With only a picture of a dish (3D model file), no matter how skilled a chef (3D printer) is, it is almost impossible to perfectly restore the taste of the dish in the picture. We can compare this slicing process to cooking to better explain their relationship. In addition to the original geometric data, you can also add more auxiliary information (such as adjusting the temperature of the heated bed or nozzle, adding supports, etc.) through the slicer, so that the 3D printer can better build the model. The role it plays is to 'translate' the geometric information in the 3D model file into instruction information that can be read and understood by the 3D printer. In this way, there is an information gap between the 3D printing model and the 3D printer. Therefore, a problem arises: the 3D printer cannot read and understand the geometric information in the model file, and the model file itself does not store instruction information. However, your 3D printer is a mechanical device, of which the operation requires instruction information on How To Do, rather than geometric information describing What It Is. Such files contain geometric information, which is composed of triangular faces used to represent the contour shape of the object. The 3D printing model we obtained in Step ① is a three-dimensional graphic file (such as the STL file). So far, you might have wondered a lot: Why is slicing necessary? How does it work? And what is G Code exactly? Keep reading, and answers are on the way!Įssentially, slicing is a translating process. For your 3D printer to start printing, you need to import the 3D model into the slicing software (hereafter slicer) and send the slicing outcome - G Code - to the 3D printer. To elaborate on the concept of Slicing, let’s first have a brief look at the rough process of 3D printing.Īs you can see, obtaining the 3D model is just the end of Step ①. But there’s still one more step before your 3D printer can cast the zero-to-everything magic: Slicing the 3D model. In Feed Your 3D Printer: 17 Awesome Websites to Download 3D Models, we’ve introduced to you 17 3D model websites in distinct styles, by way of which you can gain access to abundant 3D resources and take joy in being Maker without modeling by yourself.

Simplify 3d cut model in half