Documentation
Formware 3D comes with an extensive documentation. You can find it inside the program but also here on the left. Click a topic to read more about the functionality.
Video tutorials
You can find an overview of our video tutorials here: Video tutorials on Youtube >>
Interface Layout
Basic vs Advanced interface
As of version 1.0.3.0 you have the option to use a simplified interface with limited commands called the basic interface. The basic interface has a configurable toolbelt which can contain any command. The order of commands in the toolbelt can be used to define your workflow using the software. If you wish to have all functionality available in the menu/toolbar you can choose the advanced interface. You can setup the type of interface and toolbelt in the configuration at any time.
Bottom status bar
The bottom status bar might give you some hints. Most often it shows you import/export of files progress.
Machine panel
The top panel on the right side is the machine panel. Here you select your machine and print profile. The machine sets your build platform and the print profile sets your layer thickness. In this panel you see as well the total volume, number of layers and time estimate. For DLP based printers the time estimate is a calculation based on axis speed and exposure time. For SLA/Inkjet it's a multiplication of layers with the 'average layer time' from the print profile.
Menubar
The top of the program contains the menu bar. The menu bar contains all tools available to you during normal operation. Some of the menu items also have keyboard shortcuts. These are displayed in the menu item..
Parts panel
The second panel is the parts panel. The parts panel has the following columns:
- The eye symbol toggle visiblity
- The binoculars focus on this part only. Clicking them again removes focus.
- The colored circle changes the color of the part for display
- If the part has errors in the mesh a yellow exclamation mark is shown on the last column
- Mesh parts: one or multiple disjoint geometries inside this part
- Supports: support your part during printing
- Infills: for example a lattice infill for hollowed objects
- Drainage holes/plugs: to allows access resin/material to flow out hollow area's during printing
Slice bar
The slice bar in the 3d view allows you to see the cross sections of your prepared slice job. Drag the bar to view a cross section. It can be configured to have 1 or 2 handles. Depending on the dots the view is clipped differently allowing individual preference. 2 Handles might be handy during supporting when you would like the lower part of your model to be clipped. 1 Handle might be easier to simulate the print job and view the resulting cross sections.
Support profile
The next panel is the support profile panel. This panel shows the active support profile in use. A support profile contains the auto generation settings and teh manual support settings. Click 'edit all' to go into the configuration to edit the support profiles.
Tool Belt
Below teh parts panel you find the tool belt. This is a quick access bar with your prefered commands. You can configure the commands shown here in the configuration.
Toolbar
Below the menu bar the toolbar is located. All the tools from the menu are also located in the toolbar if you find this easier to use. When you hover over the toolbar items you see their description popup. When you enter different modes in the program (like supporting mode) you (de)activate different toolbar buttons.
Toolbox
The box on the bottom right is the toolbox. Every time you do something the tool shows up here. This can be anything from details of a selected item to a mesh operation. In the settings there is also an option to automatically collapse the machine/parts panel when going into a tool. This makes room in your interface but can be turned of. The toolbox responds in general to ESC and Enter. ESC is usually cancelling an operation or if no operation is running closing the tool. Enter is usually Apply.
Navigation in 3D
3D Mouse
When you have a 3D Mouse from the Connexion brand you can control your view with the 3D Mouse. By default it rotates your object (the build table) in 'object mode' which means that it feels like the build table is in your hand and you are looking at it. There are several settings under the configuration menu for the 3D Mouse.
Intro
Viewing and navigating a 3D World on a 2D screen means a certain transformation has to occur. From 2D mouse coordinates to a 3D World. Luckily we have left/right/wheel mouse buttons and a keyboard to help create a smooth and intuitive navigation.
Rotation (Pitch/Yaw)
You rotate the window by holding your right mouse button down and moving your mouse. You can roll vertically and horizontally. When the mouse reaches the end it transfers to the other side of the window so you can continue rotating.
Translation (panning)
Hold down
Zooming (to mouse)
You can use the mouse wheel to zoom your window. When you move your mouse you will notice the view zooms to your mouse. This allows you to inspect certain parts of your model more easily.
Keyboard shortcuts
Edit
Ctrl + Z Undo Ctrl + Y Redo Ctrl + C Copy Ctrl + V Paste Delete Delete Ctrl + Delete Delete entire support Ctrl + A Select all Ctrl + D Deselect all
File
Ctrl + N New Ctrl + O Open file Ctrl + S Save Alt + F4 Exit
General
Ctrl + 1/2/3/4/5 Switch support profile Enter Apply tool/command ESC Cancel background task / exit selection mode / exit tool Up/Down/PageUp/PageDown/Home/End Move slice bar clipping
Support
Ctrl + Q Add single support
View
Ctrl + P Perspective view Ctrl + L Left view Ctrl + T Top view Ctrl + B Bottom view Ctrl + F Front view F5 Shaded Mesh F6 WireFrame F7 Filled wireframe F8 Transparent parts Ctrl + W Point line mode Ctrl + E Point mode Ctrl + I View only intersecting supports Ctrl + E Point mode
File menu
Batch process
The batch processor give you the ability to prepare multiple files at once for printing. It give you the following options:
Copy amount: if different then 1 the part will be copied for you
Auto orientation: choose a way of auto orienting your parts
Support profile: pick any of your defined automatic support profiles. You can also leave them unsupported
Auto layout: nest your parts on the build table with the selected algoritm.
Configuration
Will open the configuration panel.
Difference between import/new/open
'New' will open a blank file. It will first check if you would like to save previous work. 'Import' will import any file into the existing workspace. 'Open' will open any select file into a new workspace. It will first check if you would like to save your previous work. This is similar as 'New file'.
Difference between save/save as/export selected
'Export selected' will only export selected objects 'Save' will save to the currently open file location (visible in title bar) 'Save as' allows you to choose save location 'Export to program as .stl' will show you a list of available programs that are able to open .stl files. You can export your work directly.
Exit (Alt + F4)
Will close the program
Export configuration file (.xml)
Will export your current configuration as an .xml file.
Export selected
Will export the selected models to any of the available file formats.
Export to program as .stl
Will export the selected models to a temporary file and then opens a program of choice with these files. This can be used if your printer has a proprietary file format.
Export top view as .png
Export your build platform as a topview (.png) with part names. Can be used in post production
Import configuration file (.xml)
Allows you to import a predefined configuration file (.xml)
Import file
Import a file into the current document.
Import file special
There are some special cases of files that might different/extra import routines. In order keep normal imports simple we've separated these out in a special import menu item. Currently the following special imports are available: Materialise magics thin supports: this importer allows you to import Materialise Magics generated support structures that have 0 thickness. The program will ask you to give in a thickness and generates a thickness for the support parts.
Materialise Magics thin supports
Import a set of files exported by Materialise magics with thin walled supports.
New (Ctrl + N)
Start with a new blank document.
Open file (Ctrl + O)
Open a file of any of the aviable types. This clears the build platform with any current work.
Reset configuration
Resets the configuration file to the default configuration
Save (Ctrl + S)
Save your work as the current file. Gives the ability to enter a filename if the current work hasn't been saved yet.
Save as
Save your work as a new file. Gives the ability to enter a filename.
File types (open)
.amf
The additive manufacturing format is a zipped .xml format used in the 3d printing industry. It's an alternative standard to the old stl files.
.fw3d
The program's own project files are files which contain objects and supports created by the software. You can use this to open previous print jobs to edit/process them again.
.gcode importer
(GCode file) GCode files contain XYZ coordinates for controlling your FDM/SLA machine. You can import the file to check what you are about to print.
.obj
(Wavefront .obj file) Used in the animation industry. When importing them the program only reads the triangles. Other polygons are converted back to 1 or multiple triangles. Textures are ignored.
.ply
(Polygon file format) Used in some 3d scanners & dental industry
.printrequest, (Exocad importer)
Exocad can export a file with a .printrequest extension. This file is an xml file that contains information about the .stl models to load, their location on the disk and their orientation. Current implementation only imports files with rotational orientation.
.slc
(Slice file). A binary file consisting of 2D Curves at different Z levels. Can be converted to PNG slices after import or alternatively it can be converted to a mesh.
.stl
(Stereolithography file) The standard file for 3d printing. Binary stl files open significantly faster due to faster reading.
.stlc
A custom binary format that is the most efficient way of storing geometry in terms of storage space. Can be used when transfering files that are very large to other pc's.
.svg
(Standard vector graphics). .Svg is a ascii file format to store coordinates. It might be handy to view what you are exporting. Some machine require Svg files. This can be either all layers in 1 file or one file per layer. You can import 1 file at a time.
File types (save)
.amf
The additive manufacturing format is a zipped .xml format used in the 3d printing industry. It's an alternative standard to the old stl files.
.fw3d
The program's own project files are files which contain objects and supports created by the software. You can use this to open previous print jobs to edit/process them again.
.gcode
GCode files contain XYZ coordinates for controlling your SLA machine. All settings are residing inside the print profiles. Keep in mind your export origin required by your printer.
.obj
(Wavefront .obj file) Similar to .stl also .obj files can be exported. These are created with only triangles and no textures.
.ply
(Polygon file format) Used in some 3d scanners & dental industry
.slc
(Slice file). The program can export your job to a slice file when you give in a layer thickness.
.stl
(Stereolithography file) The standard file for 3d printing. The program can export to binary or ascii stl format. Supports will be exported as well as seperate files or all joined together.
.stlc
A custom binary format that is the most efficient way of storing geometry in terms of storage space. Can be used when transfering files that are very large to other pc's.
.svg
(Standard vector graphics). .Svg is a ascii file format to store coordinates.Some printers require this format.There are several options for storing your shapes as 'polygon' or 'path' elements and using 1 file per layer or all layers in 1 file.
Edit menu
Copy (Ctrl + C)
Will copy any selected items to the clipboard.
Delete (Delete )
Will delete the current selection.
Delete entire support (Ctrl + Delete)
Will delete the entire support of which only a part may be selected.
Deselect all (Ctrl + D)
Deselect all selected objects.
Edit support
Will show an edit box for the selected support(s).
When no tool is loaded in the toolbox this will show automatically when selecting a support that is editable.
Focus
Focus on 1 item. If the current item is already in focus removes the focus by making other objects visible again.
Paste (Ctrl + V)
Will paste the items copied to the clipboard to the build platform.
Redo (Ctrl + Y)
Will redo the last command that was undone.
Select all (Ctrl + A)
Select all parts on the build platform.
Show part details
Will show the part info for the selected parts. When multiple parts are selected it will sum information.
When no tool is loaded in the toolbox this will show automatically when selecting a part.
Undo (Ctrl + Z)
Will undo the last command.
View menu
Bottom view (Ctrl + B)
Switch the view to bottom view.
Filled wireframe (F7 )
Filled frame: draws the mesh including all triangles.
Front view (Ctrl + F)
Switch the view to front view.
Grid snap
Gridsnap means when dragging objects they will snap to an invisible grid. You can define more gridsnap settings in the configuration
Highlight critical area's in red
With the critical surface preview you can quickly enable or disable the visibilty of critical build area's on your parts. You can find this setting also in the configuration window.
Interactive support help
The live support helper guides you in placing supports. It shows you a live preview of the support to place.
Left view (Ctrl + L)
Switch the view to left view.
Perspective view (Ctrl + P)
Switch the view to perspective view.
Point line mode (Ctrl + W)
Additionally you can switch to point-line mode to view supports as points connected by lines. It's worth noting that you can move nodes as well as line segments. Both will lead to connected parts being moved as well.
Point mode (Ctrl + E)
Normal view mode. Views supports as spheres and cylinders.
Point mode (Ctrl + E)
You can also change the viewing mode to 'point' mode. This will only show the support's contact points on the object. You can drag these freely and they will snap back to the object to stay attached.
Shaded Mesh (F5 )
Shaded: draws the only the surface without borders.
Show inside of the model
With this tool you can toggle to fill in the cross section or to leave it empty and look inside your mesh.
Top view (Ctrl + T)
Switch the view to top view.
Transparent parts (F8 )
draws the mesh transparent. In this mode you can only select supports/infills/holes etc. but not the mesh it self. This helps you to select difficult to select parts. After several commands (hollowing/infill) the program switches to transparent view mode in order to show you the generated features
View only intersecting supports (Ctrl + I)
When you switch to intersection mode only the supports that are still intersecting with the part are drawn as a mesh. This allows you to easily see where there are still intersections.
WireFrame (F6 )
Wireframe: draws only the triangle borders.
Z Minima
Each support algorithm uses a different filtering for critical minima and some minima might become unsupported in the proces. In order to view critical minima after a model is supported you can use this toggle.
Move menu
Add multi level floor structure
If you have a large vertical print area on your print table and your parts are small you can add one or more floors. Floors help you to increase the output of your printer. You can use this tool to add a floor. A popup box will appear that will present various options for generating a floor. The floor is generated according to a recursive algoritm that generates a structure without large overhangs. Secondly it has a 'weakness' over its diagonals that allows you to break away the structure more easily
Center part
This centers the selection on your build table and on z=0.
Mirror
Mirroring allows you to create a mirror of the part in a chosen axis. This can be handy if you are printing mechanical parts that need a mirrored duplicate. You only have to support your part once in this case, saving you work.
Move
You can add relative translations or translate your selection to an absolute position. Rotations can be added as well manually here.
Move item to 'high' print position above table
This button allows you to quickly move your object to a fixed height from the build platform. You can use absolute translation if you need another specific amount.
Move item to 'low' print position
This button allows you to quickly move your object to a fixed height from the build platform. You can use absolute translation if you need another specific amount.
Move part(s) to specific floor
Each part in your build volume is fixed to one floor only. This will determine to which Z coordinate the supports are created but also on which level the part is nested. You can switch the floor for a part by using the 'switch to floor' tool
Move to 0 [mm] above table
This button allows you to quickly move your object to a fixed height from the build platform. You can use absolute translation if you need another specific amount.
Nesting
There are 2 nesting algoritms included in the program. The first is a regular rectangular algoritm that is fast. It uses the bounding box of each object to place objects. The second is a more advanced irregular shape algoritm. This algoritm determines how irregular shaped parts are best positioned together to minimize the total area. You can give in how many rotations per part should be tried. More rotations means equally more computation time.
Orient to face. Click a face to orient that face downward. (negative Z)
The orient to face button allows you to orient your object to a specific mesh face. Select the face to orient your object.
Orientation
With the orientation tool you have everything to orient your model automatically according to some decision critiria. (minimum critical surface, build time etc.). You can also orient your model to a face.
Scale
The scale tool allow you to scale your object to a relative size or absolute size.
Support menu
Add a connecting bar between existing supports
The support connector allows you to connect different support structures. If they are seperate items they will be joined into 1 object in the object tree under the part.
Add base plate support
The base plate support generates a base plate at the bottom of your object. There are different shapes available. You can change the shape after placing the support by selecting the base plate.
Additionally there is the option to create holes with a specified diameter into your base plate. The holes will be added on a grid as long as they are within the base plate surface.
Add internal support
The internal support can be used to support internal cavities. Select multiple points and press enter to generate the geometry.
Add internal tree support
The internal tree support is very handy for rings that are oriented vertically. With this support you can create start shaped supports inside a ring.
Add lattice support
The lattice support is handy when you want to create a strong but thin support structure for large objects. Select multiple points and press enter to create the geometry. The lattice support has some special options that need a bit more explanation.
All sizes of the lattice can be edited.
The gridsize regulates the distance between joints.
The diagonals checkbox determines if shores are added in XY,X and Y direction or only in X and Y.
The alternating checkbox determines if shores in X and Y direction are alternating. This saves you a lot of material.
Intersection checking and removal can be activated if you would like an intersectioncheck to run after generation of the geometry.
Add single support (Ctrl + Q)
The single support is the most simple support. It has a foot, main column and connecting cylinder to the object. Select the object to place supports. When pressing enter you generate all meshes. When you select a single support you can edit it's properties.
Add tree support
The tree support acts similar to the single support. However it has multiple branches that can support multiple parts of the model. It saves material and makes post processing quicker by reducing the amount of feet.
Add volume support
This support generates a solid volume below a critical area. Select a critical area by selecting a triangle. Hold the shift select multiple triangles suppressing the message to select an entire critical area. Once selected you can select the triangles again individually to delete them. This way you can very accurately decide which parts of your model to support. You can also drag select with your mouse to select an area of triangles at once. Hold the shift key and drag to select them again for deletion. Press enter to generate the geometry.
Base connector
The base connector can be added to multiple parts on your build table. It can only be added when you are not inside supporting view mode. Select multiple parts and click the connector button to add this item. It will help you to easily peel all your parts from your build table.
Delete all supports
This command will delete supports on selected parts.
Platform closure
The platform closure tool can be used if you have a build platform geometry loaded and your platform has holes in it.
The platform closure tool generates small caps of custom size to close the holes and mimimize the chance of supports not building because of build platform holes.
If you don't have a geometry loaded for your build platform you can load one or generate one in the machine configuration under 'build platform file'.
Support generation (basic)
Absolute foot sizes
This option allows you to use an absolute size for the feet of the automatically generated supports. This gives you a little more flexibility when peeling your models from the build platform.
Base plate
Check this option if you would like to add a base plate support right after generation. This can be added later on as well.
Critical angle
The critical build angle determines which surfaces/creases are critical. Critical parts receive support points. This setting typically depends on your printer but a start would be 30 degrees. If you choose this value to low your prints might fail.
Density
The density percentage is a multiplier for how many support points will be generated. Together with the tip diameter it results in a density (mm) that is absolute to your model. Critical creases/surfaces will be sampled with this density.
Diameter
In the splitting/combining algorithms this is the starting diameter for a column
Foot height
This option adapts the height of the feet of the generated supports.
Internal supports
This option allows you to turn off any internal supports. This might be handy when you have an infill generated already for hollow parts.
Place above base
If this option is checked the support generation places your object at an exact height above the base.
Point placement
The way the software adds support points can also be chosen. For certain models it might not be useful to support surface but only to look at creases and vice versa. Creases & surfaces (places points at critical creases and critical surfaces) Creases only (best for geometrical shapes only like cubes, certain but not all machine parts etc.) Surface only (best for natural objects or highly detailed meshes)
Pole widening factor
This factor multiplies the diameter of columns at the bottom of the build table. Hence increasing your column strength. Please note the full multiplication is only reached at the highest column. The others are scaled down proportionally to their length. This keeps all columns proportionally the same.
Structure type
The strategy shows which options you have for automatically adding supports. It can be one of the following: Split style lattice supports (recommended) Single supports Lattice supports
Support generation
The support command will bring you to the support generation command.
Surface sampling
This determines the method that is used for generating support points on a surface. A random placement is very fast. For placing the supports on a grid a slower calculation runs so this might take some more time. For some printers a regular interval between supports can produce better prints.
Tip diameter
The diameter in millimeter of the tip of connecting to your object. This influences the absolute density at which points are generated. Depending on your printer you can go as low as 0.1mm. The smaller the easier supports are removed.
Support generation (advanced)
Crease offset
this will place your contact tips of your supports on a small distance from sharp creases in your part. This will enable you to print very sharp creases
Ignore small items
The support generation algorithm works by detecting amongst others creases and surfaces that are under a critical angle and need support. With these to options you can select at which size it should ignore these features. This might be handy if you have a large model with some small features at the bottom like a text imprint.
Internal supports
The internal support settings allow for more fine grained control over the automatically generated internal supports. Internal supports are categorized in 2 types based on their length; small or large. For both types you can set how many feet the algoritm should try to add. With more feet you create more stability for your supports but the downside is more post processing time.
Length of the first beam
this has a big influence on how far your supports are from your model. It will depend a bit per model what is best.
Support segmentation
Segmentation allows you to create your supports in multiple parts. The main reason for this is to make support removal more easy.
Thickness multiplier top joint
this will make your top joint (just before the tip) bigger by this factor. This increases the strength of your connection to your object to reduce warping.
Edit supports
Change sizes/shapes
For all support types you can select the support in the 3D view. Now the details tab on the right of the screen will show you what attributes you can change. If the edit windows doesn't open up you still have a tool open. Use ESC to close the tool or right click the support to force open the edit command. Usually supports don't need to be regenerated but can be scaled. Most of the times you can change the tip diameter or support diameter as they don't determine generated positioning of the supports.
Dragging supports
Sometimes supports are not positioned like you want. You can drag each of the supports in the 3d view. To drag just select a part of the support and move the gumball on one of the axis. You will notice the attached parts will move accordingly.
Editing by critical features
You can also edit supports by critical features such as surfaces and creases. You can remove the critical features or select them to resample the amount of support points on it.
Editing points
In the support generation tool you can select 'edit' to edit the support points on the models. If you have 1 model select it will hide the other models. Click the model to add points. Click existing points or drag select to remove points. Hit the 'apply' button to regenerate the supports.
Mesh menu
Add drainage hole
Once you hollowed your object you might want to add holes to let resin escape during printing.
This is done with the add hole tool. Once you select the tool you enter 'add hole mode'.
Click the location where you want to place a hole to add a hole. A dialog appears asking you for inner and outer diameter.
Once you generate the hole a 'cylinder' will appear. During slicing this is where holes are added in your slices.
You can still drag and scale your hole after generating it. To do that just select it and use the object manipulator. All holes are added in the part tree as well under 'Drainage holes'.
Add drainage hole (full boolean)
Once you hollowed your object you might want to add holes to let resin escape during printing.
This is done with the add boolean hole tool. This tool difference from the normal hole in the fact that it creates a direct operation on your mesh.
Hollow mesh
The hollow function hollows out your model by inserting an offset on the inside. This will allows you to print shells and save lots of material. (Most resin printers don't handle illuminating larges cross sections well). With the thickness parameter you determine the wall thickness. The thinner the wall, the faster the calculation. The accuracy parameter again controls the sampling grid. If your accuracy is low the calculation goes faster. Please note that if your accuracy is to low you might lose detail.
Optionally you can reduce the generated mesh to save memory and computation time further on. Please note; a too high level or reduction might lead to new intersections of surfaces with the original mesh. (i.e. cutting corners).
To see the result of your hollow operation you can leave the checkbox 'switch to transparent viewmode' checked.
Infill
With the infill function you are able to add a lattice to the print. You can select on the diameter of the lattice and the cell size.
If you leave the checkbox 'join infill in 1 mesh' checked (recommended) then the infill is joined into 1 mesh. If you uncheck it then each part of the lattice will be added as an individual beam. This means you are able to edit the parts individually. When in transparent view mode you can select (and delete) the lattice inside the object.
Join disjoint shells
The join disjoint mesh command joins multiple parts in 1 single part. You can use this for example after first splitting your part; editing and then joining it together again. Please note that this can't be run on parts with supports or other attached objects.
Mesh inspection
When a part is imported and read a subset of possible errors is checked. (Naked edges, Non manifold edges, degenerate faces and duplicate faces) If errors are detected that might cause the print to fail the software will add a yellow exclamation mark to your part. When in support mode, a full mesh diagnosis can be run on the part. You find the mesh diagnosis in the tab next to the supporting tabs. By clicking the eye icon behind each error you can view error in your part. We describe all possible mesh errors shortly below.
- Naked edges are edges that only have 1 connected triangle face. This means there is a hole in the mesh. This might result in artifacts during slicing.
- Planar holes are flat holes that reside in 1 plane. All naked edges on the border are connected. They are easily fixed by triangulation of the hole.
- Non planar holes have edges that lie in different planes. Hence they are harder to repair automatically.
- Non manifold edges are edges that have 3 or more faces adjacent to it. They might result in slicing errors but not necessarily.
- Intersecting faces means the faces intersect. This is not necessarily a bad thing. It can mean you have multiple disjoint parts or self intersecting parts.
- Faces with inverted normals pose a problem during slicing. The slice engine won't know if a face is representing the inside or outside of the model.
- Degenerate faces have 2 or 3 vertices that are equal. They are not visible.
- Duplicate faces share exactly the same vertices. They may cause problems during slicing routines.
- Disjoint parts can existing in a single mesh. This is not necessarily a problem. However it may become a problem with further operations like hollowing when multiple self intersections can occur.
Reduce mesh
Reducing your mesh speeds up further computation. Certainly for large meshes (50mb+) it might be usefull to reduce your mesh. You can choose to reduce by triangles or vertices. Dialog indicates how many triangle/vertices will be removed. The algorithm does this by minimizing the difference (error) between the new and old mesh.
Shrink wrap
The shrink wrap function will attempt to wrap your mesh inside a new mesh closely approximating the surface of the existing mesh. With the accuracy parameter you control the size of the sampling grid that is used to generate the replacement surface. The program indicates what your approximate mesh triangle size will be with the used accuracy setting. If your accuracy is low the calculation goes faster. Please note that if your accuracy is to low you might lose detail
Split disjoint shells
The split disjoint mesh command splits a part into it's disjoint parts. It analyses your parts triangles and detects which parts of the object are separate shells. You can use this if you want to import meshes that are multiple parts combined or if you want fine tune a combined part. Please note that you can't use this on parts which have supports or other attached objects
Slice menu
Export to NanoDLP Machine
The icon leads you to an integrated NanoDLP connection. If your printer is running a version of NanoDLP then chances are you can pretty easily connect to it. Once you know the IP address you can load the resin profiles available on your printer. Next you can choose to upload in SLC (vector format) or upload the entire STL for slicing on the NanoDLP machine. If you like to use the correction factors build into this software you need to slice on your pc and upload the file as PNG's. This is also most efficient in terms of file size. The NanoDLP dialog can be setup to appear after slicing to PNG's is done.
The following defaults are set in the configuration at machine level:
- If to start up the NanoDLP connection after slicing
- The default IP Address
HTTP Upload to machine
With this tool you can upload your slice job to an external machine over a HTTP Post protocol. The HTTP Protocol can be setup in the machine workflow properties tab.
Start an external program
With this tool you can start an external program. An example usage could be a print controller that you use to control your machine from your PC. The path to this program is set in the print profile. If the path is set, the program will try to start up the program automatically after slicing has completed. The first argument given to the external program is the full path to the slice result. (zip or folder)
Start slicing
Slicing is started by pressing the green button in the toolbar. You are first asked to select a folder to place the slicing folder. To make sure you are slicing to the desired machine format you will receive a pop-up to double check these settings. Additionally an overview is given of all models/volumes in the building area. At the bottom you can set your slice folder name and optionally zip it when done. Further slice settings are discussed under the machine section. When all settings are as desired you can press the start button.
The slice progress is displayed in the popup dialog. Please try not to edit and/or modify the slice folder during slicing. Placing them in a dropbox/googledrive/onedrive as this might result in unexpected errors as these programs try to sync files to the cloud during slicing.
Stl Link
With the Stl Link tool you can export your work as Stl mesh to other software that might be printer specific. The Stl Link tool can be setup in the machine workflow properties tab.
Help menu
Remove license
You can move your license to another computer. Go to 'Help -> remove license' to remove the license and deactivate your computer. This requires internet connection. The program will close afterwards. Now you can activate your license on another computer.
Configuration
Configuration
By opening the configuration via file->configuration or clicking the icon you can change the program's settings, machines, print profiles and support profiles. Each section is described here.
INSPECT CONFIGURATION MANUALLY (ADVANCED)
In the rare case that you would like to inspect the configuration file manually you can. It is stored as .xml under a folder that looks like: C:\Users\{YOUR_USER}\AppData\Roaming\3D_PROGRAM3D_{741D228E-AC07-40C2-A9DC-560B18A54F03}\.
Warning: changing values in the configuration manually might lead to unexpected crashes or behaviour. Always make a backup of your configuration xml file first!
General
Check for updates
Check for updates on machines or the software at startup. Requires internet connection
Hide machine and part panel entering tool
Collapse the machine and parts panel when entering a tool. This can provide more space and focus.
Interface layout
Interface layout. Basic only contains the necessary tools for normal operation flow. The toolbelt for this can be customized. Advanced contains toolbars and more advanced tools.
Language
Language of the application. Requires a restart if changed.
Machine selection
Select the last used machine at startup or the default machine and profile. If no default is set it will take the first.
Machine selection at startup
Show the machine dialog at startup.
Toolbar location
Toolbar location in advanced mode. Let or Top.
Viewport
3D Mouse
When using a 3D Mouse there are some user preferences. Object mode emulates your parts like they are in your hand. Camera mode is the exact opposite as if you are controlling the camera. You can lock the horizon if that feels easier.
Last command
This checkbox enables going into the last applicable command quickly. For example into single support mode when you just exited. This saves you a mouse move and click.
Object manipulator
The object manipulator is used to move/rotate objects. You can activate gridsnap. This will cause parts to be moved by discrete steps. You can opt as well to display translation amounts when moving objects.
Performance
When you are not happy with the display performance you can opt to display just the boundingboxes of meshes in your project. They will be displayed during dragging and viewport manipulation to speed up the drawing.
Right click menu
The right click menu allows you to quickly access commands on parts or supports. The right click speed determines how fast you should click for the menu to popup. If you notice unwanted popups of the menu you can lower the speed.
Slice trackbar
By default the trackbar in the view is a single trackbar. With this settings you can make it a double trackbar to clip your models from the bottom as well.
Toolbelt
Toolbelt
The toolbelt is where you can quickly access your favourite commands. In this window you can setup your own toolbelt commands. In the left window you see all available commands. In the right window you have your toolbelt. You can use the left/right buttons to add/remove tools from the belt. You can use the Up/Down buttons to change the order of commands.
Appearance
Build platform
This determines how you would like the buildplatform to be drawn. A box area clearly indicates you maximum height. The axis system is drawn in the origin of the machine. The grid size helps you place your parts.
Colors
These colors set the look and feel of your viewport. For parts you can use a random part color or opt to use the material colors set in the print profiles. Drawing objects gray outside the build platform helps you to identify parts that might not be printed.
Creases
Creases are the sharp 'edges' of your parts. They are drawn only when 1 part is visible for performance reason. You can set the angle between 2 faces here that defines a crease.
Slicing
CPU Slicing
Slicing on the CPU is in some cases (single models) faster then on the CPU. It's also more error prove if your mesh is not watertight and contains errors. You can choose to activate multithreaded slicing. This might in some cases make your PC unresponsive depending on how many CPU core's you have available.
GPU Slicing
Slicing on the GPU is the default method for pixel based printers. You can choose to use the newer windows media libraries for generating the images or rely on the older GDI+.
Graphics
Graphics settings
The graphics settings are available if you would like to optimize performance further. Mesh detail determines with how much detail supports are generated. Anti aliasing gives you smooth edges in your 3d view at the cost of more memory usages on the GPU. For points we have a special shader to smooth them which can be turned of for compatibility older GPU's.
Machines
Machines
The machines page gives you an overview of your current loaded machines.
If you have 'check for updates' enabled the software will automatically check if there are updates for machines. If you haven't you can manually check for updates with the 'Check for updates' button. The software will try to connect to our machine portal and compare your machines to the latest versions. When there are updates found it will highlight your machines with an 'update' label.
You can choose to update your machine by selecting them and then pressing the 'update selected' button. This will overwrite current settings. Alternatively if you would like to keep your machine's settings you can add the updated machine as a new machine.
Further more this panel allows you to add a new machine, copy machines, import/export (.xml), make a machine default or edit the machine. To edit a machine double click or, press the machine in the treeview on the left or click the edit button.
Build platform
Build platform
The build platform specifies the size of your machine (XYZ) in millimeters. If you have a pixel based machine you will also see the size in pixels in each direction. On the right of the screen there is a preview image that shows you the exact sizes and resulting print resolution in micrometers.
Build platform file
With the build platform file option you have the option of loading a file to display your virtual build platform.
You can load .stl/.stlc/.obj files by selecting the pencil button.
If you click 'generate' you are give the option to generate a platform yourself for quick experimentation.
This generates a build platform mesh with or without holes in it.
It could be used with the 'platform closure' command.
Dead zone
If you would like to introduce some margin from the edges of your build platform you can introduce a dead zone. Enter the amount in mm from each side to have a grey border shown in the build platform. A warning will show if you move objects in the dead zone.
Export origin
The export origin is important when you are exporting files that have coordinates. This can be .stl files, but more probable vector based slices. It depends on your machine's implementation how it reads these files. You can quickly set it to each of the corners by clicking the icons with the red dots. Both values set to 0 means centered.
Support profiles
Support profiles
Each machine can have multiple support profiles. These profiles are used during auto supporting. You can add a new profile with the 'plus' button, copy them, move them to another machine, make them default or edit them. Double clicking on them will also lead you to the edit menu dialog. Below a description follows of the individual parameters of a support profile. You can give each profile a name and change the image by clicking on it. For more information on the support parameters please see the section 'support menu, basic/advanced generation.
Print profiles
General
Each machine can have multiple print profiles. These determine things like exposure time, layer thickness, print corrections etc. Usually they are also used to define the material you are printing. As with the support profiles the print profiles can be copied, copied to other machines, imported (xml), exported (xml) and made default.
Each print profile is defined by a name and a slice thickness. Additionally you can set material properties such as density, price and color.
Depending on the printer type (DLP/SLA/Inkjet) there are a range of options that will show up if you edit a print profiles. In the below we handle all possible options. This does not necessary mean that this applies to your machine configuration.
In the submenu you will find a description per setting.
Part pre processing
Shrinkage correction
The shrinkage correction is a percentage correction in 1, 2 or 3 directions of your model. If your resin shrinks or expands during solidification this might be a way to correct that effect.
Z Bleed correction
This correction lifts the lower parts of your model by a very small amount depending on the angle of the surface. If you notice in arches of your printed models you have zbleed (to much material when the light penetrates to deep) you can try to reduce this Z Bleed by applying a little correction here.
Slice post processing
Anti aliasing
Pixel based machines profit greatly from anti aliasing capabilities of modern day GPU's. This prevents jagged edges by using various shades of gray instead of just black and white.
Curve reduction
When you are exporting vector based slices you can reduce curves. This parameter sets the maximum deviation you would like from the existing curve.
Pixel dimming
When you have large crosssectional area's you might risk overexposure and dimmensional inaccuracy. To prevent this you can dim the exposure on the inside of larger surfaces.
XY Compensation
This is a correction that applies a fixed amount of growth or shrinkage to the edges of your model. It's a rolling ball offset. For the configured number of bottom layers you can define a seperate value.
DLP settings
Average layer build time
This value is just for display purposes only. It is used in calculating the print job time estimation.
Bottom layers count
The amount of layers that carry the bottom exposure time
Exposure time
This is the default exposure time for each layer. If you know your materials parameters you can calculate it with the calculate button
Exposure time bottom
This the bottom layers exposure time.
Off time beteen layers
This is an extra value that can be used in some machines.
Off time beteen layers bottom
This is an extra value that can be used in some machines.
Z Lift distance
use this variable to tell your machine how far it should move in Z direction each retraction
Z Lift distance bottom
use this variable to tell your machine how far it should move in Z direction each retraction (bottom layers)
Z Lift speed
The speed of your primary axis
Z Lift speed bottom layers
The speed of your primary axis
Z Retract speed
Z Lift speed during retraction
SLA settings
Bottom layer count
Number of bottom layers with different speed.
Bottom speed
Speed at bottom layers printing
Infill percentage top/bottom
these are outer skins and can require a more dense infill
Infill-wall overlap
this is the amount of overlap between the walls and infill of a model.
nfill percentage interior
determines the density of the infill
Normal speed
Speed at normal layers printing
Smooth arches between sharp corners
this increases print time but also increases edge sharpness.
Smooth connection between infill lines
this draws nice bows between hatches. This can reduce machine vibration and increase accuracy
Spot size
this is your laser's spot size. Lines will be seperated by this distance
Travel speed
Travel speed of the laser when not printing
Wall thickness
this is the amount of offsets will be drawn before the infill starts
Machine calibration
DLP Light Mask
Depending on your printer type you might get a better print when applying a mask over your slices. This light mask decreases white to grey pixels in area's where your light intensity is high. The result is a more even distribution of light intensity when you print. This wizard helps you to create a basic light mask by 2 calibration prints.
You can also choose to upload your own mask image that will be overlayed on the slices. .png Images in 24 or 32 bits are accepted. Make sure your mask has the same pixel size as your slices otherwise an error message will appear.
The calibration mask wizard guides you through the process of creating your own light mask based on measurements from your actual machine.
SLA Coordinate correction
When you are using an SLA printer you can correct the gcode output with a lineair correction mask. The absolute values are entered here. The software interpolates lineair in a grid fashion.
Slice setup
GCode file
The GCode file is a file that is generated to steer your machine's axes. If you are using a DLP machine it can be used optionally depending on your machine. If you are using an SLA machine it can be the main required input for your machine. Click the edit button to edit the gcode file. There are 3 parts, a start, slice gcode and end. The slice GCode is what is being repeated each layer.
DLP usage: With the Help button you can view parameters that can be used in DLP mode. You can also test run the script or export it to a file. The Help button contains extensive information on how to tune the parameters and formula's.
SLA usage: The sla parameters are more limited and are visible in the SLA default machine's gcode. In addition to the DLP machine you have the option to set the line format for each movement line. There is a help button as well with extensive information in case you need this.
Other export files
To make this software more flexible we've added the option to add other file formats to the output. The button 'available variables' will show you a number of variables available that you can use in text based files. You can choose from:
- Preview images in PNG format
- Job xml file containing information about the print job
- Print profile settings as xml
- Machine settings as xml
- Light mask applied for DLP machines as PNG
- Text file (with any extension) with parameters
- Top view of the build platform
Packaging
You can choose to zip your slice output and give it any extension.
Slice format
The slice setup tab determines the output of the slicer. Depending on your machine type not all options describe below might be active.
- Job export format: this is the main format of your slice job. It machine dependent.
- Slice filename macro: this is the macro that is used to determine the filename for slice files. You can click over the blue question mark to view available variables
- Print job folder name: the default foldername for a print job. Click the blue question mark to view available variables.
- Flip slices in X/Y direction: this flips the slices. Usually when printing bottom up you need to flip in only 1 direction, either X or Y.
- Force slice generation on the CPU: this will switch to use a CPU based slice engine for this machine. See also 'slicing options'
- Diamond shape pixel slicing: this is a feature to make slices rotate 45 degrees to reduce artifaces on older DLP chips. This only works if the machine has implemented alrogitms for this.
Workflow
Http Upload to machine
The http upload allows you to send the printjob over an HTTP Post call. This requires specifying the IP Address/URI of your machine. The request is send as a multipart/form-data HTTP Post request. The file parameter name is the variable name of the filename field. The optional job title parameter name adds another variable with this name with the job title to the request.
Nano DLP Configuration
The icon leads you to an integrated NanoDLP connection. The following defaults are set in the configuration at machine level:
- If to start up the NanoDLP connection after slicing
- The default IP Address
Start program after slicing
This allows you to start a 3rd party program after slicing. You can define a filepath of the executable to start. The first argument passed will be the path to the slice result. Any other arguments can be added optionally. The 'name of the program' is purely for display purposes.
Stl Link
With the Stl Link function you can perform a 1 click export to another slicing/CAM/CAD package of your choice. A common use scenario is if your machine has a closed file format that can only be created with the machines default slicer. You can setup the path to your machines default slicer then as Stl Link. This allows you to export your geometry including supports of all models with 1 click.