Brief Explanation of 3D Printer Settings

In my last post, I described the New Matter online slicer program including certain settings. I mentioned raft/brim, speed, layer height and supports. All these settings are usually found in most slicing softwares. First, let's start with raft/brim. For your model to print well, it needs to stick well to the print surface. A brim makes the printer print a few layers around the base of your model to ensure that your extruder is extruding properly. This prevents under/over extrusion or small plastic blobs that can develop. Brims do not waste much material and are fairly quick, so I'd recommend using them on most of your prints. A raft in 3D printing works kind of like raft in the water. A few layers are printed under the base of your model, giving it more strength at the base and good adhesion. Rafts are good if your model only has a few points touching the bed at the start of the print, but are not necessary for models with fairly solid bases, as they can add more time to the print. Speed is self explanatory, it's the rate at which the printer extrudes plastic, and is measured in millimeters per second (mm/s). Raising speed may result in sloppy layering and weaker prints, so test speeds to see which one is best (usually stick with the default in program). Layer height is a setting that can change the finish and speed of your print. If you have thicker layers, the print will finish faster, but will have pretty noticeable ridges and won't feel smooth. On the contrary, thinner layer height will make the print look almost as one piece, but will take longer. Thinner layers will make the print weaker, and thicker layers will make the print stronger. Layer height can be compared to building a wall out of bricks. The thicker the bricks are, the faster the wall will be built, but you will be able to see the individual bricks from a distance, and the opposite goes for thinner bricks. Layer height is measured in millimeters, and is based on the printer nozzle. The most common nozzle diameter is 0.4 mm, meaning the printer can extruder at a max thickness of 0.4 mm. The thinnest layer height most printers allow is 0.1 mm. Essentially, the filament, which is usually 1.75mm in diameter, is being melted and thinned to a max of 0.4 mm and a minimum of 0.1 mm. The printer extrudes less filament to get a thinner layer height. The filament diameter, nozzle diameter, and thinnest layer height can be different between printers, but the values above are most common. Layer height can also be measured in microns; 0.4 mm = 400 microns, 0.1mm = 100 microns, 0.05mm = 50 microns. Finally, supports. If you are just starting 3D printing, you won't use supports much. They are only needed if your model has an overhang. Overhangs aren't common in the models beginners will print, but it is important to know when to use supports for the future. Supports do exactly as you'd think, they support part of a model, in this case, the part with an overhang. Support material is intentionally printed weak so that it is easy to remove after the print. Don't forget, the top of a cylinder that is laying horizontally is also an overhang. Hopefully, these basic tips for 3D printing settings can help you understand the effects of changing them within a slicing program.

New Discovery on MOD-t Online Slicer

I previously mentioned that you could only print custom .stl files through the desktop New Matter MOD-t Utility, but, that is incorrect. I recently discovered an upload feature on the online utility. 3D printer utilities can also be called slicers, because they "slice" a model file into layers for the printer to print. On the New Matter website, you can upload a file containing a custom model, thus not limiting you to the New Matter Design Store. You can also change numerous print settings, such as speed, layer height, supports, brim/raft, and more. There aren't as many settings as a dedicated slicing program like Cura, but still enough. This changes my view on the MOD-t a little bit. Before, I felt that its one-click remote printing was held back by the fact that you could only print models from New Matter (or so I thought). Now, I can print any model I want, whether it be from Thingiverse or one that I've created myself. I have been using the MOD-t for the past week and it has never disappointed.