autodesk netfabb is the next generation ofindustrial-strength 3d printing software for windows. it allows for extensive customization of supports,mesh repair, and overall workflow, to optimize your production process. netfabb has several pricing tiers, includinga free version.
3d printing models free download, you can download a trial of netfabb premiumfrom netfabb.com, that reverts to the free netfabb basic after 30 days. this tutorial will teach ember users, whohave been using print studio, to print a part using the equivalent workflow in netfabb basic.
we’ll import a model, position it on thebuild platform, create supports, choose printer settings, and send the print data to ember. let’s get started! first, we’ll add the ember workspace plugin. in the project menu, click create machineworkspace, then choose ember. uncheck “keep parts on platform†beforecontinuing. next, right-click ember in the project treeand choose add part. select one or more stl files, then click opento import the files. if a part appears very large or very tiny,you can convert between inches and millimeters
in the part menu under > convert units. to remove parts or other items, double-clickthe x in the project tree. right-click and drag to rotate the view, scrollto zoom, and middle-click or right-click and drag while holding the shift key to pan. move your part by dragging with the mouse. you can also right-click and choose move,rotate, or scale. here we’ll rotate the part 90Ⱐon the zaxis. then we’ll raise it above the platform. once you’ve positioned your part, you’reready to create supports.
in the ember workspace, click create support. in the analysis tab, you can simulate whichangles of overhang will be supported. ember prints usually need supports below 35degrees, so we’ll change the critical angle to 35 and the non-critical angle to slightlyhigher. critical angles always get supports, and non-critical angles get supports when they overlap with other non-critical angles. next, go to the support scripts tab, and choosea support script to start with. point bar supports only support the tips ofparts, while area-with-bar supports support everything else. it’s good to use both, but mostly you’llbe dealing with area-with-bar supports.
hit execute to generate supports using thecurrent settings. this part could use some more supports, sowe’ll customize the existing support script. there are a few main settings to pay attentionto: under cluster, set the critical and non-criticalangles to match the simulation in the analysis tab. next, anchor distance specifies how closesupports can be placed to each other in a given area. if i change anchor distance to 2mm and clickexecute again, you can see that supports are placed much more densely.
if you’d like your supports to be thicker,increase the width on part or width on platform settings. the maximum projection angle sets the angle at which supports can project to theplatform from the part. a smaller angle results in more supports attachingto the part rather than the platform. this is useful if platform space is limited,but a larger angle will result in fewer blemishes on the part. under breaking point, width on end changesthe size of the support where it attaches to your part.
a smaller value gives a better surface finishand is easier to remove, while a larger value will be more durable. the blue dots are anchors, which indicatewhere supports attach, but they themselves are not printed. you can turn them off in the view tab by reducingtheir size to zero. to delete, move, or edit a support, rightclick it and choose from the context menu. this also works with a selected group of supports. to edit selected supports, switch to the edittab. once you’re happy with your custom supportscript, you can save it by clicking the gear
icon, then duplicate script, give it a name, thenclick save. to finish the support creation process, goback to the analysis tab and click accept. now we’ll look at print settings. choose a standard resin profile from the dropdown,or create a custom profile by clicking print settings and modifying the settings in theirrespective tabs. then click add custom profile. custom profiles can also be imported, or exportedto share with others. print settings also has some extra slicingand analysis features that are only enabled in paid versions of netfabb, but note thatsupersampling is enabled by default even for
netfabb basic. supersampling provides smoother surfaces andbetter lateral positioning, with the tradeoff of much longer slicing times, so we’ll leaveit unchecked for this print. to set up a connection to your printer, switchto the printer tab. choose your print file options from the dropdown,enter your printer’s ip address if you’ll be printing over the network, then click okto save the settings. after a few moments, the status bar will updatewith the printer’s status. to send the job to your printer, click createprintable file. you’ll be prompted to save the file, butnote that it won’t save it to your computer
unless you chose network or usb and file. next, netfabb will slice the mesh, and sendthe file to the printer.
once the status bar says “home: loaded printdataâ€, you’re ready to print your part! for more information about other featuresof netfabb, check out the netfabb user manual in the help menu. stay tuned for more netfabb tutorials aboutsupports, mesh repair, and more.
