Hello! I’m not only brand new to Snapmaker Luban, I’m new to 3D printing.
How do I set a model to print solid instead of hollow?
It’s a small piece for a phone accessory, and I need it to be solid for strength sake.
I also need tips on adding break-away support for portions of the piece that are basically hanging over empty space. I edited the model to put some small vertical columns but they must have been below some minimum threshold, as the “Generate G-Code” step seems to have ignored them. However, that is probably a different topic all together.
Printing Settings -> Infill -> Infill density -> 100% to get a solid object.
Printing Settings -> Support -> Generate Support to get auto-generated supports. You may not need them even for things “hanging over empty space” if the bits in question are only 45° or so from the vertical.
Once you’ve changed the settings, regenerate the GCode.
In order to change the Printing Settings you’ll need to choose Customize and then click ‘+’ underneath to create a new setting based on one of the built in settings.
@DougJoseph Attention! 100% infill is not the general answer for all slicers.
Some slicers like Simplify3D are handling the infill in another way. When I do real solid prints I set the bottom or top layers to a number higher than the maximum height.
But more important than a solid print for mechanical strong parts are the direction of the layers and the number of wall lines. 3D printed parts don’t like to be stressed horizontally in the same direction as the layer because the adhesion between 2 layers is not as good as normal to a full wall line (vertically). Sometimes that means to rotate the part into a position where support is needed but you will get a stronger product.
3 wall lines and an infill of 30-50% are enough for this part in my opinion.
This is just another input for you. The part is not placed perfectly in the picture, I just want to show you that there are other factors than infill for functional parts.
Thanks for the excellent help! I’m very experienced with modeling 3D in SketchUp, but I’m totally brand new to 3D printing. I am not sure what is meant by “slicer,” but it that means the software I’m outputting from, I’m using Snapmaker Luban. I don’t know how to set a count of wall lines yet using that software. I’m applying myself to learn, and I’m thankful for all tips and advice.
A slicer is the program that converts the solid model into tool paths.
Snapmaker Luban is the point to start you jurney because it is free and don’t have too much confusing options. I have started with the Snapmaker Original in the first Kickstarter campaign. And it was fun learing all the new things - also with try and error.
I’m an engineer and used to work with professional 3D programs for now just about 20 years.
For me the 3D printer was a game changer since I was able to make solid parts out of my models so I can feel them in my hands.
PS: Sorry for my English. I’m from Austria and normally I speak German. But I don’t want to use a translator program event if they are pretty good nowadays.
Luban knows that the printer nozzle is 0.4mm, and won’t render any object in the X or Y direction that is smaller than that. Because it slices the model up into 2D layers and prints them one at a time vertically, it can render features in the Z direction as small as your layer height.
You generally don’t want narrow and tall standalone features though. They tend to get knocked over by the print head, and then you end up with spaghetti from filament being extruded into empty space. The brim adhesion feature helps prevent stuff getting knocked over, although there’s only so much it can do. Letting Luban generate a support structure is generally better because it generates lines instead of point supports, and it has some tricks to make the supports easier to detach from the print. But it’s not the most intelligent system, so there are times you’ll want to manually create your own supports.
@DougJoseph It’s also important to note that the luban slicer is an offshoot of cura. Cura is another free slicer that is great with alot of features and great support. When you decide to move on from luban, cura is a great next step. I also recommend getting the cura plugin that explains all the options, it’s helped me alot to understand how diffrent settings affect the finished print and when to use them.
I am having similar issue in that I can not alter the printer settings from 15% infill to solid.
Luban version 3.13.1.
When I select customise, it does not give me the + sign or any option for that matter.
While using Luban 3.13.1 (the latest version), I also found that the plus sign ("+") to create a custom profile had disappeared, and so I closed that version, and ran a separately installed copy of version 3.12.2, and successfully got the plus sign ("+") to create a custom profile to reappear.
The plus sign has been replaced with a small gear-icon as @sdj544 mentioned. If you click that one you get a pop-up window where you can manage the different profiles.
