Hi Everyone,
I’m back with another issue. This time, it has to do with the final quality of my models as they relate to the support structures. It seems that everytime I print a model, One side of it (the side facing the extruders) comes out fine. Smooth, clean, etc. But the side that engages with the support material (the underside, I suppose), turns out all fishboned and rough once the supports are removed. The pattern of the supports remains behind, and I’m forced to sand the surface down to achieve smoothness. A little sanding would be fine, I guess, but this seems like a problem that can be corrected.
Does anyone have any ideas on how to achieve uniform smoothness all the way around? It’s so frustrating!
I’m using Simplify3D, FYI, and the ABS filament that came with my FlashForge Creator Pro.
I’ve attached pictures for reference, of both the models and the base/raft/support layers.
Any help at all would be MUCH appreciated.
Thanks guys!
matt
It’s happening because there needs to be a gap between the support structures and the object and the bottom layers of the object sag a bit. Cooling fans and custom supports can help but the best option is to orient the model to minimize the need for supports. If that’s not possible you can slice the model up and flip the bottom half so they both have flat bottom surfaces.
Forego the raft. Your printbed will have to be absolutely level and your model won’t stick as well, but it should be do-able.
My favorite option is to skip the raft and use a skirt. If it is something that needs help with bed adhesion, I use a brim rather than raft. I use PEI for my bed surface which sticks really well.
Another possibility is to use solublsupport ry instead but that requires post processing and still isn’t as good as no support.
