Overhangs and organic supports
I tried to print a small model of a vintage monitor. There is a pronounced overhang above the screen, and I used organic supports for it. But was disappointed that -- in an otherwise very nice print -- the overhang came out very "stringy", not much better than without supports. A couple of filament strands even ripped loose entirely.
Printed with Prusament Galaxy PLA, 0.25 mm Speed mode for a first draft, organic supports at their default settings. I could certainly change the settings, but can't change the orientation of the print due to other constraints.
This is probably not a Core One-specific problem, but either me not knowing what I'm doing, or hitting the limits of what can be printed. Is there a better way to do this? Thank you for pointing me in the right direction!
RE: Overhangs and organic supports
For overhangs, the thinner the layers are, the better it will be.
I think that for your issue layer height is the culprit: With higher layer height the overhang will print worse and the layer gap interface (to avoid supports sticking to the print) will also be bigger, so even less "support".
Try thinner layers and personally I like to print organic support without interface layers and with 0 gap.
Please save your project as a .3mf file
Files > Save Project as
Zip the .3mf and post it here. It will contain both your part and your settings for us to diagnose.
Cheerio,
RE: Overhangs and organic supports
Thank you for the replies. Unfortunately I can't share the files at the moment since this is not my design; I'll check... In the meantime I will try and tweak layer height, interface layers and contact distance for the supports.
RE: Overhangs and organic supports
Maybe can you cut the last centimeter of the part? It should be enough for us to diagnose without disclosing the full design.
RE: Overhangs and organic supports
Maybe can you cut the last centimeter of the part? It should be enough for us to diagnose without disclosing the full design.
I just learned that a revised version of the model has been published on Printables a while ago: https://www.printables.com/model/1200359-computer-space-arcade-cabinet
It's the cabinet for Computer Space, the first-ever arcade video game. I want to make a working miniature version, scaled down to the 27 cm height which the Core One can print. Ideally just printed with glittery PLA filament and coated with a layer of clear lacquer (acrylic? polyurethane? epoxy?) to get close to the original look.
But the "support situation" is challenging:
- That screen overhang is very high up, so a tall support structure needs to printed if it's starting at the bottom. (And I could not convince PrusaSlicer to let the supports start higher up -- attaching them to the inside walls would be fine, since these will not be visible in the completed model.)
- I want to use a layer height range modifier for the topmost part of the cabinet, to get reasonably smooth contours on the rounded top surface -- but then organic supports will not work.
- But Grid or Snug supports get huge, easily doubling the print time and material use -- and they look like they would be very hard to remove from the inside of the model, which they fill entirely.
I am a bit stumped at the moment. Is there an alternative slicer which would offer more control over the placement of supports, and which can combine organic supports with the changing layer heights? What else could I try?
RE: Overhangs and organic supports
Could you print it on it’s back, and support the front bezel from the build plate?
RE: Overhangs and organic supports
Actually I’ve just noticed that there’s a separate bezel part, which would cover the loose overhang that you showed earlier, wouldn’t it?
RE:
Yes, I had thought about placing it on its back. But that would reduce the maximum size to 250 mm (where 270 is already a bit smaller than I would like, to fit a decent screen and keep the control panel playable). And it would produce flat gradient, with notable layer steps, on the front -- where I find them more obtrusive than on top, because they are less expected.
Hmm -- printing the model tilted back by 30° to 45° might actually work? I'll play with that in the slicer...
The bezel part sits inside the outer enclosure, leaving the outside overhang visible, unfortunately.
RE: Overhangs and organic supports
Could you make it bigger (on its back) by placing it on the diagonal?
RE: Overhangs and organic supports
Could you make it bigger (on its back) by placing it on the diagonal?
No, unfortunately not. The model is wider than it appears at first glance, especially at the back. So it needs to stay a fair distance away from the corners. Actually I can fit less height than when laying it straight down.
But the tilted-back placement looks good. I can nearly fit the full 270 mm height into the addressable space... Just 1 or 2 mm short. Is there any secret option to tell PrusaSlicer and the printer to use the extra couple of mm which are available in the printer, and not strictly limit the print to 220 * 250 * 270 mm³?