Print one at a time until certain layer then start next object

[rachmellwood 0]

Hi All,

I have multiple objects on my build plate. I want to use 'print one at a time' until a certain height, then have it start on the next object. Once it's finished I want it to go back to the first object and finish them all off. Is this possi

 

The reason I want to do it like this is I'm printing keyrings for Father's Day. Each keyring needs to be a unique colour combination, since I need to print a lot of them the last thing I want to do is print them all one by one. I had the thought of using rainbow filament for the bases so it would change shades each base, then starting again at the top layer it would be a different colour to the layer on the base. 

 

[Slashee_the_Cow 450]

The latest versions of Cura do have an option allowing you to choose the order when printing one at a time (was added in 5.7 I think? Can't remember exactly) which might work (it's not really intended for printing objects one on top of the other).

 

I'm not sure how well the pause at height script you'd need to use for it to pause to change the colours works when printing more than one object either (it can't rely on the layer numbers in the Cura preview because each model resets its layer number).

 

Also worth noting: if you're using regular PLA on top of rainbow PLA, it doesn't always adhere as well as you'd like, since the rainbow stuff tends to be a bit more slippery, not to mention it'll be cold by the time you get to the top model.

 

It really depends on how much "a lot" we're talking but getting it all set up to do it in one go - if you can - is probably going to take a while and your chances of failure significantly increase. Personally I'd print them one at a time.

[gr5 2,243]

Quick answer: no, but you can edit the gcode by hand particularly if you will be printing this gcode many times because it may take a few tries to get the editing done properly.

 

Do you have a 2 filament printer?  Have you used the "pause at height" plugin?  As our cow says, I'm pretty sure it doesn't insert the pause properly when you do "one at a time" because the layer gets reset to zero  but it's really easy to insert the pauses manually into the gcode.

 

For smaller fonts I have had better luck printing upside down where I print the letters first and then print the rest on top.  Probably not relevant for you.  

 

But you could consider printing all the bases with one gcode file and all the tops with another.  But you'd have to disable active leveling with the "ultituner tweak tool".

 

I think I would just put in lots of pause commands manually where you want to change colors.

 

ironing

 

I know someone who prints similar shaped parts with writing on them for room keys for hotels with some clip-art like art in addition to the room number and he uses the ironing function in cura to great results.  Not what you asked about but I think you'll like the improvements.

 

Are you making lots of these for selling or do you just have a lot of dads? 🙂

 

How many are we talking?  How many different color combinations?

[Slashee_the_Cow 450]

If I may unleash the graphic designer within (I have a qualification that says there's one in me 🙂) I'd just like to throw in my two cents (currently worth about 1.4 US cents): I've never seen a rainbow filament with colours that pop. Yeah, the colour changes, but the orange is never as stark as my orange filament. The purple in rainbow generally isn't weak, it's just dark. I have straight purple filament good enough to use to print one of these 🏳️‍🌈 (and I'm not saying I haven't). The green is... there, but I have a spool called "peak green" which is so in your face you need to get some sunglasses (if you're wondering, probably about halfway between lime and chartreuse). Yellow in rainbow generally leaves a lot to be desired, it's like someone turned down the saturation slider in Photoshop. My yellow filament... you get the idea.

 

My point: If each one having different colours is your goal in this project, then focus on the colours. A straight colour on top of another straight colour is going to stand out far more than a straight colour on top of rainbow filament ever could - and you're guaranteed to get unique combinations, whereas rainbow filament can often run for a while before noticeably changing. Not to mention that rainbow filament generally never goes black or white - I have some hot pink that would look awesome on top of white, for example. Yes, it's a bit more work, but if you ❤️ your dad that much, trust me, the effort will be worth it.

 

56 minutes ago, gr5 said:

But you could consider printing all the bases with one gcode file and all the tops with another.  But you'd have to disable active leveling with the "ultituner tweak tool".

You'd also need to make sure that the printer doesn't disengage its motors at the end of the first file, and make sure it doesn't home or perform ABL before printing the second.

 

It'd probably be possible to make a post-processor which pauses at the start of each new object based on the layer count resetting in the gcode, possibly filtering by the name of the mesh so you only get the top ones.

 

1 hour ago, gr5 said:

For smaller fonts I have had better luck printing upside down where I print the letters first and then print the rest on top.  Probably not relevant for you. 

Not with a base that much bigger than the text, you'd need support for it. As you said, ironing should take care of it.

[GregValiant 1,364]

I agree with the others.  Trying to turn this "FDM prototype process" into a "production process" that will print different parts in different colors a bunch at a time is a lot of prep work and hand-coding and a lot of pauses and filament changes.  Since you have a finite number of colors, just print them in "All at Once" with a single color change for the "Dad" portion.  That would allow you to cram as many as you want of that color combination onto the built plate.  The next batch will be a different color for "Dad".  Each batch would require only two color changes - one for the starting color, and then the second for "Dad".

 

Printing a bunch at once in "One at a Time" mode with each piece having a different color for "Dad" is a complete PITA as every model needs a pause at the start to change to the base color, and a second pause at "dad" to change colors again.  That wouldn't take long for that to get totally sickening especially since the parts aren't very big and so don't take very long.  You'd be a busy bee.

 

Depending on how you have your printer tuned, "One at a Time" mode will prevent stringing between the models.  There will still be stringing between the letters because they are so close together. 

[rachmellwood 0]

Thanks for the replies 😊. I'm going to go back to my original idea of just using 2 different colours. It's a present for all the dads at our local kindy so not 100% sure on the amount but wanted to be ready for anything 😅. So yes hopefully a lot of happy dads. I'll just tell the kindy I'll do as many combinations as I can but there will be double ups.

 

Thanks so much for taking the time in replying. I appreciate you all!