From Fab @ Home

FAB files are XML-based files that contain the metadata needed to print on vector-based 3D printers.

Structure

FAB files open with a line declaring the file to be a valid XML file.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes" ?>

The opening tag is fabAtHomePrinter.

<fabAtHomePrinter>

This tag contains the printer acceleration tags, material calibrations, and path information.

The print acceleration tag contains the acceleration of the motors during the print process.

  <printAcceleration>100</printAcceleration>

Material calibrations contain the meta-information used by the interpreter to run the print job. It must contain values for the following tags: clearance, deposition rate, name of the material, path speed, path width, pushout, suckback, suckback delay, pitch, & path pause time. Slice/Path height is optional information.

  <materialCalibration>
     <clearance>2</clearance>
     <depositionRate>0.0035</depositionRate>
     <name>silicone</name>
     <pathSpeed>10</pathSpeed>
     <pathWidth>3</pathWidth>
     <pausePaths>300</pausePaths>
     <pitch>0.000397</pitch>
     <pushout>0.2</pushout>
     <suckback>0.13</suckback>
     <suckbackDelay>0</suckbackDelay>
  </materialCalibration>

Paths contain a material calibration name, and the points along which the printer will extrude. Each path must have at least 2 points. Each point has an X, Y and Z value.

  <path>
     <materialCalibrationName>silicone</materialCalibrationName>
     <point>
        <x>6.919761</x>
        <y>4.701935</y>
        <z>0.700000</z>
     </point>
     <point>
        <x>6.919761</x>
        <y>4.701935</y>
        <z>0.700000</z>
     </point>
  </path>

Future version

The next version of the FAB file will be based on the vectorized commands of the XDFL langauge.