3D printing? More like 2.5D printing…

Saw this post about part orientation. Current printers and slicers aren’t really taking advantage of the Z-axis properly…This means that the only flat surfaces are perpendicular or parallel to the bed.Is there any way to generate gcode which is able to take advantage of the Z axis to produce smoother surfaces?Some slicers have vase mode, but it’s limited to a single outline. Also some absurdly expensive stratysys machines can do this sort of thing. Obviously most printers wouldn’t be able to do that – due to a slight lack of axis – but the general idea of extruding in a plane which isn’t aligned with the build plate.In CNC machining we can do this sort of thing. I guess removing material to make a smooth surface is a bit easier than adding it given that you need to make sure there’s material in place to support it…Okay this post is a bit rambling and I don’t have a clear point. Great. http://ift.tt/2bybpkR