ELI5 - Process vs. Profile vs. Auto-Config Material

[benjaminhill]

I'd be just as happy if I was pointed at the part in the FAQ or manual I must have missed - but I'm not getting the difference between these sections. Possibly a brain block that needs your hint to overcome.

I've got 1 printer, and various spools of material. (I think I'm the common case) I'd like to have saved settings for each material, because PETG needs far different settings than Ninja Semiflex. Is that... different "auto configure for material"? Is that different Profiles? Did I go down an entirely bad path naming my profile "Rostock Max V2" when in reality the profile should be "MyPrinter with PETG" and another with "MyPrinter with ABS" etc? When it has (modified) after the profile, I get that means I've modified the settings, but if I want to see *what* I modified, is that possible?

[brian442]

Here's how I understand it.

The profile is all of the settings for your printer. So this is a big file that contains a lot of information, including the auto-configure data. You can view all of the data in the profile by going to File > Export FFF Profile, and then opening the file in a text editor (it's just normal XML). If you look at the bottom of the XML file, you will see all of the different auto-configure settings, which is also helpful so that you know what is being changed when you select PLA, ABS, etc.

Ideally, I would say that you should only have one profile per machine. Then you would just embed all of the special adjustments that you need for different material or quality settings through the auto-configure options. That's how the S3D profiles work, so I imagine this is the intended way to use it. If you've never played with adding new auto-configure sections before, there's an easy video about it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFynhtvPBPQ

So then finally, you're left with processes. The processes are used to define how you want the parts on your build platform to be printed. For many people, I imagine they are only using a single process (meaning the same settings for all parts on the bed), so in that case, there's nothing else you need to know. Just edit the settings for that single process and you are ready to print. But some more complex builds might require multiple processes (such as different settings for different parts, or even different settings for different sections of a single model, explained here: https://www.simplify3d.com/support/arti ... f-a-model/). For these more advanced prints, you may combine multiple processes together so that you can do lots of different things at once. But again, if you aren't doing this, then just stick with 1 process only and don't worry about it.

I also like the advice that was given here:
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=6347&p=27551#p27551

if you have lots of extra processes loaded that aren't required to manufacture the part (i.e. aren't being selected when you click "Prepare to Print"), then you're probably doing something wrong.

That's a good rule of thumb to follow. The profiles are already permanently saved (using the "update profile" button, video about it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ7HFPY1wog), so you don't have to worry about deleting a process. Those should really be temporary things that you add or configure based on the specific part you are printing. Lots of things like the configuration assistant and the dual extrusion wizard will actually replace all of the processes you have loaded (since they automatically setup everything for a specific type of print), so again, you want to make sure the processes are just temporary and that you're saving your permanent settings that you need to keep as a profile.

There's a few other threads on the forum about this same topic (I linked to one above), so those may also help explain things furhter

[benjaminhill]

AH-HA! That was very helpful. I get my confusion. Some of the advanced settings are controlled by "Choose your material." Some are controlled by "Quality" - but... which is which?

For example, PETG sags a bit more, so I want to print more top layers. BUT, turns out that number of layers is a "quality" controlled setting. This was not at all intuitive for me.

I think what I'm lacking is a mapping from advanced settings to "is this controlled by Material, Quality, or Neither"

[brian442]

You can view all of the data in the profile by going to File > Export FFF Profile, and then opening the file in a text editor (it's just normal XML). If you look at the bottom of the XML file, you will see all of the different auto-configure settings, which is also helpful so that you know what is being changed when you select PLA, ABS, etc.

Following those instructions will show you exactly what changes for each material or quality setting

[benjaminhill]

I find it very odd that they don't tell you which gets saved where unless you dig into an exported config file. Possibly a FR to have the correct location say "(modified)" when you change something (the Material, the Quality, or if neither, the Profile)

[brian442]

If you jump 30 seconds into the first video I posted above, they have a diagram showing what changes for each material and quality option. The material setting controls temperatures and fan speeds. Quality controls infill, layer height, and top/bottom solid layers. So that's what's controlled by default, and you only need to export the FFF profile if you want to change which options are controlled by these settings (for example, if you wanted to add print speed as a new settings that gets changed when you select a different print quality).