UnofficialSimplify3DDocumentation

Simplify3Disacommercialslicerand3Dprinterhost.Ithasanumberofusefulfeatures,butfiguringoutwhat
everythingdoescanbeadauntingtaskforsomeonewhoisnotalreadyfamiliarwith3Dprinting.Thisdocument
isanattempttofillsomeofthegaps.ItisnotofficiallysanctionedbyoraffiliatedwithSimplify3D.
IamusingaMac;someofthekeyboardshortcutsmaybedifferentonWindowsorLinux.

Tutorials
ThereareanumberoftutorialsonSimplify3D'swebsitethatcovervariousaspectsofthesoftware.Gothrough
thosefirst.

TheInterface

ModelsSection
TheModelsareaiswhereyouspecifythe3Dmodelfilesyouwanttoworkwith.UseImportordraganddrop
filesintothelistareatoaddfiles.RemovefileswiththeRemovebutton.Thecheckboxesnexttothefilenames
hideandshowthatfileinthepreviewarea.Doubleclickonthefilenameoronamodelinthepreviewareato
viewandedititsproperties(rotate,scale,position,dimensions).
Whenmovingobjectsaround,theymaynolongerbepositionedonthefloor.TheDropbuttonmakessure
everythinghasitslowestpointonthefloor.
TheArrangebuttonautoarrangesallvisiblemodelsinacompactclusteraroundthecenteroftheprintingarea.

PreviewArea
Thepreviewareainthecenterdisplaysyourmodelsastheywillbeprinted.Thesizeofyourprintingareashould
beconfiguredinthePreferencesmenuundertheMachinetab.Youcandirectlymanipulateyourmodelsinthis
window.
Leftdragrotatestheview.
Rightdragtranslatestheview.
Shiftleftdragzoomsinandout,asdoesthescrollwheel.
Clickonamodeltoselectit.
Altleftdragleftandrightonamodeltorotateit.
Cmdleftdrag(CtrlleftdragonaPC)onamodeltomoveitaroundthebed.Thecamerawillshift
temporarilytoanoverheadviewpointwhileyoumoveitaround.
Cmdrightdrag(CtrlrightdragonaPC)upanddownonamodeltoscaleit.
Doubleclickingonamodelwillbringupanoptionsscreentoletyoudoalloftheabovetransformationsmore
preciselyusingnumbers.

Whenpreviewingagcodefile(describedinthenextsection),thepreviewareadisplaysarepresentationofthe
actualinstructionsthatwillbesenttotheprinter.Youcanvirtuallyplaybackhowtheprintwillprogressusing
thecontrolsthatappearunderneath.
UnderShowareasetofcheckboxesthatdeterminewhatappearsinthegcodepreview.Tabletogglesthegray
griddedplanewhichrepresentsyourprinterbed.Toolshowsandhidesthevirtualtoolheadrepresentingyour
extruder.Rapidsdisplaystravelmoves(whenyourextruderisnotlayingdownplastic)asredlines,indicating
highspeedmoves.Retractsshowsandhidessmallsphereswhereretractmovesoccur,whentheextrudergoes

intoreversetosuckupplasticsothatitdoesn'toozeoutduringatravelmove.
PreviewBychooseswhetheryouwouldliketheplaybacktoadvancelinebylineorlayerbylayer.TheStartand
Endslidersallowyoutomanuallydisplayarangeofthegcodefiletobeshown.Youcanusethemtomanually
inspectspecificareasofyourprint.LinkSlidersmovesthetwosliderstogether,sothatyouareonlyviewinga
lineorlayeratatime.ItisgenerallyonlyusefulwhenPreviewByissettolayer,asotherwisenothingotherthan
thetoolheadwillbeshown.Thetwoarrowbuttonsallowyoutostepforwardandbackonelineorlayerata
time.

Toolbar
Therightsidetoolbargivesyouquickaccesstosomecommonfunctions.Thefirstsetofbuttonsmovesthe
cameratosetlocations:adefaultzoomedoutview,andtop,frontandsideviews.
Thenextfourbuttonschangehowthemodelisdisplayed:asasolid,wireframe,pointcloud,orfacenormals.
Usuallythisisleftinsolidmode,butsomeoftheotherviewscanbeusefulwhenviewingcomplexmodels.Note
thatitispossibletohavenoneoftheviewmodesselected,inwhichcasenothingwillbevisible.
Thelightbulbturnslightingonandoff,andisgenerallylefton.Thehalfcubebelowthatbringsupadialogto
viewacrosssectionofyourmodel;usefulforgettingalookatfeaturesoftheinsideofacomplexmodel.
ThegearbringsuptheMachineControlPanel,coveredbelow.
Finally,theStonehengelikeiconatthebottomisforaddingmanualsupports,averyusefulanddistinctive
featureofSimplify3D,alsocoveredlater.

ProcessesSection
InSimplify3D'sterminology,aProcessissetofoptionsthatwillbeappliedtoyourmodelswhenpreparingitfor
printing.Youcanhaveanynumberofprocesses,whichcanbeappliedtoallortoasubsetofyourmodels,ora
rangeoflayers,orbothatonce.Howthisisdonewillbecoveredbelowintheworkflowsection.Inthesimplest
andmostcommoncase,oneprocessisappliedtoallthelayersofonemodel.
TheAddandDeletebuttonsareselfexplanatory.Preparebeginstheprocessof"slicing"(convertingyourmodel
intoa"gcode"filecontaininglowlevelinstructionsthatyourprinterwillusetoexecutetheprint).Clicking
Preparepromptsyouforafilenameandlocationwheretheresultinggcodefilewillbesaved.Apromptwill
thenappearaskingifyouwishtopreviewthegcodefile.Youwillnearlyalwayswishtodoso,soturnthat
promptoffunderthePreferencesmenu.
ThePreviewbuttonshowseitheragreencheckmarkifyouareviewingyourmodels,orastopsignifyouare
previewingagcodefile.Clickingitasagreencheckmarkbringsupadialogforyoutospecifyagcodefiletobe
previewed.Itneednotbethesamegcodefileasoneyoujustprepared.Clickingitasastopsignwilltakeyou
backtoyourmodelview.Itwillalso,bydefault,promptyoutoaskifyouwouldliketostartyourprint.Turnthis
promptofffromthepreferencesaswell.

MachineControlPanel

InitializationSection
TheConnect/Disconnectbuttonconnectstoyour3Dprinter,whichispresumablyattachedviaUSB.Portand
baudratearesethere.YourprintermayrunstandaloneusinganSDcardandanLCDdisplay,inwhichcaseyou
donotneedtobotherwiththispanel.
ThePrintbuttonbringsupafiledialogtolocateagcodefiletoprint.Confusingly,youwillnotfindyourself
needingtousethisbuttonverymuch.ItturnsintoaStopbuttonwhenaprintisinprogress.Pausepausesa
runningprint.Duringapausedprint,dependingonyourfirmware,youmaybeabletomovetheprinthead
aroundusingthejogcontrols,anditshouldresetitselftowhereyoupauseditwhenyouresume.

GCodeLibrary
Thisiswhereallthegcodefilesyouhavepreparedarelisted.Youcanalsoaddandremoveothergcodefiles
usingthebuttonsbelow.Thelistisinreversechronologicalorder,sotobeginaprintyouwillnormallycometo
thistabandclickRunSelectedGCoderatherthanusingthebigPrintbuttonatthetop.

PositionReadout
Thisgivesyouanumericalreadoutofwherethesoftwarethinksyourextruderheadis.Itisonlyaccurateafter
theX,Y,andZaxeshavebeenhomed,eitherthroughthejogcontrolstab,thebuttonsnexttothereadouts,or
bystartingaprint.

AccessoryControl
Thisletsyoumanuallyselectatoolhead(fordualextruderprinters),settheextruderandbedtemperatures,
andcontrolyourfanifyouhaveone.Thesecontrolscontinuetoworkwhenaprintisinprogressandcanbe
usedtooverridethesettingsinyourgcodefile.

CustomCommands
Disable/EnableMotors:whenthemotorsareenabled,thebedand/orextruder(dependingonyourprinter)will
notbemoveablebyhand,astheyarebeingheldinplacebythesteppermotors.Youmustdisablemotorsto
movethemmanually.Usinganyofthejogcontrolswillenablethemotorforthataxisautomatically.
PrintfromSDCard:thisbringsupadialogtochooseafileonanSDcardattachedtoyourprinter,ifitiscapable
ofrunningSDcardprints.
PauseSDPrint:ifanSDcardprintisinprogress,youmustusethisbuttonandnotthebigpausebuttonatthe
topofthewindow.
UploadtoSDCard:somefirmwaresallowyoutouploadfilesdirectlytotheSDcardontheprinterusingUSB.
Thiswilloccuratthebaudrateyouareconnectedtotheprinterat,whichis,comparedtonormalfiletransfer
speeds,veryslow.ItismuchfastertotransferfilesbyremovingtheSDcardfromtheprinterandconnectingit
toyourcomputer.
SDCardStatus:tellsyouifyourSDcardisreadableornot.Theremaybeamalfunction,anSDcardmaynotbe
insertedintothereader,oryourprintermaynothaveanSDcardreader.IfyouarerunningaprintfromtheSD
cardandSimplify3Disconnectedtotheprinteratthesametime,thenclickingonthisbuttonwillcausethe
printertoreportbackhowmanybytesithasprocessedvs.thetotalnumberofbytesinthegcodefile.Thisis
usefulforgettingasenseofhowmuchlongertheprintwilltake,butitisnotaprecisemeasurementsince
differentgcodecommandstakeadifferentamountoftimetoexecuteontheprinter.
MacroButtons:Thethreebuttonsbelowareconfigurabletorungcodemacros,setupthroughtheToolsmenu
underFirmwareConfiguration.Macrosaresentstraighttotheprinteraswritten,socannotcontainany
comments.Thereisalsoanunspecifiedlimittohowlongthemacroscanbe.Thebuttontitlesareeditable.(On
aMac,withtheunifiedmenubar,theToolsmenuisnotvisiblewhiletheMachineControlPanelistopmost;you
mustgobacktothemainSimplify3Dwindowtoaccessit.)
OverrideSettings:thetwojogdialsallowyoutomodifymovementandextrusionrateswhileaprintisin
progress.Thiscanbeusefulinfinetuningyoursettings.

Workflow
Loadyourmodels
UsetheImportbuttonintheModelssection,ordraganddropfilesthereorinthepreviewarea,toloadyour
modelfiles.TheywillusuallybeSTLfiles,butOBJfilesarealsoaccepted.

Positionyourmodels
Modelsappearatyourbedorigin,usuallysettobethelowerleftcornerofthebed(thisisconfigurableunder

Preferences/Machine).UsetheArrangebuttontoautoarrangethemnearthecenter,ormanuallyplacethem
usingthepreviewwindoworeditdialogs.Ifyoudomanuallymoveyourmodels,makesuretousetheDrop
buttonsononeofthemarehoveringoverthebed.

Addsupports

Simplify3D'smanualsupportgenerationisoneofitsstandoutfeatures.Ifyouwishtomanuallydefinesupports,
thisisthetimetodoit.Here,I'veturnedoneofthemodelsonitssideasanexample.
SupportPillarResolution:automatedsupportisgeneratedasarectilineargrid.Thisoptiondefinesthesizeof
thatgrid.Usingasmallergridwillprovidebettersupportformodelsthathavealotoffinedetailthatneed
supportstructures,butatthecostofmorefilamentuseandlongerprints.Ifyouhaveanyrepeatingfeatures
thatneedsupport,trysettingthistoadistancethatdividesevenlyintotherepeatingdistance.
MaxOverhangAngle:definestheoverhangangleatwhichtheautomatedsupportgenerationwillstartadding
insupports.45degreesisthedefault,asmostprinterscanhandleupto45degreeoverhangs.However,ifyou
wishtoactuallyprint45degreeoverhangswithoutgeneratingautomaticsupportforthem,youshouldsetthis
to46degrees.
Applybasedonoverhangangle:thisbuttoninsertssupportbasedonthetwopreviousparameters.Itgenerates
thesamesupportyouwouldgetifyouenablesupportinyourprofilebutdidnotspecifyanymanualsupports.
ItisusefultousetheautomatedsupportasastartingplaceusingtheGriddedPlacementsettings.Youcanalso
manuallymodifythegeneratedsupportstructurebyaddingorremovingsupportsusingthebuttonsinthe
ManualPlacementssection.Toaddmanualsupport,clickAddnewsupportstructuresandmoveyourmouse
aroundinthemodelpreviewarea.Agraycolumnwilltrackyourmouse.Ifitreachesofftothesky,youcannot
placesupportthere.Whenitappearsasacolumnthatendsonpartofyourmodel,clickthemousetoadd

supporttothatarea.
Youcanrotateandtranslatetheviewasusual,buttakecarenottobeginarotationunlessthegraycolumnisin
alocationthatdoesnottouchthemodel,oryouwillgenerateasupportthereinadvertently.
Becausetheautomatedsupportisgeneratedonagridsystem,itmaynotreachtoareasthatneedsupportthe
most.Trytocoveranyoverhangingcornersthathavebeenmissed.Anyoverhangingholesorcurvesshould
havetheiredgeswellsupported.
Whilethesupportlookslikeaseriesofcolumnsinthepreview,theactualgeneratedsupportwillbeconnected
inrectilinearpatterns.Simplify3D'ssupportismarkedlyeasiertoremovethanotherslicers'.

Addaprocess
Processesarewhereyoumustmakethedecisionsthatwillaffecthowyourprintturnsout.Therearealotof
settingsthatcanbechanged,eachofwhichmustbetunedforyourprinterormaketradeoffsinqualityfor
speed.Someofthesedecisionscanbeleftthesameforthemajorityofyourprintsoncetuned;othersyouwill
wanttochangemoreoften.

CommonSettings

ThemostcommonlyadjustedsettingsareavailableatthetopoftheFFFSettingsdialog,whichappearsafter
youaddaprocess.Thisportionremainsvisiblewheneverthisdialogisup.IfSimplify3Dcomeswithaprofilefor
yourprinter,youcanbeginbyselectingyourprinter'spresetprofile,selectingyourmaterial,optingforMedium
orHighQualityandbeoff.Youcanalsoselectyourinfillpercentageandturnraftandsupportonandofffrom
thisarea.Thesetermswillbedescribedindetailbelow.

Import/Export
TheExportbuttontakesyourcurrentsettingsandsavesthemtoafilethatyouspecify.Exportedfileshavean
FFFextension,whichstandsfor"fusedfilamentfabrication".Youwillwanttoexportafteryouhavemadesome
changesandwishtoreusethem,ortoshareprofileswithothers.
Onceyouhaveexportedaprofile,youmustimportittohaveitappearintheSelectProfiledropdown.AnFFF
fileonlyneedstobeimportedonce.Ifyoureplaceonebyexportingtoitagain,thechangeswillbereflected.
Onesourceofconfusionisthatwhenyouaddaprocesstoaproject,nomatterwhatisdisplayedunderthe
SelectProfiledropdown,allsettingswilldefaulttobeacopyofthelastprocessyouused.Thisishandywhen
creatingaseriesofsimilarprofilesforasingleproject.ItcanbeconfusingwhenyoulastusedSimplify3Dsome
timeagoandyouthinkyouareworkingwiththeprofilethatisshowninthedropdown.Inthesituationwhere

youhavemadesomechangesandwanttogetbacktothesettingsintheprofilebeingdisplayed,switchtoa
differentprofileatrandom,thenswitchbacktoyourdesiredprofile.

ExtruderTab

UndertheExtrudertab,wefindextrusionrelatedoptions.MostprinterswillonlyhaveonePrimaryExtruder.
Nozzlediameter:setthistobeyourextruder'snozzlediameter,usuallyeither0.35mmor0.5mm.Once
set,youshouldn'tneedtorevisitthisunlessyouchangeextrudernozzles.
ExtrusionMultiplier:thisspecifiesamultipliertoadjusttheflowrate.Thisisafinetuningsetting,andmay
needtobeadjustedfordifferentfilaments.Aneasywaytofindthepropermultiplieristosetthisto1.0and
usetheExtrusionOverridejogdialintheMachineControlPanelduringaprinttoadjusttheflowrateuntil
youarehappywiththeresults.Youshouldthentransferthatvaluetothisfield(expressedasaratio),and
resettheoverridedialto100%.
Extrusionwidth:thisisthethicknessofthetrackslaiddownduringextrusion.Forbestresults,thisshould
benolessthanyournozzlediameterandatleast1.2timesyourlayerheightinthelayertab.Youcansetthis
toAutotohaveSimplify3Dselectavalueforyou,butforlowerlayerheightsitcanselectverylargevalues.I
prefertoleavethissetto0.40.5mmfora0.35mmnozzle.Foradiscussionofchoosinganextrusionwidth,
seeTriffidHunter'sCalibrationGuide.
IntheOozeControlssection,wefindtheretractionsettings.Retractioniswhentheextruderreversesbrieflyin
ordertosuckthemoltenfilamentupasmallamountsothatitdoesnotoozeoutwhenitshouldn't.This
preventsstringingandblobs.Retractionlengthandspeedaretheamountandvelocitythisretractionoccursat.
Retractionlengthshouldbeincreasedtoadistancethatisnecessarytopreventoozingbutnomore,anddone

atashighaspeedasyourprintercanmanage.
ExtraRestartDistancecontrolshowmuchextraextrusioniscalledforwhentheextruderisresetaftera
retraction.Positivedistanceswillcallforalittleextrafilamentforarestart,andisusefulforprintersusing
Bowdenextruders.Otherprintersmayneedasmallnegativerestartdistanceifthereisoozeatthebeginningof
lines.Ideally,thisshouldbesettozero.
Retractionverticalliftraisestheextruderheadthespecifiedamountduringeachretraction,andlowersitthe
samedistancetobeginthenextsegment.Thisisusefulifyoufindyournozzleoroozeiscontactingportionsof
yourprintduringtravel,orifyoudonotwantthenozzlemarringthetopsurfaceofyourprintwithtravelmarks,
butusingitwillslowdownyourprints.
TwomoreoozefightingoptionsareCoastatendandWipenozzle.Coastturnsofftheextruderthespecified
distancebeforeitnormallywould,todrainwhatwouldhaveoozedastheendofaline.Thiscanhelpwithooze
inducedblobsattheendoflines,butifturneduptoohighwillleadtogapsinyourprintwalls.Changestothis
settingwillbevisibleasgapsinthegcodepreview.
Wipehasthenozzleretraceoverthestartofaperimeterlineattheendofaperimeterforthespecified
distancewiththeextruderoff,toleaveanyoozebehindbeforeproceeding.ItissimilartoCoastinthatitmoves
theextruderwithoutextruding,butwipeoccursaftertheendofthelinewhilecoastoccursbefore.
OnecommonlyoverlookedbuttonIwillcoverhere,althoughitappearsunderallthetabs,istheSelect
Modelsbuttoninthelowerleft.Whenyouaddanewprocess,itwillapplytoallmodelsthatwerevisiblewhen
theprocesswasadded.Ifyousubsequentlyaddamodel,youmaywonderwhyitisnotappearinginthegcode
previewafterprocessing.Clicktheselectmodelsbuttonandmakesureallthemodelsyouwishtoapplythis
profiletoareselected.

LayerTab

LayerSettings
TheLayertabcontainsallthelayerrelatedprintoptions.ThemostimportantoftheseisthePrimaryLayer
Height.Thisdeterminesthethicknessofeachlayer.Thisshouldstayunder80%ofyournozzlediameter,sofora
0.35mmnozzle,keepthisunder0.28mm.0.200.25mmisagooddefaultmediumlayerheight,0.15getsyoua
smoothersurfaceatthecostofincreasedprinttimes,and0.1andlowercanbeusedforveryhighquality
surfaceswithverylongprinttimes.Thelowerlimittothissettingislimitedmainlybyyourprinter'sabilityto
sustainverylowextrusionspeedsreliably.Whenyougotoalowerlayerheight,itisnotnecessarytoadjustthe
extrusionwidthtomatch.
Thenextthreefields,TopandBottomSolidLayersandOutline/PerimeterShells,controlshowthickyouwant
thesolidwallsofyourprintedobjecttobe.Usually,3Dprintedobjectsarenotprintedassolidchunksofplastic
becauseitwouldunnecessarilywastefulinfilament.Instead,theyaremostlyhollowshells,withsomesolid
layersonthetopandbottomandallsides,andtheinteriorcontainingalowerdensity"infill"whichactsasan
internalsupport.Oneshellisusuallytoothin,sotwoisthelowestnumberofsolidlayersandshellsyoushould
startat,andIfindthatthreetoplayersareoftenneededtohidedefectsfromlowdensityinfill.Ifyougoto
lowerlayerheights,youmaywishtousehighervaluestokeepthesolidshellsatasimilarthickness.
OutlineDirectiondetermineswhetherperimetersaredrawnfromtheinsideoutorviceversa.OutsideIncan
giveyouamarginallybettersurfacefinish,butInsideOutishelpfulwhenprintingmodelswithoverhangs,to
givetheoutermostperimetersomethingtoclingto.
Userandomstartpointforperimeteroutlinesisusedbecausetheprocessofstartingorendingaperimeter

cancausebumpsorpitstoformonthesurfacewheretheperimeterisstarted.Turningthisoptionon
distributesthoseimperfectionstorandomlocationsaroundtheoutsideratherthanhavingthemallappear
togetherasaseamrunningverticallyuptheside.Iprefertohaveaseamratherthanrandomzitsalloverthe
object,soIleavethisturnedoff.
Theprintislandssequentiallywithoutoptimizationoptionchangestheorderinwhichtheslicerprints
"islands",orisolatedareasofaparticularlayer.Usually,itwillprintalltheislandsofalayerinorder,thendothe
nextlayerinreverseordersothattimeisn'twastedintravelingbacktotheoriginalfirstislandtostartover.This
isgoodforreducingprinttimes,butforsmallobjectswhereeachlayerdoesn'ttakealongtime,itisbadfor
cooling.Thehotextruderwarmstheplasticnearit,andlayingdownnewplasticontopofwarmplasticleadsto
deformation.Theislandsnearthestartandendofthesequencegetadoubledoseofheatbecausetheygettwo
consecutivelayersatatime.Printingthemsequentially(i.e.,inthesameordereverytime)giveseveryisland
thesameamountoftimetocoolbetweenlayers.
Vasemodeisusefulforprintingsingleoutlinenoinfillobjects,usuallyvases.Itprintsasasinglegraduallyrising
spiralratherthanasanumberofdistinctlayers.Sinceeveryhobbyist3Dprinterbuilttodatehasbeenusedto
printatleastonetwistedpolygonalvase,itishelpfultohaveanoptionjustforthem.

FirstLayerSettings
Youcanspecifymodifierstothelayerheightandlayerspeedforthefirstlayeronly.Itispossibletousemultiple
processestohavethesameeffect,butyoucanusethesesettingstoeasilychangethemostcommonfirstlayer
settingseasilywithoutusingaseparateprocess.
FirstLayerHeightshouldideallybe100%,butitcanbeincreasedtomakeiteasiertostartlowlayerheight
prints.Itcanbealsousedtolowerthefirstlayerheightwithoutcorrespondinglyreducingtheextrusionrate,
whichcangivebetterfirstlayeradhesion.

RaftSettings
A"raft"isaplatformbuiltasalatticeunderneaththeprint.Itcanbehelpfultoimproveadhesionandprovidea
levelsurfaceifyourbedisn'tperfectlylevel.RaftLayersdetermineshowtallyouwanttherafttobe;Raft
Offsetdetermineshowfaroutsidetheedgeofthemodelyouwanttherafttoextendto;andRaft
Infilldeterminesitsdensity.

SkirtSettings
A"skirt"isanoutlinedrawnaroundtheprint.Drawingaskirtservestoprimetheextruderbygettingthe
filamentflowing,andgivesyoutimetomakeanylastminuteadjustmentsbeforetheprintproperstarts.Using
morethanoneskirtlayerbuildsupawallaroundthelowerlayersoftheobject,andthiscanbeusedtoinsulate
smallpartsfromcoolingdraftsthatcouldcausewarping.Skirtoffsetishowfarawayfromthemodelyouwant
theskirttobedrawn;askirtat0offsetattachestothebaseofthemodelandiscalleda"brim".Brimshelpkeep
partswithedgesthatwanttoliftoffthebednaileddown,butmustberemovedafterwards.Ideally,abrim
shouldtouchallpartsofthefirstlayeroftheobject,butinSimplify3Dittracesaroundaprojectionoftheentire
modelontotheXYplanesothat,forexample,avasewithalargerdiameteratthetopthanthebasewouldhave
nopartofthe"brim"touchinganypartofthefirstlayer.Skirtoutlinesletsyouspecifyhowmanyoutlinestobe
drawn.

LayerModifications

Ifyouwishtousemultipleprocessestochangeoptionsonalayerbylayerbasis,youmusttelloneprocessto
stopprocessingandanothertobeginprocessingonthesamelayer.Whenyoudothis,remembertoverifythat
anyprocessthatdoesnotprinttheactualfirstorlastlayerdoesnothaveanysettingsthatpertaintothefirstor
lastlayerturnedon.Thatincludestopandbottomsolidlayers,firstlayerheightandspeed,skirts/brims/rafts,
andfirstlayerfanoverride.
Ifyouwish,youcanincludeasoliddiaphragmeveryspecifiednumberoflayers,whichcangiveyouamore
solidobjectwithoutincreasingthefilldensity.

InfillTab

Thisiswhereyouselectoptionsfortheinfilldensityandpattern.Youcanalsochoosewhichextrudertousefor
infillifyouhaveaprinterwithmultipleextruders.Themostimportantoptionhereistheinfillpercentage,which
islinkedtothesliderintheGeneralSettingsportionofthewindow.15%isagoodlowerlimitforfastprintsand
lightobjects;35%forgeneralpurposeuse,and50%andaboveforsolidobjectsthatneedstrength.
AnotherimportantoptiononthistabarethePrintSparseInfillEverynlayers.Generallysetto1,youcan
increasethisvalueto2or3toprintfatinfilleveryfewlayers,speedingupprintsatlowlayerheightswithout
detrimenttothesurfacequality.Dependingonyourextrusionwidthandlayerheight,youwillquicklyreachthe
magic1.2ratioofwidthtothicknessthatisnecessaryforgoodadhesionifyougotoohigh.Ifyouinadvertently
exceedthatratiowiththisoption,Simplify3Dwillinformyouwithadialogandaskifyouwishtocontinuewhen
yougotoprepareyourprint.
Userandominfillplacementoffsetstheinfillgridbyarandomamountoneverylayer.Ifyouturnitoff,theinfill

patternmayshowthroughthewallsifyouhavetoofewperimeterorsolidlayers.However,usingittendsto
disturbthestartpointforeachlayer,soithasasimilareffectastherandomstartpointsforperimeterssetting;
ifyouwanttocollectanysurfaceirregularitiesintoasingleseam,youmustturnthisoffaswell.
Finally,theInfillAnglessettingdeterminestheanglerelativetothebedthatinfillislaiddownat.Thedefaultis
45and45degrees,soalternatinglevelswillhaveinfillinanalternatingdiagonalcrosshatchpattern.Thisworks
fineforprintsorientedNorthSouthorEastWest.Aprintthatispositionedwithitsmajoraxesnotalignedwith
thebed(forexample,ifyouhavealongobjectthatneedstobepositioneddiagonally)willhaveinfillparallel
andatrightanglestothemainaxesofthemodel,whichisnotthebestforstrength.Changingtheinfillto0and
90degreeswillprovideastrongerinfillpatterninthatcase.Ifyouhaveamodelwithcircularsymmetry,you
mighttryusingthoseanglesinadditiontothedefaults.

SupportTab

Asinfillcouldbeconsideredinternalsupport,supportstructurescouldbeconsideredas"externalinfill"
intendedtoberemoved.Manyofthesameoptionsasinfillcanbefoundhere.Youcanchooseaseparate
extrudertousetoprintsupportwith,perhapsloadedwithadissolvablematerial.
Simplify3Dmakesitssupporteasytoremovefromyourpartbyneveractuallyconnectingittoyourmodel,
makinganyattachmentweakandeasytobreakoff.TheSeparationFromPartsettingsadjuststhisseparation,
makingiteitherstrongerbyplacingthesupportcloser,orweakerstillbymovingitaway.
TheAutomaticPlacementsettingsareusedifyouhavenotdefinedmanualsupport.Thesettingsherearethe
sameasthefirsttwooptionsofthemanualsupportgenerationdialog.

TemperatureTab

Thisiswhereyousetthetemperaturesforyournozzleandheatedbed(ifpresent).UsetheAdd/Remove
TemperatureControllertoconfigureanytemperaturecontrollersyoumayhaveonyourprinter.Addasetpoint
foreachlayeryouwishtochangethetemperatureat.Usuallythisiseitheronesetpointatlayer1,ortwo
setpoints,oneforthefirstlayerandanothercoolertemperatureforlayers2andabove.Makesureyouspecify
differentlayersforeachsetpoint.
IreferyouagaintoTriffid'sconfigurationguideformoredetailsonhowtoselecttemperatures.

CoolingTab

Hereyoucancontrolyourfanspeedsandcoolingslowdownsonalayerbylayerbasis.PLAbenefitsfromhaving
afantocooldowntheplasticasitexitstheextruder,otherwiseitispronetomajorcurlingonoverhangsand
sharpcorners.However,youdonotwantcoolthefirstlayerasyouwantittoadherewelltothebed.ABSis
muchlesspronetooverhangandedgecurling,butshrinksmorethanPLAandcanpullsostronglyasitcools
thatitcanpullcornersupoffthebed,orevendelaminatepreviouslylaidlayers;afanshouldnotbeusedwith
ABS.
Smallobjectsandlayerswithlittletoprintinthemcanbefinishedsoquicklythatthereisnotimeforitto
solidifybeforeitistimetoprintthenextlayer.TheSpeedOverridessectionallowsyoutosetminimumlayer
timessothateachlayerhassufficienttime.Slowingdowntoomuchisalsobadbecausethehotextruderlingers
toolonginthesamearea,sothespeedreductionscanbelimitedtoapercentageofthenominalprintspeed.
Afancanalsoaidin"bridging",orlayingfilamentacrossagapsupportedonlybytheendsbycoolingthebridge
asitislaidsothatitdoesnotsag.
Theblipfansettingbringsafanto100%beforebringingitdowntotherequestedspeed.Ittakesmorepowerto
startanidlefanthantokeepitrunning,soafancommandedtorunat50%fromidlemaynotevenspin.This
ensuresthatitspinsnomatterwhatpowerwasrequested.Notethatfanspeedsarenotlinearinthepower
provided,andyoursmaystallatwellabove0%.
Ihavefounditeasiesttoleaveafanrunningat100%allthetimeforPLAotherthanforthefirstlayer,andnever
usingafanforABS.

GCodeTab
TheGCodetabholdssomemachinespecificsettings,whichyoushouldmakesurearecorrectforyourprinter
butotherwiseleavealone.

ScriptsTab
ScriptsletyouinsertsnippetsofGcodeatthestartandendofaprint,inbetweenlayerchanges,andat
toolchange.Byfarthemostusefularethestartandendgcodes,whichallowyoutohavecustomgcode
sequencestodothingslikesetfirmwareparameters,zeroyouraxes,purgetheextruders,turnoffthemotors
andheatersattheendofaprint,etc.Findsomeappropriatestartupandendinggcodesforyourprinter,or
comeupwithyourown.

OtherTab
TheOthertabcontainssomeofthemostusedprintsettings.Primarily,thisiswhereyousetthedefaultprinting
speed.Speedsarespecifiedinmm/min.Youmayseespeedscommonlycitedontheinternetinmm/s;divideor
multiplyby60toconvertfromonetotheother.
OutlineUnderspeedisusedtoslowdowntheperimeterstoapercentageofthedefaultprintspeed.Thetooltip
suggeststhatthisonlyappliestotheoutermostperimeter,butIhavefounditactuallyappliestoallperimeters.
Supportscanbetall,fragiletowers,soitissometimeshelpfultoreducetheirspeedtoreducethechanceof
knockingthemover.
X/YAxisMovementSpeedandZAxisMovementSpeedletsyousetthetravelspeedsfordifferentaxes.Travel
occurswhentheextruderismovedfromonelocationtoanotherwithoutextruding,andcanhappenathigh
speeds.
TheBridgingextrusionandspeedmultipliersmakemodificationstoextrusionandspeedduringbridges.You
mayhavetoexperimentwiththesetofindacombinationthatworkswellforyourprinter.Ihavefounda
combinationofslowerspeedsandslowerextrusionaidswithbridging,butyourmileagemayvary.Therealso
appearstobeabug,whereperimetersthatarealsopartofabridgeareprintedusingtheperimetersettings
ratherthanthebridgingsettings.
TheFilamentdiametershouldbesettothediameterofthefilamentyouareusing,generally1.75mmor3mm.
Ifyouhavecalipers,measuretheactualdiameterofyourfilamentatseveralpointsandadjustthisnumberto
bemoreprecise.
Underoozecontrolbehaviorareasetofoptionsthatinteractwithyourretractionandwipesettings.Theyare
forfinetuningoozebehavior,andyoucanexperimentwiththemtoseewhichonehaveanyeffectforyour
printer.

PrepareYourGcodeandPrint
Onceyouhaveoneormoreprofilesassignedtoyourmodels,clickthePreparebuttontogenerateyourgcode.If
youhaveaddedmorethanoneprocess,adialogwillappearaskingyouwhichprocessesyouwishtoapply.
UsuallyyouwillSelectAll.ThereisalsoachoiceofPrintingMode.Continuousprintingwillprintalltheprocesses
layerbylayer,asifitwereonelargeobjectwithdisconnectedcomponents.Sequentialprintingwillworkonone
processuntiltheMaxheightclearanceyouspecifyisreached,thenmovetothenextobjectandprintthatto

thesameheight,andsoon.
OpenuptheMachineControlPanelandentertheGCodeLibrarytab.Selectthetopmostiteminyourlibrary,
andRunSelectedGCode.

NitsandBugs
ThereareafewbugsinSimplify3DthatI'vecomeacross.Here'sapartiallistwithsomeworkarounds.

Slicingbug

Checkthegcodepreviewbeforestartingprints,especiallyforanyverticalholes.TheSimplify3Dslicercanhave
aproblemwithsomemodelfeaturescausingittocloseholeswithasinglelayerdiaphragmifthosefeatures
happentoexactlyaligntoalayerheight.Aworkaroundifthishappensistochangethefirstlayerheightbya
smallamount,totrytoshiftthelayersawayfromtheproblemregion(s).Soifyourfirstlayerheightis100%,try
99%or101%.
Anothermanifestationofthisbugcanbeifyourtoplayerlookslikeinfillorviceversa,strangepatternsinyour
topsurfaces,orotherunexpectedartifactswhichdonotappearinthemodel,someofwhichcanbeseeninthe
exampleimagesabove.

Perimetersandbridges
Asmentionedabove,perimetersthatarealsobridgesarerunattheperimeterspeedratherthanthebridging
speed.Thereisnoworkaround.

PreviewBugWithMultipleProcesses

OnaMac,Ihaveencounteredapreviewbugusingmultipleprocesseswherethegcodepreviewappearsto
haveagapatthestartofthelastprocess,andthedisplayofthelastprocesslooksdifferentaswell.Thereis
nothingwrongwiththegcodeitself,andusinganalternatepreviewerwillnotshowanydiscrepancies.

RapidTravelandLayerChange
Attheendofalayer,ifyoudonothaveretractateverylayerchangeturnedon,therapidtraveltothestartof
thenextlayerwilloccurbeforethetoolheadliftstothenewzheight.Thiscancausethetoolheadtoleave
tracksinanytopsurfaces.Ifyouwishtoavoidthis,turnonForceretractionbetweenlayersintheOthertabin
yourprocess.