# Printers and filaments

The studio reads every file in `machines/` and `materials/` (listed in `index.json`). A file can be

- a **PrusaSlicer** config export: `.ini` (Printer Settings, Filament Settings or a whole config export), or a sliced
  `.gcode`, which ends with the config it was sliced with. One file with both a printer and a filament gives you both;
- a **Bambu Studio / OrcaSlicer** preset exported as `.json`;
- this tool's own `.json` profile (see `machines/prusa-mk3s.json` for the shape).

To add a printer or filament: put the file in the right folder and run `node tools/profiles-index.mjs` (the local
server picks new files up by itself). To remove one: delete the file and run the same command. A person can also add
a file in the studio's *Printer setup*: it is kept in their browser only, and has a *Remove* button there.

## The printer library

`library/` holds printers taken from the slicers' own vendor profiles, so a printer can be picked in the printer setup
(type a little of its name in the search) without anyone exporting a file first. For now it holds the most used
**Bambu Lab** printers (A1 mini, A1, P1S, P1P, P2S, X1 Carbon, X1E, H2D, from Bambu Studio) and **Prusa** printers
(CORE One, MK4S, MK4, MK3.9S, MK3.5, MINI, XL, from PrusaSlicer's vendor bundle), each with a 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 mm nozzle.
The studio's own `machines/prusa-mk3s.json` stays the MK3S.
**Creality Ender-3, Ender-3 Pro, Ender-3 V2 and Ender-3 S1** are included with the 0.4 and 0.6 mm nozzles available in PrusaSlicer's Creality vendor bundle. Search `ender3`, `ender 3` or the model name.

The library is generated: `node tools/import-vendor-profiles.mjs` downloads the latest vendor files from GitHub and
rebuilds it (`--all` adds Creality, Anycubic, Elegoo, Voron and a dozen more, about 500 printers). Only the small
`index.json` is read when the studio opens; a vendor's file is read when one of its printers is chosen. The picker shows two suggestions until you type; all matching printers remain searchable.

## Import requirements and samples

Download [a complete example .ini](../samples/printer-profile.ini) or [a self-contained example .json](../samples/printer-profile.json) from Printer setup. These are **illustrations, not qualified printer presets**. Replace the values and startup/shutdown commands for your actual machine.

Supported formats are PrusaSlicer/Slic3r-style `key = value` configs and bundles, PrusaSlicer text G-code config trailers, Bambu Studio/OrcaSlicer self-contained JSON printer or filament presets, and Filafabric JSON profiles. This is **not a universal importer**: Cura `.curaprofile`, zipped preset bundles, `.3mf`, binary `.bgcode` and arbitrary firmware `.cfg` files are not supported.
Filafabric generates single-extruder prints: when a slicer supplies arrays of nozzle/filament values, only the first extruder's values are read. A successful import is not physical qualification; check firmware commands, temperatures and the import notes, then print a small swatch.

A usable printer export should include:

| Setting | PrusaSlicer .ini | Bambu/Orca .json |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Bed polygon (required) | `bed_shape = 0x0,250x0,250x210,0x210` | `"printable_area": ["0x0", "250x0", "250x210", "0x210"]` |
| Maximum Z | `max_print_height = 210` | `"printable_height": "210"` |
| Nozzle diameter | `nozzle_diameter = 0.9` | `"nozzle_diameter": ["0.9"]` |
| Print layer height (optional) | `layer_height = 0.45` | `"layer_height": "0.45"` in a complete config |
| Firmware | `gcode_flavor = marlin2` | `"gcode_flavor": "marlin2"` |
| Startup/shutdown | `start_gcode`, `end_gcode` | `machine_start_gcode`, `machine_end_gcode` |
| Machine limits | `machine_max_feedrate_*`, `machine_max_acceleration_*`, `machine_max_jerk_*` | `machine_max_speed_*`, `machine_max_acceleration_*`, `machine_max_jerk_*` |

In PrusaSlicer, prefer **File → Export → Export Config** for the current printer, filament and print settings together. A bundle also works when all inherited presets are in that file: hidden `*parent*` presets are resolved, not offered as printers. For a bundle with several print presets, only the active `[presets]` print/printer pairing supplies a layer height (or the unambiguous single print/single printer pair).

Bambu/Orca often export only differences from an `inherits` preset. A file with no bed because it expects a separate system parent is **not complete**: export resolved settings instead. The importer does not fetch arbitrary missing parents. A print/process-only JSON contains no printer and is rejected with an explanation. A filename extension alone does not establish compatibility.

### Layer defaults

`layer_height` belongs to the **print/process preset**, not necessarily the printer preset. When it is present, it becomes the printer's `print_defaults.layer_height`; selecting or importing that printer applies it. Exact values such as 0.28 or 0.32 mm are retained rather than rounded to a 0.05 mm button. Without a print height, a nozzle-based default is chosen: 0.2 mm for a 0.4 mm nozzle, 0.3 mm for 0.6 mm, and 0.45 mm for 0.9 mm. The suggested buttons remain available for manual changes; explicitly saved/shared thicknesses are restored instead of reset on reload. Imported heights must be positive and no greater than 80% of the nozzle diameter; that is a compatibility check, not material qualification. Nominal extrusion width scales with the nozzle unless overridden by the material/design.

A vendor's start and end G-code is kept as the vendor wrote it, less the parts this tool cannot fill: lines inside a
`{if}` block (none of its branches is kept), lines that need a slicer value it does not have, and the arguments of a
Klipper `PRINT_START` macro that it cannot fill. The printer setup says how many lines were left out. Bambu Lab
printers are sent `.gcode.3mf` files by Bambu Studio: check that yours prints a plain `.gcode` before relying on it.

## Defaults

What a slicer file does not say gets a plain default, and the printer setup says so: how much a foaming filament
swells in the air (`flow.foam_expansion`, 1 unless you set it), and a prime line along the front edge when the printer
has no purge area. Look at the start and end G-code the setup shows before printing on a new machine.