What is slicing, how is it handled in Netfabb for machine-agnostic buildrooms, and what are the UI elements to work with
Slicing dissects a three-dimensional part into 2.5-dimensional information, a collection of two-dimensional layers with a defined thickness, also known as a slice stack. It also processes the slice information to generate the toolpaths, or exposure patterns, for the actual additive method – bitmap or vector images, essentially.
Jump to:
Slicing in Netfabb
There are two main ways to slice in Netfabb:
- For the slicing done automatically with machine-specific parameters, refer to the machine workspaces.
- For manual, machine-independent slicing, any plain buildrooms without a machine engine (without "process parameters") have a Slicing section in the project tree. This section of the online help covers the machine-independent slicing.
Netfabb also reads or imports certain vector slice files. However, this only imports geometric information; data such as laser power and speed is typically dropped.
Slicing in Netfabb is also parametric: Until you apply the calculations, intermediate steps with an effect on later ones can be modified without losing work on those later steps.
General workflow
- Drag and drop parts into
Slices in the project tree, or use
Slice parts from the main menu of a build platform. This generates the contours ("profile", "hull") from parts and support.
Tip: For supports, open and closed supports generate separate slice stacks to allow dedicated toolpath generation.
Alternatively, select the Slices section and directly load a slice file with the contours only, using Open slice file from the main menu.
- Optionally, arrange the contours on the platform using the bounding boxes as a guide.
Note: This is agnostic to the platform size where the respective parts originated and what target the target platform size is. The buildroom dimensions are only displayed as a guide. Unless adjusted in the slice export, the exported slice files are sized to the minimum necessary dimensions to enclose all bounding boxes present over the entire slicing height.
- If you're using a vector-based exposure, such as for a moving source, generate new slice stacks for hatching ("infill", "core").
- Optionally, define
slice parameters like laser power and speed for the various slice stacks.
Note: Per slice stack, only one set of parameter values can be defined. Parameter values cannot change mid-stack, mid-layer, or even mid-trace.
- Export the slice stacks, containing the toolpaths, in the desired format.