I began using the Form2 last week, and it’s amazing… except for the branching supports that in some cases use more material than the parts. Previously, our office had a 3D Systems Projet 7000, and the native support-generator was very efficient; dipping the supports into IPA for 15 minutes and they peel off the parts with barely visible contact points. I understand that it’s unfair to compare industrial-grade to consumer-grade SLA printers, but I feel that this is a bottle-neck for the Form2.
Does anyone have experience with third-party software that create efficient supports? Maybe Netfabb? Thanks.
There’s no way to generate CAM data for a Form printer except with PreForm. But if you’re not happy with the density of the supports, turn the density down before you click “GENERATE”. I do this all the time. Smaller parts in particular can be printed with a lower support density.
I also generally reduce the support point size to the minimum. They seem to work as well, I don’t get separation of the supports during printing, but the entire “raft”, the base plus the supports, can usually just be twisted off of the model to separate the print. I haven’t used the Flush Cutters for as long as I can remember…
I generate my own supports manually in Matrix but I have been toying with the idea of seeing how well Netfabb and similar generate supports without destroying model detail areas
I haven’t seen any other tools for making supports that does as well as what you get in Preform
I always place the supports myself, but the main advantage is how it branches the supports together so you can have thin supports but they are structured very well together.