Designing for the first layer
To understand what I mean by first layer, we must go back to the conversations on how 3D printing works as introduced in Chapter 10. Regardless of the type of printing technique we use, our models are designed in layers, building the next one on top of the last one. In extrusion-type printing techniques such as FFF or FDM, these layers typically build from the bottom up on a print bed, while resin-type printing such as SLA pulls a model out of a liquid layer by layer to create the model.
For each of these techniques, every subsequent layer is built upon the very first one, either up or down. And if that first layer fails, meaning that it caves in because it isn’t properly supported or perhaps it slips off the print bed due to poor adhesion, the whole model is usually destroyed as a result, as seen in Figure 11.19:
Figure 11.19: A failed print
It is often the case that failed prints like the one shown in Figure 11...
