January 26, 2023
Description
This mission patch is printed flat without color changes based on layers or the use of a MMU.
.gcode file or the .3mf file (note, you will need to remove the first tool change if you slice it your self. Look for ;BEGIN_TOOL_CHANGE just after the ;intro line gcode)TLDR; The logo is converted to an SVG vector image file and then cut-up into it's main shapes per color. Then those are rendered via OpenSCAD into 3D shapes and combined in Blender to form a single .obj file. Then with some clever slicer configuration the desired effect can be achieved.
Comment out all colors except one and render it to a .stl file and name them something sensible (like to colors!). Directly rendering all colors, would give you just the triangle without any parts of the logo.
Then combine them in Blender (or any other 3D modelling tool) into an .obj file. I found this is the easiest format to work with multiple objects in a single file.
Now you are ready to slice!
Load your combined model into Prusa slicer and right click on it in the object tree and click then Split/To Parts. Note: This obviously involves the expert view of settings, so make sure it is enabled (since you are about to become an expert!)
Under Printer Settings change the following:
General/Capabilities/Extruders to 5Custom G-code/Tool change G-Code to ;BEGIN_TOOL_CHANGE
M600
G1 E0.4 F1500 ; prime after color change
;END_TOOL_CHANGEFor each extruder change the following:
Retraction when the tool is disabled/Length to 0Under the Print Settings tab change the following:
Speed/Modifiers/First layer speed to 8 mm/s (yes, this is slow, but it does make sure that small details stick to the build plate!)Multiple Extruders/Wipe tower/Enable to false (no need for it!)Optionally, you can increase the perimeters for a nicer result on some shapes. I set it to 99 for most colors and left it at 2 for the white parts, which gave a very nice effect.
Also check out my other model using this technique: Rummikub tiles found here: https://www.printables.com/model/130082-multicolor-rummikub-tiles
License:
Creative Commons — Attribution — Share Alike