Perfect Last top layer

[neotko 1,417]

Just an idea, that I haven't seen on slic3r, cura or simplify3d, and that would be kinda useful to make stuff 'look' better.

Allow slower speeds for 'last' top-layer. We can place speed for fill layers, or perimeters or inner perimeters, but not for the 'last' top layer. And we all know that to print stuff that looks nice we need to print slower to have a nice finish without holes on the fill, etc.

Also, it would be really nice if we could set parameters for the 'last' top layer, the one that it's visible, like:

- Ofc, speed reductions % or direct mm/s

- Z movements to avoid crossing and making the last layer look nice.

- Or instead of Z head move, a parameter to 'surround' and move the head only on perimeters (like combing) or to force the head to move around the empty area (ofc this could make 'drip' so user can set this if necessary, since each object have different needs).

Ofc all this can be achieved by setting the print speed lower, but what I mean it's to print fast, and only make the last top layers slower, since it's the part that can only be controlled for the full object, not just the visual part.

This way we could make the last top layer of texts or specially big flat layers, to really shine, making the interior of the object less beautiful and print faster.

[Labern 774]

There is top / bottom speed in Cura, it was mentioned a while back that it's hard to detect the last top layer as there can be many top layers in a model.

The top bottom speed works well as long as you dont go too slow then it can end up 2 hot. Just a few mm/s seems to work best.

Slowing them down increases the print time heaps though.

[neotko 1,417]

Well the speed it's a factor but it could be really nice to have the z and combing or new path detección for just the least top layer. But of it's hará to detect them nothing. For big objects most of the z movements and stuff to make good finish are a waste of time until it reaches the last layer. Ofc depends a lot on the model and it could done by separating the top layers on different objects, but that on 3D software it's also a bit hard to manage.

[neotko 1,417]

And what about this idea:

A manual toolbox to 'click' while viewing the gcode layers that males a list of the layers the user want to have a list of options like:

- Z hop

- Retract while crossing spaces

- Slower speed

This way to 'custom' an object it would be faster and easier to manage.

[avogra 68]

if I remember right, someone said, that in the new cura you can assign different profiles for different layers. or is it planned but not yet implemented? that would match your last suggestion quite well.

you often have no distinguished top layer, look at the treefrog for example.

[yellowshark 153]

I think it is a great idea. Sure something like a tree frog would not benefit probably but I have plenty of stuff where a pristine top layer would be great. Which is not to say one cannot get a good top layer but the slicing sometimes seems to take an odd route if one considers the optimum result to be a perfect layer.

[nallath 1,120]

if I remember right, someone said, that in the new cura you can assign different profiles for different layers. or is it planned but not yet implemented?

 

Planned, not quite implemented. You can assign different profiles to different objects on the build plate.

[neotko 1,417]

Planned for me just sounds fantastic. No other slicer can do that, and to be able to select profiles for different layers, or for a layer, that would make a total difference when going for good looking finish without having to speed down the whole print.

[yellowshark 153]

Err, actually Simply3D has done that for some time amongst many other things. Bear in mind though Cura is free whereas S3D is 150USD.

[neotko 1,417]

Well on simplify3d you can split the job and do that ofc. I use it. But imagine an object with toons of flat layers, you should need to resplit it on 5-10 and also when splitting it thinks it's a new object, so new bottom layers, top layers. For a box it perfect, for something more complex it's a mess but doable.