3D printing · Slicer tricks · 6 min read

9 slicer tricks worth knowing: the checklist

Most print problems don't need a new printer or a trip back to CAD. The slicer you already use can hollow out part of a model, split a big print, save a plate from one failed part, and spend fine layers only where they show.

Video: 3D Printing Tricks You SHOULD KNOW! by InitMakes (15 min). All credit for the tricks goes to them; go subscribe.

Shimko3D take

The tip that pays for itself is the boring one: print one cheap PLA copy before you load the expensive spool or fill a plate. It catches a missing pin or a tight fit for a few grams of filament instead of a whole batch.

The checklist

Use modifiers to change one region of a print. Drop a simple shape (a cylinder, a box) into the model and give just that volume its own infill: 0% where light should pass, 100% where you need strength, normal everywhere else. ▶ 0:06
Keep isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle. It's handy for wiping the bed between prints and for loosening tiny support bits that weld themselves to the plate. ▶ 1:13
Print a plate of small parts "by object". Switch the plate's print sequence from by layer to by object. If one part comes loose, the ones already finished are safe instead of the whole plate turning to spaghetti. ▶ 3:04
Split big models with the slicer's cut tool. Cut along a plane and let the slicer add connectors (plugs, dowels, snaps, dovetails) with their own size and tolerance. No CAD edit needed for a simple split. ▶ 4:19
Prototype in cheap PLA before the good filament. One test part shows you missing features and tight fits before you spend carbon-fiber PETG or a full plate on a design that doesn't work. ▶ 6:01
Turn on adaptive layer height for curved tops. The slicer keeps coarse layers on straight sections and goes fine only where a curve would show stair-steps. In the video's example that's roughly half the time of printing fine all the way up. ▶ 7:39
Use PETG as the support interface for PLA (or the reverse). The two don't bond well, so supports pop off cleanly. Limit the second material to the interface layers only. ▶ 9:31
Only mix colors on a tool changer. Color mixing blends thin layers of two colors into a third. On a tool changer that's nearly free; on a single-nozzle AMS-style setup every swap purges filament, so it isn't worth it. ▶ 2:00
Add surface texture without CAD. CNC Kitchen's free browser tool BumpMesh wraps a texture onto a model and exports it ready to slice. ▶ 11:08

Before you trust it

A PLA test catches geometry and fit problems, not how the final material behaves. Carbon-fiber PETG shrinks and flexes differently, so check the final part too.
Print by object only works if you keep each part inside the clearance zones the slicer draws. Move parts after switching it on and the toolhead can hit a finished part.
On a single-nozzle color changer, check the purge amount and the extra time before you commit to a PETG support interface.
Connector types and tolerance settings differ between slicers and versions. Test one joint before printing both halves of something big.
Textured meshes can get heavy. Try BumpMesh on a copy of the file first.

Try it on your next print

Pick one trick you haven't used yet (print by object and adaptive layers are the easiest) and try it on something you were going to print anyway. Got a result? Send it to me; I'll feature the best ones.

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