Hi all. Does anyone have experience with the “support for PLA” filament? I’ve tried it on Bambu Standard PLA and on Bambu Metallic PLA and it’s pretty much impossible to remove without ruining the print (from scaping it off).
I ended up buying TWO rolls of the support PLA in white and in black, thinking I would use it a lot - but I just can’t seem to find a reliable way of removing it from my print.
ANY advice at all would be sincerely appreciated.
Bambu Studio is awfully aggressive on the support width for standard supports. I had a problem with standard PLA supports made from the PLA I was printing the object with (do not have an AMS). I’ve been using the thin tree support and it made removal soooo much easier.
I’ve found that the settings suggested by the dialog box that pops up when you select Support W to be a bit tight.
At the pop up that says “When using support material for the support interface, We recommend the following settings: 0 top z distance, 0 interface spacing, concentric pattern and disable independent support layer height”
I click yes but then edit the top z distance and interface spacing to something other than 0. I’m pretty sure the default of 0.2 has worked fine for me. I think they are trying to get the best possible surface by giving full support but if you can’t remove the support, what’s the point of a perfect surface?
Thanks @lasermike
I’m going to create some test prints to experiment with various support settings. Will post my findings here once done.
OK, I ran some tests and the settings recommended from @lasermike (above) definitely help. I tried a top Z distance of .1 and .2, and the .2 version made it much easier to remove the supports. Sadly, the supported surface does look slightly rough.
I also ran the same print using standard PLA supports, which looked slightly more rough than the version using Support for PLA, but the results are close enough that it makes me wonder whether it’s really worth the extra print time to use the Support for PLA.
Overall, I have to say I’m pretty disappointed with this material and am going to look for 3rd party options for PLA support material. Thanks for all the tips!
I’ve also found that it may not be the best choice for simple overhangs but for complex parts like when you have a cavity in the side of a part, it does make it easier to remove the support. In those cases, I use it for both the base and the top layer. Don’t use it for the entire support, just the top and/or base if needed.
I’ve been using PETG as the support for PLA prints. Not had any issues. Removal of print is easy and can remove any distance from print to get a clean surface.
This discussion sets printer up nicely: Support Filament --> PETG for PLA and PLA for PETG and more
This is my recent print where you can make the grey PETG used for support at top and bottom surfaces.
Agreed, @lasermike ! I’ve been doing the same. I’ve even taken to using the support paint tool in some cases. However, I’ve discovered a new “issue”… Yesterday I realized that there are subtle layer shifts in my print wherever the filament change happens. This issue varies depending on the geometry and size of my design.
Based on all of this, I’ve decided that the best approach is to slice my design into multiple parts, which allows me to avoid the need for supports altogether. It’s pushing my Fusion 360 design skills further, which I sort of enjoy. It’s not much effort to superglue the parts together when I’m done. Now I feel like I’m creating complex, 3D jigsaw puzzles, but the results are MUCH cleaner.
Cheers!
Thanks @sunnyp1187 ! I’ve read a few posts on another forum recommending the PETG. One post recommended a brand of PETG that prints at lower temps (though I forget which brand). I may give it a try! My ideas scenario is to be able to support flat surfaces with the cleanest results possible.
Thanks again for the tip!
I’ve printed a cage-like part, and the supports are very difficult to remove. I’ll try one of the suggestions for the settings for my next print, but meanwhile can someone suggest a simple(r) technique for removing such supports:
@user_2607959988 are you using Bambu’s “Support for PLA” filament?
No, just the “PLA for support” 
– i.e., same PLA filament both for the part and for the support. I’ve finally removed all the support, but the process was pretty torturous 
Yeah, the object you printed definitely looks like a torture test for supports. You might want to buy some “Support for PLA” from Bambu and use the settings that user lasermike recommended earlier in this thread. I DO NOT, however, recommend using Support for PLA with matte PLAs or CF PLAs. It only seems to separate from PLA Basic and Metallic (or essentially any PLA with a smooth, non-rough surface).
I’d be tempted to try no supports if the “cage” is small enough, but be prepared to abort the print if the horizontals are too long to bridge.
If you must use supports, for easy removal try using trees with tree wall loops set to 1 or 2.
Did you use the 0mm spacing settings for this? If so, you are going to have a tough time of removing this. You’re probably better off writing that print off.
You can definitely do that print with the same PLA with supports but I would make some changes from the basic support settings (but again, start from the basic settings).
The basic settings are fine but I find the x/y spacing to be too close at .35mm. There’s no good reason to worry about bridging anything under .50mm (and that’s overstating it), and I often use a full 1.0mm and find it hard to see any drooping. This has very little effect on quality and a massive aid to help removing support. If I were you, I’d bump this up significantly for this print. You could use a lot more than that and still be better off. Honestly, for this you could easily use multiple millimeters and be fine.
For the top and bottom spacing you can bump those up to make the support easier to free, but this will have a direct affect on quality. Probably best to stay around the default settings, but maybe no higher than 0.50mm.
I use default support settings in Bambu Studio (“normal (auto)”). I’ve managed to remove the support from my print, but it did take a lot of work. I’ll try playing with the settings in the future.
Thank you.
Thank you for all the feedback to my post!
A related question: is there too much support in the pictures I posted earlier? It looks like too much to me, but this is my first print with BambuLab X1C/Studio, so I wanted to hear from more experienced users.
Thanks again.
@user_2607959988 I recommend either creating a model or downloading a small, simple model to experiment with different support settings in Bambu slicer. That’s what I did, and I learned a LOT very quickly. As a result of my first-hand tests, I now know how to customize my support settings depending on the needs of the model.
That being said, you might want to try the “snug” setting to reduce the amount of support material being used in your model.
If I set the top Z distance to 0.2, I have problems with the next shift…
Main: Bambu Basic PTEG
Support: Bambu Support PLA
Save money and use petg for 2 interface layers. Youll be able to set the gap to 0 for nearly perfect surfaces.
