So - I’m printing a very nice LCVP about 11 cm long. Great file which I ‘waterlined’ and created stronger interiors for to be used for wargaming.
My first print, as the bottom is dead flat, was right on the print bed. I put it on a small base as part of the waterlining process. Comes out super nice. Great detail. A bit hard to get off the print bed but I expected that.
2nd one breaks getting it off the print bed - so okay - I will stop being stingy with resin and just use a support raft.
Put the model on support rafts. Set it up to print and - poof. It vanishes. Great support raft and the front drop door printed, but no boat. Supports go up to nothing.
Any thoughts on this? It seems like something in PreForm I expect. My current decision is to thicken the base and bevel it (effectively making it a support raft) so I can pry the model off and it will have more strength. But it would be nice to know why the models just vanished when I tried to print them.
Thanks so much for taking the time to post! That’s certainly a weird issue you’re seeing.
Do you mind if I ask whether this issue is only cropping up with this specific model, or whether you’ve tried a different part and it’s having the same problem?
Additionally, if you could post a picture of the part in PreForm so I can take a look that would be much appreciated!
For this issue I would definitely recommend getting in touch with our support team at the link below so they can investigate things a little more quickly and thoroughly. That being said, feel free to reply here if you’d like and I’ll see what I can figure out!
I’ll bet that you have a whole bunch of cured resin at the bottom of your tank.
The problem, most likely, is that you oriented this object horizontally, and the cross section is too large. Due to the high peeling forces required to disengage from the tank, your model most likely ripped off the supports as soon as it started printing, leaving you with the supports, but nothing connected to them.
When using supports, you must orient the model in such a way as it presents the smallest possible cross-section to minimize peeling forces.
Post a screenshot of your model if you want us to provide more informed feedback.
Good query, thanks. I will check the tank and see if I have anything in it (on a cursory glance it doesn’t look like it - but I haven’t gone rooting around). Yes the model was positioned horizontally. The support structure for some of the middle areas mucks up the model too much to stand it on end. I’d have preferred that as I could have fit four instead of two in the print area that way.
The one finished LCVP model I did (which was attached to the print bed directly) is in the other forum section, but here:
There were two very flat ‘boat sized’ pieces of cured resin on the bottom of the tank. I fished them out. They must have sheared off the rafts exactly as you described.
I will see what I can do with a different positioning. That definitely seems to have been the issue.
