Interested in taking some wild new 3D printing features for a test drive? preFlight is a free and open source slicer that brings a host of processing improvements as well as fascinating new features and interesting twists on old ones. There are almost too many to list, so here are a few that caught our eye.
Want to mix and match different support types on the same object? No problem. How about use Nip & Tuck seams to better hide where layers start and stop? You can emboss images directly onto print surfaces with a real-time preview and use smart bridging for counter-bored holes. We particularly like the ability to preview a sliced object from the side instead of just by layer. That’s not all, either.
Those features alone are pretty intriguing, but there’s one in particular that is particularly relevant to creating stronger parts. Interlocking Perimeters increases layer bonding to increase object strength. Unlike brick layers, which staggers layers vertically, interlocking perimeters plays with spacing and compression to increase bonding in the Z axis while keeping layer heights constant. This is possible thanks in part to the greater control offered by Athena, the new perimeter generator.
There are plenty more features — like a full Python runtime embedded directly into the slicing pipeline, and a host of export pathways — so check out the GitHub repository for added detail and let us know in the comments if you give it a try.
This is extremely fascinating. Thank you; I had no idea this software existed. I look forward to experimenting with it!
+1 just downloaded…
Hmmmm, the printers I like to use most these days (U1 and Kobra X) are not (yet?!) available in that fork.
But I’ll have a look at those features and hope to see some of them in Mainline Orca one day.
/me printer not supported. So /me will wait and check back regularly.
I have long thought about combining topology optimisation and slicing in one go to achieve optimal FDM printed part strength. TO is great for isotropic materials, but with the huge leverage slicing decisions have on local directional strength/anisotropy, I can see potential in unlocking extra performance in designed applications. Two ways I see this being implemented: either as extra decision variables and constraints in the TO (for example each volume element’s directional strength depends on neighboring element’s orientation, mimicking continuous line and layer binding behavior), or by including information on designed loads alongside the .stl file, which the slicer takes into account to best allocate material for performance. Perhaps an add-on which lets the user place design loads in the slicer directly?
Have any of your considered this or worked on a similar problem? Looks to me like the next evolution in FDM printing/slicing.
Releasing a jacked-up fork of Prusaslicer is definitely one way to get your name out in preparation of unveiling your own “Elevate” 3D-Printer design.
oozeBot is definitely on my radar now.
I’m very interested in the interlocking perimeters for some thin wall functional parts I build. But, my brain is not grasping how it works. Spacing and compression: spacing how? Compression where?
Z-height is not manipulated, so horizontal spacing is manipulated to create gaps between lines maybe? Overextrusion on the layer above then pushes (oozes?) plastic into the gap below?
For some reason, I’m not making any sense of the lattice looking picture.
If nothing else, I do like the cross sectional view. It’s kinda cool. You right click the object when viewing it from the angle that you want to see it from. “Clipping Plane” then cuts a plane through the part normal(?) to the viewer’s perspective. Then you can push and pull that plane through the part, while also being able to traverse the slices vertically via the typical slicer slider.