# Slicing & Settings
You should now have your meshes as **.stl** files to prepare for slicing. Slicing is the term used to describe the process of converting your mesh file into a toolpath. The name says it all; your model is sliced into layers and each layer gets a toolpath generated.
{% hint style="danger" %}
While we upgrade the Print Farm, please refer to the Quick-Start Guide for slicing instructions using Bambu Studio
{% endhint %}
{% content-ref url="../quickstart" %}
[quickstart](https://ms-kb.msd.unimelb.edu.au/next-lab/3d-printing/3d-print-farm/quickstart)
{% endcontent-ref %}
Bambu Studio comes with multiple pre-sets of print settings that affect the quality and strength of the printed object. All of these different settings combine to create different finishing for the printed model.
Slicing Pre-sets under Process tab
You can also customise the individual settings for printability or to suit your design intention.
## General Slicing Settings
The following are the most common settings you may want to change, you can always find more details on other settings in the Slicer or official documentation on recommendations, minimums and maximums
Setting Change
Benefits
Cons
Finer / Increase
Increase in print quality or strength of part
Higher material usage (cost) and print time
Coarser / Decrease
Decrease in print quality or strength of part
Lower material usage (cost) and print time
{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Quality" %}
1. **Layer Height**
**Min: 0.15mm |** Slower, weaker, but higher Z-resolution\
**Max: 0.3mm |** Faster, stronger, but lower Z-resolution
⬥ The thickness of the each layer in the printed model\
⬥ The lower the layer height, the higher the vertical resolution of the model
1. **Seam Position**\
⬥ Seam is the gap in between starting and finishing point of printing on each layer.
An aligned seam arranges all the starting points of each printing layer at the same position across the vertical axis.
This may be unfavourable in some cases where it might cause a visible gap along a smooth print surface.
{% endtab %}
{% tab title="Strength" %}
1. **Wall Loops**
**Min: 2 |** Weaker, lower qualiity surfaces, but faster print\
**Max: 5 |** Stronger, higher surfaces, but slower print\
\
⬥ This is the number of outer shells to be printed for the object.\
⬥ The greater the wall loops, the stronger the prints will be, the longer the time it is going to take to print.
2 Wall Loops
8 Wall Loops
2. **Sparse Infill**
**Min: 7% |** Weaker, but faster and less material used\
**Max: 100% |** Stronger, but better strength achieved with more **Wall Loops (above)**\
\
⬥ Infill could be another useful way to compensate the strength of the print.\
⬥ Different infill patterns respond to different compressive behaviour.
{% hint style="info" %}
You can print a geometry with only the walls by making the infill density 0%
{% endhint %}
3. **Top / bottom shells**
**Min: 2 |** Weaker, lower qualiity surfaces, but faster print\
**Max: 5 |** Stronger, higher surfaces, but slower print
⬥ You can customise the different surface patterns on both top and bottom shells, which will affect the appearance of the print.\
⬥ We recommend printing with higher number of top surface (min. 5) if you have a model with large top surface area.
{% endtab %}
{% tab title="Support" %}
1. **Support Type**
There are two types of support types; **normal / tree**
| Normal Supports | Tree Supports |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
|
Work best for large and flat overhangs. It maximises the surface of the underside of an overhang to be supported by a material.
|
Work best for complex geometries. It optimises support efficiency and reaches undersides without colliding with the object.
Decrease the angle (Min 30°) to save on material/time, but too little means the print may not print at all! If your print looks like below, increase the support angle!
|
Increase the angle Max 90°) to capture more unsupported areas, more supports may be necessary to ensure the part even prints!
|
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}
***
## Arrangement
### Orientation
Orientation has two main affects; strength and support material generation.\
[**Strength**](https://ms-kb.msd.unimelb.edu.au/next-lab/design-guidelines#model-strength): if the part is a functional part, then this takes priority over support material. \
3D prints are weakest parallel to the layer lines.
**Support Material**: minimise waste by picking a orientation that reduces the amount of support material.
**Finish**: curved/ramped areas will look 'contoured' depending on the orientation, adjust to best suit your finish requirements.
Object Orientation will change the amount of support material required
Refer to our design guidelines to better understand orientation.
{% content-ref url="../../design-guidelines" %}
[design-guidelines](https://ms-kb.msd.unimelb.edu.au/next-lab/3d-printing/design-guidelines)
{% endcontent-ref %}
### Bed Layout
Reducing the space between objects will also reduce print time. The print-head or extruder of a 3D printer will need to move in-between objects. Reducing the distance the extruder needs to move will reduce the overall print time.
Large spaces in between objects can increase travel, and therefore print time
| 
|
2. **Support Angle**
| Smaller Angle | Larger Angle |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 
