MakerGear Forum

I have been steadily figuring out the printing process over the last few months. How do you print objects, such as in the following links, that don't have a flat side to place on the printer bed of the software? I am utilizing Simplfy3D. Thanks.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:686357
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:895257

For the lure body, I'd print that on a raft with support. If you don't want the rougher underside, split it in half and print it in two pieces that get glued together.

For some parts similar to the rod, I've printed them on end rather than laying down. The rod you link to is pretty long and skinny, so not a great candidate for that. I have used a brim attached at the bottom to give a part a larger foot print to improve stability. I also slow the speed way down on a tall part (all speeds, not just the print speed) so the part isn't jerked around on the table so much - help it stay standing tall.

zemlin pretty much nailed it and gave really good advise. the best thing you can do when printing parts like this is to split it down the middle, print 2 halves and glue or solvent bond the 2 pieces together. i manage to do 95% of all my prints without using any support at all by modeling things in pieces then assembling or solvent bonding together.

Thanks for the help. Can Simplify 3D split an object in half/multiple parts or is another piece of software required to accomplish this?

You can do this in simplify in most cases. Simplify wont print anything below the bed so double click the model and lower the model in the z axis, print then flip it OR duplicate it and flip one then print both halves at the same time

jimc wrote:You can do this in simplify in most cases. Simplify wont print anything below the bed so double click the model and lower the model in the z axis, print then flip it OR duplicate it and flip one then print both halves at the same time

There's a write-up for what Jim is discussing here:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3431

Jules wrote:

jimc wrote:You can do this in simplify in most cases. Simplify wont print anything below the bed so double click the model and lower the model in the z axis, print then flip it OR duplicate it and flip one then print both halves at the same time

There's a write-up for what Jim is discussing here:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3431

Thank you.