Printing on top of a shaped base.

[mikeylike 0]

It would be useful to be able to print an addition on top of an existing shape. Applications might include printing for added finer detail, adding a coating of a different material, creating a shell, a reuseable support and reshaping a mesh. The existing shape could be an existing mesh or a mathematically defined curved base.

[ahoeben 1,968]

That is going to be really hard to do generally; how would you perfectly align the existing shape perfectly with the buildplate? It needs to be extremely perfectly aligned because any misalignment will result in the print not sticking on some parts and the nozzle crashing into the existing shape in other parts. Also unless the model is perfectly flat you are going to have areas where the nozzle simply cannot reach without colliding with/scraping over the existing shape.