Designing Supports with the Model
I've got my first order for a replacement part to be printed. It is for a wand blender, my friend needs a clutch for it. The upper part is no problem, but the lower part has cooling fins on it, 9 of them.
I'm planning on making them with the CAD model of the part, ideally I think. Would be to use small blocks as support but I'm not sure about the clearance from the model itself?
Is 0.5 mm an OK clearance for support? And I need both vertical and horizontal clearance. I'll make the CAD model when I come home from work so i'll upload it here to make things more clear, but if someone knows a good way to do this right off the bat, I'd appreciate any help.
Re: Designing Supports with the Model
OK, so here is the CAD model. The fins that are closest to the screen will be the bottom part. The upper part would need more support so this should be the best side to print on.
I was thinking of trying to model in a "cork" that would completely fill the voids in the lower part of the print. So that it will go inbetween the fins, and inside every cavity. Now if this is possible, does anyone have an idea how much clearance I should leave between the cork and model surface in order for the support to get off easily, but to also support the model enough. It doesn't need to get close to the fins, maybe 1 mm clearance on each side would be enough, but what's troubling me is the horizontal clearance.
Or maybe someone with S3D would be willing to prep the .stl for me and add in its supports.
Re: Designing Supports with the Model
Why don't you just put the cylindrical part onto the bed? That way your slicer could produce simple supports.
Re: Designing Supports with the Model
Just print it in 2 parts and glue the 2 halves together.