Simplify3D User Forum

I would love to see a control for extrusion width for supports. I'm printing a very large file on a 400x400x450mm build envelope and using a large (.8mm) nozzle. Printing supports with an 8mm nozzle is crazy! The supports are going to be tough to remove and are using a lot of unnecessary plastic. When printing large prints, like full helmets, it would be great to be able to thin out the supports when using such a large nozzle. There are width controls for most of the other features but not supports. Please share your thoughts on this addition.

Thanks,
Jon

I'd set up a "virtual tool" for that by adding a second extruder, setting the extrusion width/multiplier lower, then adding a line to the postprocessing to strip out the actual toolchange command. You can then set the supports to use this second virtual extruder that will extrude thinner/waker material.

One way to do this:

Create process 1 to print the part
Create process two with zero infill, zero top and bottom layers and zero perimeters. Modify extrusion width to be thinner and use process two only for the support .

Works great. I did this with a PETG part I was making with 0.8mm nozzle and like you, noticed the support material is way to strong!

Happy Printing
Chief Hacker

chief_hacker wrote:One way to do this:

Create process 1 to print the part
Create process two with zero infill, zero top and bottom layers and zero perimeters. Modify extrusion width to be thinner and use process two only for the support .

Works great. I did this with a PETG part I was making with 0.8mm nozzle and like you, noticed the support material is way to strong!

Happy Printing
Chief Hacker

This sounds like a good process. Will try it next time, as I too have a .8mm nozzle, and would like to save some plastic.

Cool, i'll try this trick out.
Now Just make the process more intuitive and release is as a feature!

I've used the virtual tool to do this many times before. Just make another extruder with the same toolhead number. Then you can modify the extrusion width however you want for that extruder and assign it to the support structures.

dorsai3d wrote:I'd set up a "virtual tool" for that by adding a second extruder, setting the extrusion width/multiplier lower, then adding a line to the postprocessing to strip out the actual toolchange command. You can then set the supports to use this second virtual extruder that will extrude thinner/waker material.

CompoundCarl wrote:I've used the virtual tool to do this many times before. Just make another extruder with the same toolhead number. Then you can modify the extrusion width however you want for that extruder and assign it to the support structures.

This works excellent!

My supports are now nice and thin, very easy to remove,
but the problem is that the 'dense support layers' are also thinner, which does not benefit the print.

Is it possible to have thin supports, but still keep the dense support layers at the same extrusion rate?

@simplify3d development: There is a 'infill extrusion width %' setting. Would it be possible to give us the same setting for supports?
(which would then only affect the support structure, and not the dense support layers).

+1 for a feature to set the extrustion width (percentage or absolute value)