Tip of the Day 29 - 3.0 Features you may have missed

[KeyboardWarrior]

There are a ton of really awesome things in 3.0. The faster slicing speed, hexagon infill, prime powers/ooze shield, profiles saving settings on-the-go, and tons of fixes, but I wanted to make a thread on some things I found that may not stick out in all of the changes!

**Also, for 3.0, the tutorial on Printing with Multiple Extruders really helped me with the Dual Extrusion Wizard: https://www.simplify3d.com/support/tuto ... extruders/

****For Frequently Asked Questions on 3.0: https://www.simplify3d.com/support/version-3-0-faqs/


Separate Connected Meshes

Using the Separate Connected Meshes tool can be really helpful for a few things. If you have a model that isn’t slicing correctly (hollow regions), you can use that feature and then slice all the parts (single process) and that will fill in any of the previously hollowed out areas.

Even cooler in my opinion, is the ability to separate connected meshes for dual-extrusion purposes. Once you separate the models into separate meshes, they’ll appear as multiple parts which you can use the Dual-Extrusion Wizard on and then select those pieces to dual-extrude print.

For instance, using the fish from 3DKitbash on Thingiverse before, you could only single-extrude the model (since it imports as one STL file). However, using this feature, you can now separate it into its corresponding meshes and then from there use the Dual Extrusion Wizard to pick which extruder prints each of these separate meshes.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:241790/#files

This feature has repair practicality and dual-extrusion uses, which makes it really awesome and a feature I really enjoy using. How well models work with the Separate Connected Meshes feature will be dependent on how the model was designed and exported in CAD.

Grouping Models:

Grouped Models will move/scale/rotate with one-another and will be locked so that you can’t select just one of the models. To group/ungroup models together, go to the Edit toolbar in the top of the program.

Grouping Processes:

Grouping Processes is really useful for dual-extrusion prints or for sequential prints. Once you create and setup your processes, you can group them together.

For instance, a print with 1 part that is 100 mm tall.

Process 1- Starts at 0 mm, ends at 10 mm
Process 2- Starts at 10 mm, ends at 20 mm
Process 3- Starts at 20 mm, ends at 30 mm
Process 4- Starts at 30 mm, ends at 40 mm
Process 5- Starts at 40 mm, ends at 50 mm
Process 6- Starts at 50 mm, ends at 60 mm
Process 7- Starts at 60 mm, ends at 70 mm
Process 8- Starts at 70 mm, ends at 80 mm
Process 9- Starts at 80 mm, ends at 90 mm
Process10- Starts at 90 mm, ends at 100 mm

Setting up the 10 different processes for their regions is a lot of work. Now lets say you wanted to change the retraction settings on all of these processes. Rather than click through and change it for all 10 processes, you can Group the Processes and then make edits on the group. If you change settings in one process, it will automatically change the settings in the other processes.

*If the setting isn’t the same in all of the processes (for instance the Start Printing Height which changes for each process; 0,10,20,…), then that setting is excluded from the grouping.


Firmware Configuration

For 3.0, the Firmware Configuration is built into profiles in the G-Code tab now. That means if you switch profiles in the process section, it will automatically change the Firmware Configuration. This is really helpful for users with multiple printers that use different firmwares.


Import Actions

Setting up Import Actions basically means you can setup commands that happen everytime you import a model. For instance, if you want every model you import to come in at 105% scale in the X-direction, you can do that. There are options for Translating, Rotating and Scaling. This is under Preferences—>Models

Wipe While Retracting

To enable Wipe While Retracting, configure your retraction distance, speed and wipe distance under the Extruder settings, the go to the Advanced tab and check the box for "Perform retraction during wipe movement"

Combing

To enable Combing, this is on the Advanced tab, "Avoid crossing outline for travel movements" then you can set the detour factor.

Detour Factor Explained:

Combing is used for leaky nozzles or for filaments that can't be retracted (ninjaflex, etc). Therefore, you do not want to cross over empty spaces and create stringing. The detour factor is a threshold factor, how far are you willing to travel to prevent crossing over empty space?
[img]http://thingiverse-production-new.s3.am ... atured.jpg
[/img]

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:633282

Imagine printing a Horseshoe type structure, it's a very short distance to go from one end to the other at the top, but to comb the outside of the part and travel to avoid crossing over empty space would take a lot more travel distance. This is where the detour factor comes into play.

If the following equation is true, then the toolpath will comb the outer edge rather than cross over empty space.
(TravelDistanceCrossingOverEmptySpace)*(DetourFactor)<(CombingAcrossThePerimetersDistance)

[dkightley]

Wow! Amazing!

The Separate Connected Meshes new feature has revolutionised the way I print!!

My 3D package is not able to merge meshes, and up to now, I've had to use the cloud Netfabb tool to "repair" the meshes by merging into one single mesh. I don't have to do that any more...I simply separate the meshes in S3D....and I can get a perfect print!

Thanks for highlighting the "features you may have missed".....cos I had!

[JoeJ]

Awesome tips!

[dsegel]

Support options now include a "only where touching the bed" option, as in Cura.

[JoeJ]

They have a bigger list on their 3.0 release notes. There's a lot I missed on the first look!
https://www.simplify3d.com/software/changelog/

[davedfx]

CLAP CLAP ! Thanks!