Slicing and Slice Editing

From Netfabb Wiki

Context menu and tabsheet of Slice Commander with the Professional Tool "Slice Commander".

The slicing process dissects a three-dimensional part into two-an-a-half-dimensional slices. These slice files are vital for manufacturing parts, as 3D-printing machines cannot read three-dimensional data.

Furthermore, slices provide you with a visualization of cross sections of your part, and you get more detailed information about the object. With the Professional Tool "Slice Commander", you also have the chance to edit your slices before fabricating them.

For slices, there is an own section in the project tree, where all slices are organized in the same way as parts in the part section.

The Slicing Process

Parts or sections of all selected parts can be sliced with any layer size by dragging them from the parts section into the slices section in the project tree. Alternatively, you can select the part and choose "Slice Selected Parts" in the Extras menu. If more than one part is selected, all selected parts are sliced together.The part is then sliced into layers with a certain thickness which are parallel to the X-Y-plane.

To slice a part, move it into the slices section with drag & drop. The blue bar indicates the place you drag an element to.

Three parameters must be set for the slicing process: The layer size determines the thickness of the slices, which directly influences the number of layers created. If you plan to build the part, it is recommended to adjust the layer size to your machine specifications.

"Start" and "Stop" determine the sliced section of the part. The values to be entered represent the coordinate value on the Z-axis of the planes where the slicing begins and stops. Everything between those planes is sliced. At the beginning, the sliced section includes all selected parts completely.

Slice part.png

Three different slices of a part.

The Slice Commander

When the part is sliced, the slice is inserted into the slices section of the project tree and is automatically selected. AAny time slices are selected, the Slice Commander, a module for analysing, editing and exporting slices, is activated. Changing slices in the Slice Commander does not have any influence on original three-dimensional parts in your project.

The viewing screen is replaced by a two-dimensional slices screen, where slices are displayed layer-by-layer. Slice viewing and handling options are available in the tabsheet, in the context menu of the screen and in a Slices menu, which is added to the menu bar.

Previously saved slice files with various file formats can alternatively be opened and inserted into the project with the File Preview Browser or with the option "Open Slice File" in the context menu.

Just as parts in the normal mode, slices can also be assigned to groups. These are created in the context menu and appear as a directory in the "Slices" section of the project tree. Slices can be moved into and out of groups by drag & drop, in the same way as parts.

Slices can be duplicated in the context menu. That way, an exact copy of the slice file is inserted to the right of the original.

If you want to remove slices, you can either double click on the red X to the right of the slice in the project tree, choose "Remove" in the context menu or simply press Delete when the slice is selected. If you choose "Remove all", all slices will be removed and the Slice Commander will be emptied.

Two layers, the first with one contour and the second with two contours.

Active Slice File

In the tabsheet, information can be viewed on the selected slice file. It contains the name of the slice, the number of the current displayed layer and the overall number of layers. For the scale of the part along all three axes, 1.00 stands for the original size the slice had when it was created. Whenever the slice is scaled, that value is changed. The translation refers to the coordinates of the edges of the part on the different axes in relation to zero. These coordinates also determine the outbox of the slice. The rotation sums up all rotations performed since the slicing of the part.

Below, the position and size of the part is given, specifying the minimum position (MinP) and maximum position (MaxP) of the part along the three axes, as well as the number of contours of the current layer. The box also specifies the number of contours of the current layer. A contour is a contiguous section of a layer.

The scroll bar on the left regulates the display of layers from top to bottom. You can also scroll through slice layers with your mouse wheel, if you hold the Alt-button. If a slice animation is started, the Slice Commander automatically browses through the slices at a chosen speed (Layers per Second).

The global view specifies the current layer and overall layer count of all slice files in the Slice Commander (unlike the active slice file, where only the specifications for one file is given). Different files can share layers, if they have common Z-coordinates.

Further information on the slice file can be gained by the option Show Volume in the context menu, which calculates the volume of a part based on the current slice file.

If the box Preview Calculations at the bottom of the tabsheet is ticked, the result of conducted operations with slices is shown. However, this can require much calculation time when you scroll through the slices. If "Preview Calculations" is not ticked, the original slices are displayed until the calculations are applied.

With netfabb Studio Professional and Slice Commander, these calculations can be ultimately implemented by choosing Apply Calculations in the context menu. Please note that calculations are applied automatically when you export the slice.

As long as the calculations have not yet been applied, editing operations with slices, such as Boolean operations and other calculations, can be undone by selecting Clear grouping in the context menu. The slice resulting from the operation is removed and a new group is created which will contain the original slices.

The Slice Commander contains several functions for the viewing, handling and editing of slices. Many of these functions are also available in the three-dimensional data management. However, in the Slice Commander, you have the advantage that calculations are performed much quicker, as complex 3D-tasks are replaced by 2D-tasks. This reduces the complexity of the data which must be handled. All of these functions are applied to all layers of the slice.

As parts in the normal mode, slices must be selected, if you want to edit them. A selection of slices is assembled similar to the selection of parts in the normal mode. You select slices by clicking on their edges, on their names in the project tree or by dragging a selection rectangle around the slices you want to select. Selected slices are always framed by a green, rectangular selection box, with highlighted corners and centers of edges.

If you select slices in the screen and hold the Shift key, slices are added to the selection by clicking on them. If you hold Ctrl, slices can be both added to or removed from the selection by clicking on them. If you hold Shift and select slices in the project tree, clicking on a slice file selects all slices in the list between the selected slice and the slice you click on.