Slicing a 3d print with OrcaSlicer

Please note: these instructions only apply to the OrcaSlicer instance on your studio workstation. OrcaSlicer or other offline slicers set up on other machines will not have profiles vetted by the Advanced Technology Office staff.

Open OrcaSlicer from the start menu or search bar.

By default, the Prusa MK3S - Yale printer profile will be selected. To use another model of printer, select one from this dropdown.

Note: Only use Yale labeled profiles when preparing print jobs for our printers.

To change your print settings, you can select a new preset profile from this dropdown or change specific settings in the tabs below it.

Add a model to your tray by clicking this button, or dragging a model onto the plate from explorer.

You can adjust, reposition, or reorient your model using the other buttons in the top toolbar.

If your model requires support, you can enable it in the Support tab on the lower left pane of the window. You can choose from Normal or Tree style support. Generally, Tree supports are easier to remove and use less material and Normal style supports will better support large flat areas. Tree supports will also support organic or rounded shapes dramatically better than Normal style supports.

If you need to use multiple types of support on a single job, separate your objects into multiple STL files, and set different support options for each mesh.

You can see the difference between the two support styles in the printed versions of this model below.

To slice your model, click on the slice plate button in the top right corner.

After slicing, OrcaSlicer will switch your interface to the Preview tab, visible at the top of the window. It will also display your print in its final form as a toolpath. The different printing maneuvers will be color coded and shown in the key provided in the overlay that appears.

At the bottom of that key is the estimator results which will show you time, material consumption, and price estimates. These are typically very accurate, though our online print submission system will make its own adjustments to these estimates.

Although no unit is shown on the Cost, please note that this is provided in $USD.

Upload to the site via a browser, you can click on the dropdown arrow next to the Print button and then select Export G-code file to the save the file to your computer.

If you need to modify your model after slicing, you can return to the prior interface by clicking on the Prepare button in the top left corner of the window.

Troubleshooting

If Orca slicer warns you that your model may need to be repaired, you can attempt automated repairs by right-clicking on your model and selecting Fix Model from the context-menu.

This may not address all potential problems with your model, but minor geometry issues can be fixed this way.

If you submitted multiple objects on the same build plate consider separating them into different jobs. Printing unattached objects separately increases their chances of printing successfully and decreases the amount of time needed to print your parts.

If you must print a set of separate objects on a single build plate, ensure that they all share a single build plate. You can do this in OrcaSlicer by using the Split to Objects function then using the Auto Arrange function.

After separating, your objects may not be aligned optimally. Don’t forget to realign your objects again using the Auto Orient function or manually with the Lay On Face function.

After reorienting, all objects should share the same base plane and have the largest flat surface aligned to it.