Polymaker Launches LayerHub Resource for Sharing Filament Profiles
Aiming to "solve the frustration of filament tuning," LayerHub is Polymaker's new hub for 3D printer users to download, validate, and share their own filament presets using the methodology it uses to tune for its own filaments.
Considering how long desktop printing has been a thing, it’s surprising this doesn’t already exist. LayerHub is Polymaker’s new user-generated library for filament presets, with close to some 400 filament and printer matched presets already available for download.
At face value it seems a little risky. Using a preset means downloading it to your machine and then trusting it to set parameters for your printer. Fortunately, Polymaker appears to have thought things through, although seemingly it relies almost entirely on the honor of its users to be telling the truth about what they’re uploading.
First, there’s the trust layer. LayerHub requires a proof of print, or PoP – a real photograph of a print completed using the preset its attached to. In an age of convincing photorealistic AI spoofs, it doesn’t seem like this is something that can be effectively policed. That being said, what possible benefit or kick anyone could be get out of faking a profile that doesn’t work, beyond inconveniencing the first person to try it who then subsequently reports it, is beyond me.
So, the prospective downloader-facing hurdle is evidence of a print. Before that, though, is Polymaker’s process for arriving at the settings in the first place. This is where the real value of LayerHub lies.
A detailed technical walkthrough of how Polymaker as a filament manufacturer arrives at the values it uses for its official presets is the blueprint for LayerHub uploads. Polymaker’s process for arriving at the settled values covers six key calibration processes, following a strict order:
- Cooling
- Printing temperature
- Volumetric flow speed
- Flow ratio
- Pressure advance
- Retraction
They follow this order to eliminate variables, cascading their way to a sharply calibrated set of values. The page detailing this procedure is well worth a read, even if you have no interest in contributing to LayerHub (though, in the interests of building a great resource for all, why not) and the models and testing methodology is available at the Polymaker GitHub repo.
Fixed methodology should result in greater consistency, not to mention being able to trust the file you’ve downloaded, knowing it was calculated to the same standard as all of your other profiles.
Right now there are profiles for Polymaker (naturally) and 3DFuel, with more brands coming soon, according to the website. You can filter by your chosen slicer, currently only Prusaslicer, Orca Slicer, and Bambu Studio are listed, plus by brand, filament type, printer brand, and model.
Each profile is distinct to a specific filament and machine.
There are two honors recognition tracks for users who participate on the site: either by contributing presets they’ve created, the “Architects”; or by downloading, testing, and validating or giving feedback on a preset, the “Sentinels”.
Various activities on the site, such as having your review of a preset flagged helpful by others, or having your uploaded preset reviewed positively by another grant you experience points (XP) toward leveling up. There are ten levels to each of the honors tracks, each demonstrating trust in our presence on the site.
Refreshingly Polymaker is treating the knowledge and materials of LayerHub for what it is: the community’s. If the site fails, closes down or ceases operations, the company has pledged to put it all directly on GitHub.
You can check it out for yourself over at layerhub3d.com.
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License: The text of "Polymaker Launches LayerHub Resource for Sharing Filament Profiles" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.