Hi all
so I got this head, part of a larger project. It’s hollow, there will be cables passing through. Bambu studio sees the object right, just like designed and exported in Blender, but refuses to slice / print the hollow tunnel and completely fills it with infill.
Is there a setting I’m missing?
Thanks!
You wouldn’t happen to have like a STL file to check?
Blender is good for many things but often creates mesh or manifold problems.
No problem in anything else than trying to print those.
I had a similar nightmare with a really basic, cylindrical coupler.
Though I did it great in those almost 5 minutes to model it but there was ONE reversed face and during the STL export this turned into something else - a non existing horizontal face in the middle of my coupling tube.
Tried for hours to work out why it won’t slice while showing fine in the prepare windows, even tried to do a test print at small scale…
Came out without this separating wall but a lot of strings where is was supposed to be.
No manifold complaints from the slicer either…
Not saying your exported model file IS the cause but I would like to rule it out before this turns into a nightmare of trying different print and slicing settings for no reason.
Can’t see it clearly in the first pic but looks like some wall issues at the bottom of the hole, unless this is a spare out area for a snap fitting or such.
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Please include a screen grab that also notes the properties of the object. You’ll have to click on the object to get the details to appear in the lower right corner of the screen. Please do this with both the prepare and preview modes.
Or better yet, upload the 3MF so we can inspect the object directly and take the guesswork out.
Although your preview shows a hollow body, your slice tells a different story. I would hazard to guess that you have open manifold error that your current screengrab is not showing. The remedy for this is right-click and fix the model.
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Thank you both for your help so far. I’m tryîng to “fix” the file, but that windows app it’s being sent to takes ages.How can I uload the stl or 3mf here? It seems I can only upload pics.
Meanwhile, is this what you asked for, Olias?
Yes, that’s exactly what I asked for. Thank you.
Uploading files is achieved by clicking on this icon
These are the supported file types when the dialog box opens. Notably, you cannot upload an STL, which is a strange misconfiguration of the forum software. A 3MF file contains the STL, so exporting it is trivial, but this restriction adds an unnecessary step. I suspect Bambu does this deliberately to prevent this forum from competing with their beloved MakerWorld. Stupid? Yes. But it’s Bambu’s house, and the house always wins. 
You are using the correct method I suggested above is how to repair your non-manifold shape. If the process is slow, it’s due to one of two reasons:
- Your computer is underpowered (least likely, since this isn’t CPU-bound process).
- The model is too complex (most likely–7,636,914 vertices).
Your model has 7,636,914 vertices—that’s excessive for MDF technology and will strain your system unnecessarily.
Inside the fix utility, there’s also a simplify tool. Try using it—most of those vertices won’t even be rendered since they fall within the 0.08–0.28mm layer height that the slicer can handle. Experiment and see what works best.
Make sure the “Show wireframe” is checked to see your handiwork before you hit apply. Remember, CTRL-Z will always allow to to backtrack through your changes.
Understanding Manifolds(important!!!)
A manifold is a contiguous, airtight 3D geometry formed by a mesh of interconnected triangles. If these triangles(see example above) don’t meet properly and leave a hole, the shape becomes non-manifold. The slicer tries to interpret and patch these gaps, which can lead to unpredictable results—hence why you don’t always see what you expect in the prepare tab.
If you exported this from Blender, SketchUp, or similar software, note that many of these programs are buggy when exporting STLs. Meshmixer (Autodesk’s free tool) has a heal utility, but it often sacrifices detail in the process. Alternatively, there are countless online STL repair tools, though most will fail more often than they succeed.
On the subject of providing complete information the first time around.
___________________________________________________
This isn’t meant as a scolding, but as a reminder to everyone. Here’s a perfect example of a user trying to provide background information—yet leaving out a key detail that made the question much harder to answer.
This small omission(image below) in the original post was the difference between getting a direct answer (which I had to guess) and a drawn-out back-and-forth. If this information had been included on the first post, this would have been a direct answer.
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: Details matter! Please, please, please include them!
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Thanks so much Olias!
I’m rather new to all of this, so I’m learning on the go and by doing…I’ll certainly read through all of your info.
Meanwhile, after a few more hours on Blender, it seems I found the fault.
There were quite a few messy weird open bits floating around inside the head. Then, the cylinder I used to make the inner column was first seeingly not part od the object, and after I made a new one, half of the inside had red faces that wouldn’t flip. Turns out there was some hidden weird residue inside the cylinder in for of a black line, which I then separated and deleted. Now all faces were normal / blue, and the slkcer finally recognized the empty canal.
This is a great and helpful forum, thanks for all the help!
PS if you still want the 3mf, I’ll upload it.
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Thanks for following up with your success. This will help out fellow forum members who may run into a similar issue in the future.