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« Design of the Week: Antique Scandinavian Stoves | Main | Canadian Plastic »
Sunday
Sep302012

BFB's AXON Updated

For readers using BitsFromBytes personal 3D printing equipment (that means a RapMan, BFB 3000 or 3D Touch), there's a present for you to download: a new version of AXON. 
 
AXON is the software used by BFB devices to prep the files for printing on BFB's line of 3D printers. It accepts STL and converts it into GCODE compatible with the printers according to the printing parameters you supply. 
 
While the current version of AXON was pretty good, what's new in version 2.1? Here's what we liked: 
 
  • AXON now supports raftless printing! This was only doable previously by post-processing the GCODE file to remove the raft. Now you can avoid rafts entirely directly from AXON. 
  • Surface quality is improved on the highest resolution of 0.125mm. Previously prints occasionally had bumps and holes at this resolution with default settings.
  • Improved gap bridging, always useful for those complex models.
  • Upgraded from Skeinforge 44 to version 50. While this is an improvement, we'd like to see Skeinforge replaced with something that compiles GCODE a lot faster. MakerBot has already done this. 
  • Increased ability for first layer sticking. That first layer is obviously crucial - if it doesn't stick, the rest of your model is horribly compromised.
 
No major changes, just some necessary improvements. One feature we'd like to see: ability to add multiple STL files to a single print run. 
 
Via BFB