Any way to improve parts where supports connect?

[truenorthtrader]

Hey folks.

I'm wondering if there is any way to improve parts where supports connect?
My supports stick to the object and I have to sand them off. Some parts I'm making, it's hard to sand into small holes.

Is there a trick to not have the supports stick to the model so it has a cleaner finish?
thanks!

[mhackney]

Not really. Some slicers are better than others so try a few different ones. If you have 2 extruders, the water soluble supports leave a nice finish. One of the big draws for dual+ extruders.

[DavidF]

Love to hear some feed back on this myself.....another reason Im interested in dual extruders, water soluable support material...

[mhackney]

I have not used this product but Simplify3D claims to have great support capabilities - it allows you to place and configure supports. I'm intrigued by this application and have exchanged a number of emails with their product manager but have not bought it yet. Haven't had a compelling need.

[truenorthtrader]

Water soluble supports??? Wow never heard of that, sounds pretty amazing!

Have to see what support there is for adding this on the Rostock max, I haven't even seen a picture of dual extruders on it though I've seen the add a sturder kit.

[int2str]

I have not used this product but Simplify3D claims to have great support capabilities - it allows you to place and configure supports. I'm intrigued by this application and have exchanged a number of emails with their product manager but have not bought it yet. Haven't had a compelling need.

I bought it mainly for the promise of placing supports by hand. Unfortunately it tends to ignore both the hand placed ones and the automatic supports at times and really hasn't produced great prints for me yet.

[mhackney]

Thanks int2str. One reason why I haven't bought it is I have not seen any outstanding reviews but lots of little nits and gnats. That's why I contacted the company to see if I could get a demo. I was completely honest and sent them links to all of the +s and -s I've seen on the forums here and other places.

All I can say, as software entrepreneurs, they are really missing an excellent opportunity to build a great, unique, product and a community of supporters to go around it. I couldn't find a single photo of a print sliced with Simplify3D compared to Slic3r, KISS or Cura. I most certainly would have done a side by side and posted photos. Being both a producer and consumer of software, this tells me that customers have a bit of "buyer's remorse". They see the positives and the possibilities but the current product does not live up to expectations. But, until I actually try the product myself, I reserve judgement.

regards,
Michael

[Nylocke]

PVA for PLA, PVA is dissolvable in an agitated water bath, or HIPS for ABS, HIPS is dissolvable in Citrus oil. Ultimachine sells both in 3mm and 1.75mm

[Eaglezsoar]

Water soluble supports??? Wow never heard of that, sounds pretty amazing!

Have to see what support there is for adding this on the Rostock max, I haven't even seen a picture of dual extruders on it though I've seen the add a sturder kit.

There are many examples of how to set them up and pictures right here on our forum.
Put in site:forum.seemecnc.com dual extruder
It will find many hits that you can read about setting them up.

[Eaglezsoar]

PVA for PLA, PVA is dissolvable in an agitated water bath, or HIPS for ABS, HIPS is dissolvable in Citrus oil. Ultimachine sells both in 3mm and 1.75mm

Thanks for that information. I have read about the dissoluble supports but I did not know what to use.
Do you know a common source for Citrus oil or is it a specialty item that would have to be purchased online?

[Nylocke]

The stuff Ive heard being used is Limonene, as per this article http://hackaday.com/2013/03/01/soluble- ... d-printer/

[Eaglezsoar]

The stuff Ive heard being used is Limonene, as per this article http://hackaday.com/2013/03/01/soluble- ... d-printer/

That Limonene is expensive! It is selling for approximately $40+ for 1 gallon!
There is not a lot of information on the forum about PVA but I need to research this.
My questions are why PVA couldn't be used with ABS. The obvious answer is that it won't stick to ABS but
I print mostly with ABS and I can't see me paying $40 a gallon for Limonene. PVA would be great though,
I may have to start using more PLA for that reason alone. I can afford water.

[DavidF]

I cant help myself from thinking about 3d printing a lock with the key in it....

[Nylocke]

no clue how well this with work.... but... http://www.ehow.com/how_5404293_make-ci ... aning.html

[lordbinky]

In kisslicer I learned I will likely never need to use ULTRA support....

[dpmacri]

The stuff Ive heard being used is Limonene, as per this article http://hackaday.com/2013/03/01/soluble- ... d-printer/

That Limonene is expensive! It is selling for approximately $40+ for 1 gallon!
There is not a lot of information on the forum about PVA but I need to research this.
My questions are why PVA couldn't be used with ABS. The obvious answer is that it won't stick to ABS but
I print mostly with ABS and I can't see me paying $40 a gallon for Limonene. PVA would be great though,
I may have to start using more PLA for that reason alone. I can afford water.

The limonene is expensive, but I'm wondering if, depending on the part, you can just soak some up in a cotton swab or something and apply it where the supports attach to the part, rather than dunking the whole part in solution. Also, does anyone know if the limonene is reusable after dissolving the HIPS? I.e. is there a chemical reaction going on or just a solid dissolving in the solution. Obviously if the latter, it would become saturated at some point, but I'm wondering if there's a way to get the HIPS out of the limonene and reuse it.

[mhackney]

The HIPS dissolves in the limonene and you really need to soak it, you can't just wipe it on. If you can physically remove some of the HIPS support first, then you will not have to dissolve that and save solvent. Otherwise, what I do is have 2 containers large enough to dip my parts. The first contains "dirty" limonene. I put the part int here first and let it soak as long as necessary. At some point this will get pretty viscous and not really usable any longer but you will be able to de-support a lot of parts. Then, remove the mostly cleaned part and then dip it in a container with fresh limonene (well, fresher since you are only using it to do a final rinse). That way, you are getting a nice clean rinse.

You can get 1 gal of limonene shipped from eBay for about $30.

[Glacian22]

I saw a vid where someone was printing in ABS, and using PLA as a support material, then dissolving the PLA with a heated bath of NaOH. Seemed to work really well, but not for the faint of heart!

*Edit* Found it~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BePRUTsZh_w

[bubbasnow]

I saw a vid where someone was printing in ABS, and using PLA as a support material, then dissolving the PLA with a heated bath of NaOH. Seemed to work really well, but not for the faint of heart!

*Edit* Found it~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BePRUTsZh_w

i like how he was doing this in a coffee pot!

[Nylocke]

No one has made the connection between my avatar and this video.... it won't stay that way for long.... oh noes... I'm being found out... abort the mission, abort!

[Glacian22]

No one has made the connection between my avatar and this video.... it won't stay that way for long.... oh noes... I'm being found out... abort the mission, abort!

*GASP* Nylocke's a brony?? OH NOES! ^_^

[Eaglezsoar]

No one has made the connection between my avatar and this video.... it won't stay that way for long.... oh noes... I'm being found out... abort the mission, abort!

You are missing the hat.

[Nylocke]

I really shouldn't get into this... but my avatar is Rainbow Dash... and the video was a print of Trixie.... and they are two different ponies.... so no I'm not missing a hat....

[Eaglezsoar]

I really shouldn't get into this... but my avatar is Rainbow Dash... and the video was a print of Trixie.... and they are two different ponies.... so no I'm not missing a hat....

Yea right! You're not getting out that easy. If it looks like and smells like Trixie then it is Trixie sir Rainbow Dash! Besides Rainbow Dash is nothing but a ripoff of Trixie!

[Durandal]

Neckbeards... You were the cancer that killed /b/, don't kill the seemecnc forums too, it and /fit/ are all I have left.