Manufacturing > Additive Manufacturing > To Set Additive Manufacturing Options
To Set Additive Manufacturing Options
This topic provides information about accessing the Additive Manufacturing options page, and setting options:
Accessing the Additive Manufacturing options
Use this procedure to access the options listed in this topic.
1. Click File > Options. The Creo Parametric Options dialog box opens.
2. Click Additive Manufacturing. The additive manufacturing settings page opens.
Adding and removing 3D printers
1. To add a new 3D printer, under 3D Printer Setup, click 3D Printers Settings. The 3D Printers dialog box opens.
2. Click . The Add Printer dialog box opens.
3. Select which printer manufacturer you are going to install and click Next.
4. Select whether you want to install the 3D printer Manually or Automatically and click Next.
5. Provide additional information depending whether you selected automatic or manual installation for the 3D printer:
◦ Automatically
Provide the network IP and click Next.
◦ Manually
Provide the following details and click Finish:
▪ Printer Name—Provide a name for the printer.
▪ Model—Select the 3D printer model from the list.
▪ Technology—Select the 3D printer technology from the list.
▪ Tray Dimensions—Provide the tray dimensions for X, Y, and Z.
▪ URL–Provide the full address of the 3D printer, including the IP of the computer or server that is running the printing service, the port number, and the printer service name, in the following format:
http://<computer IP>:<Port number>/<Service name>
For example, in the URL
http://132.253.189.138:57001/PrinterService
▪ The IP address of the computer that is running the 3D printer service is 132.253.189.138
▪ The port number is 57001
▪ The service name is PrinterService
▪ Info—Provide a link to the manufacturer’s website.
6. To set a 3D printer as the default printer, select the printer and click . The indicator is located next to the printer.
7. To remove a 3D printer, select its name and click
8. Click OK. The 3D Printers window closes.
Setting up printability validation parameters
1. Under Printability Validation, define the Minimum allowed gap and Tolerance, and select the highlight color. The printability issue will be highlighted in this color in the graphics window.
2. Define the Minimum wall thickness and Tolerance, and select the highlight color.
Setting up slicing parameters
1. Under Slicing Options, click Slicing parameters. The Slicing Parameters dialog box opens.
2. Define any of the following parameters:
◦ To define the height of each sliced layer, type the height in mm next to Layer height.
◦ To define the distance above the tray at which slicing begins, type the distance in mm next to Set min z value.
◦ To define the vertical location at which slicing is done within each layer, in the Slicing Location list, select Base, Mid, or Top.
◦ To ignore any empty layers between the tray and the bottom surface of the model, select the Discard empty base slices check box.
◦ To define the file format for the CLI file, next to CLI format, select ASCII or Binary.
◦ To create one CLI file for the solid geometry, and a separate CLI file for each lattice structure, select the Create multiple CLI files for the model check box. A CLI file will always be created separately for the support structures.
◦ To use multithreaded calculation during slicing, select from 1 (single thread) through 8 CPUs for calculation in the Number of CPUs for slicing calculation box.
Setting up STL and 3MF export parameters
• To define the STL file format to use when you export your model to an STL file, select Binary or ASCII.
• To allow negative values in the exported STL file, select Allow negative values.
• To define the default chord height in the exported 3MF or STL file, select User defined minimum possible chord height and type the chord height value.
• To define the default angle control in the exported 3MF or STL file, select User defined minimum possible angle and type the angle value.
• To define the default step size in the exported 3MF or STL file, select Step size and type the step size value.
• To use the maximum chord heights that are proportional to the component sizes for first level components of the tray during tesselation, select Use proportional chord heights.
• To use the maximum step sizes that are proportional to the component sizes for first level components of the tray during tesselation, select Use proportional step sizes.
• To save the lattice definition to the exported 3MF file using the 3MF lattice extension, select the Use 3MF lattice extension check box. The lattice extension can only be used for:
◦ Beams lattice with circular cross sections
◦ Simplified representation of the lattice
• To export the model bodies, lattice, and support structures as separate STL files, with the STL files contained in a ZIP file, select the Export body, lattice, and support separately check box. When selected, you can also choose the following option:
◦ For models that contain more than one body, to export each body as a separate STL file, with the STL files contained in a ZIP file, select the Export each body in a separate STL file check box.
Setting the path to the Materialise Support Generation (Materialise SG+) parameters
• To set the path to the Materialise SG+ Parameters for support structures, under Miscellaneous, next to Path to directory that contains Materialise’s SG+ parameters, click Browse, and then browse to the directory in which to keep the parameters.
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