Sliced STL has random missing horizontal layers
Hi everyone,
I’ve been struggling for a few hours to get my STL file to slice correctly, and I can’t figure out what’s going wrong. I’ve had many successful prints with my Prusa MK4S in the past.
However, when I try slicing this character model for a campaign I’m part of, it no longer works as expected. You can see missing layers in the sliced result in the image below:
Viewing the input model looks fine:
The same goes for blender in which I edited the character from the source:
Did any of you experience something like this in the past? This is my first time, and as I said, I've tried editing the model for a few hours now but had no success.
I am open for any help you have.
Thank you.
RE: Sliced STL has random missing horizontal layers
I uploaded the model here: https://yanwittmann.de/archive/ramie-lathander-03.blend
RE: Sliced STL has random missing horizontal layers
if you look in the right hand panel of prusa slicer, you will see an orange triangle with an exclamation mark in it, this signifies that prusa slicer thinks the STL has errors.
if you use the Fix by windows repair algorythm, option, you can probably resolve the issue
regards Joan
I try to make safe suggestions,You should understand the context and ensure you are happy that they are safe before attempting to apply my suggestions, what you do, is YOUR responsibility.Location Halifax UK
RE: Sliced STL has random missing horizontal layers
I uploaded the model here: https://yanwittmann.de/archive/ramie-lathander-03.blend
I can't tell what OS you are on, but if you aren't on Windows I don't think the repair function in PrusaSlicer will work. If you aren't on Windows, if you upload your STL here I (or someone else) can repair it for you and send you the repaired STL.
See my (limited) designs on:
Printables - https://www.printables.com/@Sembazuru
Thingiverse - https://www.thingiverse.com/Sembazuru/designs
RE: Sliced STL has random missing horizontal layers
If you aren't on Windows, if you upload your STL here I (or someone else) can repair it for you and send you the repaired STL.
I am on Windows and I'm gonna try using the option, but I can upload the file no matter what and I would be thankful for any help, it's an export of the blender file I uploaded up there: https://yanwittmann.de/archive/ramie-lathander-03.stl
I am able to run the Windows Repair Algorithm via right-click, but it's kind of been stuck in the middle there for over 10 minutes now, is that normal?
I'll have to go to work now, but I'll leave it running and check back this evening.
Thank you all so far!
RE: Sliced STL has random missing horizontal layers
Anything dark green in slicer usually means an issue. Looking at that probably reversed normals. Any chance of uploading the blend file too and what version you used, I use Blender and could possibly take a look.
RE: Sliced STL has random missing horizontal layers
Amazing! It actually worked, the windows repair algorithm did finish when I came home from work just now and it's now all properly displayed in the 3D editor and sliced by the slicer.
I'll adjust the settings and will try to print the figure then.
(just in case you still want to look at my horrible mesh, I provided the blender file in an earlier response already: https://yanwittmann.de/archive/ramie-lathander-03.blend )
RE: Sliced STL has random missing horizontal layers
Anything dark green in slicer usually means an issue. Looking at that probably reversed normals. Any chance of uploading the blend file too and what version you used, I use Blender and could possibly take a look.
The blend file is in the second post. I agree that fixing the source is probably the better solution, but I don't know blender well enough to help the OP in this case.
See my (limited) designs on:
Printables - https://www.printables.com/@Sembazuru
Thingiverse - https://www.thingiverse.com/Sembazuru/designs
RE:
Sorry missed the blend file. Serves me right for looking while on my phone. Just tried and its not progressing past 3.7mb for me. So I cant grab the whole file.
RE: Sliced STL has random missing horizontal layers
No worries! I'm just glad I can get my model printed. I'll also most likely never touch the model again afterward, so I'm not sure how much use it brings to clean it up now that I have a working stl. As you all propably noticed, I'm not the most versed in 3D modeling, which most likely did not improve the mesh quality when making my changes to the model for printing. As I said, I will try to print the model, and will come back with results tomorrow!
PS: The file downloads for me without issues, maybe try another browser or somthing?
RE: Sliced STL has random missing horizontal layers
I've tried 2 different computers, one with chrome and the other with edge, I've tried 2 different internet connections (home and work). From work I can get 8.6meg, and 3.7 from home. Neither the blend or stl work for me. It gets through the part download almost instantly and then just stops dead. Resume doesnt work or anything else I've tried.
If its your file store then I'm not surprised it works for you.
Oh well.
RE: Sliced STL has random missing horizontal layers
It's actually just my file server that is available from the internet via https, and it's my go-to way for sharing files; I've never had anyone having issues with downloading files from there. That's weird. Just in case you still want to, I've uploaded the file at the first file sharing website I found on the internet: https://ufile.io/m4y2i326
The file upload on this page has a limit of 10MB while my file is 16MB, so I had to use some external service for this!
RE: Sliced STL has random missing horizontal layers
Skyball – When your editing models in Blender do you use the Add-on 3D Print Toolbox? If not you should check it out it would probably help you with problems like this.
RE:
Sorry for the long silence, but I actually made quite some progress with this topic in the meantime.
I did try to print the model repaired by the Windows Algorithm, as promised. I used PETG with a .4 nozzle for the test, and I got the print below:
Especially on the second image, you can see holes in the model on the waist and the shoulders. Other parts were also somewhat broken, but those were my fault for not making them thick enough when modeling.
I started looking into what manifold geometry is and how slicers decide whether something needs to be filled or not and finally understood the geometry issues I had with the model.
I started cleaning up the model in Blender, but after some 4 hours of repairing the destroyed mesh I created I decided that it would be easier to just restart with the much cleaner initial model without any of the issues I created myself.
So, two days of me re-learning Blender later and I've finally got another model I can try to print. I'm gonna use higher settings for this one, so it's going to take a little longer and I'm not sure whether I can do it before I am going on holidays, but I'll keep you updated no matter what.
Basically, I went through the model with the non-manifold selection option in blender and closed any holes, modeled any missing geometry and fixed any overlapping geometry. It took a while and was a lot of manual work, but when I then tried to slice it, it was worth it because there were no issues at all (except the hair, but that was already the case on the initial attempt and it worked out fine there already).
I then cleaned up some final stuffs and made sure everything is thick enough to be properly printed as a solid material, and still, everything looks fine (model and settings still not final, gonna do the rest tomorrow):
So once again thank you for all your time, and I hope that my next post on this topic will be the last!
RE: Sliced STL has random missing horizontal layers
The print turned out much better than the last! I'm going to last things and then print it for real.
Thanks again!
