Support removal: what a part looks like after printing

What supports are

Overhangs and bridges cannot be printed in mid-air, so the slicer adds an auxiliary structure under them, supports. They are removed after printing. Marks appear because the support touches the part under the overhang, and the contact spot is duller and rougher once it is broken off.

Supports are generated automatically and are included in the price, you set nothing for them. The price is calculated from the real print, including material and time for supports.

How they are removed

• By hand. Most supports snap off with fingers or pliers.
• Pliers and a knife. Side cutters remove the remains. Mind your fingers, never point a knife towards your palm.
• Light marks. Sand the remains with fine paper or scrape them, see sanding.
• Tree supports touch the part only at small points and break off more cleanly, more in the entry on tree supports.

How to limit supports

The best support is the one you do not need. Turn the part so the overhangs are as small as possible, since overhangs up to about 45 degrees from vertical usually print without supports. Try replacing large overhanging areas with a chamfer, see chamfer or overhang. Changing the orientation can often save material and time, but the layer direction and the strength change.

With us

Supports are included in the price and the part reaches you without them. Small marks from them remain, especially on surfaces under an overhang, which are rougher than the rest. We do not do surface finishing after support removal. Every batch is photographed before dispatch.

If the marks from supports bother you, the simplest thing is to design the part so it does not need them. Turn it and soften the overhangs, see model orientation. The price then falls, because the extra material and time go away.