Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted · First time printer...hollow model is being filled in.

Hi all,

 

I've just assembled a new PrintrBot Simple Metal and ran through some calibrations and the first recommended print, the fan shroud. Thought I'd have a go in Sketchup at creating a part for a cosplay and my resulting print isn't coming out like the STL in the 3d viewer. I'm guessing somewhere in the conversion to g-code there's a problem.

 

Here's what the part looks like in Cura:

 

XY7mICV.png?1

 

and here's the resulting print.

 

CJqJB0l.jpg?1

 

I stopped it once I realized it was going to add a layer almost every pass around the part. It looks like it's at the first 'step' out inside the hexagon.

 

How can I check that this isn't going to happen with my prints? And what can I do about it?

 

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · First time printer...hollow model is being filled in.

    First and foremost - never print anything without looking at it in slice view first. This would have shown what it was going to print.

    Now to fix the problem. I don't understand what the problem is in you specific case but sketchup lets you put walls anywhere so you can get internal walls inside a solid (which confuses cura) and you can get holes in your objects (also confuses cura). Other cad programs like solidworks or DSM - or openSCAD - well this is impossible. They model solids - not faces. So it's impossible to get this. Anyway Cura has an XRAY mode in the gui. Click that icon and if you see any red there is a problem in your model.

    Also there are features in advanced called "fix horrible". If your model has no red in xray mode try unchecking all 4 of these. Otherwise you can sometimes fix the print by fooling with these checkboxes (instead of fixing it in sketchup).

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · First time printer...hollow model is being filled in.

    Thanks for the help. It turns out the model wasn't completely solid. Like you said, I had walls within the structure that needed to be removed.

    There's a great plugin for Sketchup called Solid Inspector (https://extensions.sketchup.com/en/content/solid-inspector) that really helped me identify where the model wasn't considered closed. An import into netfabb to scale the model and I was set to print.

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Create an account or sign in to comment

    You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

    Create an account

    Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

    Register a new account

    Sign in

    Already have an account? Sign in here.

    Sign In Now
    • Our picks

      • UltiMaker Cura 5.9 stable released!
        Here comes Cura 5.9 and in this stable release we have lots of material and printer profiles for UltiMaker printers, including the newly released Sketch Sprint. Additionally, scarf seams have been introduced alongside even more print settings and improvements.  Check out the rest of this article to find out the details on all of that and more
          • Like
        • 5 replies
      • Introducing the UltiMaker Factor 4
        We are happy to announce the next evolution in the UltiMaker 3D printer lineup: the UltiMaker Factor 4 industrial-grade 3D printer, designed to take manufacturing to new levels of efficiency and reliability. Factor 4 is an end-to-end 3D printing solution for light industrial applications
          • Heart
          • Thanks
          • Like
        • 7 replies
    ×
    ×
    • Create New...