So I'm printing parts that are largely brick-shaped. They need support, but only near the top so that the top of the brick shape can be printed without having to bridge the entirety of the gap. Is it possible to start (perhaps via arching) support near the top of the structure on the inside to help with this, rather than have to support the whole thing from the bottom just to get it at the top?
Hopefully this makes sense, and someone knows not only what I'm talking about, but if S3D has a solution, as I used almost an entire spool of filament to print part 1 of an 11 part structure.
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Slaintemaith
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Sat Oct 29, 2016 3:19 pm
Re: Can one use cost-effective supports on large objects?
The simple answer, I'm afraid, is No, there isn't variable support in S3d. But there are a few tricks you can possibly try to reduce the amount of waste.
Firstly, as the support has what's called a dense layer feature, you could try setting the support to have a very low fill percentage...and then several layers of dense layer on top, which its density is what you have for normal support now. If you try this option, do make sure you use two support infill angles ( eg 45, -45 ) so the very sparse support has a bit of rigidity to it.
A second trick would be to design and position separate parts shaped so they act as supports for the support material.....but use far less plastic than support all the way from the bed.
I'd also take a look at exactly what is needed in the way of support. Are you manually creating support...or letting the software auto-place support? If you look closely, you may be surprised how little support is actually needed in some circumstances.
Firstly, as the support has what's called a dense layer feature, you could try setting the support to have a very low fill percentage...and then several layers of dense layer on top, which its density is what you have for normal support now. If you try this option, do make sure you use two support infill angles ( eg 45, -45 ) so the very sparse support has a bit of rigidity to it.
A second trick would be to design and position separate parts shaped so they act as supports for the support material.....but use far less plastic than support all the way from the bed.
I'd also take a look at exactly what is needed in the way of support. Are you manually creating support...or letting the software auto-place support? If you look closely, you may be surprised how little support is actually needed in some circumstances.
Doug Kightley
Volunteer at the National Tramway Museum http://www.tramway.co.uk
Railway modeller and webmaster at http://www.talkingtgauge.net
Volunteer at the National Tramway Museum http://www.tramway.co.uk
Railway modeller and webmaster at http://www.talkingtgauge.net
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TheAppleFreak
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2017 3:33 am
Re: Can one use cost-effective supports on large objects?
Consider taking a look at Autodesk Meshmixer. It has an option to generate supports that don't necessarily have to be vertical; they can attach to walls or other parts of the model as needed. What's nice about it is that the supports are very easy to remove, and since Meshmixer generates a new model instead of actually slicing it you can mix and match it with S3D supports as desired. Just know that the overhang analysis can take ages for a sufficiently large or complex model, so be patient with it.
