Archerm wrote:Good stuff!! Kerstien what software are you using? for your CAD renders and supports. Just curious. They look like RG supports. Mark
you know of a better program for supports ?Archerm wrote:Actually the supports are very easy to make. The first thing I do before I think about the supports is to make sure when I am building a piece I keep the way a printer works in mind. There are a lot of little things that can screw up a print whether the supports are right or not. One thing to remember about the Solus is that it slices really thin so the slightest negative overhang without support can mess up a print. You actually have to think I guess you can say upside down or the way the piece might be oriented.
That being said the second thing I do is a test STL on the model without supports then send that STL through Netfab just to double check to make sure everything is very fine before the supports. This way I know the model can be fixed if it needs to be.
The next step is to orient the model the way I think it will print the best. I really dont like the bottom of the model to be more than 5mm off the build plate, closer to 3mm is better.
Then I start the supports. I look at the piece and try to determine how few supports I can get away with. There is no need to put supports if they are not needed. To many supports makes for to much clean up. In the short time I have been doing this it seems that any flat area that is parallel to the build plate will need more support.
To make the supports is the easy part. First I save the model then make a copy to do the supports on. I just decide whether the support will be straight or curved and what the diameter might be. I am starting to use smaller diameter supports now that I have a feel for what the Solus can do. You need to keep a few things in mind when building the supports. first I make sure I start my supports @ .10 mm from the zero plane. That way no supports will come though the bottom of the base when I build it at the very end. Then I make sure the support enters the model as close to 90* as possible. This will create a better mesh geometry around where the support meets the model. To make the supports I just draw a straight line or a curved line from .01mm above the base to where I want the support to enter the model. I make sure that it enters the model approximately .30--.50mm inside the model. Once I have the line or curve in the right place I just extrude a pipe with the right diameter with flat capped ends around that line or curve. Remember you can change the dimensions on your support and use them in a different location. It would not be a bad idea to have a file with your supports so you don't have to always make them for every model. Once I have all my supports place on the model I boolean everything together.
Now that the supports and the model are booleaned together I make the base. Normally I make a oval base. It seems that the curved bases work better than a sharp corner base like a square. In the top view I just draw a oval or other shape on the zero plane that encases the model and supports. Then all I do is extrude that shape to positive .5 mm. Then boolean the base to the model and supports.
Now I do a STL then send it to Netfab to check it. You can repair any issues if there are any in Netfab then do a new STL with the repairs in Netfab. I then save that STL into a STL file to send to the printer. I also save my Rhino model with supports in a file.
Then you are ready to print. Good Luck Mark
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 32 guests
