Printing with Supports

Long bridge will likely need support

Summary: Print support structures for clean bridges.

Yesterday I printed out a very large part that took 19 hours to complete. The part has a long bridge that probably would not have printed well without a support structure. I was not going to risk a print this large so I selected the "print support structure" option in Cura.

waffle pattern of the support structure

The support structure is designed to print just enough surface to support the layer above. It is also designed so that it will separate easily from the rest of the print.

finished print with support

close up of support

The support did a great job of keeping the layers above nice and flat. I tried to peel the support off by hand but I couldn't. So I started by carefully pushing a razor blade in along the edge of the support line. Then I tried to remove the layer by hand again. Not quite. Finally I used a chisel blade on my x-acto knife and slipped it in between the support and print along both sides. That popped the support off.

The bottom surface is a little hairy looking where the support was but that's ok as it is the bottom of the piece. I used a file to knock down some of the high spots. More importantly, the sides of the piece are nice and clean.

support removed

nice clean bridge