FAQ

If your prints are not centered, then there are 2 settings you should check within Simplify3D – build volume and origin offsets.  The build volume determines the maximum print size possible on your machine, while the origin offset determines the location of the X=0, Y=0, Z=0 position.  Both of these settings need to be correct so that the software can correctly control the position of the parts on the print bed.

To check the build volume, measure the usable print area on your print bed, and ensure these values match the X and Y build volume values on the Output tab of your process settings.  Once you have verified that the build volume is correct, you can move on to verifying the origin location of your printer.

The origin is the location that the printer will move to when it is told to go to X=0, Y=0, Z=0.  The origin offset defines the origin location relative to the bottom left corner of your print bed.   For many Cartesian printers that accept gcode files, the origin offset is 0,0,0, which means that the origin is in the bottom left corner of the bed. For Cartesian printers that use x3g files or for most delta printers, the origin is in the center of the bed, which means the X and Y origin offsets are half of the X and Y build volume. For example, if the build volume was 200x200x500, then the origin offset would be 100x100x0.  These are the most common values, but there are other possibilities.

This typically means that one of the axes on your printer is moving in the opposite direction of what Simplify3D expects. You can changes the axis directions by toggling the “Flip displayed axis direction” checkboxes on the Output tab of your process settings.

If the preview you are seeing in Simplify3D looks drastically different than the original part, you should first verify that there are no issues with the mesh. You can do this using the Repair menu in Simplify3D.  If the software identifies non-manifold or self-intersecting surfaces, you will need to repair your model before slicing. For more information about identifying and repairing these issues, please see the Identifying and Repairing Common Mesh Errors tutorial.

Once you have verified that your model does not contain any errors, there are several other settings in Simplify3D that can help you slice the model correctly. Go to the Advanced tab of your process settings and review the options in the “Slicing Behavior” section. These settings control how the geometry of your 3D model will be sliced and converted to printable regions. You can experiment with different settings until you find what works best for your specific file.

Please refer to the following section in the Simplify3D print quality guide: Small Features Not Printed.

This typically means that the toolhead offsets in the firmware are not properly configured.   Each extruder has different toolhead offsets, which define the position of that extruder relative to the others.  If one of these offsets is not correct, it means that whenever you print with this extruder, the toolhead will not be properly positioned.  Please consult with your printer manufacturer for instructions on changing and saving the toolhead offsets in the firmware.

Please refer to the following section in the Simplify3D print quality guide: Not Sticking To The Bed

Please refer to the following section in the Simplify3D print quality guide: Not Extruding at Start of Print

Please refer to the following section in the Simplify3D print quality guide: Dimensional Accuracy

Your printer already includes an internal setting known as the toolhead offsets, which defines the position of each extruder relative to one another. In most cases, this setting is already correctly configured in the printer’s firmware, so you can start printing right away. However, if this setting was not configured correctly by the manufacturer, you will need to correct this error first before your extruders can be properly aligned.

So how do you determine the correct value for your toolhead offsets? The toolhead offset tells the printer how far each extruder will need to move along the X and Y axes before it ends up in the same spot as the primary extruder (Tool 0). You can look on the Extruder tab of your Simplify3D process settings to verify the toolhead number for each extruder. So if your primary extruder is on the right, and your second extruder is 34mm to the left of this extruder, then you know the second extruder would need to move 34mm to the right before it ends up in the same position as the primary extruder. So the correct offset would be an X offset of +34mm, and a Y offset of 0mm. You can go to Tools > Machine Control Panel in Simplify3D, and use the Jog Controls tab to simulate this movement to confirm the correct values.

Now that you know the correct toolhead offsets, we will explain how to update the printer with the new values. We always recommend trying to update this setting directly on the printer’s firmware first. There are 3 different ways this can be accomplished depending on what printer you have:

Some machines include an option on the printer’s LCD menu to calibrate this nozzle offset, or enter the offset distance directly. So if your printer has an LCD menu, check for this option first.

If your machine uses the Marlin firmware, then you also have the option of sending gcode commands directly to the printer to update this setting. To do this, go to Tools > Machine Control Panel, and then click on the Communication tab. Send the command “M218” to the printer. The machine should respond by listing the current toolhead offsets.

Hotend offsets: 0,0 20,0

The example reply above indicates that the toolhead offset for the second extruder is +20mm in the X-axis and 0mm in the Y-axis. To update this value, send the following command:

M218 T1 X34 Y0

That tells the printer to change the X-axis offset to 34mm for the second extruder (Tool 1). The machine should reply confirming the change. You can then send the “M500” command to save these setting to the printer’s internal EEPROM memory (more information about these EEPROM commands can be found here). This ensures that this setting will be maintained even after the printer is turned off. If your machine does not support EEPROM storage, you can also place the correct M218 command at the very top of your Simplify3D starting script so that it gets sent to the machine before each print.

If you were not able to update the toolhead offsets using either of the options above, you also have the option of editing the Configuration.h file for your printer’s firmware, and then re-compiling and re-uploading this new firmware directly to the printer. Please contact the printer manufacturer for instructions on this process.

If you were able to update the toolhead offsets on the printer’s firmware, then your extruders should now be properly aligned and you can go back to printing. If you were not able to update the toolhead offsets using the instructions above, then the software includes one other option you can use to account for the misconfigured firmware. Click on “Edit Process Settings” and go to the Output tab. Select the second extruder in the “Toolhead Offsets” section and enter the appropriate X and Y offsets. You can then enable the checkbox labeled “Modify output coordinates using toolhead offsets”. After enabling this option, the software will actually shift all of the coordinates in your gcode files anytime you are printing with the second extruder. To verify this setting, setup a Dual Extrusion print in Simplify3D, click “Prepare to Print”, and then change the preview coloring mode to “Active Toolhead”. You should notice that all of the extrusions for Tool 1 have now been shifted by the amount you entered. This verifies that the setting is working correctly.

To re-download a profile provided by Simplify3D, go to Help > Configuration Assistant from within the software and select your printer model from the list.  This will download a fresh copy of this profile and configure the software for this machine.

Visualizing millions of toolhead movements can require a fair amount of memory. If your machine has limited resources, we recommend going to Tools > Options (or Simplify3D > Preferences on a Mac), and disable the “Automatically load preview after slicing” option. The software will now export the toolpath files right away so that you don’t have to wait for the preview to load.

The easiest way to open Simplify3D on your Linux machine is to open a Terminal and cd to the installation directory.  Then type the following command:

sudo ./LaunchScript.sh

This ensures that Simplify3D will be able to correctly access the serial port for your printer and will have the necessary permissions for saving your application preferences.

You can reset all settings back to the factory defaults by going to Help > Reset All Settings. This should be enough to restore the software back to the original configuration.

In the event that you truly want to manually remove all settings and files, you can follow the instructions below.

Windows:
Open the Registry Editor and then go to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software directory and delete the Simplify3D folder and all sub-keys.
Delete all files in the following directory: C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Simplify3D. This is a hidden directory, so you may need to enable viewing hidden files and folders to see it in your file explorer window.

Mac:
Open a Terminal window and type the following commands:
rm /Users/$USER/Library/Preferences/com.Simplify3D.S3D-Software-V5.plist
rm -rf /Users/$USER/Library/Application\ Support/Simplify3D

Linux:
Open a Terminal window and type the following commands:
rm $HOME/.config/Simplify3D/S3D-Software-V5.conf
rm -rf $HOME/.local/share/Simplify3D

This usually means that there is a permissions issue where the software does not have sufficient access to save and restore your settings.  On Windows, you may want to try right-clicking and choosing Run As Administrator to see if this resolves the issue.  If you are using a Linux machine, please see the recommended instructions in this question.

If you are able to open the software, the first thing you want to try is going to Help > Reset All Settings. This will revert the program back to it’s stock configuration, so be sure to export any profiles that you need first by going to File > Export FFF Profile. However, if you are unable to open the software at all, then this typically means that there is a problem with the system requirements or the settings that are saved and reloaded when the application starts. To verify the cause for this problem, it can be useful to look at the crash log generated by the software. On Windows, this can be found by opening the Event Viewer application and then navigating to Windows Logs > Application in the left menu. Look for the latest event with “Error” in the Level column and “Application Error” in the Source column. This should be the latest crash report for the software. Once you find this entry, check the “Faulting module path”. If this ends with something like ig4icd*.dll or atigkt*.dll, this typically means that the graphics driver on the computer does not have sufficient support for the application. Please try going to the manufacturer’s website (typically either ATI or Nvidia) and manually updating the graphics drivers to the latest possible version to see if this fixes the issue. On Mac OS, you can typically view the crash log by clicking on “Report” when the application closes and the error message is displayed. Please copy this report in case you need to reference it later. If you are still unable to open the software after following the instructions above, then the next thing to try is clearing the settings and saved files that are loaded when the application starts. Please see this question for more details.

First of all, please keep in mind that most 3D printers only allow a single application to be connected at any given time. Close any other programs that could be communicating with the printer. Some programs such as MakerBot Desktop have background services that need to be stopped by opening the application and going to Services > Stop Background Service.

Once you are confident no other programs are connected to the software, you can follow the steps below depending on what type of protocol you are using to connect to the printer.

USB:
If you are using the software on Windows, you should make sure you have installed the appropriate USB drivers for your 3D printer. In some cases, this will happen automatically when you connect the 3D printer to your computer, but in other cases, you may need to install the driver manually. Contact your printer manufacturer for more information about the correct driver to install for your 3D printer model. If you are already any to connect to the 3D printer from a different software program, then you likely already have the correct drivers installed.

After completing the steps above, go to Tools > Machine Control Panel within Simplify3D and click “Add New” to setup a new connection with the 3D printer. Make sure to select the “USB Cable” connection method, and then click “Search for Devices” to find your 3D printer. If the device does not show up in this list, you may not have the correct driver installed or another software may already be connected to the printer.

Once you select the correct USB device from the list, click Next to configure the baud rate and flow control settings for the printer. Most printers use a baud rate of 115200 or 250000 bits/sec with no flow control, but you can consult with your printer manufacturer for exact specifications. Click “Begin Connection Test” to test the provided settings. Once a connection is successfully established, Simplify3D will automatically save the correct settings for the future, so you only need to perform this setup process once.

WiFi or Ethernet:
Most network-enabled 3D printers support auto-discovery, meaning that the software can automatically detect the printer on the network and determine the appropriate connection details. To test this process, go to Tools > Machine Control Panel within Simplify3D and click “Add New” to launch the New Connection Wizard. Select the “Network Connection” protocol, choose the “Search for Connections” option, and then click “Search for Devices” to begin the auto-discovery process. Note that this process will only work if your firewall and network rules allow UDP traffic back between the printer and your computer. In many cases, you will need to add a firewall exception to allow Simplify3D to detect the 3D printer.

If the software cannot find your 3D printer, you can still enter the connection details manually. Select the “Manual Connection Details” option and then enter the IP address for your 3D printer. This information can typically be found using the LCD screen on the 3D printer to browse to the info or network status page. The software can typically select the correct port automatically based on your printer profile, but you can also enter the port number manually if needed. Common port values used by different manufacturers are listed below:

• FlashForge: port 8899
• Ultimaker: port 80
• MakerBot: port 9999
• Dremel: port 80
• Qidi Technology: port 3000
• XYZprinting: port 9100
• OctoPrint: port 80
• Klipper: port 80
• Duet3D: port 80

Once you have entered the correct details, you can click Next and press “Begin Connection Test” to establish a connection with the printer. If the software fails to connect, it typically means that the firewall or network settings are still blocking the connection. Make sure a firewall exception has been properly configured and consult your network IT manager to make sure traffic between the printer and your computer is permitted. Once a connection is successfully established, Simplify3D will automatically save the correct settings for the future, so you only need to perform this setup process once.

This error message means that you have installed the software on more computers than is allowed by your license. To install the software on the new computer, you will first need to uninstall the software from the old machine. Please see this question for more details. If you frequently move between different computers, please consider a floating license.

This message means that something is preventing the software from reaching the internet. This is typically due to things like firewalls, restrictive anti-virus programs, incorrect proxy settings, or external network filters. Keep in mind that even if you are able to access the internet from your web browser, these items can still block the software from reaching the internet. Please be sure each of these items are configured correctly to allow an exception for the software before continuing. For network whitelisting, please make sure that web traffic to api.simplify3d.com and cloud.simplify3d.com is allowed. If you are using a corporate network, you may need to contact your IT team to make the appropriate changes. If you are using a proxy server to connect to the internet, click the Network Settings button at the bottom of the Simplify3D login and enter your proxy settings.

If you are using a very old operating system that hasn’t received software updates in many years, you could also be experiencing issues with the certificates that are installed on your computer. These certificates are used to approve network communication with various web services, and if they become out-of-date, it can prevent applications from reaching the internet. The easiest way to fix this issue is to install all available software updates for your computer. If you are using an older operating system such as Windows 7 or Mac OS 10.14 that is no longer supported by the manufacturer, you may need to update your certificates manually. Please contact us if you need additional assistance with this process.

This error message means that one of the dependencies provided by Microsoft failed to install on your computer. The most common reason for this problem is that Windows is too far out-of-date. Please make sure that all of the latest recommended updates for your operating system have been installed (you may need to reboot your computer during this process). After the updates have been installed, go to Control Panel > Programs and Features, select Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable 2015 and click Repair. After this process is complete, you should be able to re-launch Simplify3D.

If this does not work, you may need to install the Visual C++ Redistributable manually to identify the cause of the issue. You can download the redistributable directly from Microsoft by clicking here. Most users should choose the vc_redist.x64.exe file for 64-bit operating systems, but you can also download vc_redist.x86.exe if you are using a 32-bit operating system.