Forbidden Zones

This guide explains how to use forbidden zones—a standard feature in Printsite Studio—to prevent your printer from traveling through specific areas during the printing process.

What are Forbidden Zones?

Forbidden zones are 3D volumes that you define in your project workspace to mark areas where the printer should not travel. This feature is particularly useful when you need to:

• Avoid obstacles or sensitive equipment in the printing area
• Prevent the printer head from passing through certain spaces
• Optimize travel paths around complex setups
• Protect existing structures or work-in-progress prints

When a forbidden zone is defined, the slicer will automatically calculate travel paths that avoid these areas, ensuring your printer moves around rather than through them.

Creating and Managing Forbidden Zones

1. Enter Forbidden Zone Mode: In the project header, click the forbidden zone toggle (octagon with minus icon) to activate forbidden zone creation mode.

2. Create Zones:

• Click in the workspace to set the first corner of the zone’s base rectangle.
• Click again to set the opposite corner. A wireframe preview appears.
• Click a third time to set the height. The zone becomes a solid red volume.

3. Adjust Zone Size: Select a forbidden zone and use the size controls in the RightBar to modify its dimensions.

4. Cancel or Create More:

• Press Escape once to cancel the current zone being created.
• Press Escape again to exit forbidden zone mode.
• You can create multiple forbidden zones as needed for your workspace.

Forbidden zones are visualized as red 3D boxes in your workspace, making them easy to identify and manage. Select a zone to adjust its size or remove it.

Print Settings Integration

Forbidden zones work together with print settings to optimize travel paths:

• Prevent travelling inside the file: In the Print Settings panel, enable this option to make the printer avoid traveling through the interior of your models. Combined with forbidden zones, this provides comprehensive travel path optimization and reduces collision risk.
• Overflow (in mm): Set a safety margin around forbidden zones to ensure the printer head maintains extra clearance. This is useful for accounting for printer head size or adding additional safety space.

Best Practices

• Plan ahead: Define forbidden zones before slicing to ensure optimal travel path results.
• Consider printer dimensions: Account for the full size of your printer head, not just the nozzle.
• Preview toolpaths: Always preview the generated toolpath to verify that travel movements avoid your forbidden zones as expected.
• Use multiple zones: For complex workspaces, use several smaller forbidden zones rather than one large zone.

Technical Details

Forbidden zones are stored as part of your project data and are:

• Represented as 3D bounding boxes defined by their corner points
• Processed during the slicing phase to influence travel path calculations
• Selectable and modifiable through the 3D scene raycasting system
• Rendered with red material for easy visibility in both solid and wireframe modes

Note

Forbidden zones affect travel paths but do not prevent you from placing models within or near them. They only influence how the printer moves between printing locations.