DevOps Garfield

After you finish select and edit your projects, you will need to prepare it for printing. This process is called slicing. Imagine a pile of Lego bricks sitting in a pile on a table. You didn't just smash all of the bricks together and magically become your masterpiece. Well, maybe your the special one that can do that, but I can't. ;) For the rest of us, we build our project 1 brick at a time.

This is where the slicer software comes in. This software reads your model and cuts lots of very thin layers like a deli slicer cutting meat and cheese for your sandwich. The slicer creates the instructions used by the 3D printer. The type of file and instructions contained differ from one brand & model to another. Since we have a MakerBot file, we will be saving .makerbot files.

You will likely see the above notice at the bottom right corner

1. Click the icon that looks like a target to see the location(s) of the issue and options to resolve them
2. Click the Add Support link. The default supports are not the best type. Let's change it.
3. Click the drop-down menu next to type to select Tree
4. Click the drop-down menu next to placement to select Touching Buildplate
5. You can optionally change your infill style. All forms should be sturdy and you are not likely to see this when your print is complete.
6. Finally, click the Slice button. You should see the slicing progress bar while it's calculating the layers.
7. Check the print time in the form of a click icon and formatted like “0 hours 53 minutes”, located above the Queue button. Please keep all prints close to 1 hour in order to have time for everyone to get their projects printed.
8. Obtain a flash drive from a librarian and insert it to the USB port on your chromebook. Normally, the printer is connected to the internet for printing, which is why we have a Queue button. However, since we're not allowed to connect the printer to the network, we need to save our .makerbot files to a flash drive.
9. Ask a librarian to review your project before saving it to the flash drive. This keeps the us from wasting the material that needs to be thrown away and reprinting a new copy.
10. Click the 3 dots ( burger menu ) next to the Queue button
11. Click the Download option and save it to the flash drive
12. Eject it safely from the laptop ( DO NOT SIMPLY PULL IT OUT OF THE PORT )

Next Step: Printing