Risky Designs

Amazing things are happening with 3D Printing!

But while industrial printers can reliably achieve Astounding results...

Consumer grade printers can be, well...

A little more...

"Temperamental"

Careful design can prevent catastrophic errors.

Consider the
printers' weaknesses.

design around them to eliminate risk factors.

But...What could possibly go wrong?

Models with wide Bases can shrink and curl...

Causing the print to peel and warp...

Or fall off entirely

Or "hug" the nozzle

Overhangs steeper than
45 degrees require support material

Which can compromise your print quality

Or be difficult to remove

Support material is built to be more fragile than the rest of your print...

So that you can remove it easily without breaking delicate parts

But it's also more unstable

With Support material and proper settings,
even really complex objects can be printed!

In
Theory.

Every layer comes with its own tiny flaws

The taller the print...

The more they add up

Beware of loading the plate with too many objects

even if each individual piece seems simple

If ONE PIECE ON THE PLATE peels off, THE plastic WON'T LAND PROPERLY on the rest of the plate

aND THE REST GO WITH IT

Every new technology experiences growing pains

Untitled Slide

In a few years, 3d Printing will be as easy as pushing a button!

Until then...

Please, design responsibly.

reduce these risk factors:

• Wide flat bases
• Delicate parts that need Support material
• Large gaps
• Series of more than 6 objects printing at once
• Height taller than 6 inches
• overhangs over 45 degrees

Good luck, friends!
May your layers stay flat
and your filament dry!