Complete beginner question. Printing over hangs etc

Sorry for what seems a simple question but I'm a complete beginner - Huxley on order.

How can one print over-hangs or tops of boxes or roofs etc?. You are printing in mid-air.

hi
yes you can do overhangs - not sure to what angle but can go less than 45 degrees - see the thing i am printing right now - has a hollow pyramid thing in it.
you can also get the programs to build some plastic to support the overhang if required (called support structure).
yes you can print a box lid. i haven't done it but other do it all the time.
it is called bridging. normally your setting will make the nozzle zoom fast across the gap and the plastic trails behind and goes across.
after a couple of layer doing this is is normal again.
i do not know what distances you can bridge - i'm sure the more experience guys have had competitions to see the max they can go..
good luck
roger

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Prusa 'Explorer' (3dStuffMaker), GEN6, J-head Mk III-B, Bowden Extruder, Marlin 1.0.0 RC2, Repitier-Host V0.84 and Slic3r 0.9.8, PLA. Live at Victoria, Australia.

Thanks. I've a lot to learn but it's going to be fun!

Hello-
I would say this is almost an overhang, but luckily you have some support. Like roger said, angles of 45 degree or steeper are hard. However, you can make things easier on yourself by printing the minimum possible thickness in the Z direction (0.10 mm or .15 mm) and pointing a fan directly over the overhang area during the entire print, and by during down nozzle temps, and by including extra perimeters. That's what I'd try first, and failing that, its on to support land.

good luck.