Back to 3D Powder Printing
Justifying
- Once the file is imported, the parts need to be justified to
the base (XY) plane.
- Select each part, then right-click and select Justify... > Bottom.
- You may also access the justify controls through the
Transform menu.
Note: Do not justify more than one part together. To justify more than one part use Justify Group... option from the Transform menu.
Orienting
- Commands like rotate, rotate group, and translate help to orient the
part as desired.
- The commands are located under the Transform menu.
Scaling
- The parts can be scaled by selecting Transform > Scale....
Continuity
- The parts must be checked for continuity.
- Any discontinuities
in a model is visible in the form of a "black area" within the ZPrint software.
- This is due to non-agreeing
normals in the model or if all normals do not point toward the outside of the
model.
- The printer will fail to print these "black areas,"
resulting in a part with compromised structural integrity.
- Viewing the
model layer by layer will help detect any discontinuities.
- There are
two different options available to view the model layer by layer: viewing them in 2D view and viewing them in 3D view. The thickness of
each layer is 0.004 in.
- To view the layers in 2D view, select the 2D button from the
main menu.
- This view shows you how the part will be printed layer by
layer in the machine.
- A layer is shown in black color and a
discontinuity is shown in the form of a white patch in the layer.
- Press A to move upward through the geometry's layers, and Z to move downward.
- The layer number and the height are presented in the lower
left-hand corner of the 2D screen.
- By dragging the yellow arrow in the
XZ plane (below), you can quickly advance through the layers.
3D View
- To view the layers in 3D view, select the Display Layer in 3D View button from the main menu.
- A layer is represented in the form of
a blue water mark.
- A discontinuity in the watermark indicates a
discontinuity in the part.
- The layers can be traversed using the aforementioned layer
up/down controls.
Preparing Fixtures
- Fixtures are built to support the part if it is too fragile to
support itself, or if it has overhangs and/or any geometry which will make
it difficult to extract the part from the machine.
- There is an additional cost for building fixtures. It is generally better to change the design than to build fixtures.
- One could break up a single part into two pieces which could be
assembled post-printing.
- For example, if there is a long overhang (say a rod)
extending out of the part which is making it difficult to handle, one should print the part and the rod separately with a mating joint in the part for the rod's insertion.
Steps to Make a Fixture
- Select your part.
- Select Edit > Make Fixture.
- Accept or override the values for clearance, top thickness,
wall thickness, base grid height, wall grid, and accuracy coefficient.
- A value of 2 for accuracy coefficient and clearance of 0.1 is
good enough.
- Number of walls in x and y direction depends on the
complexity and the size of the part.
- It is OK to keep the other values
as they are.
- Define the area for fixture generation by moving the rectangular frame.
- Hold the shift key down and drag to move the frame.
- Check parameters and click OK.
- Fixtures don't need to be generated throughout the whole part. It is acceptable to fixture only a critical portion.
- If the part has to be moved after the fixture is created, use group transformation.
- Always check for collisions after making the fixture to ensure that the fixture and the part do not intersect.
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