When manufacturing a structure with many 3D-printing technologies, you must create slice data, which can later be exported in a format compatible with your machine.
- Select a fragment in the project tree.
- If necessary, click the "..." button to adjust the predefined layer size. We recommend you choose a layer size that is compatible with the machine used to produce the part.
- Select a structure in the project tree.
- Click Slice.
A slice file with your structure is created and is inserted as subordinate element into the structure’s directory in the project tree. It is automatically displayed as a 2 1/2-dimensional slice file.
If you only want to slice specific fragments of a structure, you can hide all other fragments as only visible fragments are sliced. If the fragments are solid, they are sliced regardless of whether or not they are visible. To avoid slicing solid fragments:
- Assign <nothing> to the structure.
Tip: You can also assign a structure cell and hide the fragments.
- Slice the structure.
- Make the fragment solid again.
If the Cut Simulation check box is enabled for the structure, a Boolean operation is automatically conducted for the slice, creating a cross section of the part and the structure. That means that all grid cells standing outside of the original part are cut along the surface of the part, and only the sections of the structure which are within the part remain in the slice. To see this effect, enable the Preview Calculations check box in the tabsheet.
