In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to print a singular body with variable print settings, materials, or colors, for FFF 3D printing with Fusion 360.

Ever wonder how to set up your multi-material, multi-color print for Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) 3D printing using Fusion 360? In the video above, we demonstrate how using the Go/No-Go gauge. This gauge is used to check components to see whether they’re within tolerance. Green indicates “Go” (within tolerance), and red indicates “No-go,” (out of tolerance).

This gauge will print as one singular body divided into different sections, each with its own set of print settings. This allows the gauge to be printed in different colors and with a varying infill density.

Set up your print

Follow the below steps to set up your print:

1. Divide the gauge body into separate sections using the “Split Body” tool in the Design workspace.
2. Navigate to the Manufacture workspace and click “New Setup.”
3. Select an FFF machine. For this video, we use an Ultimaker S5 because of its dual-extrusion capabilities.
4. Select an appropriate print setting. In this case, the PLA 2.85mm print setting.
5. Click “OK” to create the setup.

Create body-presets

The next step is to create the per-body print settings that will be assigned to the individual sections of the gauge. These per-body settings are called ‘body-presets’ in Fusion 360. Follow the below steps to create your body-presets:

1. Right-click on the print setting item within the setup, and select “Edit.”
2. Create three new body-presets by duplicating the “Normal” body-preset.
3. Rename each body-preset appropriately.
4. Within each body-preset, set the extruder, along with the infill density.
5. Make sure to set the number of top and bottom layers to Zero for the appropriate body presets to avoid top and bottom layers printing in the middle of the part.
6. Once the 4 body-presets finish developing, click “OK” to finish.
7. Now, right-click again on the print setting and select “assign body-presets.” Here, assign each one to the correct gauge body sections.
8. Click “OK” to confirm.

Run a simulation

Now you can generate the toolpath by right-clicking on the “Toolpath” item in the setup, and selecting “Generate.” Once the toolpath generates, which shouldn’t take very long, right-click again on the toolpath item, and select “Simulate.”

The simulation shows the infill density varying throughout the part. Note, the colors in the simulation show the toolpath type and not the material color.

Once happy, select “Post-Process.” This opens a new dialog where the toolpath post-processing will occur. Make sure to assign the correct material color (and type) in the post properties on the right, and then select “Post” to create your print file.

Simply load the print file onto your printer, and enjoy printing parts with variable print settings in Fusion 360.

Fantastic, there’s the dual-color, multi-print setting, Go/no-Go gauge tutorial for FFF 3D printing with Fusion 360. Give this tutorial a try, and let us know how it goes in the comments.