MMU style printing without an MMU (manual swapping the filament)
I have been experimenting with changing the color mid layer and so far I have been very pleased with the result. For some small projects I don't need the full MMU setup and this does the job for me.
One thing however I cannot figure out... in my design (see attached 3mf) the height of the text is 0.2mm but I noticed the slicer always slices up to 4 layers in this color. This causes me to do a lot of extra filament swapping. I need to make a total of 11 swaps while if I look at the text height it should only be 3 swaps. Anyone knows how I can fix the height of the text in the slicer to be only one layer instead of 4?
I understand in the real world I would probably have to do 2 layers to get the color right.. but the slicer is giving me 4 which feels like I am not in control 🙂
How are you applying the colour? You haven't left any space for the alternative filaments so extrusion is going to be messy.
Have you looked at:
https://forum.prusaprinters.org/forum/prusaslicer/manual-multicolor/
Where there is extensive discussion and some practical methods.
Cheerio,
Oops, Prusa's change of domain name seems to have completed so all our page bookmarks are now out of date .... Those links above should be:
https://forum.prusa3d.com/forum/prusaslicer/manual-multicolor/
Cheerio,
RE: MMU style printing without an MMU (manual swapping the filament)
Hi,
Thanks for the links (yeah the first ones had me puzzled why they didnt work). I read both posts but in general this seems to be what I am doing. I first loaded the card, added the text as parts, colored it in the slicer. I just can't figure out why the text is always forced to 4 layers while the height is only 0.2mm.
You also wrote; You haven't left any space for the alternative filaments so extrusion is going to be messy.
Should the black part contain a cutout of the text? When I slice it, it doesn't seems to have any problems with it; it just fills with black whatever is not colored.
RE:
colored it in the slicer.
There's the problem.
That method is for MMU users who don't design their own models but want to add colour to downloaded files. The colour goes deep to prevent mindless complaints from users who's low-pigment or translucent filaments don't block underlying colour.
For full control create sub-parts for each colour and subtract space for them from the main body. Import all parts together and select a different extruder for each colour.
Attached is demo.zip. It contains three .stl files for you to study; they are intended for 0.2mm layers - to slice them yourself import all three together and tell the slicer they are parts of the same file, that way they will not all fall to the bottom. Also in the zip is a gcode file sliced for Prusament PLA at 0.2mm SPEED and an extruder changes file - this last is just a guide, not essential.
To print the gcode load as follows:
Begin with: Extruder 1 - the body colour
6 minutes Change -> Extruder 3 - the bottom text
2 minutes Change -> Extruder 1 - back to body colour
14 minutes Change -> Extruder 2 - the top text
0 minutes Change -> Extruder 1 - back to body colour to finish
All these procedures are outlined in the threads linked above.
Cheerio,
RE: MMU style printing without an MMU (manual swapping the filament)
Yes! This works! And now I know what mistake I made.. it's all in the first line you wrote;
That method is for MMU users who don't design their own models but want to add colour to downloaded files. The colour goes deep to prevent mindless complaints from users who's low-pigment or translucent filaments don't block underlying colour.
Your example made it even more clear. Thanks so much for the effort. I have my design sliced up now and it all looks good in the slicer. Will give it a go tomorrow once my large print I am doing right now is done.
Thanks again for your help!