Process versus Profiles etc

[braddo]

Trying to understand the organization of config info in S3D... there is some terminology which is confusing.

First, there is a "Process". This appears to contain all of the print settings *and* target printer configurations but not stl files which may have been opened during a session.

If you edit the process settings, there is a name for the process and then right away, there's a selection of a "Profile". Since the default drop down has lots of printer brand names, it's logical to think that a "Profile" contains printer specific geometry information but not necessarily(?), say print settings such as infill etc as seen in the dialog below this drop down.

But, if I export ... something ... not sure if I'm exporting a Process or a Profile due to position in the dialog box, that something gets an extension of *.fff which seems to be the extension referred to as a "Factory file", which as above should contain models, but which *.fff export does not seem to.

Then there are printer geometry settings in the ... Process (Profile? - can't tell if I'm seeing process and profile attributes comingled in the same tabbed dialog or if one contains the other) as listed under the G-Code tab (why would printer geometry be filed under G-Code? while were on that type of detail question, why is printing speed and filament diameter under "other") The subhead for this printer geometry information is called "Machine Definition", which I would have thought due to the entries in the Profile list, would have been called a Profile. There is some description under Machine def which says this section can be used to update (override I assume?) machine definition *along with your FFF profile* - there's profile again, and it's now called an "FFF profile" to boot. If I export or say OK, will I be saving a process or a profile?

Then, whichever thing it is that I'm creating/saving, does that thing contain *all* of the material ABS/PLA etc and Auto-configure quality info Fast/Medium etc? I.e. does a process/profile contain all info for all materials and quality settings, (so I might pick a process and then use either the ABS or PLA settings within that process) or just a snapshot of what's being manipulated now?

If a profile contains all of this info, what is in a process that's not in a profile? If a profile or process is not a factory file, why does it get saved with a factory file extension? Under the processes list, the initial Process 1 is of type "FFF" as mentioned before - are there other types? What do they contain?

BTW, where can one define machine definition info anyway? I haven't found that in the dialogs yet. I did find firmware configuration, which among other things, contains communication protocol stuff, which seems it might belong in that elusive machine configuration dialog.

I'm sure I'm running rough shod over a carefully crafted taxonomy but at the moment it seems like config soup. I would love to get a good way to think about the orgainzational structure so I don't start getting myself mixed up about what I'm saving or applying.

Thanks!

[JoeJ]

A profile is all of the slicing settings that you are used to dealing with. Things like layer height, infill percentage, etc.

The process determines how your models (or regions of models) will be printed by those settings. So the key difference here is that the process says HOW you will use the profile (i.e. the slicing settings) to create all of the models on your build platform. So the process contains useful things like the "select models" button which allows you to choose what models to print with that specific profile.

To answer your question about the build dimensions, the guys at S3D realized that many of us would be constantly switching between different printers. Because of this, they added an option that allows you to automatically change your machine build dimensions when loading a new profile. This way if you constantly switch between 2 printers, the machine settings will always be correct (give it a try and you'll see what I mean). You can always disable that option if you don't want to use it. And for reference, if you choose to disable it, you can manually adjust these settings by going to Tools --> Preferences, and clicking on the Machine tab.

And one more clarification, a Factory File will have a .factory extension. Files with .fff are FFF processes including the relevant profile settings. FFF stands for fused filament fabrication which is the term for extrusion-based 3D printing.

[braddo]

Thanks, getting clearer -

But, if a process determines which profiles are applied to which objects, then those objects must be present in the process right? How then is a process distinct from a factory? Does a process merely store the link to a group of STLs while the factory actually bundles the STLs in that file?

[DarthRevan]

Thanks, getting clearer -

But, if a process determines which profiles are applied to which objects, then those objects must be present in the process right? How then is a process distinct from a factory? Does a process merely store the link to a group of STLs while the factory actually bundles the STLs in that file?

Hi braddo,

I'd say that the factory file ties the stl/model to your processes. The process is an instance of your printer's profile that you can assign to either the whole model or different sections of the model.

[dsegel]

I agree this is really confusing. I ignore the profiles (in fact don't have one set) and just set up different processes for all my different settings. But then again, I only have one printer. If I get another maybe I'll look at it all again.

[paeonius]

one thing that has gotten me a couple of times is moving from replicator2 to a flashforge and the Tools_FirmwareConfig_x3g Gpx config doesnt change

[DarthRevan]

one thing that has gotten me a couple of times is moving from replicator2 to a flashforge and the Tools_FirmwareConfig_x3g Gpx config doesnt change

Yeah you do have to manually change the firmware config, unless you use Configuration Assistant to change between printers.

[KC_703]

I've been using profiles to save filament and print settings. For instance ABS, Black, .4 nozzle, .2 layer height, 5400mm/min, Detailed (40% underspeed perimeters) is named "ABS_Black_N4_LH2_SpeedHi_Detailed.fff". I pick this and adjust some minor settings like Z-offset, Brim/Skirt, Support percentage, Infill percentage...

Adding a process, I'll either modify the profile above (remove brim/skirt) or pick another profile with common settings that I know print well on my printer. Set the start / end height.


Don't know if that's the right way to use them, but seemed logical to me.

[Nandox7]

This split between processes and profiles is not intuitive at all. I just got lost with it and some weeks ago I lost all my settings.

I was using processes to quickly change between filaments types and resolutions and when tried to update the profile to enable a hotbed it deleted all the processes I had.

What would be great would be to have a structure like Slic3r has, that is by far the best I've seen in slicer apps.

Three dropdowns that allow to quickly choose between printer settings, filament and printing settings.
This both accommodates users with just one printer as well as with multiple printers.

[JoeJ]

I'm confused.. how does changing a profile delete all of your processes??