Supports Leaving Marks

Hello,

Rookie with a rookie question.

I am printing a small model, average 2 inches cube, on the Form 1+. I am having problems with the supports that I am setting on the model. When I remove them, I am getting damage on the model.

I made the supports using the manual edit mode in the Preform software. I used a small point size (0.4). Any smaller and the warning icon popped up. I oriented the model to avoid suction problems. It also has a hole through the center to deal with this.

I oriented the model so that the supports are mainly on the bottom and in the hole, but the software gives me the red coloring on the model if I do not add supports on the side. I am thinking of turning it over and running the supports in the inner part of the large disk (which will be covered by another part). Any suggestions regarding this are appreciated as well.

I see that sanding is also possible. If someone has a method that works, please point me in the right direction.

Thank you.
Ricardo

Yeah, supports leave blemishes. Sometimes they stick up and you have to sand them down. Sometimes they’re divots and you need to fill them.

You’ve got the right idea, orienting the model so the supports contact areas that are not as visible. Depending on the print, you may be able to reduce the support point size to reduce the degree of blemish. I successfully print with 0.40 point size.

If you don’t already have one, get yourself a handheld UV laser (you’re looking for 405nm). You can fill divots with a drop of resin and then cure it with the handheld laser, and then sand it down flush.

1 Like

Thank you, Randy. The UV laser idea sounds like a plan. I am making a UV light box for curing. I’ll add that to the set up.

Thanks again.

For a ‘rookie’ user, you’re doing a pretty awesome job with orientation and I’m especially impressed that you’re manually adding and editing support structures.

As @Randy_Cohen mentioned, the supports do often leave small bumps. I find the easiest time to remove supports is shortly after the model has come out of IPA as the supports will swell and be a bit more flexible which makes them easier to tear away. If you have a bit more time, cutting them away is a bit safer and guarantees that you won’t get any divots.

Our materials sand especially well and I’m a big fan of wet sanding with sanding sticks. Afterwards, a bit of mineral oil on a microfiber cloth helps to give the model a clean finish.

What might help is to split up that object into pieces so that you can orient parts better to have fewer supports. I would split off the top part and then the pipes and that would allow you to orient the parts in a way that you could place the supports on areas that are easier to clean.
To help with assembly, design some way for the parts to fit together and have a 0.05mm gap at least

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