Hi folks!
I did a little programming over the weekend and now I would like to share the results with you.
What it is about
I have extended the awesome Photon File Validator Tool from Photonsters by the import of Prusa SL1 file format, so that the files generated by PrusaSlicer can be read in directly, without detour via ChituBox or other slicers that support .photon file format. Additionally I have implemented a Print Host, which pretends to be a Prusa SL1 printer to PrusaSlicer, so that the file can be sent to the Photon File Validator with one click, without a roundtrip via file system.
Motivation
The PrusaSlicer is - thanks to its excellent algorithms for auto-alignment and auto-support - very popular among Anycubic Photon users. Unfortunately, the currently common pipeline for print preparation is very cumbersome. Normally it works something like this:
1. Open the model in the MeshMixer or similar, hollow it out, put drainage holes in it and save it again.
2. Open the model in the PrusaSlicer, align it, generate support and save it again.
3. Open the model in ChituBox, adjust print parameters, slice and save.
4. Open model in Photon File Validator, correct errors and save.
5. Print
Even once, it's already time consuming. But if it turns out that there are still unsupported areas (and usually you will find this in the Photon File Validator, that's what the tool is for), you have to start from step 2 again. The whole open/save orgy over dozens of programs is very time consuming and just not fun. I wanted to change that.
Thanks to the new features in PrusaSlicer 2.2+ an external program for scooping out and drilling is no longer necessary, the slicer can do that by itself now. And thanks to the SL1 import into Photon File Validator you can do without proprietary slicers as an intermediate step, so it reduces the pipeline as follows
1. Open the model in PrusaSlicer, prepare it completely and transfer it to the Photon File Validator with a click on "Send to Printer".
2. Correct any errors in the Photon File Validator and save the .photon file.
3. Print
If there are some unsupported areas, simply switch to the PrusaSlicer window, fix the problem and click on "Send" again. This will reduce the time needed significantly.
Warning / Disclaimer
The software is still beta, and may contain smaller (and possibly larger) bugs. I do not take any warranty for functionality, possible damage to the printer etc. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK.
Installation
Currently no installers are provided. You need an installed Java-Runtime in version 11 or later to run the program. Download the JAR file and start the program with java -jar PhotonFileValidator.jar from the command line.
The complete source code (only necessary for developers) can be downloaded from my GitHub repository.
Usage
1. Start Photon File Validator with java -jar PhotonFileValidator.jar from the command line
2. The main window opens.
3. In the main window, click on Settings The setup dialog opens.
4. Make sure that "Print Host Settings / Current State" shows "Print Host is Running". If a problem occurs, change the port and restart the Print Host.
5. Under "Print Host Settings / Output directory", select the directory where the generated .photon files will be saved.
6. Click the button "Show PrusaSlicer settings" and follow the instructions to set up PrusaSlicer.
Basically you only need to adjust two entries in the default Prusa SL1 printer profile:
1. Set gamma correction to zero. This disables the anti-aliasing in the PrusaSlicer, as the anti-aliasing settings cannot be applied at the moment. However, this is not a limitation, as the built-in calculation in the Photon File Validator provides much finer control over the anti-aliasing settings. The import of gamma correction values is the next item on my TODO list.
2 (Optional) In the "Print Host upload" section, set the "Hostname, IP or URL" field to "http://localhost:8080" (or the port number you set). This setting allows you to send the file to Photon File Validator with one click after slicing, without having to save and reopen it.
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Link Jar file:
https://github.com/…/…/out/artifacts/PhotonFileValidator.jar
GitHub Repository:
https://github.com/3ddc-solaris/PhotonFileValidator
翻譯年糕
Alex Engbæk Christensen
2020-03-25 08:26:37
Georgio Chloe
2020-03-25 14:04:11
Bo Nørgaard
2020-03-25 20:39:12
Thanks for making the Validator even better...
David Collinson
2020-03-25 20:40:30
Thank you for your great efforts Sol!
Robert Jeppesen
2020-03-25 22:20:32
You are the most amazing person alive! At least until I find something else shiny. But seriously, this is awesome, thank you.
Christopher Fugate
2020-03-25 22:51:32
If you're updating the Validator, are you taking requests?
Because the ability to flick up and down between layers while in the zoom-in mode would be hella handy.
Bo Nørgaard
2020-03-25 22:57:22
Christopher Fugate
add your request to the GitHub, there are a small group of people who are currently improving the application.
Mimmo Lagonigro
2020-03-26 00:37:20
Kyle McPherson
2020-03-26 03:25:38
Sol Aris
2020-03-26 04:22:33
Many thanks to all for the positive feedback. I've been busy printing for a couple of days now and so far every print has been successful.
As soon as I have implemented the gamma correction and cleaned up the code, I will make a pull request so that the changes are included in the main branch.
Robert Jeppesen
2020-03-27 09:38:07
Sol Aris
Any idea what would cause this, or more importantly how to fix this?
Sol Aris
2020-03-27 10:32:24
Robert Jeppesen
You need a newer Java version. The program runs from version 11, the error message says that you have Java 8 installed.
Robert Jeppesen
2020-03-27 10:32:55
