Eastern Makersloft: 3D Software

Open downloaded object file in the correct software:

Once you have a file to print downloaded, you can either go to the downloads on the computer and double click on the file to open it in the Bambu software, OR, start at the home page, as seen in picture below, and follow steps A through D. Both options are to get to the same result – your file being ready to customize and then print in the correct Bambu software

1. Click the ‘Prepare’ option in the top grey bar to start.

2. First, click ‘file’ at the top of the computer page. Then select ‘import’ from the listed options. From there, click ‘import list of file types’ as shown in picture below.
3. Note that the ‘file’ option may be in the top left of the computer if you’re using an apple computer, or as an option at the top of the preview page if on most other types of computers.

4. Now you have your file open and ready to customize and then print using the Bambu software! You should be able to see the object you wanted to print on the screen.

Color:

• To set or change the color, meaning the filament that is being used for the print, you will right click on the object. At the bottom of the pop-up window is a ‘change filament’ option where you can select an alternate color.
• These color options are what are currently loaded into the 3D printer machine. To get a different color, change the filament (see “3D Printer Machine Basics” for further clarification).

Customization:

If you want to have your object be printed using multiple colors, our Bambu has the option of using 4 different colors for any file, as long as all 4 filaments in the machine are compatible (are all the same type of filament).

You can custom paint your object file by using the ‘color painting’ tool in the top right white bar. You can choose from the other filaments in the machine currently, and can ‘paint’ those colors onto the object file in various ways. The two ways we most recommend are:

1. The paint bucket ‘fill’ tool, which will automatically detect different sections to the best of it’s ability
2. The ‘triangle’ tool to do it by panes/small triangles that make up each surface on the 3D object. See images below for examples.

Please note that by having multiple colors all on one object, a ‘prime tower’ will be automatically created by the software. The 3d printer machine must purge between colors (the purged bits will come out of the back of the machine automatically) and then move to print a small and mostly empty tower of filament specifically to check for correct flow and layering of the color it has switched to.

Sizing:

You can change the size of the object by clicking onto the object and selecting the ‘scale’ option from the white bar at the top of the software. You can either select on of the sides and change the size that way, or by typing in the size of a dimension in the box in the top right corner that pops up when sizing is in use.

Orientation (placement in space):

To orient, that is to place this in the most sensible way on the plate of the 3D printer, this object in the best way for printing, you can select the ‘auto orient’ feature in the top white bar. The reason the way your object is oriented, or placed in space on the plate of the 3D printer matters is for multiple reasons: surface area connection to plate, support needs, where the roughness from supports will leave a texture, and more. For example, the axolotl could be placed with the nose touching the plate and the tail in the air, but that would cause need for more supports.

If auto orient doesn’t seem to place the object like you want, you can customize the orientation using the ‘rotation’ option in the top bar, and by using the move options next to that.

Settings Customization:

Now there are many setting you can change. Most of them are preset already for our printers or by the creator of the file. There are still two you should be very aware of.

1. Strength. The ‘strength’ option on the left column near the middle will let you customize the wall loops and the infill density.

• Wall loops are how many layers of filament are put on the outer edge of the 3d print, for prints that may have small interconnected pieces, like in the axolotl picture below, more wall loops may strengthen those connections.
• Infill density is the amount of filament on the inside of the object. In almost every single file, you will need a minimum amount of infill to support the top layers. The reason you would increase the density to a higher number is to increase the density/the amount of filament on the inside of you object, making it overall more durable and hefty.

2. Support. Support is meant to hold up overhanding parts of the print that are above the first layer that is laid on the plate of the 3d printer that would be sort of hanging in midair if it did not have a connection to the plate. Supports are that connection, and without a support connecting an overhanging piece of the file, there’s a good possibility that the overhanging portion will not print correctly and cause what is colloquially known as spaghettini-ing onto your print. This means that there will be loose filament and built up materials causing permanent issues to the object that is printed, possibly to a point of failure to print the object. Supports do need to be removed from the object to have the object as intended originally, but the supports are included in cost regardless of removal.

• You have options to choose the ‘Type’ just under the Enable Support option, and I recommend the Tree Auto. You can also set your own custom supports, which if done very well can certainly help with the removal of the supports later.

Slicing (preparing to print):

To print this file, select the green ‘slice plate’ button at the top right. Slicing is when the 3D software is creating a code to understand how to print this item from bottom to top, layer by layer.

Pricing:

After slicing, you can see the total grams of filament used. The Makersloft charges 0.06 cents per gram. The amount of grams depends on the size, the infill, and if there is a prime tower as well as being different depending on the type of filament used as some filaments are denser and heavier than others. Always make sure you slice your file and consider what the cost (total grams x 0.06) and time is before sending. If ordering a print, the coordinator will confirm what the price and time is expected to be with the patron before sending it to print.

Print - Send to machine!

When done considering amount of filament used and the total cost, you can hit the green ‘print plate’ button in the top right corner. This is what sends this object file to the 3D Printer Machine (to learn about the machine, see the 3D Printers section). 

1. Once you have pressed that print plate button, it will confirm the information with you, including time and grams that were available on the slicing page. If everything is correct, simply select ‘send’.
2. At this point, everything is left up to the 3D printer machine. Ensure that the plate is ready and in place and the correct filament is in the AMS Box. Failures on the machine can, and are often, due to the file itself.
3. If the file you chose came with color pre-sets, or your customization for colors does not match what is in the machine, and you don’t change out the filaments, you can choose to change those colors on this last print screen to something else. In the example below, there was no blue in the machine – so I could either put in a blue filament before sending, or I can choose a different color to replace all previously blue parts, like pink.