TUTORIAL:- 3
Using CatalystEX printing in plastic
1. General Knowledge
CatalystEX is a program created by Dimension to process your model for printing. It literally
takes your model and slices it into .01" increments. This allows the printer to determine where it needs
to print. When printing in plastic, we will have certain points in our print where undercuts in our model
cause the printer to build temporary supports. These supports are printed with a material that will
dissolve when set in a bath for an hour or two. Let's get started!
2. Open your file in CatalystEX
First, open Catalyst EX. It should be located on the desktop. Next we can open our stl. When we
open our file, it should appear in the modelling window on your screen. The model imports in whatever
units you were using in your modelling program. If you need to scale your model, or even change the
units from millimetres to inches, there are options to do so. We begin in the 'General' Tab.
3. 'General' Tab
CatalystEX features multiple tabs located across the top of its window. The first tab we will
investigate is the 'General' tab. This area provides you with a default settings and status bar along the
top, but more importantly; Property Options along the right side of your screen.
Properties
The Properties area located
on the right hand side of
your screen offers a variety
of options that allow any user
to set his or her own settings
for printing. These settings
are rather simple, but are re-
viewed on the next page.
a) Layer Resolution
'Layer Resolution' determines the height of each layer of material extruded to produce a part.
Available resolutions are: .010 or .013 inch (.254 or .330 mm) Resolution will effect build time
and surface finish. A shorter height creates a smoother finish, but will take longer to build. Only
experience can help you make your decision.
b) Model Interior
'Model Interior' establishes the type of fill used for interior, solid areas of the part. The 'Solid -
normal' option is used when a stronger, more durable part is desirable. Build times will be longer
and more material will be used, thus creating higher costs. The 'Sparse' option creates an
interior that will be "honeycombed/hatched". Sparse also allows for shorter build times, less
material use. When printing surfaces or wall thicknesses smaller than .25", 'Sparse' interiors are
not recommended.
c) Support fill
Support material is used to brace the model material during the build process. It is removed
when the part is complete. Support fill options will effect the support strength and build time of
the print. The 'Basic' option may be used for most parts. It provides more support than Sparse.
Areas of the model that are considered to be of marginal strength will be supported. The 'Sparse'
option minimizes the amount of support material. Sparse supports are accordion-pleated. This
reduces structural support and is usually recommended for objects that aren't too complex and
have flat bottoms. Lastly, the 'Surround' option surrounds the entire model by support material.
Typically used for tall, thin (narrow) models (e.g., pencil). I would recommend laying your part
down in the print area rather than printing tall and thin.
d) Number of Copies
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Select the number of copies you want to Print or Add to Pack. The number of possible copies will
be limited by the size of the modelling platform. The modelling platform for the Dimension 768
SST is 8"w x 8"1 x 12"h.
e) STL Units
Select 'inches' or 'millimetres' units of measure for your STL file. STL files are created with the
units of measure defined as inches or millimetres. This information is not passed to CatalystEX
when it opens the STL file. You may need to set the appropriate units of measure for the file so
that you may work with the part in the Model window, or to fit the model part within the build
envelope.
f) STL Scale
Before you process a part for printing, you can change the size of the part within the build
envelope. Every part has a pre-defined size within the STL file. After you have opened the file
you can change the size of the part produced from the STL file by changing the scale. The Scale
always relates to the ORIGINAL (or "Save As") STL file size definition. For example: a cube that is
defined by the STL file as being 2 X 2 X 2 can be built to 4 X 4 X 4. Simply change the scale to
2.0. If, after changing the scale to 2.0, you decide that a size of 3 X 3 X 3 would be preferred,
change the scale to 1.5 - the scale relates to the original size of 2.0, NOT the resulting 4 from
the first scale change.
4. 'Orientation' Tab
If we click on the tab labelled 'Orientation', to the right of our 'General' Tab, we find options on
how to orient our part. Ideally, you should orient your part in your modelling program. However,
because you orient it in the way you think best, does not mean it actually is the proper way it should be
oriented. We revisit the idea once again, that a print should utilize the least amount of Model and
Support Material possible, while maintaining job completion in a reasonable time. In this tab, CatalystEX
provides you with tools that allow you to manipulate your model's orientation.
By now you may have discovered that the
modelling window taking up a majority of
the screen space. This displays your part
in its current orientation and size. The
modelling window also provides you with
the limits of the print area. Most
importantly, the platform area, or the
‘colane', displays 1"x1" squares. This
allows you to get a general idea of how
large your part is. In addition, the bottom
left of the screen will show you the exact
part size. Use your mouse to zoom in or
out, as well as orbit.
Modelling
Window
It can be tough and time consuming trying
to find which orientation of your part will
give you the best price and time. This is why
CatalystEX has an 'Auto Orient' Tool. This
tool will attempt to generate up to 3
different orientation options for you. If
Catalyst discovers that one option is ideal
for your part, then it will only present you
with 'Option A'. You must click on the 'Auto
Orient' button before you may view different
options. With the current half-sphere model
Auto Orient we are working with in this tutorial, its most
ideal orientation happens to be with its flat
side down.
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Other Orientation Options
If you choose to try out other orientation options, you may use the 'Orient By Selected
Surface' Command, or the 'Degree Rotation' Option Bar.
Orient Selected Surface
This option allows you to select a surface on your
model and assign it as the Bottom, Top or Front.
Degree Rotation Options
If you decide to rotate your part for whatever reason by
Degrees, this option is available. Simply Select the degree of
rotation, and choose which axis to rotate your part on.
STL Orientation and View Bar
If you would like to see your part in different views, this
bar provides you with the option to do so. Additionally, we can
undo any orientation changes we have made by selecting the
'Undo STL Orientation' Button. If you would like to see your part in
its original imported orientation, click the 'Restore STL
Orientation' Button.
Process STL
Once we have 0ur
STL object properly 0riented, we can hit the 'process STL' butt0nat the bottom of your screen.
This will determine your part's tool paths, and where support is needed. Any ABS printed will
appear as red or green, any support printed will appear in a light grey colour.
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Understanding Toolpaths
Where you may look at the big red blob on your screen as useless; if we were to zoom in
on this object, we can see much more. After processing our STL, Catalyst generated tool paths in
which it follows to extrude ABS and Support material in certain locations on our tray.
Model Interior: - Sparse – Low density
Support-fill:
Model Interior: Solid- Support fill: -
Sparse Basic
Support fill: -
Support fill: -
Support fill: -
SMART
Surrounded
Sparse
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Support fill: - Support fill: -
SMART Surrounded
Model Interior: - Sparse – High density
Support fill: - Support fill: -
Sparse Basic
Support fill: - Support fill: -
SMART Surrounded
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Layer View
After Processing, we can view each layer of the print
process by utilizing the 'Layer View' Bar now viewable in the top
right of your screen. If we look at above figures, we see two
different types of tool paths. Figure shows us a print layer with
'Sparse' selected as our model interior option. (Less Material!)
Second figure displays our 'Solid' interior option. We can visibly
see the difference.
5. 'Pack' Tab
Once we are confident that we have achieved a
desirable orientation and set our necessary print
options; we can click 'Add to Pack' at the bottom of
your screen. We may now continue to the next tab
labelled, 'Pack'.
Pack Details
The 'Pack Details' on the far right hand
side of your screen will display your
model name (as imported) the amount of
model material it will use, (cu. in.) the
amount of support material you will use,
(cu. in) the estimated time in which it will
finish, (accurate) any notes you would
like to add to the print job, and lastly, the
name of the model added to the pack,
and number i.d. assigned to it. You can
Pack
nowOptions
add the Model and Support totals,
and multiply it by the Lab's pricing/ cu.
in., and discover your total price/print.
Pack
Pack Preview Details
The 'Pack Preview' window has now
taken place of your modelling window.
This Preview is a top view of what will
be printed. Your 'Pack' is your print
setup for the tray that we will insert
into the machine for printing.
Pack Options
In order of importance: There are a few other
options for your Pack. It is first important that you
save any Pack that you are finished with and ready
to print. We can do this by clicking the 'Save As'
button. This will save your file as a .cmb file type.
This directly corresponds with the 'Insert CMB'
button. We can now insert your pack into Catalyst
later on. If you need to, you can click 'Clear Pack' to
remove any part you've added. You may also
remove them one by one with the 'Remove' button.
If you decide to use the 'Copy' Tool, or even add
different parts to the pack, you may want to hit the
Repack' button, to arrange all your parts inside of
the Pack in a way that Catalyst determines is best.
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