Getting started

Setting up Netfabb and finding the right topics in the online help to assist along the way

While Netfabb can accompany the complete workflow from taking your 3D parts to generating toolpath information for a majority of applications, you can decide to make use of only parts of that workflow if you don't need all of it, or if the data you have available is suitable to skipping steps. For example, you can just load a file, perform a bit of repair, and save it as a mesh file without proceeding to orientation, arrangement, toolpath generation, and so on.

Terminology

3D objects are traditionally referred to as parts in Netfabb.

Groups of contiguous triangles within a part are called shells. In the simplest case, a part contains just a single shell that makes up the entire part. Shells can be closed (having a volume) or open, in which case its open borders form holes which may or may not need repair.

A set of slices that make up contours and/or filling lines from bottom to top is a slice stack.

Finding where everything sits

For getting to know the window elements and to learn how Netfabb handles commands like copy&paste, have a look at the sections Netfabb's window and File handling. There, you'll learn among other things:

• Objects in the 3D view are represented in the project tree.
• The various sections in the Netfabb are referred to as views. You'll also learn which views there are.
• Mesh and parametric (or CAD) files are handled slightly differently: While the parametric nature is maintained, Netfabb almost always uses a mesh representation (its "tessellation") for its various functions, but you can choose to work with different tessellations for different functions.
• Netfabb has its own project file format, storing loaded parts, slice stacks, parametric attachments like support structures, certain parameters, and other things.
• There is a built-in library of geometric, design, and quality control models.

Going about solving tasks

Due to the very individual and varied nature of both input and output data Netfabb can address, it is generally more a toolbox than a software of step-by-step wizards. While it comes with defaults, you should prepare to bring most knowledge regarding the process you are about to engage with yourself to get the best results. For example, while Netfabb can find orientations for a particular models based on a set of criteria like build height or support volume, you must decide yourself which criteria are more important than others.

Typical tasks and recommended approaches

Note: Not all tasks can be addressed in all subscriptions.

Changing the shape of parts

• To simply split parts, use cutting. You can cut with a plane or a polygonal stencil.
• To produce the unification, intersection, or subtraction from parts, use the Boolean functions. This requires all involved parts to be sound.

  Alternatively, if you need a more granular control, or if the involved parts are faulty, you can first merge all parts into one, then use repair to split off self-intersections, delete all unwanted sections (shells) created this way, and stitch the remaining shells together. For the latter method, it can help applying the repair after splitting self-intersections, splitting the part's shells into separate parts, sorting the shells into groups, and then merging the wanted parts back into one before repairing and stitching.

• To correctively distort a part against powderbed laser overpenetration, use Z-compensation. You can also do this during repair and even on the slice level.

Note: Changing the shape of parts almost always requires them to be meshes, not parametric (CAD) parts. Exceptions include simply scaling a part. Changing a parametric part on the mesh level always finalizes the tessellation and destroys the parametric information. However, such operations always generate a new part anyway, and you are always asked what to do with the old part, keep or delete.

Buildfile generation

• Is your machine natively supported by Netfabb? Check the availability reference. If yes, use a machine workspace. If no, use slicing.
• Do the available toolpath-generating strategies produce the required results out of the box? If no, customize the strategy, or replicate the strategy steps manually in slicing, or develop the strategy entirely yourself.
• Some machines, typically those using resin photopolymerization, use fixed methods to generate buildfiles. If those aren't producing the results you need or expect, or if you require more or different options to configure the buildfile generation, you may need to ask Autodesk or the respective machine manufacturer for assistance.

Toolpath strategy development

• Toolpath strategy development largely covers vector-based toolpathing, although image stack generation can be addressed, too.
• Netfabb native toolpathing is defined using either XML or a proprietary format called Encrypted Build Processor Archive, or EBPA.
• For use in machine workspaces, you can develop the XML definition using the built-in text editor or visual programming.
• For use in slicing, you can develop a similar definition using Lua.
• For both machine workspaces and slicing, develop EBPAs in JavaScript using Autodesk® Advanced Toolpath Utility for Netfabb®.