Multi-axis slicing for a tilting and rotating base

[Bill S. 0]

Hello,

 

We are working with a device that can rotate and tilt the base while printing. 

I am wondering if anybody has explored the changes necessary to the CuraEngine in order to support more than 3 axis?

 

I've seen the auto placement plugin using the tweaker python code which looks interesting.

 

Can somebody provide pointers on where to look in order to solve this problem please?

 

Thanks for any assistance.

 

Bill

[gr5 2,167]

Wow.  That's not built into cura but you could write a plugin to do that.  You would apply a transform to all the G1 and G0 commands depending how much you have rotated or tilted the base.  The easiest kind of plugin isn't called a plugin - it's called a post processing something.  I think there are samples you can look at.  If you can't find one I can send you a sample.

[ghostkeeper 105]

It depends a lot on what you need.

 

If you need to transform the g-code into something that's better understood by your printer, then a post-processing script could do the job. But if you need to do something different depending on, for instance, whether you're printing overhang or not (to maybe tilt the platform a bit to get better overhang), then you're almost certainly stuck with modifying CuraEngine itself, or you'll have to try and reconstruct from the g-code which areas are overhang.

 

But if you're actually going to try to print curved layers and such to print something from inside out, well, I don't think that Cura will be of much use at all.

Edited March 14, 2018 by ghostkeeper

[ahoeben 1,948]

I have some experience abusing Cura for “weird” printers; I’m working on the Blackbelt version of Cura, which supports a slanted gantry.

https://github.com/blackbelt3d/cura

 

Your printer sounds a lot more complicated than theirs, but I see possibilities.