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Post by jennifer on Dec 26, 2016 16:32:58 GMT
It looks like it is easy to split up an STL file in it. Also I've heard it improves print quality. I am guessing it can detect errors etc.. and allow custom supports?
It's such a big dollar investment at $149 (like 1/2 the cost of a printer). But I am currently struggling to even split an STL in Blender.. so unintuitive and doesn't seem to always work as intended.. maybe it's just me and my thick skull.
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Post by rickkets on Dec 26, 2016 17:27:47 GMT
Honestly I find Cura good enough, it's free and gives me everything I really need from a slicer. If you want to cut a model in two use Meshmixer, it allows to slicing of planes.
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Post by fantascientist on Dec 27, 2016 4:36:24 GMT
For splitting stl's I agree with rickkets , Meshmixer works great and it's free. S3D can separate shells but that doesn't always work well. E.g. sometimes a models eyes will be modeled as separate shells and they'll end up separate too. I found Meshmixer the easiest to use for fixing problems such as these. I can recommend S3D though, especially for the custom supports. Some of the mini's I've been printing I just couldn't get to print successfully using Cura, the supports would just not be done correctly. With S3D it still took some playing around but once I got the hang of it it's been great. Also the layer preview in S3D is second to none, and in my experience it is also the fastest slicer around (the latest version of Cura has improved its speed a lot but I had some other issues with it so I just stuck with S3D.) There are a lot of settings though, and although it is great that you can adjust everything to your liking, it did take me some time to know where I could find what I needed and how exactly everything works. Also you will probably want to adjust some of the default settings, e.g. the script that runs at the start of a print was very bad (at least the presets for my printer). Concerning models with errors, try to run them through netfabb's cloud service. It'll work magic. service.netfabb.com
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Post by jennifer on Dec 27, 2016 6:57:21 GMT
Yeah that's another reason why I wanted S3D: the custom supports. I also read that with S3D you can print an item at .2 layer height and then switch to ..1 layer height at a certain percentage. That's really nice for dungeon tiles, where you need the detail on say the top 20% of the tile.
Thanks guys for the Meshmixer recommendation, I downloaded it, and successfully got my Spectator STL split up properly and repaired. I also nudged the teeth with "grab" in blender, angling them up higher so they print right.
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Post by curufin on Dec 27, 2016 14:55:58 GMT
I love S3D. I couldn't imagine printing without it. It can separate models. As fantascientist said, it separates shells too. But it's just as easy to reconnect them. You can do custom supports all day long.
Im not totally sure about changing the layer height wherever you want. I'll have to look into that. You can change the first layer though.
It finds errors which is nice because nearly every item I download nowadays from thingiverse doesn't have manifold and/or has egregious self-intersecting surfaces. I run everything through Netfabb before I print.
But more than any of that, I believe S3D does a better and faster job assessing how a model should be sliced for a better print. The print path and infill direction seems to be better and more logical than Cura.
In the end, it's up to you. S3D is expensive. But I think it is well worth it. If for some reason I had to re-buy it... I would.
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Post by rickkets on Dec 27, 2016 23:29:23 GMT
I would say if you can afford it and it'll make your life easier? Do it!
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Post by fantascientist on Dec 27, 2016 23:33:48 GMT
You can very easily change layer height somewhere mid print (or any other setting for that matter), by using different processes. This video from Maker's Muse explains it very well. This should be possible with cura too, using the TweakAtZ plugin iirc. I've never tried that myself though. The only thing I dislike about S3D is that the print time estimates are usually way off, especially on prints with a lot of retractions (some prints took over twice as long).
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Post by jennifer on Dec 30, 2016 5:44:49 GMT
Just bought Simplify3D. I figured what the heck, they guarantee it for like 2 weeks, else a full refund. Printing out an oblong base on it right now. Wow it's printing like 50% faster than it was with Cura without messing up. Getting very clean print so far. Look forward to trying miniatures and Curufin's furniture.
Monoprice Maker Select default profile comes with 190C extruder temp and 60C bed temp. I changed bed temp to 55C and extruder temp to 210C. It wasn't even extruding at 190C -- extruder gear was skipping because it couldn't push it through the nozzle.
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Post by jennifer on Dec 30, 2016 6:09:37 GMT
Okay, I just printed this one gcode file, the 25 x 50 mm oblong base I mentioned above.
Printed like 50% faster and oh my the quality is much nicer on the top AND bottom AND sides. Love it. Again, can't wait to print more with it.
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Post by jennifer on Dec 30, 2016 7:47:59 GMT
Hey Curufin, can I have a copy of your S3D profile for the Monoprice Maker Select? Or maybe you can share some screenshots of your settings? Having some problems.
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Post by jennifer on Dec 30, 2016 8:28:37 GMT
I think I found my problem. The extruder spring isn't tight enough.. filament isn't coming out like it should. When I press up on lever while it is printing the PLA starts coming out. when I let off the pressure, it doesn't come out. Measured PLA filament diameter with calipers and it says 1.69mm (instead of 1.75mm) but I should probably check the calibration on these calipers.
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Post by curufin on Dec 30, 2016 14:38:18 GMT
Hey Curufin, can I have a copy of your S3D profile for the Monoprice Maker Select? Or maybe you can share some screenshots of your settings? Having some problems. I'll try to get some screen shots up later today.
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