Hey folks,
A quick and very useful update to the Preform software would be to show the peel direction as part of the grid. If your are printing an object that is long on one axis and short on the other I think printing the long axis parallel to the peel axis would make for a better print. If my observation is correct the peel axis is top to bottom on the screen with the bottom being the leading edge of the peel?
Agreed William,
That’s a very important important information missing, also placing your part on the right of the platform (side that goes down) exerts probably more stress on the part than if you put it on the left.
Cheers
Ditto. Or maybe you could just label the sides of the build area, “Front, Back, Left, Right”
Not hard to just print one item and match the orientation, if you need to you can mark it with masking tape.
It was confusing at first that the part is visualized upside-down and backwards from how it’s actually printed. I got used to it, but wouldn’t mind if it was switched to right-reading, which would make more sense, especially to new users. Where the axis arrows would be really handy is in the rotation dialogue, where one is able to rotate around X,Y, or Z but has to experiment to figure out which move does what.
I would like this too please
Some discussion of recommended orientation of models relative to the peel axis along with other print optimization strategies would be a welcome topic for the next webinar.
Ok just downloaded the new PreForm and its still missing directional arrows. I normally can figure it out but come on , how hard is it to code in a couple of arrows? Why are you making it harder on your customers to use your product when there is such a simple fix available?
Moreover, I think that we need:
To know the direction of the peeling. More strength at one end, quicker at the other. If I’m not mistaken, being able to take advantage of these differences could help dealing with some parts of a print that keep remaining stuck to the resin tank for instance.
A view “As it will print” (Wysiwyg?). In such a view, the build platform would be on top, and we could sooner detect discrepancies between the layers already printed and the object being printed displayed on screen. It’s far to easy, for me anyway, to get confused while mentally turning the view upside down. And as for now, Preform allow for any orientation but this one, am I right?
Well, what’s even more baffling is that the “front” view in Preform is the view from the left of the printer… (Or am I confused again?)
I thought I was adding my previous comment to another thread, sorry. So: I indeed agree with the OP that it would be nice to know the peel axis, and moreover have labels on Prefom display (x, y, z or front, etc.)
Yep, we hear you guys. This is something that’s happening.
Thanks for letting us know , Sam.
Do you think that a coming version of Preform will have a “wysiwyg” (upside down) view too?
That’s an interesting request – I can imagine some neat views oriented around it. I’ll be sure to pass it on for internal discussion.
Thanks a lot Sam.
I really think that this upside down view (as while printing) would be useful to realize as soon as possible that something went wrong while printing and cancel the print without wasting more time and resin.
It would have helped me anyway, but maybe I’ll get used to mentally rotate the view.
Wish the labels for front and hinge appeared in the orient view not just the position view. It helps a lot to know where the hinge side is when figuring out how well some supports will work or if you should rotate so that your object is better braced for the peel.
@Rocus Halbasch: Yes, it kind of make you wonder. It’s almost as if any step forward must leave something to be desired.
Of course we need the labels when rotating the objects in the horizontal plane in Preform. Why even bother to have them in one mode and not the others? So obvious… Sorry, but really, really frustrating.
I just upgraded and found myself doing some head-scratching on the labels as well. Is that the ‘hinge’ of the top cover, or the hinge of the resin tray peel assembly? (Either way I couldn’t quite tell what it’s trying to tell me…) Seems to me that the ‘front’ is where the button is and the resin tray hinge would be on the ‘left’ and the top cover hinge would be in the ‘back’. Is it supposed to be a view of the bottom of the build platform looking up at it?
Seems more natural to me to orient the ‘front’ of the display towards the bottom of the screen so that it mimics the more typical orientation of the printer on a desk. (cables out the rear, button facing the operator?)
Maybe some SolidWorks eDrawing-like animated transitions between views would be helpful for beginners (or occasional users) to visualize what the different orientations depict. (or a little Form1 off in the corner that shows the ‘real world’ orientation of the view at the same time, or just a transparent build platform rendered along with the layout grid and parts…)
But thanks for adding another user suggestion-- no good deed goes unpunished. 