Generic settings for all prints or should i use unique for each?

[wathrive 0]

I am currently going to print this but unsure as to whether i should use these generic settings 

 

The PLA i am using is this:
Purple 2.85mm PLA 123-3D Filament Purple 2.85mm PLA 1.1kg (own-brand) 123-3d.co.uk

Any advice would be greatly helpful as if it goes wrong i may have a chair thrown at my head xD

[Slashee_the_Cow 480]

The generic settings are always a good place to start - ultimately, 3D printing a matter of trial and error. Some models will need different settings but for the most part as you print various things you might see little bits that could be improved by different settings so you'll develop a profile that works best as a good place to start, and some prints are still going to need different settings. UltiMaker printers often don't need as much tweaking as the cheaper Chinese stuff some of us have (you get what you pay for).

Important note: For the model in the screenshot provided, you MUST turn on support or the print will definitely fail.

[wathrive 0]

15 minutes ago, Slashee_the_Cow said:

The generic settings are always a good place to start - ultimately, 3D printing a matter of trial and error. Some models will need different settings but for the most part as you print various things you might see little bits that could be improved by different settings so you'll develop a profile that works best as a good place to start, and some prints are still going to need different settings. UltiMaker printers often don't need as much tweaking as the cheaper Chinese stuff some of us have (you get what you pay for).

Important note: For the model in the screenshot provided, you MUST turn on support or the print will definitely fail.

OOOoooo thanks so much for the help, just to confirm when i turn the support on it does make really strong supports that i have found are hard to break(i broke a leg before - of the print, not my own), is there an easy way to snap them or is it just be careful approach xD

[Slashee_the_Cow 480]

@wathrive Without diving into all the technical settings for the support, my main advice would be that tree supports are usually easier to remove than regular supports:

This makes it print "trees" up from the build plate to a point that needs support instead of having a full support structure going up to that height, encompassing anything inside it (trees will avoid touching the model unless they have to, but even then the contact areas are as small as possible).

 

But looking at a model like that there is still an element of "be gentle" involved (not my strong suit). If you have wire cutters they're pretty good at removing some bits because they have the flat side on the back you can get right against the model so all you're cutting is the support. If you don't have wire cutters... buy some, they're useful and you only need cheap ones 🙂. I have a bunch of different tools (and things that aren't really supposed to be tools, but I'm using them as tools.. and tools, but I'm using them in a completely different way than intended) for cleaning up prints but a good start is just some wire cutters and some fine grain sandpaper to try and smooth out any lumps that aren't supposed to be there.

 

And if you do accidentally maim a poor animal cleaning it up (I've done it to cows 😢) if you're printing with PLA then regular old superglue (cyanoacrylate) is super (pun intended) at gluing it back together. Just get a drop on one side of the break then hold it and the other piece together tightly for 20-30 seconds and it's close enough to good as new unless you try and deliberately break it in the same spot again 😄.