Configure Print Settings

Parameters in the Print Tab allow you to adjust various parameters for your print job. Let's walk through each of them:

Layers

• Layer Height: Adjust the height of each printed layer, thinner layers result in finer details but take longer to print, 0.05mm is a typical value that provides a good balance between detail and print speed.

• Bottom Layer Count: This sets the number of solid layers at the bottom of the print, which helps with adhesion to the build plate. A common value is 4, but you can adjust it based on your specific print requirements.

Exposure Time

• Exposure Time/Bottom Exposure Time: This controls the duration that each layer is exposed to the light source. Longer exposure times can improve layer adhesion but may also lead to overexposure and loss of detail. There are many factors that can affect your exposure settings, the recommended exposure time given by resin manufacturers or printer manufacturers might not be suitable for your specific print job, but it can be a good starting point for adjustments. We recommend walk through the Printing Test Guide to find out the exposure time for your specific print job.

Transition Layers

• Transition Layer Count: This sets the number of layers that transition from the bottom exposure time to the normal exposure time. This is useful for prints with an extra long bottom layer exposure time, as it helps to gradually transition to the normal exposure time, reducing the risk of cracking between the bottom layers and the regular layer.

  • Transition Type: the algorithm used to transition between exposure times. Currently only Linear transition is supported, it gradually changes the exposure time over the specified transition layer count. For example, if you set the transition layer count to 4, it separates the transition interval into 5 equal parts, for regular exposure time of 2.5s and bottom exposure time of 25s, the exposure time for each transition layer will be 20.5s, 16s, 11.5s, and 7s.
  • Transition Layer Interval Time Difference: this indicates the time difference between each transition layer, it's calculated automatically and is not editable. In our example, the transition layer interval time difference would be 4.5s ((25 - 2.5)/5 = 4.5).

Waiting Mode

• Waiting Mode During Printing: This selects the waiting mode during printing, it determines how the printer behaves between layers. Supported modes are Resting time and Light off delay.

  • Resting Time: this mode allows you to set up specific waiting time before lift, after lift, and after retract, where Rest Time After Retract can be relatively critical, sufficient waiting time ensure the resin goes back to a static state after retraction, and ready for the next layer exposure.

  • Light Off Delay/Bottom Light Off Delay (legacy): Light-off delay is the total time of build plate lifts up, wait, and retract.

    WARNING

    The Light off delay mode is a legacy option, we recommend using the Resting Time mode for better control over the printing process. Some 3rd-party printers (doesn't use the .ctb format) may use the same option name but doesn't strictly consist of our definition here, we recommend reaching out to the printer manufacturer for details, or try it out yourself before printing.

Distance and Speed

Both distance and speed are separated into settings for bottom layers and regular layers. Each of these is then further divided into parameters for lift and retract, which can each be separated into two phases for better flexibility. Note that the order of the fields is important, the diagram located below the parameters highlights each phase when a specific input field is focused, please make sure you don't input values in the wrong field.

• Lift Distance/Bottom Lift Distance: This sets the distance the build plate lifts after each layer is printed.

• Retract Distance/Bottom Retract Distance: This sets the distance the build plate retracts after each layer is printed.

  NOTE

  Retract distance is limited by the Lift Distance, it's sum must equal the corresponding Lift Distance, therefore you can only modify one field of Retract Distance, CHITUBOX will calculate the other field automatically.

• Lift Speed/Bottom Lift Speed: This sets the speed at which the build plate lifts after each layer is printed.

• Retract Speed/Bottom Retract Speed: This sets the speed at which the build plate retracts after each layer is printed.

Save Settings

The Apply to Project button applies the configuration you selected in the Configuration List to the current project.

While the Save button saves your changes to the currently selected configuration.