Monthly Archives: April 2021

3D Printing: Non-Planar “Balcony” Overhang with 3-axis FDM Printer

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Updates:

  • 2021/05/02: adding overhang-inout with 5 segments, with conic inside- and outside-cone mode
  • 2021/05/01: adding tilt sliced overhang segment variant as comparison
  • 2021/04/29: video uploaded and blog-post published
  • 2021/04/27: first successful tests with vertical nozzle (3-axis FDM printer)

Introduction

The past few months and weeks I focused on the non-planar slicing, and the first tests with sub-volume segmenting and thereby mixing planar and non-planar sliced G-code worked as simulation, and now in actual prints.

One of the benchmarks are 90° overhangs in different directions, and I printed with vertical nozzle on an ordinary 3-axis FDM printer, therefore I prepared the G-code with a new tool (in-development) which coordinates segmenting and planar/non-planar slicing of sub-volumes, and the conic sliced segment was sliced with 25° conic angle so it remains printable with the vertical nozzle unlike the simulation where a 4- or 5-axis FDM printer is required:

Gallery

Conic Sliced Overhang Segment

The simulation as reference:

  • 3 segments: z-planar, conic and z-planar on top

and the actual print process with vertical nozzle on a low-cost 3-axis FDM printer:

  • starting z-planar
  • building up fast z-planar
  • switching to conic sliced “balcony” 2mm thick
  • building the “balcony” 2mm thick
  • extending further the “balcony”
  • extending further the “balcony”
  • finishing the “balcony”
  • and switching to z-planar printing again
  • finishing the piece
  • finished
  • circular underside of the overhang
  • took a few attempts to arrive to something acceptable

Excerpt of the actual printing process with brief annotations:

Tilt Sliced Overhang Segment

Just for sake trying out, instead of conic sliced overhang segment, tilt sliced and 45° Z rotated to nicely extend to the maximum overhang position:

  • 3 segments: z-planar, tilt sliced, and z-planar on top

and the actual print of a slightly lower model but with the same features:

  • after z-planar switching to tilted slice overhang segment
  • building the tilt sliced “balcony” 2mm thick
  • extending the tilt sliced “balcony” 2mm thick
  • finishing the tilt sliced “balcony”
  • finished piece

Comparing Tilted Sliced vs Conic Sliced Overhang Underside

  • tilt sliced overhang segment, nice underside surface, but uneven underside edges
  • conic sliced overhang segment, nice underside edges, but less clean underside surface
  • tilt sliced overhang: sharp overhang edges
  • conic sliced overhang: softer overhanging edges

Overhang In/Out: 2 Overhang Conic Segments

5 segments (bottom to top): z-planar, conic (inside-cone), z-planar, conic (outside-cone), z-planar

And revisiting the Overhang In/Out Model, which features ingoing and outgoing overhang, segmented into 5 sub-volumes:

  1. bottom: z-planar
  2. ingoing1) overhang: conic (inside-cone mode)
  3. middle: z-planar
  4. outgoing1) overhang: conic (outside-code mode)
  5. upper: z-planar

1) when dealing with conic slicing, the direction of overhang matters when deciding the mode of conic slicing, e.g. outside-cone or inside-cone.


and the actual print, a half of the model so the printing of inner overhang on the lower part of the model is visible:

  • z-planar and now switching to conic (inside-cone)
  • slowly building up inner overhang with inside-cone segment
  • building the inside-cone segment
  • extending the inside-cone segment
  • closing the inside-cone segment
  • inner overhang finished
  • back z-planar on top
  • building up z-planar
  • and switching to outside-cone for outgoing overhang
  • slowly extending
  • extending to actual overhang
  • halved model profile
  • solidifying the overhang
  • overhang done, switching to z-planar again
  • and finishing the piece
  • finished piece
  • finished piece

Conclusion

It took me a few days to tune the 3-axis FDM printer to print in acceptable quality of this Overhang Model No 5 and also Overhang In/Out Model. A strong part-cooler was mandatory, well adjusted print temperature and slow perimeter as those extrusions align horizontally without vertical support; and it worked: the main idea is to segment and limit the overhang part to ~2mm thickness – a quasi “balcony” – which still allows a classic vertical nozzle with part-cooler to print such, and then switch back to planar printing again.

Vertical nozzle with part-cooler printing conic sliced overhang – a “balcony” – working with narrow margins

Detail settings: the conic overhang was sliced with Slicer4RTN with following settings slicer4rtn --slicer=cura-slicer --speed_wall=10 --speed_wall_0=10 --speed_wall_x=10 ... and since the Z-axis motion is limited to 4mm/s (M6 threaded rod, 1 rotation => 1mm) the overall printing speed is slow enough to provide acceptable print quality.

References

3D Printing: Sub-Volume Segmenting & (Non-)Planar Slicing

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Introduction

In order to take advantage of 4- and 5-axis non-planar FDM1) printing (e.g. tilted, conic, cylindrical, spherical) the model may be segmented and then dedicate slicing methods can be assigned to such sub-volumes.

A few basic examples combining planar and non-planar slicing methods on sub-volume segmented models illustrating the possibilities printing without support structures:

  1. Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) also known as Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF)

T-Model: 2 Segments: Z-planar & Conic

Utilizing novel conic slicing as introduced by ZHAW researchers in 2020/2021:

  • 2 segments: z-planar, conic (outside-cone)
  • starting z-planar
  • 2nd segment conic on top
  • conic segment going overhang
  • extending both sides
  • extending both sides
  • finished piece
T-model segmented into 2 sub-volumes, sliced z-planar and conic (outside-cone mode)

Conic slices can be printed with 4-axis Rotating Tilted Nozzle (RTN) although printing the Z-planar sliced part might not give goods surface results but rather using a 5-axis Penta Axis (PAX) printhead to cover both cases easily.

T-Model: 3 Segments: Z-planar & 2x Tilted

Using non-rotating but tilted sliced (like used with belt-printers) but in two distinct directions:

  • 3 segments: z-planar & 2x tilted
  • starting z-planar
  • finishing z-planar
  • starting 2nd segment with tilted slices into one direction
  • 2nd segment tilted continuing
  • 2nd segment tilted finishing
  • 3rd segment tilted into other direction
  • extending 3rd segment further
  • finished piece
T-model segmented into 2 sub-volumes, sliced z-planar and twice tilted in opposite directions

Tilted slices can be printed with 4-axis Rotating Tilted Nozzle (RTN) but the first Z-planar part, as mentioned above, might not provide sufficient surface quality, whereas a 5-axis Penta Axis (PAX) printhead can print both segments easily.

T-Model: 3 Segments: Z-planar & 2x X-planar

A more classic planar approach but with different planes as reference, first Z-planar then twice X-planar in different directions:

  • 3 segments: z-planar, 2x x-planar
  • building up 1st segment z-planar
  • finishing z-planar segment
  • switching to 2nd segment, x-planar
  • extending x-planar
  • finish 2nd segment x-planar
  • switching other side x-planar opposite direction, 3rd segment
  • extending 3rd segment x-planar
  • finished piece
T-model segmented into 3 sub-volumes, sliced z-planar and twice x-planar

X-planar printing requires either 5-axis Penta Axis (PAX) printhead or the ability to tilt the bed.

Overhang In/Out: 2 Segments: 2x Conic

Lower part is sliced with conic slicing with inside-cone mode to print in-going overhang, whereas the upper part is sliced with outside-cone mode to cover the out-going overhang:

  • bottom: inside-cone, top: outside-cone
  • inside cone mode for 1st segment
  • inside cone mode
  • inside cone mode actual inner overhang
  • finishing inner overhang
  • switching to outside cone mode
  • building up 2nd segment
  • outside cone mode actual outer overhang
  • extending outer overhang
  • finished piece
Overhang in/out model segmented into 2 sub-volumes: lower part is sliced conic (inside-cone mode) and upper part conic (outside-cone mode)

This model covers the classic case of 4-axis Rotating Tilted Nozzle (RTN) application: rotating 45° tilted nozzle printing in two different modes (outside-cone and inside-cone); a 5-axis Penta Axis (PAX) printhead also can print such.

Overhang Out No 5: 2 Segments: Z-planar & Conic

Another overhang piece, stretching out into one direction; the lower part Z-planar, and the overhang conic (outside-cone mode) with an offset to align better with the lower segment:

  • 2 segments: planar (bottom), conic with center offset (top)
  • after z-planar switching to conic (outside cone), conic center align with lower segment
  • conic part reaching edge of lower segment
  • full height of overhang segment
  • extending the overhang further
  • conic part asymmetrically extending
  • conic parts reached all horizontal model limits
  • finishing up the segment
  • finished piece
Overhang Out No 5 model segmented into 2 sub-volumes: z-planar at the bottom and overhang segment conic (outside-cone mode)

Overhang Out No 5: 3 Segments: 2x Z-planar & Conic

Perhaps a more realistic approach using the conic part as a “balcony” just for the overhang part sufficiently thick to carry next segment and switching back to Z-planar:

  • 3 segments: planar (bottom), conic (middle) and planar (top)
  • z-planar segment
  • changing to conic segment
  • building up the conic overhang segment
  • actual overhang with conic slices
  • reaching out the 2mm thick segment
  • finishing the 2mm thick conic segment
  • and continuing with z-planar segment
  • finished piece
Overhang Out No 5 model segmented into 3 sub-volumes: z-planar first, then conic (outside-cone) building a thin “balcony” as support for the z-planar part on top again

Early tests have shown the thickness of the conic overhang “balcony” depends on the actual length of the in-air overhang, where print speed, part-cooling capacity and extrusion consistency determine the geometrical accuracy. More examples with “balcony” printed with 3-axis FDM printer followed.

Conclusion

Unlike with ordinary Z-planar slicing, it may be suitable to dedicate a particular slicing method and orientation for sub-volumes in order to take advantage of the possibilities like avoiding support structure, particular strength properties or surface quality.

  • solely z-planar sliced, support structure required using 3-axis FDM printer
  • sub-volume segmented, z-planar and conic sliced printable without support structure using 5-axis FDM printer

This of course opens a wide-range of possibilities and complexity therefore:

  • where to segment
  • which slicing method to use
  • in which orientation the slicing is performed

but I think it’s worth it, in particular when a piece is printed more than once like with small series manufacturing / production.

The examples have been produced with various slicers and combined with a new application coordinating the segmenting and dedicated slicing methods, which currently (2021/04) is in development; it also involves a new file-format describing the segmenting and its slicing settings. The segment positioning was done manually as a start, but I expect with more experience and research some cases can be detected automatically.

Sub-volume segmenting is just one approach to take advantage of 5-axis FDM printing, another is continuous slicing along the form.

References

See Also

PS: All animations I combined in a short 3min video: Mixing Planar & Non-Planar Slicing Methods for 3D Printing Overhangs without Support Structure (YouTube)

3D Printing: YAGV: Yet Another G-code Viewer Fork

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One of the oldest standalone G-code viewers yagv (Yet Another G-code Viewer) I forked and added following features:

  • ported to Python3
  • new color scheme (white background)
  • parsing G-code comments, determining wall, infill, support structure and render with different colors
  • support for Slic3r, PrusaSlicer, Cura/cura-slicer, Mandoline and Slicer4RTN (non-planar)
  • panning implemented (properly works with zoom and rotation)
    • same mouse button layout as OpenSCAD
  • more test G-code included in tests/

Example of non-planar G-code:

Download

https://github.com/Spiritdude/yagv

Note: I opened a Pull Request (PR) but not sure if it’s accepted.

See Also

3D Printing: Non-Planar Slicing with Planar Slicer

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Updates:

  • 2021/04/09: spherical slicing redone, slightly better than before
  • 2021/04/03: cylindrical & spherical slices added
  • 2021/03/26: refocusing to non-planar slicing with planar slicing
  • 2021/03/14: starting write-up with basic illustrations

Introduction

After discovering the 4-axis Rotating Tilted Nozzle (RTN) and its prototype of RotBot as developed by ZHAW and their conic slicing method, it became clear to me a 5-axis 3D printer with variable tilting nozzle is the way to go as it is a superset of 4-axis and 3-axis 3D printing.

With that in mind, I realized there was time to explore non-planar slicing with planar slicers in more details.

Slicing Methods

Let’s provide an overview of various slicing methods:

  • horizontal slice, printable on 3-, 4- and 5-axis 3D printer
  • tilted slice, 20-25° tilt printable on 3-axis, 45° tilt printable on 4- and 5-axis 3D printer
  • conical slice, 20-25° cone angle printable on 3-axis, 45° cone angle printable on 4- and 5-axis 3D printer
  • cylindrical slice, printable on rotational 3-axis printer, or 5-axis 3D printer
  • (hemi-)spherical slice, printable on 5-axis 3D printer

Horizontal Slices

Vertical slicing creates horizontal slices, the traditional aka planar slicing method, so issues and limitations are well known:

  • simple to slice
  • only challenge is to create support structure for overhangs to ensure all printed layers have layers beneath
  • no collision detection needed, as all already printed layers are beneath
  • 20mm cube
  • 20mm cube vertical sliced

Tilted Slices

Tilted slices are kind of new(er) and became known with belt printers, usually 45° tilted:

  • 20mm cube
  • 45° tilt mapped
  • 45° tilt mapped sliced
  • 20mm cube 45° tilt sliced

Transformation is [ x, y, z – y ]

  • simple to slice
  • belt-printer: no collision detection is needed
  • can print 90° overhangs in one direction only

There are patches for Cura available to slice for belt printer, additional the experimental Slicer4RTN also provides tilted slicing.

Conical Slices

New slicing method as introduced by ZHAW researchers and announced in 2021/01 utilizing planar slicer:

  • requires a center of the conic layers
  • can print 90° overhangs, two distinct modes: inside out (outside cone), or outside in (inside cone) depending on direction to a central slicing cone center
  • requires rotating and tilted nozzle aka Rotating Tilted Nozzle (RTN)
  • angle of conic slicing can be changed from 45° to 20° and models become printable with vertical nozzle with reduced print quality
  • 20mm cube
  • conic mapped
  • conic mapped sliced
  • 20mm cube conic sliced

Transformation is [ x, y, z + sqrt(x2 + y2) ]

I implemented a conic slicer named Slicer4RTN in 2021/03. There are more complex conic transformations possible, e.g. map the x/y angle via atan(y/x) but just adding sqrt(x2 + y2) to z does achieve a conic slice.

Cylindrical Slices

Early tests using planar slicers to slice also cylindrical, like this:

  • 20mm cube
  • cylinderical mapped
  • cylinderical mapped planar sliced
  • cylindrical radius corrected mapped
  • cylindrical radius corrected planar sliced
  • 20mm cube cylindrical sliced

Transformation is [ atan(y/x), z, sqrt(x2 + y2) ]

It can be printed on a fixed vertical rod, with a rotating and tilting nozzle, or horizontal rotating rod (like a lathe) and vertical nozzle then:

I came up with this way by myself based on the study on conic(al) slicing but I was made aware researchers Coupek, Friedrich, Battran, Riedel back in 2018 published a paper on this method already.

(Hemi-)Spherical Slices

Early tests using planar slicers to slice also spherical, like this:

  • 20mm cube
  • spherical mapped
  • spherical mapped planar sliced
  • spherical radius corrected mapped
  • spherical radius corrected planar sliced
  • 20mm cube spherical sliced

Transformation is [ sqrt(x2 + y2 + z2), atan(y/x), atan(z/sqrt(x2 + y2)) ]

It can be printed with a 5-axis like PAX printhead, it’s main advantage is to getting close to print continuous overhangs of any angle.

I suspect at least one more suitable and simpler sphere transformation, as soon I came up with such I add it on this blog-post.

Conclusion

It is possible to slice non-planar with planar slicers by mapping to and from the space of the slicing you like to have; yet in the slicing procedure some margins are introduced which need to be compensated – the planar slicer needs to work reliable, Slic3r 1.2.9 and CuraEngine 4.4.1 / cura-slicer perform reliable, whereas PrusaSlicer 2.1.1 makes assumptions of the printability and exits when no printable G-code can be produced, not recommended for this case therefore.

The simpler the transformation forward and backward, the more precise G-code can be obtained, e.g. tilted and conic slices provide precise G-code, whereas cylindrical and spherical slices are harder to tune with the planar slicer.

  • Planar sliced 20mm cube
  • Tilt sliced 20mm cube
  • Conic sliced 20mm cube
  • Cylindrical sliced 20mm cube
  • Spherical sliced 20mm cube

References