Printing ALL first-layer perimeters before starting on first infill
Thinking of the first layer, is it possible to print ALL the perimeters completely (for all objects), and then start on the infill? I'm actually quite surprised this isn't a feature that is in demand. Does it exist on any slicers out there? This would save so much filament and time, as most print failures that take place on the first layer happen during perimeter-printing. And if a print is going to fail, I'd much rather have it happen early on, rather than wait for a boat-load of infill to print, then have it fail on the 10th object while printing the perimeter. Sometimes the first layer alone can take 30+ minutes, so having a failure occur on the last object's first layer perimeters really sucks.
RE: Printing ALL first-layer perimeters before starting on first infill
PrusaSlicer completes an object before starting the next one on that layer. It might work as you intend if the objects are merged into a single STL file using a CAD program.
RE: Printing ALL first-layer perimeters before starting on first infill
Interesting idea... Maybe I'll give that a try. But that also gives me another similar idea if that doesn't work... I could "physically" attach all the parts in my 3D modelling software by connecting them all with thin lines. The lines would be very thin (0.05mm) however, so the slicer would ignore them and not print them. But now as I type this, I'm thinking maybe this won't work, because if the slicer is going to ignore the thin lines, then they might as well not be there and it won't make a difference. Nevermind, I'll start with your idea and see if that works.
Thanks 🙂
RE: Printing ALL first-layer perimeters before starting on first infill
PrusaSlicer completes an object before starting the next one on that layer. It might work as you intend if the objects are merged into a single STL file using a CAD program.
Unfortunately, I don't think that will work. Every time I print one of those flexible unicorns (see my Awesome Print entry here) the slicer prints the outline and then infill of each segment before going on to the next segment. I don't know of a way of getting it to do all the outlines of the single object first. This would help here because that PET diffraction grating is a poor printbed surface for PLA so I really need to babysit the first layer or two. The first outline is the toughest thing to get right because there is no other PLA around to help anchor it down in the desired shape.
See my (limited) designs on:
Printables - https://www.printables.com/@Sembazuru
Thingiverse - https://www.thingiverse.com/Sembazuru/designs
RE: Printing ALL first-layer perimeters before starting on first infill
@sembazuru
Thanks for the info. I see what you mean that it won't work as intended.
Another option that I sometimes use is to print a giant square that is slightly larger than all of the objects and 0.2mm thick. Place your objects so they overlay with this rectangle. It acts like a brim that is solidly attached to the object. It needs to be cut away using a knife instead of breaking off like a normal brim. The remaining bottom surface on the part will have uniformly spaced diagonal lines and no visible perimeters. The second layer is practically foolproof since it has a solid surface to fuse into. I have never had a print fail when using this technique, although it takes a bit more cleanup than a simple brim.
Steve
RE: Printing ALL first-layer perimeters before starting on first infill
@malek-a
If you make the lines 0.45-0.5 wide (so the nozzle print width or slightly larger) and 0.2mm high then it would treat it as one object. Removing the thin lines would be very easy.
RE: Printing ALL first-layer perimeters before starting on first infill
All great suggestions, thanks a lot guys. I'll give them a try one day... Truth be told, I haven't touched my 3D printers since my Glowforge Pro laser cutter arrived, lol 😂.
RE: Printing ALL first-layer perimeters before starting on first infill
Couldn't Agree more. I don't know if it would be easy to implement but definitely a clever feature I would appreciate.
RE: Printing ALL first-layer perimeters before starting on first infill
If you are running Octoprint there is a Cancel Objects plug in which allows you to cancel individual objects and allow you to leave the good ones running. I haven't got round to trying it yet, it was suggested by another member on an octoprint thread but sounds very useful.
https://plugins.octoprint.org/plugins/cancelobject/
RE: Printing ALL first-layer perimeters before starting on first infill
@lize
Wow, I've never heard of such a feature. That feature would be pretty amazing if it worked reliably. I haven't used Octoprint in years but it may be time to fire it up again.
Thanks!
RE: Printing ALL first-layer perimeters before starting on first infill
It's the same issue when single object has multiple segments on the first layer. I filled bug issue: https://github.com/prusa3d/PrusaSlicer/issues/9106