Support
- Enable support
Enabling support will give your model a scaffolding underneath parts of the model that may need some support underneath their overhangs. Overhangs are part of your model where the plastic is being laid down in mid air. Instead of the model being printed onto air, the support structure will be able to assist the overhangs to be held up when being laid down.
- Placement
Placement determines where the support structure is placed. There are two options to choose from:
- Touching Buildplate: The support structure is only printed on overhangs that are directly over the build platform.
- Everywhere: The support structure is printed everywhere there is an overhang, even if it is somewhere inside or on the model itself.
Left: Touching buildplate - Right: Everywhere
- Overhang angle
The overhang angle determines the angle at which support material will be used. The larger the angle, the less support material is used. If set at 90°, there will be no support material, whereas a 0° angle will use supports everywhere on the model.
- Support pattern
Support pattern determines the ease of removal and sturdiness of the support structure. There are five patterns to choose from:
- Support density
The density of your support will result in different strength of your support structure. A lower density will be easier to remove, but not as strong compared to a higher density, which will be harder to remove from the finished print, but give you a stronger support structure.
- X/Y distance
X/Y distance determines the distance between the support structure and the model itself in the x and y directions. A bigger value increases the distance, which will make the support structure less likely to touch the model and fuse the support to the model. Be aware that as the value increases, the more likely a small overhang in the x or y direction would not be supported because the distance is further away.
- Z distance
Z distance determines the space between the top and bottom of the model and the support structure. Top distance determines the distance between the top of the support structure and the bottom surface of the overhang. Likewise, the bottom distance determines the distance between the bottom of the support structure and the top area of the model. This value should always be small, but depending on the model, might need to be tweaked higher and lower. A smaller value will result in a cleaner surface finish of the model, but will be harder to remove from the model. A higher value will be easier to remove, but will result in a more rough surface finish on the model.
- Horizontal expansion
Horizontal expansion determines how much the support structure will be printed beyond the model in the x and y direction. A higher value will result in a stronger support structure, but small areas where there are support structure may be harder to remove. A lower value will result in less support structure, which may be hard to remove on areas where there is a lot of support needed to remove after the print is finished.
- Enable support roof
If a support roof is enabled, the support structure will create a solid layer of plastic at the top of the support structure. When using a support roof, the model will come out with a very clean surface finish, but may be very hard to remove compared to not using a support roof.
Comments
1 comment
I know what support is, but you neglect to say how it is turned on or off within Octoprint.
Please sign in to leave a comment.