How to Use Draft Shields with 3D Prints – Cura & PrusaSlicer

Draft shields are a feature that creates a one-layer thick wall around your model to shelter it from undesired air flows in the environment. They can be beneficial depending on the filament you are printing.

That’s why I wrote this article, to teach you how to use draft shields with 3D prints.

How to Use Draft Shields with 3D Prints

Using draft shields when 3D printing is pretty straightforward. You just need to enable it on your slicer of choice.

Cura users will need to enable the function under experimental settings. People who prefer to use PrusaSlicer can just go to the “Skirt and Brim” section and enable it.

We’ll go into the direct steps for enabling it in both software in the next sections.

How to Use Draft Shields in Cura

Here’s how to use draft shields in Cura:

1. Search for the “Enable Draft Shield” setting
2. Select the “Enable Draft Shield” box

1. Search for the “Enable Draft Shield” Setting

The first step you’ll need to do is to search for the setting using the Cura search function, which is located on the right side, near a magnifying glass symbol.

After typing just the first few letters, it should show up on the search.

2. Select the “Enable Draft Shield” Box

The next step in order to enable the function is to select the box that says “Enable Draft Shield”.

Don’t forget to preview your model to check if the draft shield is looking good and will print correctly.

To do that, just hit the “Slice” option at the bottom right and wait until the software slices the model.

After it is done you can just switch over to the “Preview” section and you should be able to see a thick wall all around your model.

Check out the video below for more information on how to use draft shields with Cura.

How to Use Draft Shields in PrusaSlicer

Here’s how to use draft shields in PrusaSlicer:

1. Switch to “Expert” mode
2. Go into “Print Settings”
3. Find the “Skirt and brim” section
4. Enable “Draft Shield”

1. Switch to “Expert” Mode

The first step you will need to do in order to use draft shields with PrusaSlicer is to switch to “Expert” mode before going into the settings. 

That’s necessary because “Expert” mode will allow you to see more configuration options on the settings menu.

You can easily switch to “Expert” mode by clicking on the word “expert”, which features a red dot on its side, on the upper-right side of the screen.

After switching to “Expert” mode you’ll need to go into “Print Settings” which is located at the top bar.

3. Find the “Skirt and brim” Section

For the next step, you’ll need to find the “Skirt and Brim” section. You can find it in the “Print Settings” as described above.

You can easily locate this section as it is the third option on the list of settings displayed on the far left. 

4. Enable “Draft Shield”

After finding the “Skirt and brim” section you’ll need to enable the option “Draft Shield”.

You’ll have two options “Enabled” which will make the draft shield as tall as the highest printed object or “Limited” which makes the draft shield as tall as specified by skirt height.

After enabling the draft shield, don’t forget to preview your model to check if the draft shield is looking good.

To preview your model, you’ll first need to slice it. For that just hit the “Slice Now” button on the right lower bottom of the screen.

After slicing your model the preview should show up automatically for you, with the draft shield covering your object.