Hi folks.
I’m messing around with a few small prints on a Form 2, trying to work out how small I can get touch points, and how much I can thin out the supports.
Just wondering what others may have found on this topic, how far have you managed to push the boundaries, and with which resins?
Thanks folks.
Hey there @Munty!
Thanks for taking the time to post! That’s a great question. It may be difficult for folks to nail down a specific answer because there are so many variables at play when it comes to this question. The type of resin, the layer height, and very importantly the size, shape, and weight of the model will all very much come into play.
Do you have a specific model you’re curious about? A screenshot may help everyone give you more useful advice. 
It really is a good question and I just want to make sure we can offer the best help!
In some more recent prints I’ve had some failures pushing the point size too small, but I think it does work OK to use some larger point sizes for stability and then using small ones for general support.
I’ve often gone as low as 0.45mm in a variety of resins. Sometimes without even increasing density, but keep in mind if you don’t have enough of them you might get some wobble. Lately when I dial back the touchpoint size further in an effort to minimize support marks, I’ll throw a few chunkier (e.g. 0.8mm) manual ones in at strategic points (a couple near the beginning layers of the print, a bit further up, and near any features that need it) to provide stability. That’s seemed to work pretty well for me so far. Been more of an art than a science.
I’m happy with the 0.1 and 0.2mm option.
My parts generally print well with 0.4 and 0.5 supports and small details with 0.3mm. Tried 0.2mm recently and worked perfect for some detailed stuff!
Ahh, I didn’t realise you could vary the points. I must have an hour or two really playing with Preform. That’s great to know.
It’s not really model specific. I’m printing organic structured for fun, but mechanical structures for more important work, I’m just trying to get the best finish on all surfaces possible. ‘Flat’ bases are obviously out, I’ve learnt that one! And some resins are easier to post finish than others if you’re after that ‘just out of the box’ look.
So far I’ve knocked .1 off everything printed and I haven’t had a single failure. Apart from the one where I forgot the build platform. Even after hitting the big button saying “BUILD PLATFORM”!
Thanks folks, great information.