Choosing the first layer placement and part orientation

After reading the previous suggestions, you may find yourself a bit disoriented with all of the different limitations. So, considering those, let’s try to find the best part placement for the following component:

Figure 15.9: Choosing the best printing orientation

Here, we can find all the possible printing orientations for the given part. Let’s analyze them and test whether the given rules are respected.

First, let’s look at placement 1:

• This placement requires quite a large volume of support material; therefore, the first rule is not really respected
• The first layer is quite large, and it will grant a good adhesion to the part; therefore, the second rule is respected.
• This type of layer placement will make the thin vertical wall very fragile; therefore, the third rule is not respected

Let’s look at placement 2:

• This placement requires...