The Potterware 4.0 guide.

Watch the 4.0 tutorials

Eleven short videos walk through Potterware 4.0, tool by tool. Play them here, or open the playlist on YouTube.

Open the Potterware 4.0 playlist on YouTube →

Getting started

Potterware 4.0 is browser based, so there is nothing to install. Sign in, set up your printer, then design.

1. Open it in a supported browser

   Use Chrome, Firefox or Chromium for the best results.

2. Set your printer

   Choose your printer type and check the speeds and skirt in Printer Settings before anything else.

3. Shape the object

   In Object Settings, pick an object type and set its height, sides, twist and profile.

4. Add effects

   Layer on Horizontal Effects and Vertical Effects for waves, ridges and jitter.

5. Check the profile

   Fine-tune the silhouette with the A–E control points in the Profile view.

6. Download

   Name the file and download GCODE for your printer, or a .PWR file to keep editing later.

Bringing in a model? Potterware can print the outline of your own 3D model saved as OBJ. Meshmixer, which is free, is handy for preparing it. See Preparing OBJ files.

Printer settings

Printer settings tell Potterware which machine you are printing on and how fast it should move and extrude.

Printer type

Choose from the seven printer types built into 4.0. The type sets the print area and the G-code flavour.

Printer speed

How fast the nozzle travels, in mm/min. Default 3000

Extrusion speed%

How much clay is pushed out relative to the travel speed. Raise it for a fuller bead, lower it if the bead bulges. Default 100

Skirt offsetmm

The distance between the piece and the skirt, the loop printed first to get the clay flowing. Default 10 mm

Scara X / Scara Y

Positions the print on the bed for SCARA-arm printers.

Multi print settings

Print several copies of the same design in one run, laid out in rows across the bed.

X row count

How many copies across the X axis. Default 2

Y row count

How many copies along the Y axis. Default 2

Retract heightmm

How far the nozzle lifts when it travels from one copy to the next. Default 5 mm

Spacingmm

The gap between copies. Default 50 mm

Tip. Check that the whole grid, including the skirt, fits your print area before you download.

Object settings

Object settings define the form itself: what kind of object it is, how tall, how many sides and how it twists.

Object type

The kind of form to print, including Imported Object (.OBJ) for your own models.

Layer heightmm

The height of each printed layer. Keep it below your nozzle width. 1.4 mm for a 4 mm nozzle

Object height4–1500 mm

The total height of the print. Default 85

Sides

How many sides the form has in plan. Use a few for polygonal pots and many for round ones. Default 100

Twist0–1800°

Rotates each layer a little more than the last, for spiralling forms.

Horizontal profile

Rounds or sharpens the corners between sides.

Scaling options

Scale the object to the size you need.

Seam

Where each layer starts and ends, and where the nozzle steps up to the next layer.

Image map

Uses an image to push the surface in and out. Amplitude sets how deep the relief goes and Smoothing softens it.

Base settings

Add a solid printed floor to your piece. Without base layers, Potterware prints only the wall.

Base layers

How many solid layers to print at the bottom. Default 0

Scale base

Scales the base relative to the wall.

Base layer spacing0–9.99

The spacing between the lines that fill the base. Default 2.74

See also. Printing a base walks through getting a watertight floor.

Horizontal effects

Horizontal effects run waves around the form, layer by layer, for ridges, flutes, zigzags and textures.

Wave type

None, Sinewave, Sawtooth, Square or Jitter.

Interior wave offset0–10

Shifts the wave on the inside of the wall.

Repetitions3–100

How many waves fit around the form. Default 30

Amplitudemm

How far each wave pushes out from the wall.

Cycle

How the wave shifts from one layer to the next.

Spacing

The spacing of the wave pattern.

Offset

Rotates the pattern around the form.

Effect start / end%

Limits the effect to part of the height, measured from the bottom.

Jitter randomiser

With Jitter selected, picks one of 100 random sets. Try a few until the texture looks right.

Vertical effects

Vertical effects run waves up the form, so the silhouette swells and narrows as it rises.

Wave type

The shape of the wave, as for horizontal effects.

Repetitions

How many waves fit up the height.

Amplitude

How far each wave pushes out.

Effect start / end

Limits the effect to part of the height.

Effect gradient

Increasing to Top grows the effect towards the rim. Increasing to Middle peaks halfway up.

Profile & view

The profile view shows the silhouette of your form and lets you adjust it point by point.

Download & upload

Name your file, then choose a format. Upload a saved design or your own model to keep working.

Preparing OBJ files

You can print a model from Rhino, Fusion 360, Blender or Thingiverse. Prepare it in Meshmixer first so it uploads cleanly.

1. Export as OBJ

   Save your model from your modelling program, or download one, as OBJ.

2. Open in Meshmixer

   Import the file into Meshmixer, which is free.

3. Repair the mesh

   Go to Analysis › Inspector and press Auto Repair All to close holes and fix errors.

4. Reduce the polygons

   Large meshes may be over the polygon limit. Reduce the mesh until it's under the limit.

5. Resize

   Scale the model to roughly its printed size.

6. Export

   Export as OBJ Format with Per-Vertex Color, then upload it to Potterware.

Printing a base

A good printed floor is solid and doesn't leak.

1. Use at least two base layers

   Set Base layers to 2 or more so the lines of the second layer cover the gaps in the first.

2. Tune the spacing

   Adjust Base layer spacing so neighbouring lines touch without piling up.

3. Pause and smooth

   Pause the printer after the base, smooth it with a rib or finger, then resume the print.

Alternative. You can also print on a slab of clay and use it as the base.