Surface Shell

Description

This is a component that generates a shell (or perimeter) deposition toolpath for open surface geometries. It allows for detailed configurations such as target plane spacing, height, working direction (zigzag, one-way), and tilting angle. For large geometries, the working data can be exported by dividing it into partitions. Right-clicking the icon allows you to switch to the Use AntiOverhang mode, which enables detailed settings for workpieces with overhangs.

Input

Name	Type	Description
Geometry	Geometry	Target geometry to slice. Input a Brep or Mesh.
Reference Plane	Plane	Reference plane for slicing. Set identical to the build plate orientation. Layers are generated along the Z-axis direction of the plane. Default: WorldXY.
Edges	Curve	Guide curves used to tilt the target planes formed around the geometry edges along the tangent direction of the edges.
Dir Pattern	Boolean	Boolean pattern defining whether to reverse the deposition path progression direction per layer. The input pattern is cyclically repeated according to the layer sequence.

Required Parameter

Name	Type	Description
End Fillet Type	String	Finishing type for the ends of offset outline deposition paths. (Valid when ‘Outline Shells’ is 2 or greater)
Outline Shells	Integer	Number of outline paths (shells) to generate along the outer boundary of the input geometry.
Layer Width	Number	Width of a single deposition path (bead width, mm).
Layer Height	Number	Height of a single deposition layer (layer thickness, mm).
First Layer Height	Number	Height of the first deposition layer contacting the build plate (mm).
Tolerance	Number	Approximation tolerance for the path.

Name	Type	Description
Tilt Weight	Number	Weight to tilt the target Z-axis toward the surface slope (overhang) direction in overhang geometries. Used to align the torch or extruder with the surface inclination.
Edge Tilt Weight	Number	Weight to tilt the target toward the tangent direction of the edge in geometries with edges. The edge reference curve uses the Edges input of the component.
Edge Tilt Ramp	Number	Distance (mm) to blend the Edge Tilt effect. Gradually applies and releases Edge Tilt before and after the edge by this distance to mitigate path motion caused by abrupt edge tangent direction changes.
Incremental Tilt Steps	Number	Number of layers (N) to gradually reach the configured Tilt Weight. Stepwise tilting applied from initial layers near the build plate to prevent collisions and excessive robot motion caused by abrupt tilting in initial layers.

Name	Type	Description
Wipe Distance	Number	Nozzle wiping distance. • Positive (+): Continues an overlapping path by the specified distance from the start point after completing the outline path. • Negative (-): Ends prematurely at the specified distance before the end point of the outline path.
Seam Spread	Number	Distributes the seam start points across N cycles to prevent seams from concentrating at a single location. Shifts path parameters by 1/N per layer and returns to the original position every N layers. • Example: N = 4 → Layer 1 = 0.0, Layer 2 = 0.25, Layer 3 = 0.75, Layer 4 = 0.0 (repeating).
Seam Offset	Integer	Offset to collectively adjust the seam positions of all layers. Uniformly shifts the entire structure while maintaining the positional relationships between layers set by Seam Spread.

Partition

Name	Type	Description
Part Count	Integer	Number of parts to divide and slice the model equally. • 1: Slices the entire model. / • N: Divides the model into N equal parts for partial slicing.
Part Number	Number	Part number (1 to N) to slice among the N divided parts.

Output

Name	Type	Description
Shell ToolPaths	Shell ToolPaths	Generated deposition path data.
First Part	Boolean	Flag indicating whether the current deposition toolpath is the lowest (first) part.
Shell Contours	Curve	Polylines connecting the generated outline deposition paths.