1 simple slicer trick slashes hours off your belt printer times (CR30, Infi-20, etc.)

I've added a simple trick to my best practices for conveyor belt 3D printing that helps get parts off the printer faster.
• Belt Printer Nozzles - powerbelt3d.com/product/conve...
• Formula32 Conveyor Belts Custom-size - powerbelt3d.com/product/formu...
• Formula32 Conveyor Belts for Creality CR30 - powerbelt3d.com/product/formu...
0:00 - Intro
0:39 - 1 crucial concept
2:08 - Slice profile explained
3:09 - First layer - traditional vs belt printer
3:31 -The slicer trick
5:37 - Toolpath speed analysis
7:05 - 500mm I-beam example
7:46 - Plastic won't stick to conveyor belt
9:03 - Outro

[@RoamieTheHomie3D]

Amazing video dude! Very helpful very informative!

[@powerbelt3d]

Thank you! 😄

[@Repkord]

Great tip! I haven't played with modifiers in IdeaMaker yet... will soon rectify

[@powerbelt3d]

They're very powerful! Supports control, texture control, and more. I definitely recommend playing around with them.

[@FilamentStories]

This makes so much sense. Thanks for sharing.

[@powerbelt3d]

No problem - thanks for watching! 😄

[@MrBaskins2010]

this genius, i hadnt even thought of trying this

[@powerbelt3d]

Thank you! 😄

[@Afro3dprinter]

Excellent tip 👆

[@powerbelt3d]

Thank you! 😄

[@miestermind]

the best explaination of this technique. this is a massively important technique and likely a future window of *belt printer base layer speed z height xyz* something like that eventually

[@powerbelt3d]

Thank you! 😄 It would be awesome to see this added as an option right in the slicer.

[@miestermind]

@@powerbelt3d i noticed using this setup, its kinda SPLITTING my model and changing the speed as requested...but its SPLITTING my model....i dont have any other modifers for speed or layer changes in this modifier and ive tried with a few different files... could it be the way its writing the G code for my CR30?

[@powerbelt3d]

@@miestermind Hm it's hard to exactly the issue without photos. I'd recommend slightly changing the Z height of the modifier and seeing how that affects the output.

[@miestermind]

@@powerbelt3d which version of ideamaker was this?

[@powerbelt3d]

@@miestermind I'm running 4.2.3 it seems

[@TheKdcool]

I just received my order from you, thank you very much for the handwritten note. I never received that before, it made me feel very unique. Is the glue necessary with petg if i do batch printing?

[@powerbelt3d]

I'm happy it got there safely! 😄 Nowadays I rarely use glue stick with the Formula32 belts. If it's tensioned and the bed is level, you should be good to go.

[@morphine07]

Under the "special tab" in ideamaker there is an option under the "belt wall" section in the lower right to change the speed of outer layer shells that are touching the conveyor belt. It is called "belt wall speed". However, I tried this and it seems to be slowing back the back of the print that's facing the purge line instead of the bottom layer.

[@powerbelt3d]

Interesting - I hadn't seen that! I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the tip.

[@morphine07]

@@powerbelt3d Can I use a modifier mesh to remove the top of a model so it doesn't print the top surface layers? I am trying to print letters with no top. I set the infill and surface layers to 0 and it still prints them.

[@powerbelt3d]

@@morphine07 Modifier Meshes are tricky when belt printing. I ran a quick test trying to do what you're describing, and it worked on a traditional printer, but not a belt printer. I'm not 100% sure why, but on a Belt printer the top surface is made by the outer shell, not the top solid fill of a typical printer. I have a feeling this confuses the slicer.

[@3DPrinterDoctor]

I think your technique will work the the same way in Cura. You can turn their support blocker into a modifier mesh. Just used it the other day to make the top layers of a model solid.

[@powerbelt3d]

Good to know, thank you! I started using IdeaMaker because it supports both belt and non-belt printers. I haven't touched cura since.

[@HamzaBavcic]

Ideamaker and Creality belt software are not accurately estimating print time. Eg. print that was sliced at 42hours, printed 64hours. How to calibrate that?

[@powerbelt3d]

I'm not sure. Sorry to hear that! I'd recommend trying out IdeaMaker or Kiri-moto for slicing and maybe they'll give some more accurate estimates.

[@jcardwell3rd]

The custom nozzles clog for me. Like too much cooling occurs in them because of their length. So I’m back to regular nozzles now.

[@everettebinger5956]

You don't need to use a modifier and can use the "Belt Wall" settings within the "Special" menu (As Dank described)...

[@powerbelt3d]

I'll have to test that out! I'm curious if it affects the whole outer wall or just the portion touching the belt

[@everettebinger5956]

@@powerbelt3d It's just the line of filament that touches the belt... Which has been very sufficient for me so far.

[@powerbelt3d]

@@everettebinger5956 nice!

[@ToxicTom1967]

Why are belt printers set at 45• why is it needed? I’m super interested in belt printers I don’t think smashing the head into the print is the best way to fully automate these printers.

[@ToxicTom1967]

Why not just have the belt moving be the y axis?

[@ToxicTom1967]

Is it so it can infinitely print? If your not looking to infinitely print I’d imagine keep it 90• could save a lot of headache.

[@powerbelt3d]

You got it! The angle is for infinitely long prints. Also, a 90-degree XYZ axis setup steps into a gray area of patents.

[@ToxicTom1967]

@@powerbelt3d if your not looking to print infinitely long prints do you think a conveyor system still has the advantage over a system that swipes the piece off a standard glass bed.

[@powerbelt3d]

@@ToxicTom1967 it depends on your application. If you want to do a bunch of the same thing, I think a conveyor system is the best. If you want to do a lot of different things for different people, I like a plate-swapping system. That way each plate could have a small job number or similar indicator printed on it to keep things organized.