I decided to use the MakerWorld toy piano kit that came with the printer. Instead of an upright version I chose a grand piano model made by the same person who produced the kit and upright piano model.
My real grand piano has a mechanically satinized finish produced via a process that produces tiny parallel lines in the gloss lacquer paint and I’m trying to imitate that look as closely as possible.
I used black PETG filament for both its high gloss and common flaw (that I ensured appeared via my settings) that results in the layers being slightly distinct. It’s a near dead ringer for the true finish I actually want.
The problem is the piano lid pictured here:
The problem is that the piece prints as if it were three distinct (if connected) pieces with the infill direction shifting multiple times on each and every layer. I fully “ironed” the top. The ironing is all the same direction (front-to-back) but it only look correct when both the ironing and the layer below were built in the same direction. The right side of the piece is exactly how I want the ENTIRE piece to look. If you look very carefully at the large middle section you can see the lines created during “ironing” at a right angle to the direction of print of the layer below.
Is there any setting I can use to control the printhead direction of the final layer or two? Alternatively is there any way to use Bambu Studio to ensure that this piece is considered to be one single piece instead of a geometric assembly that the slicer program is treating like distinctly different pieces? I’ve encountered the same situation in my own designs but since they are practical items not intended to be seen I’ve never cared about the cosmetic appearance.
Oh. This piece is intended to be printed top side down on a smooth plate in order to produce a smooth, glossy surface. I inverted the model and put it on a “raft” (plus support) using PLA.
Slice preview please
I suspect that top is actually 3 layers tall on a slant and not flat enough.
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The shape of this model and many models usually triggers multiple print regions as they are seen as the most efficient travel paths.
You mentioned you tried ironing, which will minimise the issue, but you go on to say you actually intend on printing it top side down.
Doing that should give you a clean single appearance rather than the three sections you are seeing now.
Have you tried that yet?
I’ve printed it in both orientations to identical results. Even the fill for the adhesion layer is when built directly on the plate exhibits the same change of infill direction. I can literally tell that the designer made the top, soundboard and a few other pieces as separate but linked “parts.”
The top assembly is intended to be printed top-side down on a glass or similar smooth print bed. The top has print-in-place hinges/pivots for the foldback piece (not shown in the photo).
Again, I do the same in some of my designs using Autodesk Fusion and Tinkercad with somewhat similar results.
Does “painting” have any effect upon how the slicer orients infill for “solid” layers?
Please slice the model, and take a screenshot of the preview screen, with the camera oriented to show this surface. Or upload your 3mf
I can’t tell if this may help as I’m stuck in printing. Oh, and I don’t have the model. That may be the biggest part.
Have you tried messing with the resolution? I’ve used it to hide a few layer lines in curves here and there but not in a flat print. So, take it was a shot in the dark
I suspect that top is actually 3 layers tall on a slant and not flat enough
Thanks!
Good idea! While the top is much thicker than three layers–about 3.5mm–it does appear that it was not flat on the plate after flipping. I reloaded the original model and it is now absolutely flat to the plate before adding the raft and support.
Sorry for this neophyte question but what do you mean when asking for a slice preview? A screenshot after the slice?
I’m printing a literal conifer forest for my ceramist partner’s lifelong Christmas village project so it’s a few hours before the present object is complete.
You will need to use the rotate tool or the cut tool (or cad) to make that top surface absolutely flat. As long as it is oriented 0.1 degrees out of square with the plate, it will occupy more space than 1 layer, and you will end up with this look.
Edit: What may make my point more clear, is that your title says “final layer” - but the final layer is actually just the third segment on the right, the middle one is (final layer - 1), left is (final layer - 2), etc…
The slicer preview is an insanely capable tool, it is simulating exactly the movements, make sure to use the bottom and right sliders to inspect what your printer will be doing at any given moment
Never apologise for asking a question, especially not a useful one.
This is what was meant (I believe).
The idea is to share what it looks like post-slicing that you see so we can.
Chances are, we would have spotted it straight away.
That is the preview tab after the slicing had finished and showing the helpful, line type view.
Problem solved! Thank you!!! While it’s still printing the orientation of each layer is fully consistent throughout.
I [think] I manually rotated the object to as close to 180° as possible and then used the “put flat on surface” or similar command. NEVER AGAIN! This time I manually entered 180° rotation in the rotate dialog box. It [seems] that either the “put flat on surface” command does not work the way I believed or does not work at all.
Thanks again!
I have zoomed in on slices to look for and detect potential problems before printing but I didn’t (at first) notice the problem with this one. I reloaded the original to see an inconsistent top surface on the slice.
Now I understand what you meant regarding the three layers–it was effectively three layers out of level. Very strange though as I watched the initial print and am almost positive that the raft was two even layers as I’d specified in the support section with the first object layer built as if it were three distinct pieces.
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I’m getting the same sections with distinct, slightly raised lines, cordoning off each section. The surface used to be smooth. Is there any way to correct it so the top layer is completely smooth again? Is it bed leveling, or am I not using the right setting to smooth the top layer?
If its the same as above, your solution is going to be in rotating things till they are actually flat, modifying the unparallel model so that the bed plane and top plane are parallel, or cutting off a very small amount of the top [and/or bottom] parts of the model to create flatness.
Screenshots of your slicer preview will be very helpful, ideally in line type visualizer mode
