Slicing and submitting prints to the Prusa MK3S+ and Ultimaker 2 Extended in SimplyPrint

SimplyPrint manages the various print queues for our Production 3d Printing Farm. It is also possible to prepare 3d print jobs for printing through SimplyPrint by slicing mesh models in your browser.

After you produce your geometry in the 3d modeler of your choice, you can export a mesh, preferably an STL, from that software, and upload it to SimplyPrint to slice and submit it to the queue.

See our other 3d printing tutorials for more information on how best to prepare and export a mesh for printing.

After signing in to SimplyPrint go to your files page.

Click on the blue upload button in the top center of the page and browse your computer for the mesh you’d like to upload.

Note: Only files that SimplyPrint can work with can be uploaded. If the model you exported doesn’t appear, you may need to change the file format of the model to a compatible one. We recommend a binary encoded STL.

In the Files page, select the model you uploaded and click on the the gray Slice & Print File button that appears in the bottom of the right sidebar.

To quickly generate a sliced print job from your model, you can click on one of the preset basic profiles in the top right corner of the slicer interface. The default 3d printer model is the Prusa MK3S+ and the only material option is white PLA/PHA. To switch to the Ultimaker 2 Extended (for prints taller than 225mm), click on the printer model button in the top left and select one of the Ultimaker 2 Extended printers from the dropdown. The model may not be sent to that specific printer, but it will be sliced in a way to be compatible with any of them.

If you need to add another model to this print bed, click on the blue folder button on the left side of the slicer window. Left-click and drag in the window to rotate your camera around the objects on the bed. If you need to adjust the position, orientation, or scale of a model on the bed, click on the model then on the corresponding tool on the left side of the interface.

If you want to add auto-generated support, adjust the slice height, change the infill, or add a brim to your model (highly recommended for geometry with sharp corners on the base), you can do so from the Simple interface. This can be accessed by clicking on the arrow on the top left of the slicer controls and choosing it.

Students also have access to the Advanced slicing settings from that same menu. We advise caution here unless you are intimately familiar with the settings involved. While you are unlikely to damage the printers by modifying these settings, you can make your prints much more likely to fail by adjusting settings that may impact printing more than they appear to or by changing a parameter outside a recommended value.

Most likely, you will have an easier time using an offline slicer such as Cura or PrusaSlicer, which AT office staff can help you find on your computer. These programs have much more extensive documentation, well vetted base profiles, and have mouse-over text in all advanced settings that can teach users as they adjust them. After slicing with an offline slicer, follow these instructions to upload and queue your job.

After slicing, a preview of the toolpath for the printer will be shown. Look through the toolpath by rotating around it and moving the sliders at the bottom of the window to isolate different parts of the toolpath. Check for consistent and sufficient support, if support is needed, and consider reorienting your part to not require support, if that’s possible.

Check on the right side info popup to make sure that the file has been sliced for the correct printer type, and that it matches your expected print size. Check that the estimated print time and material consumption are acceptable. Material consumption corresponds to price. When submitting to the queue, you will see the final price for your print.

NOTE: Print time is the minimum amount of machine time for this model to be printed. If the print fails, or a machine or staff member is not immediately available, your print will take longer to complete than this time. Please submit prints with enough time for your job to be reviewed by staff and account for potential print failures.

Click on the Add button in the bottom right of the window when you are ready to submit the print job. Increase the number of copies if needed in the window that appears and click on the Add button again to confirm.

To view your job in the queue, go to your Printers Page and click on the QUEUE button near the top center of the page.

In the Queue you can remove any print that belongs to you or adjust the number of copies you have requested.

NOTE: Increasing copies will count as a resubmission and may change your place in the printing order. To add copies without changing your place in the order, submit the file again as a new job.

You have the ability to add a color tag to your material in this page, but currently the School of Architecture only offers white PLA/PHA filament in its production FDM printers. Putting in an alternate color request may lead to staff rejecting your print request and slowing down delivery of your print.

Your print’s price only reflects the completed cost of the print. If you cancel the print during the printing process, you will only be charged for the portion of the print that came out.

The print time shown in the top row of the queue is the total time to complete all submitted prints. Keep in mind that this total is divided amongst 36 Prusa and 10 Ultimaker printers. During printing spikes total print job times for our farm will regularly exceed 700 hours. This is typically still 24 hours or less of actual total print time, and you are likely to still have your part start in the next day. Check back on the queue periodically to assess how quickly it is moving and speak with AT staff if you have any concerns.