Create your own pattern stencils from infill pattern of your slicer!

thingiverse

This is a tutorial to help you create pattern stencils using the infill patterns of your slicer. The uploaded obj-file is just a square of 200x200x0.6mm that can serve as base object to create the infill pattern in. I'm using Cura5.1 but this should work with any slicer. It's easy: just load the obj inside your slicer, scale it to your desired stencil size and adjust for zero top and bottom height, 3-4 lines of wall/perimeter. You end up with a part that has only walls and infill. You don't need a skirt or a brim, so disable those/choose "none" to maximise your stencil size. Next you choose your infill pattern and play around with the settings and hit slice time and again until you're happy with the result. Keep in mind that all parts of the stencil have to be connected to each other or it won't work, so not all infill patterns will work in all configurations. If your holes are too big you can either decrease infill line distance or increase the infill line multiplier. If your holes are too small, you do it the other way around. Espacially the infill line multiplier can be very useful to create more covered surface and produce new connections. I'd advise against single extrusion width detail and keep the multiplier at above 2, so your stencil stays stable. Grid type infill will be more stable than long liney ones. The idea is to print this in PLA with a layer height of 0.3mm, so you end up with a more or less stable stencil that can support itself, but still doesn't take forever to print. I'm using my "worst" filament on this. As long as you don't get any adhesion problems, anything should be fine really. I strongly recommend having a well adjusted mesh or printing on a glassplate for decent results. Having two separate PEI sheets really sped up the process since i could just swap plates and hit print again, taking my sweet time to peel off the fresh stencils. Some patterns can be a challenge to remove from your buildplate. Just take your time and relax. Have fun using this and I'd be very interested in seeing your results!