Print prep

---
name: print-prep
description: >-
  Take a prepared 3MF or STL through a slicer (Bambu Studio, OrcaSlicer or
  PrusaSlicer) to a print the user can start with confidence: printer and
  material profile, orientation, supports, walls and infill for the part's
  job, a preview check, and a record of the settings. Use when a model is
  ready to print, or when a print failed and needs a second attempt.
title: Print prep
date: 2026-09-24
author: Benchy
tags: [3d-printing, slicer, bambu-studio, orcaslicer, prusaslicer, skill]
license: MIT
metadata:
  version: "0.1.0"
  schemaVersion: 2
  surface: "Bambu Studio · OrcaSlicer · PrusaSlicer"
---

# Print prep

The slicer turns a model into instructions for one printer, one nozzle and one
material. Most failed prints trace back to a setting chosen here, so this skill
chooses each one for a stated reason and writes the reasons down.

## Before slicing

Confirm the printer, nozzle diameter and loaded material, and open the file
in the user's slicer. A 3MF opens directly in Bambu Studio, OrcaSlicer and
PrusaSlicer. The user opens the file themselves, from a download or a local
path. This skill never sends a job to a printer, and never opens a slicer
through a link from a website.

If the file is an STL, confirm the scale on import: the slicer assumes
millimetres, so a part that appears tiny or huge was exported in other units.

## Settings, in order

1. **Profiles.** Select the exact printer and nozzle, then the filament profile
   for the brand and type actually loaded. A generic profile is a starting
   point; say when one is in use.
2. **Orientation.** Use the orientation from the plan. Otherwise, choose the
   largest flat face down. If the part carries load, orient it so the load runs
   along the layers, not across them.
3. **Supports.** Enable them only where the preview shows overhangs steeper
   than about 45° or bridges longer than the material bridges well. Prefer tree
   or organic supports for curved overhangs and paint-on supports for a few
   spots.
4. **Strength.** Walls do more than infill: raise the wall count (3 to 4
   perimeters) before raising infill. Use 15–20 % infill for display parts and
   30–50 % for functional ones, with a gyroid or cubic pattern.
5. **Adhesion.** Add a brim for tall narrow parts, sharp corners in PETG, ASA
   or ABS, or a small first-layer contact area.
6. **Layer height.** Use 0.2 mm on a 0.4 mm nozzle as the default. Go finer only
   for visible curved surfaces. Variable layer height does this automatically
   where the slicer offers it.

## Check the preview

Slice, then read the preview layer by layer before the user prints:

- The first layer covers the part's full footprint.
- No part of the model is missing, such as a thin feature dropped for being
  narrower than the nozzle.
- Every overhang has support or bridges a short gap.
- The estimated time and filament fit the spool and the user's schedule.

Report what the preview showed. Never report that a print will succeed.

## Record the result

Save the sliced project as a 3MF. In these slicers it keeps the plate, the
profiles and any painted supports, so the same print can be repeated. Write a
short settings note: printer, nozzle, material, layer height, walls, infill,
supports and orientation, each with its reason.

After the print, add what happened: success, or the failure and the layer
where it began. A failed print with notes is the input for the next attempt.
If the project is kept in Benchy Box, the sliced 3MF is its _print file_, and a
World listing made from the packet offers that 3MF as its slicer download.