varying fill

Hi, I am printing off a lot of the same part, and I was wondering if there is a way to make part of it hollow. Basically I want the first few layers to be 0.4 fill, and above that I want it to be hollow. I am using slic3r. Do I need to use a different program to do this, or do I need to manually edit the gcode?

You can slice it with fill and hollow, and then copy and paste the hollow gcode into the fill gcode at the z height you want. This is easier to do with Slic3r code. Just search the file for G1 Z(height in mm where you want the change).

Is there an easy way to do that in code though?


I was thinking about this the other day and mayhaps we can build a slic3r or skein engine that lets you define fill by a function of some sort. maybe a function to an edge of the object or just a gradient from z a to z b.
Would the programs freak out if you had to change the fill setting for the slice for each section?

yes make the model a manifold. take to 3d stl file, and make the part hollow in designing the stl.

in openscad to make a cube hollow on the inside you would do this for example



difference(){
cube (size=[20,20,20],center=true); //this is the solid cube
cube (size=[16,16,16],center=true); //this is the inside removed
}

there are several methods for doing what you ask, but it is not fair for the parser to do the work.

It is good for the stl file to represent what you want.

hope this helps!

@Ian
That is a good idea. I never thought about just copying and pasting.

@baslisks
it would definetly be nice to have this feature. There are many parts where I wish I could vary the amount of fill in each section.

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I am a printrbot owner who refuses to pay for expensive filament anymore. I started using Nylon weed trimmer line, which is about a third of the price. Instructions are here:
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jamesdanielv Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> there are several methods for doing what you ask,
> but it is not fair for the parser to do the work.

Until we have a better 3D file format, I believe it is fair for the parser to do the work. What if you want some areas to have higher density than others, but not necessarily solid or completely hollow?

The ideal solution of course is to have a decent file format that can represent things like densities, colors, and materials.

I totally agree NewPerfection. For instance I have a lot of parts with screw holes in them up on Thingiverse and really the thing could be hollow except for the screw holes which I would like to force 100% filled 3mm around each hole but with stl I am SOL.

NewPerfection Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Until we have a better 3D file format, I believe
> it is fair for the parser to do the work. What if
> you want some areas to have higher density than
> others, but not necessarily solid or completely
> hollow?
>
> The ideal solution of course is to have a decent
> file format that can represent things like
> densities, colors, and materials.

The AMF file format already supports defining multiple materials/densities. It's just the slicing software that's lacking at the moment. (And design software, I don't know any free or reasonably priced ones that can do this.)

Never heard of it and I clicked your link and see it is open source so a HUGE WTF has to be screamed.

Unlike its predecessor STL format, AMF has native support for color, materials, lattices, and constellations.

I bet it is because it uses XML and not a binary format that it hasn't grabbed acceptance but I don't really know.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/2012 12:05PM by Dark Alchemist.

I think a good way to do this is Define in Slic3r, and/or visually select the range of Z= [Z1...Z2] and what the limitations are. That way you can say things like "First 1 mm solid, next 5 mm = hollow and fast, last 1 mm = solid and careful"

amf appears to be supported by slic3r as of 0.92, at least you can save in that format.


perhaps use a perl script, or a python script to edit the changes to the gcode file.

skein forge has a feature in the carve menu to select starting layer and ending layer. that also is an option as long as the start and end gcode info is removed from each file, then everything pasted together. It is time consuming, but is an option if several of a part are to be made.

still i think openscad and editing the stl file is the cleanest and less error method.
here is a method to do the same thing i mentioned above but with an stl.
instructions how: [en.wikibooks.org]

difference(){
translate([0,0,0]) // position of stl file
import("c:\filename.stl", convexity = 5); //example stl file

translate([0,0,0]) // position of area wanted to be remove 1
cube (size=[16,16,16],center=true); //this is the inside removed

translate([0,0,0]) // position of area wanted to be remove 2
cube (size=[16,16,16],center=true); //this is the inside removed

translate([0,0,0]) // position of area wanted to be remove 3,4,5,6,7...... and so on.
cube (size=[16,16,16],center=true); //this is the inside removed
}

download openscad [www.openscad.org]

I hate openscad but that is just me.

What I wish is that we didn't need a slicer so that the files could go to the printer from the cad programs.

ttsalo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The AMF file format already supports defining
> multiple materials/densities. It's just the
> slicing software that's lacking at the moment.
> (And design software, I don't know any free or
> reasonably priced ones that can do this.)

I've actually seen that file format before, it's relatively new only having been made official last year. The problem is that I don't know of any software that can produce it (especially FOSS).

NewPerfection Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ttsalo Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The AMF file format already supports defining
> > multiple materials/densities. It's just the
> > slicing software that's lacking at the moment.
> > (And design software, I don't know any free or
> > reasonably priced ones that can do this.)
>
> I've actually seen that file format before, it's
> relatively new only having been made official last
> year. The problem is that I don't know of any
> software that can produce it (especially FOSS).
No 3d software, nor CAD software, that I own, or have used, this year has that format.

[solidsmack.com]

should be easier to use i guess. it is for tinkercad.