mortal valve
Hello I'm new to Mainsail and Klipper and 3D printing in general.
I want to try 3D printing wth different infill patterns. Is that done completely outside of Mainsail/Klipper? From my understanding I need to create the Gcode for a model in an external software like fusion360 or Cura (where I would configure it for different infill patterns) and then I use that file in Mainsail. Is that correct? Is there anything I need to configure in Mainsail for different infill patterns?
cursive moat
Hey welcome in the world of 3D printing 😄
You got that right that you will generate gcode in some software like fusion360, cura, superslicer,.... These are called slicer and transform your model into the code your printer can read and execute. These are basic instructions like move there or extrude x amount of filament.
These instructions are read by klipper and executed by your printer.
Mainsail doesn't do anything with your gcode except for giving it to moonraker that can communicate with klipper. So you don't have to do anything in mainsail for different infill patterns. These settings have to be all set in your slicer (fusion360 or curra) you are using that is generating the gcode.
These are all simplified versions of the actual things going on but should give you some overview about the single topics.
cursive moat
And to further elaborate on the slicer software. Slicer are trying to calculate the fastest and best path that your printer has to take to fit the constraints you are giving like infill pattern, infill density, layer height and wall count to only mention a few. They are using complex and highly optimized algorithms to get this job done but can fail sometimes as nothing is flawless. Also they are getting better and better with each update with a lot of new features that make your prints even better.