I've been printing some objects from scans that aren't aligned to print. To print these objects, I'd like to rotate them to minimize support volume, either manually or automatically.
Doing this right now in S3d is tricky, because (as far as I can tell) can I can only free-rotate around the Z-axis (with alt-drag), so to rotate around X or Y I have to enter values in a dialog box and tweak until they look close. And there's no way to precisely align to the print bed.
So I'd like to request to rotation features:
1) Free rotate of the object. This would be just like rotating the view, except that it would rotate the object within the view. This would allow me to rotate the object until it looks about right.
2) "Level to bed" which would rotate the part so that the three lowest vertexes touch the bed.
3) Harder to implement, but even more useful for printing objects not specifically designed for printing, would be "Minimize support" which would rotate the object to minimize the support required to print the object. I think an iterative function to minimize volume under the object would be pretty close.
Re: Feature: Level to print bed & free rotation
The first two suggestions have now been implemented. Version 3.0 has a nice 3D gizmo that can be used to rotate a part visually around all 3 axes. You can also use the model settings panel if that is easier. There is also an option in the Edit menu called "Drop model to table" which will lower the part so that the lowest section touches the bed for easy printing.
