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Getting Started

Before a print run can be executed, a print file needs to be made. The structure of a print file is given in the File Format section. The Voxel Cloud Generator (VCG) is a tool that generates print files (data in input for the software) while the LogViewer analyzes the log files of print runs (data in output of the software).

General remarks

  • The Voxel Cloud Generator and the LogViewer are written in Mathworks MATLAB.
  • The primary function of the VCG is to generate .csv files the user can load into the printer operating software, called ‘the software’ hereafter.
  • The software generates log data that can be moved and analyzed in the LogViewer.
  • The VCG additionally allows the user to store important data related to each print session and each print run.
  • The data stored can be analyzed and viewed in the LogViewer. Raw data access and further analysis are available through MATLAB itself.

Prerequisites

  • Base MATLAB 2020a is installed. Because the VCG is not compiled, it requires an activated MATLAB installation, only base MATLAB is required. A recent version is recommended, old versions may not work (fully).

Installation

  • Unzip the code files to a chosen folder, the VCG will create a subfolders if needed while running.
  • Start MATLAB and set the folder in which the code was copied as the active directory (changing the active directory again while using the voxel generator prevents the voxel generator from working).

Starting MATLAB Apps

In the MATLAB command window, simply run VCG or LogViewer to start the corresponding application, or Suite to start both at the same time. You can call instead VCG('-tooltips') to toggle tooltips giving additional information on each element of the GUI.

Note

To fetch and find Log files created by the software, the MATLAB apps uses the <BaseExportDirectory> value of the software defined in the settings file located in %localAppData%/Exaddon/CAPA/settings.xml.