I have modelled this airfoil in solidworks and exported to stl files but it seems that the printer cannot handle these files. I then split the cad file into only solid bodies and only surfaces to get it to slice properly but even in doing so, it does not print well. The surfaces where the solid bodies intersect become messy and leads to spaghetti or failures. Not sure where to go from here
Sorry, no clear solution but maybe a few (hopefully) helpful comments.
- You can save your file as a .3mf from SolidWorks (although it may depend on the specific license, the Maker license certainly gives the option)
- You may want to take the effort to use SolidWorks Assembly option to help design a sturdy, easy to assemble wing rather than having to rely on the limited connector options in Studio. It is a lot more design work though but it’ll help to think about load transfer. Also, for this reason, you probably want to use as much of the height as possible to place the cut(s) as far away from the root as possible.
- The top surface appears to not be the only problem. Similar defects appear in the walls at the bottom.
So to rule out the basics, it makes sense to run through the recommended maintenance dry the filament (again?) and re-calibrate it.
If that does not resolve issue, it very much depends on the failure image.
https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/filament-acc/filament/dry-filament
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These are some of the failure images. I have actually made assemblies in SolidWorks but it seems that studio cannot slice the entire airfoil at the same time. I presume it’s because the surfaces must form a watertight section but mine does not in all regions. I do think that the biggest thing may be the surface handling
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Regarding water tightness, a 3mf export from SolidWorks may help. Depending on the slicing error, trying the windows integrated repair function (right click on the object) could potentially help as well.
But I do not think that it is the model alone. You appear to have some severe wall flow issues fairly early on, then even more severe when approaching the top surface and overextrusion on the top surface.
What filament are you using? A basic PLA or ASA? Or a LW variant? The latter is much (!) more difficult to print due to its post-print expansion.
PS: Do the slicer previews (flow, speed, layer time, fan speed) show features that coincide with the defects? That can occasionally be a really helpful quick check.
Do you mean exporting 3mfs instead of stls and still splitting the solidbodies and the surfaces? When I export it as a 3mf as a whole this is what it gives me
I am just using a new roll of basic PLA. I intend on using bambu’s aero pla soon but I want to get this working first. The defects coincide with the placement of the solidbodies
Export your file out of Solidworks to a STEP instead of an STL.
I’ve tried that too but it doesn’t yield any better results. Here is the file and it might be easier for you guys to get a sense of what I’m dealing with. S1223 Airfoil Split 1.SLDPRT - Google Drive
It is a SolidWorks file and as I don’t have SW I can’t do anything with this file.
You can maybe experiment with the STEP export settings in SW. Normally a STEP file would not be a problem in Bambu Studio, most problems occur with the export/import. As this is a geometry goes to a very thin shape, the default settings might not be suitable in this case.
Your model consists of a number of surface and volume bodies. You’ll need to convert the surface bodies to actual volume bodies.
You may want to use that opportunity to think about load transfer through the wing as it appears to be much longer than just this part. With so many straight splits, it brings a lot of additional interface weight while being rather weak in the main loading direction. “Kraftprotz” adhesive is pretty good even on PLA but with such a large span, the need to get hole compensation right with the plug option and above all so many interfaces…
I am currently trying to have Windows repair an exported stl but I am afraid it is taking far too long…
I can not relate model quality to the defects your pic’s are showing. They do point issues with filament dryness and/or flow calibration.
Furthermore, things like layer time
and flow.
If you can post screenshots of your slicer previews (Layer time, flow, fan) I think it is likely that we can see some of the defects already in the slicer preview.
So far, it I can see four main issues to resolve:
- Convert the surface bodies to volume bodies
- Assembly concept to be able to translate loads at minimal weight
- Dry and calibrate the filament
- Check/Post Slicer previews for speed, layer time, flow, fan speed (just in case), temp (also just in case)
Oh, and just in case regarding the need to dry new filament:
