Ok, Photonsters it's time to open the support desk.
Today We are here to offer support on support issues.
First off if you are new to all this and have no clue what works and what does not i recommend (and by recommend I mean DO IT) using heavy to medium supports, this way you stand the greatest chance of actually finishing a print without loosing it.
But as you progress and get a feel for the way the support works start to work down to medium and fine.
If your model will be large and heavy use large and heavy supports but if you still want to use finer supports make sure to use more of them i generally fire off a 20% auto support then i look for problem areas like places a support touches the model and might fuse to it and delete those then i will go round the whole thing adding a support any place i think the auto had missed an island of particularly thin or fine bit.
Tilting your model can be beneficial but not all models will need this. My whole T rex was printed directly from the build plate with zero support for the whole project (yes it can be done).
DO NOT use the raft, It's crap also ditch the skate setting for the bottom of the supports (it is far too likely to peel) use ONLY the cube support bases and use the fact that you can over lap them to form your own custom raft this will give you a large surface area of very well burnt in base for everything to hang from do not be afraid of making the cube base bigger if needed make those cubes form one large sheet. The problem with the raft and the reason I call it crap is that it will often screw up in the slicing and the print drops to the raft and they fuse together this is why i use the bases as My custom raft it never screws up the print and does the same job.
I know we are not strictly talking resin here but do burn in those first base layers it's nothing for me to have 8 base layers at 100 seconds per layer remember the base of your supports depends on this burn in to anchor it to the plate and not peel. So BURN that sucker on good!
Experience will tell you what areas will need more support and this i can not teach you just trust me when i say the gut feeling will kick in after a while especially if you have a patial print fail. Look at it hard, learn from it add supports to that bit that started the fail if you can identify it and try again.
Also hollow your big prints and make sure you have a good drain hole or even multiple drain holes (you can fill the holes later)
When placing supports manually notice how the program forms cross bracing if you place them close to each other? USE it that bit might be ok with one support but will adding another either side of it make things more stable? throw a couple in if the auto put one there it must have thought it needed it and bracing that bit will only make things stronger.
As you are placing supports try to imagine the forces that are pulling at the part during that layer and add supports accordingly
Pro tip it is possible to move the base supports about with the modify feature give it a try it can help you avoid support fusing to the print by being too close.
Most importantly take your time when adding supports try to get to enjoy the process as part of the general fun and challenge of making a great print, If you do you will get to sharpen your support instincts a lot faster than if you let it frustrate you.
Happy printing and may your supports hold hard and true Photonsters...Flint OUT!
Thanks to DeMarcus Brownie Klamecker from our group for sparking this post and asking cool questions
:D
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