Support material not being generated

[rogerclark 0]

Hi,

I'm trying to print a mount for a go pro camera that I designed

http://www.rogerclark.net/uploads/gopro_mount.stl

But I can't seem to get Cura (14 or 13) to generate the support makerial needed for the overhangs, for the outer left and right part of the model.

I've looked in the settings and I can't seen any minimum distance settings etc, I've tried changing the settings in the Expert popup, but it doesnt seem to make any difference in this case.

I've made sure I set the support option to "Everywhere"

I've noticed that Slic3r also doesnt produce support for this model, and the only slicer that seems to work is KISSlicer. But I'd prefer to use Cura if possible.

Could someone advise me, how I can get Cura to generate support material for this model?

Thanks

Roger

 

[calinb 11]

Roger,

I wish I could, but I've given up on Cura support and I design it into my models, whenever I wish to use Cura. Sometimes it works, but usually Cura misses important overhangs and, despite my hacking of the .py file, as Daid suggested, I can't get the results I need.

I agree that Kisslicer support is quite versatile and good. My favorite is actually the netfabb UM engine, but I can't say that I'd recommend netfabb, because it is expensive, buggy, difficult to learn, and poorly supported. It does, however, feature far more control over how your print is accomplished than any other slicer. If you ever find yourself looking for layer-by-layer control over a variety of custom and independent extrusion "types" (as I call them) it's the tool for the job. Oh--BTW, netfabb support works great for PLA right out of the box, but it took me quite a deal of effort to devise effective support settings for ABS.

Sorry to be of no help to you, but I wanted you to know you are not alone.

-Cal

 

Could someone advise me, how I can get Cura to generate support material for this model?

Thanks

Roger

 

[rogerclark 0]

Thanks Cal

I'm glad I'm not doing something stupid. I guess for this model I'll just need to use KISSlicer - but KISS has other issues like not priming the extruder by drawing skirts :-(

Cheers

Roger

 

[Daid 306]

There is an 14.02-RC1 at http://software.ultimaker.com/Cura_closed_beta/%20which%20has%20an%20extra%20configuration%20setting%20for%20the%20support%20angle,%20adjusting%20this%20one%20generates%20more%20or%20less%20support.%20Might%20help.

Still, Cura's support material sucks. I know it.

 

[drayson 75]

Hi,

unfortunaltey the link is a bit "damaged" :-)

This one should work...

http://software.ultimaker.com/Cura_closed_beta/

Remaining note from Daid:

[..] which has an extra configuration setting for the support angle, adjusting this one generates more or less support. Might help.[...]

 

[Daid 306]

OH man, I hate this stupid forum's URL handling. It always does this... thanks for the quick fix drayson.

 

[calinb 11]

Well--at least it's so blazingly fast, I can slice, view, and spin gcode of my own models implementing my own support structures and iterate my solid model CAD very quickly!

 

There is an 14.02-RC1 at http://software.ultimaker.com/Cura_closed_beta/ which has an extra configuration setting for the support angle, adjusting this one generates more or less support. Might help.

Still, Cura's support material sucks. I know it.

 

[calinb 11]

Yes. As you've learned, no single slicer is all things! It's good to have and learn them all.

As my nozzle warmup is completing before a new print, I manually prime my nozzle to pressurize it and clear any jams or crud from it. I do this with the stage about 50 mm or more below the nozzle at ~x=0 / y=0. I turn my UM "Classic" (original) big wheel with my left hand while force feeding plastic up into the feeder with my right hand. A nitrile or latex glove can improve one's grip on the filament. I push hard on the filament--hard enough to nearly lift the frame from the bench or maybe even harder sometimes, while holding the frame down with my left wrist. Once plastic flows nicely and with good quality (no bubbles, steam, or discolored chunks or impurities from prior shutdown "heat creep"), I use my right hand to turn the big wheel more slowly or even intermittently until my UM homes. Before it finishes homing, I clean any blobs from the bed and nozzle and make sure only a short, single, clean thread contacts the bed at the home point. I've become adept at doing all this without getting burned (or burned only superficially ) and I even hold the extruding and cooling filament clear of the bed while feeding filament with my right hand at the big wheel--right up until the hot extruded thread contacts the bed.

I look back on all the early jams I had in my hot end when I first started printing (PLA) with my new UM. I looked for problems in the hot end design and knurled/checkered drive stud and pressure "foot" and I did find some dimensional problems in my V1 (pre-Bertho style) extruder (feeder), but I now know that much of my newbie frustration could have been avoided with a few simple tricks, like starting runs per the above. After printing many, many spools of PLA, ABS, and nylon, I never have jams anymore.

 

Thanks Cal

I'm glad I'm not doing something stupid. I guess for this model I'll just need to use KISSlicer - but KISS has other issues like not priming the extruder by drawing skirts :sad:

Cheers

Roger