PrusaSlicer is on the rise to become the best-known 3D printer slicer in 2021. Since the spin-off of Slic3r in 2019, the Prusa Research team has accelerated and with many updates has ensured that it is the 3D printer slicer for both FDM and SLA 3D printers. of the moment. Today we look at 5 hidden features within PrusaSlicer that can boost your results.
1. Ironing
Ironing has been a much requested feature in recent years and has recently become fully functional in PrusaSlicer. Ironing is actually nothing more than a second round of infill over the same layer, with a reduced flow rate. As shown below, ironing gives a fantastic effect, but be careful, this is mainly on flat surfaces! With an object that gradually rises in height, this will probably not work very well and may give adverse results. For best results with ironing in Prusaslicer, maintain a flow rate between 10-20%. You can still choose between all top surfaces or just the very top surface, but this can be changed as desired.
2. Elephant Foot Compensation
If you work with a heated print bed and want to ensure that it adheres, you often adjust your height offset so that it is printed properly. This is often a solution that works, but can cause frustration if it is an object that must be technically correct and fit into something. Elephant Foot Compensation has the qualities to get the best of both worlds. With this function you can set how much you want the first layer to be compensated to ensure that the second layer fits in effortlessly. In general you can say that you want it to be as compensated as you are the thickness of your first layer, which can be found under 'layers and perimeters'. If you print with PLA filament and a 0.2 mm thick first layer with a 0.4 mm nozzle , then you also set 0.2 mm in Elephant Foot Compensation, so that these layers will fit properly. Please note that this function works if your height offset is properly adjusted and your print bed is flat. You can find more information about correctly adjusting the height between nozzle and print bed in the knowledge center.
3. Monotonic Infill
It can be annoying. You have made a perfectly beautiful 3D print and the layers look perfect, but the top and bottom have a certain structure that lags behind the rest. Prusa Research managed to fix this in one of the latest versions of PrusaSlicer. By filling in the bottom and top layers monotonically (constantly from left to right) you get a proportional layer that no longer shows any irregularities. This can be a solution for show models to make your 3D prints as realistic as possible. Please note, this is not a default setting in PrusaSlicer, you will have to set it. It is also possible to switch between the bottom layer and the top layer. This is due to the fact that monotonic infill takes longer than a conventional infill technique. In PrusaSlicer this setting can be found under the ' Infill' tab, which can also be changed for the basic variant. This generally works best with PLA filament.
4. Seam Painting
In general, you cannot avoid it with 3D printing, you will have a start and a starting point for each layer and after each layer the print head will have to go up to start the next layer. The visible part of this transition is called a 'zit' or a 'scar' and is part of the 'seam'. In the latest PrusaSlicer the function has been added to control where you want this visible transition. If you have a show model that needs to be at a fair, it may be interesting to place this transition at the back of the 3D model. Using the ' Seam Painting ' function it is possible to draw a line over the model where PrusaSlicer will place this 'Seam'. It ensures nicer 3D prints, less visible transitions and better quality 3D prints. Within PrusaSlicer it is also possible to globally choose the position of the 'seam' (random, nearest, centered, back), under the ' layers and perimeters' tab
5. Paint on Supports
The only criticism PrusaSlicer has faced in recent years has been the lack of a good support generator. It was hard to choose where you didn't want support and often the slicer created huge amounts that weren't needed. In the last few updates, Prusa has done a great job of fixing this. Support could be avoided by means of 'modifiers' and it was also possible to play with the degrees when support was created or not. Using Paint-on Supports, these above-mentioned functions can be used in a more visual way, allowing you to literally indicate with a simple mouse click where you do or do not want support. Via the ' Support Material' tab, the settings can be changed regarding the support generation, i.e. the distance in height, the structure it should create and other features. Please note: it is best to avoid support at all times, until there is no other option. Most 3D printers can 3D print up to 55 degrees without support, keep this in mind.
