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Put things on the print bed and send them to a printer

Add Library items or your own model to your printer's bed, arrange them, look through the sliced layers, and send the print over USB or the network, or save the G-code, without exporting an STL first.

Written for ModelCraft 0.9. The same help is inside the app: press F1.

The Print stage lays things out on your printer's bed, slices them and sends them to the printer. You do not export a file first. It belongs to the 3D Print add-on, which is on by default.

What you'll do

Put a model on the bed, check that it fits, look at the sliced layers, and send it to a printer or save the G-code.

Steps

  1. Click Print stage in the toolbar. A card opens over the view and a dashed outline shows your bed.
  2. Under Add from the Library, type a name in the search box, press Search and press Add on a result. The item lands on the bed at full size, or scaled down to fit. Anything you have already drawn or imported and can see in the view is on the bed too.
  3. Under On the bed, check the size of each item. An item marked Off the bed needs to be moved. Move, rotate and scale things in the view with the usual tools.
  4. Press Arrange on the bed to spread the items out, or Fit all on the bed to scale them down until they fit.
  5. Under Your printer, pick the Bed size or one of the printer profiles.
  6. Under Print settings, pick the Material, the Quality and the Infill %, and tick Add supports under overhangs if the shape needs them.
  7. Press Preview layers and move the Layer slider to look through the sliced layers. If you change the stage or the settings afterwards, press Preview layers again.
  8. Under Connection, pick USB cable, Klipper (Moonraker), OctoPrint or PrusaLink. For USB press Connect. For a network printer type its Address (and the API key if it asks), then press Test the connection.
  9. Press Send to 3D printer. The card asks whether the bed is clear and the right material is loaded, and shows the time, the material and the temperatures. Confirm to send.

You get a message that the printer is starting. Stop the print turns the heaters, fan and motors off. If you only want a file, press Save the G-code instead.

Notes

  • USB needs Chrome or Edge on a computer, and the page must stay open until the print ends. Closing it stops the stream.
  • A network printer has to allow this site (in Moonraker add it to cors_domains; in OctoPrint turn on CORS and copy an API key). Your browser may ask to reach devices on your network.
  • Nothing connects or sends without your click.
  • The slicer list is under Slicer. CadCraft basic (included, fastest) is built in. Kiri:Moto, PrusaSlicer, OrcaSlicer and the Bambu Lab P2S are add-ons of their own that you switch on from the card or under Settings › Add-ons. PrusaSlicer and OrcaSlicer use your own copy and work from CadCraft Studio on a computer.
  • Pieces that are not closed solids are left out, and the card tells you how much of the shape that is.
  • For resin printers, see Slice for a resin printer. To check or repair a model first, see Supports, wall thickness, hollowing and repair.