We all have that moment when there is a 3D Print failure. The Nozzle clogs or jams, we run out of filament, or things just stop [firmware issue].
The print appears to be a total waste of time and effort 🙁
BUT … watch us Rescuing a 3D Print…
Fixing or Repairing 3D Prints
This situation is repairable:
In this example, we are already using an STL file that we have halved* by positioning it lower into the 3D Print Bed.
This solution is just an extra process of that repositioning method.
We at IDM Imagineering 3D Design and 3D Print prototypes and models in-house for ourselves and our 3D Print Clients so we do not always need a perfect one-off whole print, therefore we can use glue and fillers to finish a model before undercoating and spray painting; you will never see the join.
So, all is not lost. You can simply carry on where the 3D Print stopped.
In other words; reposition your model again lower into the 3D Printing Bed and only leave the required extra amount of the model visible for 3D Printing.
1/ Measure how far you have 3D Printed so far …
Fixing or Repairing 3D Prints
2/ Subtract that amount from the Z offset in your 3D Slicing Software [we use Simplify3D].
Initial Position
Extra pieces position
3/ 3D Print the missing piece(s) and therefore Rescuing a 3D Print.
STL lowered into Print Bed further.
The resulting and remaining pieces to be 3D Printed
3D Printing completed
A complete 3D Print … alongside a part Print plus the additional pieces.
All the Pieces compared
Success!, the 3D Printed extra parts matchup perfectly to make a whole 3D Print.
*To save print time, as we have multiple 3D Printers, we often print objects as multiple pieces. Waiting for a 30-hour print is a worry; leaving it unsupervised, power cuts, heat for health & safety, noise at night … We would rather divide and conquer and get a model 3D Printed within normal working hours.
It is truly a challenging task to produce an item using FDM 3D Printing.
3D Printers (SLA or FDM 3D Printing) have unexpected time impacts; cleanup, smoothing, hardening, drying and support removal (pulling, splitting, cutting, sanding, filing).
I get so excited when a nice print comes out, then I am faced with having to spend another 10% to 50% more time cleaning the prints up (removing support) for our customers.
No matter how hard I try, there are always parts of a 3D Model KIT that require support layers, somewhere …
As soon as you conquer the issues of bed adhesion, layer separation, curling, rafts, support density, surface finish or resolution another issue pops it’s head up; temperatures, filament properties, mechanical changes on the printers, power-cuts or just gremlins who clog your nozzles or tie knots in your filament reels.
So without whining too much 🙂 and honestly for information, support and discussion … here is one facet of FDM 3D Printing that I would like to illustrate: Upper and Lower Support Layers
s3D Printer Supports and Layers in layman terms: Upper and Lower Support Layers are to aid in bridging, over gaps, holes and spaces. Essentially the 3D printer lays down filament like scaffolding, then puts boards over these spaces to make a more solid and supporting surface platform, and then lays down the models main body of filament an air-gap thickness over the top of these boards, thereby letting that air gap cool the filament as it is laid down so the 3D Printer filament does not stick to the boards and thereby allowing easy removal of the scaffold and boards when all is cooled down.
Note: Support Spacing is important.
Too much scaffold space and the boards sag.
Too many boards and it’s harder work to deconstruct all this.
Too few boards and they warp, up or down.
Note:Support Removal.
Let your prints cool way down.
The cooler they are the more brittle and slightly retract, contracted, shrunk the supports become making them a bit easier to remove from the more solid, harder and less affected body.
It may take a few days to get the best coolness, dryness brittleness … after the heat and fusion and catalysing effect of 3D Printing in the Filament.
You will find that the Upper sky-wards facing Vertical Separation layer setup will work quite well based on your experiments (keep a good record of all your prototype settings tests) until you find a setting that suits your 3D Printer, your Filament makes and your Workshop environment… everyone may be different! so copy settings and improve.
Our challenge was the Lower ground-facing Vertical Separation layer.
Here I found that less layers worked best … about 50% less. I think gravity on the filament due to the filaments softness from heat, sag, movement, etc was the impact/issue… the filament fell onto the body thereby reducing any air-gap and the filament then fused on more-so that the Upper sky-wards facing Vertical Separation layer. ?
Here are some photo’s to illustrate the above theory and processes.
3D Print Support material – before removal
3D Print Support material – Step 1, pliers to pull out the ‘scaffold’ 3D Printed supports.
3D Print Support material – Step 2, pushing out any remaining ‘scaffold’ 3D Print support material.
3D Print Support material – Step 3, slicing and trimming with a craft knife to separate the 3D Print support upper and lower support layers. ‘scaffold’ 3D Printed supports.
3D Print Support material – Step 4, using files to clean up the lower [ground-facing] support layers of 3D Print support.
3D Print Support material – the 3D Print support material removed from this particular single part of a KIT … and the tools used in the process.
3D Print Support material – removed. And parts acceptable for traditional COSplay model making and build processes.
Luckily, the need for supports is usually to do with internal or side-facing surfaces that are not (so) visible. The occasional external or downward facing surface that requires 3D Print Support (even after lengthy consideration of the 3d Print Model creation i9n CAD or the best 3D Print orientation) come out fine for the traditional Prop, COSplay or Model Making processes of filling or even are good enough to be covered by a few coats of primer filler undercoat paint 🙂
![3D Print Support material - Step 4, using files to cleanup the lower [ground-facing] support layers of 3D Print support.](https://www.idmimagineering.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/2017-01-05-11.03.54.jpg)
