What settings for support do you generally use to balance between ease of removal and strength? I understand that there is no one size fits all solution, but just want to have a general idea of the options I have (slicer settings, print orientation, …).
I understand the basics, but lmk if I’m wrong on any of them:
- Type: Tree for complex model, hard to reach places, smoother surface after removal, less wasted filament. Normal for more defined angles, stronger.
- Raft for keep the model from falling as it is in contact with the raft, not the heatbed. Raft itself serves as a larger base.
- Brim: better bed adhesion, though I was messing around with this option in Bambu Studio, but a brim never seems to appear after slicing.
In one of my recent use cases, normal support is the clear winner. This is the post print model, where I compare tree vs normal on 2 different orientations. All other settings equal, only changed object level support type from Tree (Auto) to Normal (Auto)
The vertical normal one looks bad, but it for the purpose of the test, it is a successful one because it’s still standing. The horizontal tree one gets completely knocked off and spaghetti entails. The other 2 look good here, but in another print, vertical tree gets knocked off at about 90%. Only horizontal normal is consistently successful. The supposed advantages of tree over normal are also not present in this use case: post removal surfaces look similarly rough, trees break off leaving tiny remnants on the object that require a deeper removal.
In another use case, normal is also the clear winner. This is a big print as there are a lot of filament changes (4 color), many flush objects, totaling 50+ hours. This is the plate using tree support, which I have to cut losses and stop at about 25% because the trees on my main objects have broken and will no doubt end in spaghetti.
And this is the same print using normal support which is currently printing great and at roughly the same % of progress
As you can see, no broken support problem. The broken trees in the first photo, again, are also hard to remove, leaving tiny pieces behind, with surface not looking smooth either.
Everything else equals, only support type diff. Also no bed adhesion problem, as the tree roots are still there. At this point I do not see a reason to use trees, as I do not see any theoretical advantages of trees over normal.
What settings do you guys use to make trees work, or what are indicators in a model that trees would be better suited than normal? Using PETG as support is not an option as this is a multicolor print and I have flush objects.