Variable fill density

I have a design that is a bit top heavy.

I was thinking a good fix would be to have infill 100% for the bottom layers, and ~20% for the upper layers.

Any idea how to do this?

My preferred software is Cura, Pronterface (and if i need a text editor, Notepad++) running on Windows 7. But if there is a software that has this option built in or makes this easier, I am all for giving it a shot.

Thanks devs,

--DrXenocide
College Park MD, USA

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/12/2015 11:09AM by drxenocide.

I've not tried Cura. There are two or three ways to accomplish this in Slic3r.

This one's also simple enough that if you're using absolute coordinates throughout you could also make two gcode files with different settings and use the parts of each that correspond to the Z layers where you want to use the corresponding settings.

Suppose I were an idiot. Further suppose that this hypothetical idiot did not know what an absolute coordinate was.

Could you explain a little further?

I'm guessing your saying I make 2 gcode files, one with infil .2 and one with infill 1.0, then checking the z coordinate, splice the top code block from the 1.0 file with the bottom code block of the 0.2 file?

Alternatively, what is one way in slic3r that would be most likely for me not to screw up?

Thanks a lot for your help,
--DrXenocide

Without reference to Slic3r in front of me at the moment I can only say the beta includes a function called "Modifiers" that is reasonably well documented. I don't remember off the top of my head if the split function would do what you want. If it would that would be easier.

Absolute dimensioning sends the tool head to a coordinate in the same 3D coordinate system every time. Relative positioning sends the tool head to a position relative to where it currently is. For example, if you're using .1 mm layers, absolute positioning would make the first z move start with G1 Z.1 and the second G1 Z.2, then G1 Z.3, and so forth as it goes .1mm higher each time. In relative positioning, every Z move would start with G1 Z.1 to go .1mm higher than it currently is. To use the first half of one G code and the second half of the other, you really just have to make sure the first X/Y move on the new layer is absolute and the extruder zero point is reset. Again, I'd need to reference my g codes to remember 100% what the codes for that are, since I don't do them manually often.

Thank you very much, that should give me enough to go on.