Pen

Making a Dispenser toolpath

The dispenser can be used to dispense mediums of a thick enough viscosity, that they offer resistance when passing through the chosen needle aperture.

You will be asked to specify the following:

  • Toolpath name - This is optional. Allocating a meaninful name allows you to identify and sort toolpaths more easily - this becomes especially important if you are working in a complex file with multiple toolpaths.
  • Color Change ID - This is optional. You would use this if you were creating a file with multiple toolpaths and you wish the machine to pause so you can change the tool between toolpaths. For example if dispensing icing you may wish to use multiple colours. Tooli will pause and Tooli Control will prompt you to install the new tool - at this point it will display the Color Change ID to indicate which color is required.

    Settings

  • Bead Diameter (mm) - Base this dimension on the width of bead you expect the chosen medium and needle size will produce. The value you enter here will effect how the thick the toolpath appears when you choose 'show toolpath' from the toolbar. This is especially helpful to help you judge the outcome when using a thick bead and/or small sized geometry, or when producing an infill. The 'Bead Diameter' data is only used when generating infill toolpaths.
  • Lift Height (mm) - The height you wish the dispenser to raise to when moving between toolpaths, for example when rapiding above the surface and not dispensing.
  • Surface Offset (mm) - This would typically be set to 0mm.
  • Pre Dispense Dwell (ms) - The time (in milli-seconds) that the dispenser stays at the start point once lowered, but before it starts moving in an X/Y direction. This is useful when heavy media needs time to start flowing.
  • Total Layers - How many layers you want to build-up. Tooli will lift the dispenser by the layer height, and repeat the toolpath.
  • Layer Height (mm) - The build height of a single layer.
  • XY Dispense Speed (%) - The speed that Tooli travels when dispensing (100% equals 10m/min).
  • Infill Offset (%) - The offset distance (or stepover) used to create an infill toolpath - a percentage of the above 'Bead Diameter'. Typically this would be set to between 80% and 100%, when an infill is required. Set to '0', if no infill is required.

Bead End Action

These settings allow you to control what happens at the end of a dispense path.

  • Lift Speed (%) - The speed at which the dispenser lifts - a percentage of the maximum z-axis speed.
  • Back Track (mm) - This is the distance that the Dispenser will reverse back over the path, once raised to the Release Offset. This is particularly useful for stringy media, as the string falls back onto the bead. The distance is limited to the last segment length.
  • Release Offset (mm) - This is the distance the dispenser will lift at the end of a path, before moving to the next path.

  • Release Dwell (mm) - The time (in milli-seconds) that the dispenser waits at the Release Offset position, before moving to the next path .


Exporting a toolpath

Once you are happy with your toolpath it's time to export it. Exporting the toolpath will make a GCode file that can be sent to your Tooli using the Tooli Control app.

To Export yout toolpath/s choose 'Export toolpaths' from the Export menu. Alternately you can simply hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard and press 'E'. In the Export dialogue box select which toolpaths you wish to export (selected toolpaths will be highlighted in blue) then click 'Export selected toolpaths'.

There is also an opportunity in the Export dialogue box to change the order of the toolpaths with the up/down arrows before exporting. You can also tell Art2Gcode to sort them by the Color ID, so you don't have to change your pen colors unnecessarily - will group by Color ID and sort into alphabetical order. Tooli will process toolpaths in the same order as shown here - top to bottom.