Thank you so much. My Cura slicer's auto-support function generated a huge corrugated surface along the entire bottom of a large PLA miniature I was printing. This proved extremely cumbersome to remove. I tried your procedure, and now the same miniature is showing a tree support that looks like it will be much easier to remove.
@@HLModTech And thank you so much! Version 2 of my large miniature (supported in Meshmixer before exporting to Elegoo Cura), even more than cutting down the projected print time by several hours, also seems to be cutting the projected amount of PLA to be used by half or even more. I will say that the file size of the post-Meshmixer STL is enormous (nearly 2 gigs for my medium-size centerpiece model), but the gcode was quick to compute, so so far it seems like it's definitely worth it. Edit: The print started stringing and I think some of the supports may have failed, so I'm going to do some revisions to see what went wrong.
Crazy to have it at 2 gigs... Did you choose binary for the type of STL? Did the measurements in MeshMixer get switched from metric? That could be an issue too.
@@HLModTech Those are good questions, thanks - I may have to check that, and I'll have to revise the supports since the first try of this method resulted in a stringing failure anyway. I appreciate it.
Great lesson. Just downloaded meshmixer based on your advice. I have a commercial airplane from thingiverse I want to print so hopefully this will create good supports as it is one solid model not parts. Thanks again. Great channel!
Awesome that you do that for students. Hopefully it inspires some creativity! One thing I did notice is that the thumb on the one hand was still hanging down unsupported. You may want to also recommend people look for areas that the auto-generate did not support and then how to add your own supports from that point. Thanks for the video!
You have restored my faith in my ability to print quality minis on my SLA. Your settings for the supports saved me from going insane! I've tried so many combinations, and I'm just learning the Meshmixer software.
My pleasure. I use it a ton as well. I have been getting better at tweaking the settings to get the exact amount I need too. I am also working at adding extra ones where I want, but I still do not really get how it works. I have to drag the mouse to like 5 spots before I finally get a new support to stick.
Hadn't even noticed the overhang menu ! Looks like a lot better supports than Cura. I am generally afraid to print high with extended in the air parts like hands. Supports waist a lot of time reaching there and usually don't have the stiffness to support the part anyways, so the head just moves the whole part underneath as it prints and it comes out terrible or just straight up destroys it. And that is a lot of time wasted! So I cut up figurines. That takes more time but at least it prints. Parts never align properly, so that sucks. I have to use filler and then sand the edges. But this looks like a fine way to make faster non complex prints with supports instead of slicing. Good thing I found this video.
I do not believe so. Cura takes any file you send and slices it... Mesh mixer may design smarter supports if you are using the layer height you are planning for though.
Great video! one question though.. Will the supports be printed with the same layer height as the model? SInce it looks like a single mesh. Or can we have seperate settings for the supports so that it comes off easier?
Hmmm.. I believe they would be the same layer height you pick when you slice... I use Cura and in my mind it would be a total mess for the printer to have to switch layer heights for supports. I guess though it would just be a math problem for the slicer. I am going to have to do some googling to see if any slicers to that. Thanks for taking time to ask. 👍
@@HLModTech Thankyou for replying! I think I saw a video on josef prusa channel where he added tree supports in meshmixer and then imported both the model and supports to prusa slicer where he set different settings for both of them. I'm new to 3d printing and i'm just getting used to cura so I didn't want to learn another slicer from scratch.
@@psychicpebbles98 =) Makes sense that Prusa would be the one showing off skills like that. =) I think the biggest gain may be that your print is faster... Not sure it would be enough minutes to really make it worth it though.
Links get removed, but I did get to check it out. The idea of exporting the supports separate does not seem that important to me. I have been making mine part of the object, slicing and digging the results. Concept is interesting, but I doubt I would ever take the time. Cura does have a experimental tree support system, but I have not played with it yet. I can usually bring the object into meshmixer and be printing faster than I could learn/debug the results there...
yes, it will. this is why i use curas tree supports on some models because if i change the infil on my print, it will change the infill on the added tree supports from mesh mixer since it is PART of the stl.
I'm a noob with questons. I'm using a Mario chess piece from Thingiverse as a learning project. First, when I run Inspector - Auto Repair it completely trashes the model. Why is that? Second, I noticed in your final model there are still red areas (for example, under her chin) that are not supported. Third, Meshmixer doesn't have a profile for my Ender 3. How important is that?
simple and exactly what I needed. Now I can make proper supports for my minis and not waste time/material. you helped me a lot, thank you.
Awesome! That is exactly they way I saw it when I was printing in my classroom. 👍
You saved my 3D printing life
Fantastic! I come back to that still a ton too 👍
Thank you so much. My Cura slicer's auto-support function generated a huge corrugated surface along the entire bottom of a large PLA miniature I was printing. This proved extremely cumbersome to remove. I tried your procedure, and now the same miniature is showing a tree support that looks like it will be much easier to remove.
Fantastic! It used to be a huge timesaver for me in the classroom. Thanks tons for taking the time to send a note.
@@HLModTech And thank you so much! Version 2 of my large miniature (supported in Meshmixer before exporting to Elegoo Cura), even more than cutting down the projected print time by several hours, also seems to be cutting the projected amount of PLA to be used by half or even more. I will say that the file size of the post-Meshmixer STL is enormous (nearly 2 gigs for my medium-size centerpiece model), but the gcode was quick to compute, so so far it seems like it's definitely worth it.
Edit: The print started stringing and I think some of the supports may have failed, so I'm going to do some revisions to see what went wrong.
Crazy to have it at 2 gigs... Did you choose binary for the type of STL? Did the measurements in MeshMixer get switched from metric? That could be an issue too.
@@HLModTech Those are good questions, thanks - I may have to check that, and I'll have to revise the supports since the first try of this method resulted in a stringing failure anyway. I appreciate it.
It's so cool that you print stuff for your students. keep it up!
Thank you! Will do! 💯😁
Great lesson. Just downloaded meshmixer based on your advice. I have a commercial airplane from thingiverse I want to print so hopefully this will create good supports as it is one solid model not parts. Thanks again. Great channel!
Thanks! Mesh Mixer is slick for generating supports. It was actually the first use I found for it.
Awesome that you do that for students. Hopefully it inspires some creativity! One thing I did notice is that the thumb on the one hand was still hanging down unsupported. You may want to also recommend people look for areas that the auto-generate did not support and then how to add your own supports from that point. Thanks for the video!
Good point! I am not sure how long Mesh Mixer is going to be around. Autodesk does not support it anymore. I sure do find it useful though.
Thank you this really helped me better understand how supports work
Glad it helped! Thank for taking time to drop a note. Have a fantastic Saturday!
You have restored my faith in my ability to print quality minis on my SLA. Your settings for the supports saved me from going insane! I've tried so many combinations, and I'm just learning the Meshmixer software.
Super cool MrKolar1! Love to hear it when there is success. 👏💯 Mesh mixer saves my day a ton too!
Holey crap! This actually worked! The built in supports for Cura and Ideamaker kinda suck! Thanks for posting this.
One of my fav tools! I have wanted to master the new Cura tree ones... but this just always works for me.
Thx for showing this! Iv got an elegoo and a bunch of models I'd like to print. But manual placement is a pita to this is quite helpful ty!
My pleasure. I use it a ton as well. I have been getting better at tweaking the settings to get the exact amount I need too. I am also working at adding extra ones where I want, but I still do not really get how it works. I have to drag the mouse to like 5 spots before I finally get a new support to stick.
Hadn't even noticed the overhang menu ! Looks like a lot better supports than Cura. I am generally afraid to print high with extended in the air parts like hands. Supports waist a lot of time reaching there and usually don't have the stiffness to support the part anyways, so the head just moves the whole part underneath as it prints and it comes out terrible or just straight up destroys it. And that is a lot of time wasted! So I cut up figurines. That takes more time but at least it prints. Parts never align properly, so that sucks. I have to use filler and then sand the edges.
But this looks like a fine way to make faster non complex prints with supports instead of slicing. Good thing I found this video.
Glad you found it useful. It is my go to when a kid asks for a part with any overhangs. =) What printer are you using?
@@HLModTech The Tevo Tornado with the 0.4 nozzle at 0.2 height.
@@id104335409 Sweet. I always liked the tornado but was not in a $$ state would I could land one.
Thank you so much.
Always welcome
Fantastic tutorial, could you take a screen grab of all your support settings as I cant read the numbers on my device. Thank you
Sure will. I will whip something up this morning. Thanks for the idea!
Sorry for the wait. See if this helps. th-cam.com/video/0cHSU0QiqWk/w-d-xo.html
do you have a video of you then printing it out, showing what it looks like, and removing the supports?
Golly... not any more. I did that for a student a year ago... I can see if I can find the file and give it another go though.
=) Done. th-cam.com/video/ph7tqpoLYlk/w-d-xo.html Thanks for the idea! 👏
Excellent. Thank you for this tutorial.
My pleasure. I use the technique so much myself. Posting a video soon of a student creation that was epic thanks to Meshmixer supports. =)
Nice
You have the fastest fingers in all the land bud!
The layer height option in meshmixer has to match with the one on cura?
I do not believe so. Cura takes any file you send and slices it... Mesh mixer may design smarter supports if you are using the layer height you are planning for though.
Great video! one question though.. Will the supports be printed with the same layer height as the model? SInce it looks like a single mesh. Or can we have seperate settings
for the supports so that it comes off easier?
Hmmm.. I believe they would be the same layer height you pick when you slice... I use Cura and in my mind it would be a total mess for the printer to have to switch layer heights for supports. I guess though it would just be a math problem for the slicer. I am going to have to do some googling to see if any slicers to that. Thanks for taking time to ask. 👍
@@HLModTech Thankyou for replying! I think I saw a video on josef prusa channel where he added tree supports in meshmixer and then imported both the model and supports to prusa slicer where he set different settings for both of them. I'm new to 3d printing and i'm just getting used to cura so I didn't want to learn another slicer from scratch.
@@psychicpebbles98 =) Makes sense that Prusa would be the one showing off skills like that. =) I think the biggest gain may be that your print is faster... Not sure it would be enough minutes to really make it worth it though.
Links get removed, but I did get to check it out. The idea of exporting the supports separate does not seem that important to me. I have been making mine part of the object, slicing and digging the results. Concept is interesting, but I doubt I would ever take the time. Cura does have a experimental tree support system, but I have not played with it yet. I can usually bring the object into meshmixer and be printing faster than I could learn/debug the results there...
And what I do if I decide that I need 100% infill or just more infill to the piece in Cura? The support will present more density too, right?
I have never printed anything with 100%. As far as density, I always pull of the supports, so I am not sure how that would affect the density.
yes, it will. this is why i use curas tree supports on some models because if i change the infil on my print, it will change the infill on the added tree supports from mesh mixer since it is PART of the stl.
I'm a noob with questons. I'm using a Mario chess piece from Thingiverse as a learning project.
First, when I run Inspector - Auto Repair it completely trashes the model. Why is that?
Second, I noticed in your final model there are still red areas (for example, under her chin) that are not supported.
Third, Meshmixer doesn't have a profile for my Ender 3. How important is that?
Most likely the original builder had a ton of design errors. Pieces that were not solids, etc
I just create the STL in meshmixer. I slice them in cura.
The red areas may have been too small for a support to attach. I rarely am trying for perfection, as these prints are just for fun.