Programs Purely For Creating Support Structure

Hi All,

I am looking for automated ways to generate support structure prior to the actual slicing of a 3D model.

Does any one have any recomendations?

If you mean that you want to incorporate the support structure into the stl, then the answer is not simple. Obviously, if you have the source file, say a SolidWorks model, you can just add supports right there on the model.

Doing something in an automated fashion is very difficult to pull off, and have it work for every type of object. That's why you see the slicer being used to add support material. It's already going through the deconstruction of the object, so it is easy to identify when something is printing in mid air by comparing to the previous slice, and determining that there is nothing there. Now the slicer can add support to every layer beneath that until it meets another surface.

Heheheh, I had a question about adding support to one of my models but I don't know how and mostly people do it at the slicer level I was told.

Yes unless you have access to the CAD drawing then you will have to do it at the slicing level. Skeinforge does it quite well

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Experimenting in 3D in New Zealand

Adding support to an stl is as simple as making a second object that sits under the part you want supported. Why would you possibly need the source or CAD drawings?

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I agree; the source file should not be necessary.

I am surprised to see there is not an offset of programs being developed purely for support structure type purposes.

Idolcrasher Wrote:
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> I agree; the source file should not be necessary.
>
> I am surprised to see there is not an offset of
> programs being developed purely for support
> structure type purposes.

Although I do not use auto generated support made by the slicing software I can see how it does a better job than the manually added support. When the support is generated by the slicing software it can make the extrusions thinner or thicker so they break off easier. But when you model in support the support gets printed like the rest of the model. But from my experience manually added support can be really small and use almost not material, but from some of the auto generated support I have seen it looks like it takes as much plastic as the model. I guess as dual extrusion gets better I can see how slicing software generated support is the only way of going for complex things like one piece gear boxes with soluble support.

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FFF Settings Calculator	Gcode post processors	Geometric Object Deposition Tool Blog
Tantillus.org	Mini Printable Lathe	How NOT to install a Pololu driver

Currently I'm printing in mostly ABS and using support regularly, Kisslicer's support is pretty sparse and for the most part it's relatively easy to remove, usually a couple of minutes with a razor blade, and it saves me a ruined part if a hole in a horizontal section sags more than I expect.
In PLA I'd jump through hoops to avoid support, I find it virtually impossible to remove support or rafts that have any significant contact area with the model, the support will just not peel off.

It could just be the combination of temperature etc I'm printing PLA at, but I wonder if there are better strategies for support for PLA , I'd be interested to see the support employed by Netfabb's offering and the software that's shipping with the UP etc.
Thinking out load, something like having a fractional layer height for the top layer of the support (say 0.95 * layer height) with a low W/T ratio to reduce the contact area of the layer above.

Adding support in a model you can be "clever" about it, but the slicer can't distinguish between the model and the support.

Sublime Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Although I do not use auto generated support made
> by the slicing software I can see how it does a
> better job than the manually added support. When
> the support is generated by the slicing software
> it can make the extrusions thinner or thicker so
> they break off easier. But when you model in
> support the support gets printed like the rest of
> the model. But from my experience manually added
> support can be really small and use almost not
> material, but from some of the auto generated
> support I have seen it looks like it takes as much
> plastic as the model. I guess as dual extrusion
> gets better I can see how slicing software
> generated support is the only way of going for
> complex things like one piece gear boxes with
> soluble support.

This suggests to me using a mixture of the two methods in cases where a lot of material is used to support a part. Design efficient support into the model, but leave a gap between the support and the part for the slicer to fill with the thinly extruded support. You get more efficient support, with the easy removal if the thin extrusion.

I do look forward to the day when the slicers have more efficient algorithmic support. It was only a month or so ago I read of one of the commercial printer vendors bragging about more efficient support material usage.