Printing square grid holes correctly
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I have a compost tumbler aeration cover which has small 0.1" square holes.
The problem is the printer (Robo 3D Plus+) is trying to do them one at a time, when logically they should be done in a crisscross pattern.
Since the holes are small, the way it prints makes them too small and rounded off.
It's strange, since support and infill material can print crisscross patterns.
Is there a way to make it print properly?
BTW, I tried all three slicers and they print identically.
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The way infill is drawn is different than the way perimeters are drawn, so they aren't going to act the same. Perimeters are what they are because they are close to the outside of the model, and infill is the part away from that on the inside. Not that this is news to anyone familiar with 3D printing, but I'm just explaining the fundamentals first in case other readers aren't as familiar.
As such, the way the slicers all interpret these two areas of the prints are going to be vastly different, and while it's theoretically possible that infill's methods might be employed to draw more square holes in the pattern you're describing, rewriting the slicer for such an instance is probably a little more work than would be valuable to most users. Certainly not to say it wouldn't work-- it's probably just a little more work than we have the resources to spend the time on.
That said, given what you know about how the slicers act, would it be possible to change the design to make the holes more square? I realize you probably don't want to make them bigger, but if this is a model you've designed or are able to edit could you change the shape of the holes so that they print more square?
You might also be limited by the printer's capabilities. ROBO3D R1+ printers are not necessarily known for their precision.
EDIT: Also, I thought of something else. If the whole point of the model is to aerate the compost, why do the holes HAVE to be square? Would they not be effective if slightly rounded but at least the correct size?
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I'm replacing broken ones, so I closely copied the design (see below).
I could make them round, but it is a lot of holes (≈320).
My belief is circles require more time to print then squares, which is why I thought squares would be quicker.
I'll try a small test piece using circles and see what happens.
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I'm not necessarily suggesting that you make the holes round, just pointing out the fact that the compost doesn't care what shape the holes are. If the existing model prints slightly rounded holes, is that really such a bad thing? I realize you're looking for faster print time, but with the limitations of the software being what they are you might just have to make do with the status quo.
