My question has two parts. First, is it possible to print despite the preform warning that the parts are dangerously close to each other? I haven’t tried it yet…although, I think I did once and the print didn’t go well, or rather the printer placed the parts somewhere else. I don’t remember it well.
And second, why doesn’t the packing density show up if the parts are dangerously close (under 1mm)?
As you can see, sometimes I need to print such simple parts and it’s ideal not to use a shield around the part at all. In this case, I have the parts 0.3mm apart and after taking them out of the chamber, I don’t clean them at all, but just put the cake in an automatic sandblaster, where the parts separate themselves. Unfortunately, I don’t know if it’s possible to do it this way, if the preform allows it, and the basic question is why doesn’t the preform show the packing density? Why is there a restriction?
@Kostbone, I’m happy to try to clarify some of this for you. For starters, you don’t see the packing density because PreForm has flagged your build as having “overlapping models.” From what I can see, I’d say you’re around 90% with this build. If you’ve had success printing models like this by ignoring PreForm’s warnings, feel free to continue printing them.
This guide from our support page has some great information about setting up prints, preparing the printer, and lots of links to more specific details for a wide array of questions.
You can always open a support case, call, or chat with Formlabs support by following THIS link
I understand and thank you for the clarification. So you can print despite the preform warning. I understand. However, I am bothered by the fact that the preform does not display the packing density, while the models do not overlap at all. As soon as the preform marks the models as being close to each other (as I said before - under 1mm), it stops displaying the packing density, even though it actually knows it. I remember that in older versions, if the button for calculating the print time was pressed, this information briefly flashed. Why can’t this value be displayed all the time? Technically, it is not a problem. Can you please suggest this to the software team?
@Kostbone, thank you for your response. It does help me get a better understanding of what you were looking for in PreForm. I would be happy to make a customer feedback request about this for you!
The reason that PreForm flags the models as touching is because it’s not recommended to be closer than 1mm.
As always, you can reach out to us anytime with any questions or issues. We’re always happy to help.
Okay. Let the preform indicate models that are closer than 1mm. However, let it still display the packing density. There is no reason not to display it.
Some of my models are tightly nested to the 1mm threshold and if they were any tighter I don’t think I could release them from one other without breaking them. This would obviously not happen in every packing scenario but I’m guessing this is why they don’t want the print to go forward with models closer than 1mm.
There are more reasons why it is not good to print models this close to each other, but I know about them. I am talking about doing this intentionally and for models that do not mind it. I save about 100% more powder and greatly shorten the printing time, because some models can be separated by 0.2mm. Formlabs itself writes in the printing manual that if you print a part with this gap, the parts will not connect and you can produce movable joints.
