Ironing and Adaptive Layer Height, the next step.

[rflulling]

What actually happens:
When I print a benchy, the layers effected by the reduction or expansion permeate the entire layer. Historically, S3D slicing engine has caused artifacts in layers where ever the head changed direction or speed from the prior layer for any reason. It became very obvious in the resulting print. This is still true, but even more profound when the layers are no longer a uniform extrusion thickness.

What I expect to happen:
Layer Height, where possible is preserved as per the default for the model. Vertical edges, either auto determined or selected by user as with say supports, are the only places where Ironing and or ALH may be applied.

Having started to test these functions I can attest they work well. But...

• I feel like there needs to be a tool to EXPORT surfaces effected to a separate process. Maybe even automatically split up the model into sections tied only to these new process. This would be also useful in certain bridging applications and in vase mode.
• Alternatively S3D can allow a user to select a surface to apply the functions to. Now only those surfaces and their connected layers are effected.

On my benchy model, on the layer where the lower edges of the boat stopped and the upper trim of the hand rail started, a thicker banding on the outer edge was observed followed by far tighter and finer lines making up the layers with ALH. Banding on the exterior changed each time the strategy employed by the slicing engine was adjusted. Last on the rooftop, where the very front most edge of the roof stopped and the extruder no longer needed to return to the chimney, there was a small elephants foot on the outer edge, that maysted maybe 2-3 layers, eventually becoming perfect.