So with a fairly clear head I checked  my settings . and discovered somehow  default extrusion width somehow was set for 48 mm. and top infill was set for 250% . Apparently I totaly confused the slicing math.

one misplaced / missing decimal point apparently totally messed things up. whew what a relief.
Hopefully this bungle will save someone else some headache.
I am thankful it was an easy fix. and it did teach me to like cura . But I love the honeycomb infill and the flexibility/control of slicer.
Tin

the mirror feature is from an addon app like meshmixer, netfab etc  which newer versions have. I dont want to give up my older versions of RH/Slic3r to have to depend on the newer packaged versions that are less user operated and more automated or dumbed down for novice users unfamiliar with all the settings. those type programs dont allow as much mods to suit special needs. I'd rather do mods on stl files in those separate apps then load for slicer/s to finish for printing. I can manage my own mods that way as most only need done once then if more of an object need printed later just reload gcode for it. I keep index of models printed so I know what material etc is needed next print.

I been around long enough to know 'easy mode' really means advanced settings are skipped to make it easy/fast.

kinda like in your refrigerator that little switch that says something like "energy saver= on/off" really means if you turn it on you just turned off you 2watt mullion heaters around door edges that keep moisture from forming there so now freezer gasket will freeze door shut and frig gasket will get mold on it so both will need replaced soon and the 2 cents a month you saved in electric use will cost hundreds of dollars in damages unless you live in a desert with very low humidity. ;^)

I also got the non-manifold warning... need to run that thru Netfabb or something...

Scale would be a separate function from Mirroring...I don't know about negative scale; I've always worked with decimal percentages to scale items.

heartless wrote:

I do re-scale parts after loading others onto the build plate.
I can scale either before loading more stuff, or after loading more stuff, makes no difference either way.
I can also rotate, and move things around if I choose to. Again, with no problems.

OK.  So now I'm curious.  Would you mind doing an experiment when you get a chance?  Download earR.stl from this Thingaverse model, place it on the bed, copy it once, scale the copy in X by -1 (rearranging and dropping back on the plate as necessary), and slice.  It would be very interesting if this actually works for you.

OK...so I tried this:

With the exceptions that A) the part is not manifold, and B) that using a scale of -1 is incorrect (you must use positive integers and or decimals...I used 0.5) it worked just fine...

I do re-scale parts after loading others onto the build plate.
I can scale either before loading more stuff, or after loading more stuff, makes no difference either way.
I can also rotate, and move things around if I choose to. Again, with no problems.

OK.  So now I'm curious.  Would you mind doing an experiment when you get a chance?  Download earR.stl from this Thingaverse model, place it on the bed, copy it once, scale the copy in X by -1 (rearranging and dropping back on the plate as necessary), and slice.  It would be very interesting if this actually works for you.

..... then just rewrite exactly what I said about not rescaling parts after adding other files

um, mayhaps you should go back and read what I actually wrote...
I do re-scale parts after loading others onto the build plate.
I can scale either before loading more stuff, or after loading more stuff, makes no difference either way.
I can also rotate, and move things around if I choose to. Again, with no problems.

I guess I dont understand why you are having so many problems and having to jump through so many hoops, when I have pretty much none?
perhaps maybe you should consider updating?