CS 285: SOLID MODELING, Fall 2011

Assignment #6: Prepare your Design for Layered Manufacturing

The next step is to check what QuickSlice thinks of your design, and whether it is indeed ready for fabrication on our Fused-Deposition Modeling (FDM) machine.
QuickSlice is the (old, no longer available) preprocessing software that came with the machine (FDM 1650) from Stratasys.
There is newer software, but it does not offer an equally transparent look into the various processing steps.

Copy the folder:   http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~sequin/QuickSliceV62-qsmc/    to your PC;  ideally install it on the C:-drive.
Make sure that the paths in  qs.bat  are set in accordance with where you have placed the above folder; e.g., when it is on the C-drive, it should be:
set QS_BASE=C:\QuickSliceV62-qsmc
set QS_PATH=C:\QuickSliceV62-qsmc\QS
Once you have access to a computer that runs QuickSlice, check for the following settings: machine default = FDM 1650,
also indicate that you want 0.01-inch slices, and run with TP12 nozzles, dispensing ABS P400 Material and ABS P400 Release (= support).

I found the reason that I could not see the "Create Roads" button!
QuickSlice expects a display screen with at least 1280 by 1024 pixels.
My settings on the ThinkPad were too low and so the "Create Roads" button was hidden under the "Select Options" panel.
Once the display was set to the proper resolution, the program ran just fine ...  (But some scrolling of the window was required  :-)

Running QuickSlice from other machines:

Logon to any Instructional Windows machine (e.g. in 349 Soda or in 199 Cory or 105 Cory).
Alternatively, logon to a Windows Remote Desktop Server (i.e., Terminal Server).
On the instructional Macs the "Remote Desktop Connection" program is in the Applications folder.

Examine your shapes generated in SLIDE with the QuickSlice program.

These are the basic steps:

• Orient and scale your design for a not-too-lengthy build time (for the bell, keep it within a 2-inch cube).
• Save this model as a g-zipped .STL-file, and place it into your public_html directory, so we can access it with a browser, if necessary.
• Capture a representative shaded view of your object, and save it as a jpg or gif file, and mail this to me before the deadline.
  
• Slice the shape into the individual layers from which the object will be composed {use "Slices" tab}
  
• Inspect these layers to make sure that the machine understands what you had in mind;
  in particular, make sure that there are no yellow (non-closed) contours; if necessary use "Edit Curves" to fix them.
• Create the supports necessary beneath extreme overhangs that slope out by less than 45 degrees {use "Supports" tab},
• Form a "Base" on which the part will be constructed.
• Generate the actual paths ("Roads") along which the plastic filament will be deposited.
• Inspect the generated filled layers and make sure that all features are thick enough to accommodate the outline roads along the red slice contours
  as well as some amount of internal zig-zag-fill roads (to give the walls sufficient physical strength).
• If something is really wrong, you must go back to your design and change some paramters (e.g., wall thickness), and run through the above steps again.
  
• Save the final good  SML_file  in your public_html directory, so that you can grab it with a browser on the workstation that drives the FDM machine.
  When you do this save, the program will also report an estimation of the build time;
  -- make sure that it is reasonable to build that part. (Assume you would have to pay 4-5$ per hour.)

Due Date: Monday, 10/3/2011, 4pm

Due: Wednesday, 10/12/2011, 4pm