Utility Tags

As you have probably noticed, I have kind of gone off the deep end with graphic design for 3D printing lately with signs and flags and more to come. I will be getting back to more properly functional designs but I still have some more graphic designs to get off my chest. As part of that, this set of utility tags is awesome. If you have ever had to describe to someone over the phone (let’s just say… my wife – for example) where to turn off the water main in your crawlspace you will no doubt appreciate the value of these.

I needed these even more so at my in-law’s home as they are aging and I have had to describe to other people where their water main shut off is. Putting a tag on it solves a lot of communication challenges.

The water main tag is probably the most valuable, but one for hot water and one for the gas line (if you have one) is not a bad idea either.

Ideally, you can just hang the tag on the valve or the corresponding pipe but if that is not practical I have included slots for zip ties allowing you to attach it on a vertical pipe, horizontal pipe or just about however you need to.

These tags are one-sided and have a substrate to ensure strength and flexibility. The tag is 1.0mm thick with the graphics occupying the top 0.6mm and the remaining 0.4mm being the homogeneous substrate.

Not much else to say about these other than obviously, you need to be able to print with multiple filaments to create colour graphics.

You can scale the tags up or down in size but that should always be done as a non-uniform scaling. Leave the height (Z) as is (do not scale the height). Please see my notes about scaling and printing below.

SCALING NOTES

If you want or need to scale these be sure to do a non-uniform scale of just x and y. Do not scale the Z-axis. Avoid scaling Z (the thickness). If you want to scale z, only scale it bigger and in multiples of your print layer height (which should be 0.2mm).

HOW TO PRINT

1. Import the model into your slicer.  The tag is oriented face down.

2. Without disturbing the model, change the colour of each model object or component to your desired colour.

3. Group or merge the objects so that they do not shift or become misaligned.

4. Now you can move, scale, flip, and rotate the tag as desired.

GENERAL NOTES

1. The tag is designed for a 0.2mm layer height.

2. The height/thickness of the sign is 1.0mm. 

3. You can scale all the models as desired but be sure to group or merge the components of each model first before scaling, and only use non-uniform scaling; only scale x and y, do not scale z.

4. The sign has only 1 object or component for each colour allowing you to set the colors in your slicer very easily. However, this will cause some slicer messages you should be aware of. See the “Slicer Error” notes below.

5. Print the sign face down for a smoother finish on the front.

IMPORTING TO YOUR SLICER

When Importing the file to your slicer, answer as indicated if you are asked any of the following questions…

Anycubic —————

• “This file contains several objects positioned at multiple heights Instead of considering them as multiple objects, should the file be loaded as a single object having multiple parts?” = NO (this keeps the parts located together)
• “The dimensions of some objects from the file _____ seem to be defined in inches. The internal unit of the program is a millimetre. Do you want to recalculate the dimensions of these objects?” = NO

OrcaSlicer —————

• “The object from file ______ is too small and may be in meters or inches. Do you want to scale to millimetres?” = NO

Bambu —————

• “The object from file ______ is too small and may be in meters or inches. Do you want to scale to millimetres?” = NO

SLICER ERRORS

I have used a design technique that allows all the objects of each colour in the sign to be grouped and laid on a substrate for strength. This grouping allows you to easily set and change the model’s component’s colours. However, this design approach will result in some slicer warnings and errors. You can safely ignore the following warnings and errors when slicing this flag model:

• tool path conflict
• shared path
• unsupported runs

Below are specific errors for a few different slicers are shown here, you can ignore these errors when printing this sign.

Anycubic —————

• “Error: Conflicts in G-code paths have been detected…” = IGNORE
• “Warning: Empty layer between…” = IGNORE
• “Warning: Detected print stability issues” = INGORE

OrcaSlicer —————

• “The object has empty layers between…” = IGNORE
• “____ is too close to others; there may be a collision when printing.” = IGNORE

Bambu —————

• “Warning: Objects can’t be printed for empty layer between…” = IGNORE
• “Warning: It seems object ____ has floating regions…” = IGNORE

I am working on more signs and plan to eventually post them, but if you are interested in a specific sign not already posted, please send me a message and I will prioritize it.

This model is 100% printed – no hardware, fasteners, or adhesives required. No support is required.

Printing

Thin graphics designs such as this one generally will work well with your default slicer settings.

This product was designed for a 0.4mm nozzle, a 0.2mm layer height and the following settings:

• Wall Line Count (minimum) = 2 ( 2 x 0.4mm = 0.8mm walls )
• Top & Bottom Layer Count (minimum) = 3 ( 3 x 0.2mm = 0.6mm top & bottom )
• Infill = Not applicable
• Ironing = Optional (not needed)
• Support = None required
• Brim = NO
• MATERIAL: PLA (or ASA for outdoor use and increased life expectancy)
• PRINT ORIENTATION: Face down

Assembly Notes

No assembly or post-print processing is required.