Working with Lattice Commander

Basic steps to begin and finish working with this tool

• To Activate Lattice Commander
• To Transfer Parts Into Lattice Commander
• To Transfer Parts Out of Lattice Commander
• To Generate a Part directly from a Component
• To Export and Import Components

To Activate Lattice Commander

From the menu, choose Modify >  Lattice Commander. This creates a new branch in the project tree called Lattice Commander, if it isn't there already. If it does exist, Netfabb will simply switch to it. If you have a part selected while using this menu option, this part is automatically loaded into a mesh body of a new component.

Tip: You can also select the Lattices entry in the project tree and then click Lattice Commander in the context view.

Note: If you haven't used this tool before, you may be shown the Technology Preview dialog where you will need to check the relevant box to activate Lattice Commander.

To Transfer Parts Into Lattice Commander

When adding a part into Lattice Commander, it is always added into a component, an independent working set of bodies. This may be a new component that Netfabb automatically creates, or an existing component.

Note: When a part consists of multiple shells, and the part is introduced in Lattice Commander, all shells are added into the same body. This can complicate editing or generating lattices and skins. In particular, intersecting or even self-intersecting shells can produce unexpected results. In such cases you may want to split the part's shells into individual parts, or repair any intersections and self-intersections, before proceeding with working in Lattice Commander.

To add to a new component

1. In the project tree, click and drag the part from  Parts or a machine workspace.
2. Drop it onto the  Lattice Commander entry.

To add to an existing component

1. In the project tree, click and drag the part from  Parts or a machine workspace.
2. Drop it onto the entry of a component.

To create an empty component

1. In the project tree, click  Lattice Commander to select it.
2. Then, from the main menu, choose Edit >  Add Component.

The tips of the blue line indicate how Helix is added into Lattice Commander. Left: Into a new component. Right: Into the existing component named Box.

To Transfer Parts Out of Lattice Commander

1. Once mesh information has been generated in Lattice Commander, it can be turned into an actual part on the platform.
   • In the project tree, click and drag the mesh body from the  Lattice Commander section to the  Parts section.
     Note: You can only move meshes in this way, but not lattices or skins. Create mesh information from skins and lattices first and then move the created mesh. Also, it is not possible to move meshes directly to Slices or machine workspaces. Move them to  Parts first.
2. You can also use a lattice to generate bar supports without needing to generate a mesh from the lattice first.
   • Click and drag the lattice body from the  Lattice Commander section to the Generate Support section of the part to be supported with the generated lattice.

To Generate a Part directly from a Component

You can export an entire component into a part. Using the roles you have set for each of the bodies in a component, Netfabb assembles them into the result. The benefit of this method is that you do not need to generate the mesh information manually. The entire mesh generation and assembly is handled automatically, producing only the final part and putting it onto the default  Parts platform.

1. In the context view, select the Component tab.
2. Click each of the listed bodies to cycle through their roles, Solid, Trim, Void, and Ignore.
   Note: When trimming or voiding, avoid exactly coplanar surfaces as this might produce conflicts during assembly. Try to trim or void slightly deeper inside part surfaces.
3. Then click Generate part.

A component being previewed, with all the available roles in use. Trim volumes are shown in green, void volumes in red. Solid bodies appear in pale pink, ignored ones are hidden.

The result of generating a part from the example above.

To Export and Import Components

Components can be saved and loaded in the form of 3MF files. This stores meshes, lattices, and skins. However, visibility and roles are not stored.

Import 3MF Component

1. In the context view, select the Lattice Commander tab.
2. Click Import component.
3. In the Open File dialog, navigate to the 3MF file to load, select it, and click Open.

Export 3MF Component

1. In the context view, select the Component tab.
2. Click Export to file.
3. In the Save File as dialog, navigate to the location where to save the 3MF file, then click Save.