I am printing my first attempt without supports. It is a small and quick print. My expectations are not high. Maybe it will happen.
You may have to pad the model by +.022"
First layers are compressed. I have had pretty good results printing direct on small flat objects. Larger taller prints I use supports so I can reduce the peel with angles.
Ken
Yes it failed big time.
Maybe on another item.
Bill
What was the object?
Only things I print flat are coin, lapel pin and belt buckle models so I have nice smooth flats. Anything bulky will probably fail.
Ken
it was actually 2 separate items a friend designed - model railroad parts. I heard Shapeways charges by the STL files so he made 2 parts in 1 file. I have them separately now. I did not think it would print anyway
Bill
Shapeways charges by the volume of material consumed by the print.
I have a small 3D bust I made, you can see it in my Avatar picture. It was one of my first print attempts with the Form1. I subsequently printed it without a base or supports, it printed just fine. Anything that’s got large flat non-contiguous areas wants to be printed at an angle to minimize how much surface area needs to be peeled. More surface in contact with the tank bottom means more force applied during peel means more likely to see a print fail. But small, highly-contiguous shapes appear to print just fine without a base, and they printer faster and use less resin.
Unfortunately, a lot of what I print is complex enough it needs supports so this isn’t an option.
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