The slicing settings you use for your processes are crucial and on them depends the final aspect of your print.
Some important concepts that you have to know before starting to edit your process settings:
- Layer Height: The “resolution” of your print. Choose a layer height between 1 mm and 0.5 mm with a 1 mm nozzle, and 0.5 mm to 0.2 mm with a 0.5 mm nozzle.
- Extrusion Width: Constant width of each extruded line within your print
- Infill: The inner, printed structure of your print.
- Support: With overhangs of more than 55° it is necessary to use support structure in order to stabilize your print. Support can be taken away by hand or washed away with special support material like PVA.
- Outline/Loops: Number of shells used for the exterior skin of your print.
- Flowrate: Important setting – determines how much material will be extruded. Can be adjusted during slicing and/or during printing.
- Additions:
The BigRep presettings / factory files (available here) should be your starting point to the slicing of your object. On them we have already taken in consideration the different materials and nozzle diameters, and our machine dimensions and characteristics. This way you will just have to change some settings that depend on your print geometry and properties.
Settings that you don’t have to change
Settings that you carefully could change
Settings that you have to change depending on your print
BASIC SETTINGS


Extruder Toolhead Index/ Nozzle diameter
Defines the basic characteristics of the extruder(s) you will use
Use the factory files available on our website and don’t change these values

Extrusion Multiplier
Specifies a multiplier to adjust the flow rate
Use the factory files available on our website and don’t change this value

Extrusion Width
Refers to the thickness of the lines printed
Only consider changing it when you have geometries with thin walls, to avoid gap infill (Check quality guide for thin walls)
Use values between 0 and 30% more that he nozzle diameter.
Normally, 20% more than the nozzle diameter (You will get this value by clicking on “Auto”)

Retraction
Retraction is when the extruder reverses briefly in order to suck filament up a small amount so that it does not ooze out when it shouldn’t
If you use our materials, use our presettings values
If you still get oozing problems, check the quality guide

Coast at end
Coasting tells your extruder to stop printing a specified distance before a non-print move. This avoids having leftover filament that can damage your print surface
It also helps you to hide the seam
Stay between 0 and 1mm
You risk under-extrusion voids if coasting value is too high, especially for small objects.
This option is by default deactivated

Wipe Nozzle
It will wipe over the last outer perimeter and let the filament ooze out, before the retraction
It has much lower risk of part quality being negatively affected than coasting
Around 5mm is usually enough. You can go higher for large objects.
This option is by default deactivated.


Primary Layer Height
Determines the thickness of each layer
Remember that lower layer heights imply better surface definition but also longer printing times
It should stay between 40 and 90% of your nozzle diameter
Remember you are using a big printer! We recommend not to use low layer heights

Top/Bottom Solid Layers
Number of layers to close your object
This number depends on geometry and amount of infill
Generally stay between 2 (for flat surfaces and/or high infills) and 4 (for curved surfaces and/or low infills)

Outline/Perimeter Shells
To get good quality first layer results, it is important to set specific settings for the first layer
2 or 3 are usually enough

Outline Direction
Outside-In can give you a better surface finish, but Inside-Out is helpful when printing models with overhangs, to give the outermost perimeter something to cling to.

Print Island Sequentially without optimization
This means the printer will print all the islands of a layer in order, then do the next layer in reverse order so that time isn’t wasted in traveling back to the original first island to start over.
This is good for reducing print times, but for small objects where each layer doesn’t take a long time, it is bad for cooling.

Vase Mode
Mark this option when you want to print a single outline print, without infill or support.

First Layer Settings
Specifies a multiplier to adjust the flow rate
Normally, leave the values from the presettings file: 100%, 100%, and 60%.
For prints with LH < 0.5 mm, a thicker first layer (110 %) can improve adhesion and tolerances
For LH > 0.5 mm, a reduction of the first layer height (95%) can improve underextrusion problems on the top layers.

Start Point
This parameter determines where the retraction points of your print will appear
Choose “optimize start points for fastest printing speed” if you don’t mind the quality of your surface.
Choose a specific starting point on the print bed, and Simplify 3D will locate the seam the closest to this coordinate, so you get better surface quality.


Skirt
The skirt is an outline that is printed to prime the extruder and establish a smooth flow of filament.

Always use a Skirt

Brim
A brim is a skirt with a 0mm offset from part and multiple outlines.

Use a brim when your first layer doesn’t have enough surface to stick to the build platform surface.

Raft
A raft is an initial 2 or 3 layers surface on top of which your print will be printed

Use a raft when you have a complex print that needs a strong foundation on which to build the upper layers.

Prime Pillar
The prime pillar is an additional object that will be the first thing printed when changing nozzles. This will ensure that the nozzle is primed and ready to print before it continues the print.

Use a prime pillar when printing dual extrusion where both extruders are not printing on the same layer or constantly changing, or when using extruders that use multiple filaments through one nozzle.

Ooze Shield
The Ooze Shield is a perimeter printed around your print to ensure that leaking and oozing will wipe off on the shield rather than your model.

Use a shield when you are printing complicated dual extrusion prints that require both extruders constantly changing in the middle of a layer


Infill Extruder
Determines the extruder with which you will print the infill
Usually, print the infill with the same extruder than the rest of the print

Internal Fill Pattern
Determines the geometry of the infill
The strength of your print will vary depending on the internal infill you choose

For strong prints, choose Grid, Solid Honeycomb or Triangular
For prints that don’t have to be strong use Fast Honeycomb or Rectilinear to get a faster print

External Fill Pattern
Determines the geometry of the infill
The external infill will affect the aesthetic look of your print


Interior Fill Percentage
Defines the amount of infill you will use. Remember the higher the percentage, the longer the print and higher the material need and cost, but also the higher the strength of the object
Between 10% and 30% is for most prints enough

Outline Overlap
Determines much of the infill will overlap the outline to join the both of them together
Between 15% and 25%
Don’t forget that the support generation toolbar ( ) is just a visualization tool. After you have decided your support, you have to mark the “Generate Support Material” box on the process settings to print the support.


Support Extruder
Determines the extruder with which you will print the support
Unless you are printing the support with a different material (e.g. PVA), or a different nozzle diameter, print the support with the same extruder than the rest of the print.

Support Infill Percentage/ Dense Support Layers
Determines the strength and density of your support
If you find your support too weak, increase these values

Separation from part
Determines how much spacing there is between the support structures and the outline of your part.
If you are having trouble removing your support material, you may want to increase the upper and lower vertical separation layers.
The horizontal offset form part allows you to define a higher distance between the object and the support pillars on the X and Y direction, which can help you place the tools better to remove the break-off support.

Automatic Placement
Includes the exact same options that were found in the support generation toolbar (Check out the BigRep Support Guide)
If you do not need to manually edit the support structures for your model, you can configure these settings appropriately and let the software automatically generate the support structures without any input from you.
We don’t recommend this option
IMPORTANT!
The values we provide for the support work very good with most of the prints, and normally you won’t need to change them.
The rest of the parameters are less important and wont influence so much on the quality or strength of your prints. If you are not an advanced user, you don’t have to worry about changing these values.
ADVANCED SETTINGS
Temperatures on the extruders can be changed on the BigRep UI. Therefore SImplify3D temperature settings are not necessary to change for your BigRep ONE.

Cooling settings on the extruders can be changed on the BigRep UI. Therefore SImplify3D cooling settings are not necessary to change for your BigRep ONE.

Holds some machine-specific settings and information.
Don’t change these settings!

The script settings hold specific G-Codes for the beginning and ending of the print, tool change etc. on the BigRep ONE
Don’t change these settings!



Default Printing Speed
Defines the default speed of your print. The rest of speeds will be a percentage from this one.
30-50 mm/s
Low speeds: you will get long prints and better quality
High speeds: you will get short prints and lower quality

Outline Underspeed
Outlines printing speed in relation with the default speed
As the outlines are the part of the print that you get to see, it’s better to reduce their printing speed to get better quality
70-80%

Solid Infill Underspeed
Infill printing speed in relation with the default speed
80-100%

Support Infill Underspeed
Support printing speed in relation with the default speed
Supports can be tall, fragile towers, so it is sometimes helpful to reduce their speed to reduce the chance of knocking them over
70-80%


Bridging
These values define special settings for the behavior of the printer while printing bridges
You don’t need to change them

Horizontal Size compensation
These setting allows you to modify the tolerances of your object without changing the 3D Model.
Important for dual extrusion prints with no tolerance.
0.1 – 0.3 mm

Filament Properties
These values are used to calculate the price and the weight of your object on the preview
They are set for the specific BigRep filament the factory file is thought. You don’t need to change them.

Tool Change Retraction
These settings allow you to set specific retraction values for the tool change.
Only important for dual extrusion prints
You don’t need to change them


Layer Modifications
This setting is useful if you want to use different processes within the same object.
E.g. If you would like to use a second process on your print, starting at 90mm, you would set:
Process1:
· Start printing: 0mm
· Stop printing: 90mm
Process 2:
Start printing: 90mm

Thin Wall Behavior
This is an important setting when printing objects with thin walls
Check out the quality guide for a deep understanding of this setting

Movement Behavior
This setting can help you decrease possible surface defects by avoiding crossing the object while traveling, but your print will take much longer
If you are having trouble removing your support material, you may want to increase the upper and lower vertical separation layers.
The horizontal offset form part allows you to define a higher distance between the object and the support pillars on the X and Y direction, which can help you place the tools better to remove the break-off support.
The rest of the parameters are less important and wont influence so much on the quality or strength of your prints. If you are not an advanced user, you don’t have to worry about changing these values.