Summary
Whether you are planning on 3D printing using an FFF printer or a top-down or bottom-up SLA/DLP printer, you will need to generate support structures in order to successfully print overhanging areas or islands in your sliced model. Depending on your 3D printing technology, you may need to generate volume supports or bar supports.
Controlling the size and shape (and therefore, the strength) of these supports plays a critical role in whether your prints will be successful or not. In this chapter, we explored how to generate volume supports and bar supports for FFF prints. We discussed how to effectively apply these supports to the entire body or selected surfaces within our components. We showcased how to apply supports to both solid and mesh bodies. We demonstrated the impact of changing support settings as well as slicing settings to control how those supports are sliced and toolpaths are generated. We touched on the impact of the gap between our parts and the support structures...