in the upper right-hand corner of your Chrome browser.

2. Select the Settings option.

3. In the Settings area, scroll all the way to the bottom of the page until the Advanced option is visible.

4. Click on the Advanced option.

5. Scroll down to the System section and verify that the "Use hardware acceleration when available" setting is toggled on.

6. Enable this slider if it is disabled, and relaunch Google Chrome via the Relaunch button that appears.

7. Test Eiger once this setting has been applied.

Performance Issues when Hardware Acceleration is Enabled

If your Eiger Part View is still experiencing performance issues after ensuring that hardware acceleration is enabled, you will want to verify that Chrome is utilizing your hardware to handle WebGL, which renders the Eiger Part View. To accomplish this, follow these steps: 

1. In the Chrome navigation bar, navigate to the address: chrome://gpu

2. Find the WebGL listing. There will be one of three options listed here, which are: 

• Hardware accelerated. This indicates that WebGL is running off of your GPU, which is the ideal scenario. 
• Software only, hardware acceleration unavailable. This means that WebGL is being handled by the Chrome software, which is not as efficient as the GPU. 
• Unavailable. This status shows that neither hardware or software is being used to run WebGL.

If your WebGL status is anything but Hardware accelerated, it is possible that your configuration is not compatible with Chrome WebGL, or that your GPU is blacklisted from running WebGL within Chrome. The Problems Detected area of chrome://gpu may give more insight as to why your GPU is not being used for WebGL.

Should you find evidence that your GPU is blacklisted, said blacklist can be manually bypassed within Chrome. If you would like to try bypassing the blacklist, you can do so via these steps: 

WARNING: The steps listed below are not recommended, as bypassing a blacklist can impact other system and browser processes. Please consult your IT department for further information.

1. In your Chrome navigation bar, enter: chrome://flags

2. Within the search bar, search for: Override software rendering list

3. Performing the search in step 2 should bring up the Override software rendering list option. Set the drop down menu associated with this option to Enabled. 

4. Relaunch Chrome in order to apply these changes, and re-test Eiger.

If you have any further issues with Eiger, please feel free to contact Hawk Ridge Systems 3D Printing Technical Support.