Printing irregular shaped objects (bones) with small footprint & non-planar surfaces
I want to print some anatomical models, i.e., bones. Typically, they have irregular shapes and non-planar surfaces. Attached is an example:
So what I do with those is to put them at an angle like in the screenshot and add a raft with a large expansion and enable supports - which works reasonable well. However, I find that especially the layers that attach to the raft are not very smooth... Perhaps it requires some tuning of settings - but I wonder if there is a better way to print such models with FDM?
This is a typical case for soluble filament used as support or support interface - note that your soluble filament needs to be compatible with the structural filament so read the specifications and check the combination before ordering.
Cheerio,
RE: Printing irregular shaped objects (bones) with small footprint & non-planar surfaces
That's a good point. I have some soluble filament available, but never tried printing with it. Would in such a case then the procedure stay the same, i.e., raft + support or once I print with soluble support I should also change to a different procedure?
Begin with the same support settings (expect to tweak them later) and either print all of the support with soluble filament or (in most cases) save some expensive filament by just printing a soluble interface layer.
Make sure the soluble filament preset has the box ticked in: Filaments > Advanced > Filament properties
.. and depending on the individual part you might find yourself juggling between snug and organic supports.
Cheerio,