Nano3D
Supporting
Supporting is the second step of a three-step workflow. Support structures can be generated manually or automatically to provide stability during print process.
Support Dimensions
There are three predefined support templates:
- Small
- Medium
- Large
The selected one would be used for manual and automatic support generation.
Edit Dimensions
Open dimension edit tool by double-click on small, medium, large icons. The support dimension can be intuitively edited by the sliders. The support shape visualizes the changes made by the sliders.
- Top
- Middle
- Bottom
Click on restore button at lower-right would restore dimension defaults.
Top dimensions
The only tricky dimension is the penetration. It’s the penetration of the support tip inside the 3D item body. It’s intuitive to modify the rest of the dimensions. The changes are visualized in real-time by a 3D shape.
Middle dimensions
There is just the width dimension. Which is the diameter/width of the middle section of the support. The change is visualized in real-time by the 3D shape shown.
Bottom dimensions
The bottom section is touching the print floor. It’s radius and thickness can be set here. The changes made are visualized in real-time by the 3D shape.
Support Types
There are two support types:
- Manual
- Automatic
Following sections describe manual and auto supports.
Manual Support
When the mouse pointer is hovering over a 3D item, the preview for a manual support placeholder is shown. Click on 3D items would create cone-shaped placeholders. Placeholders can be deleted by click.
If Auto Support checkbox is not checked, Generate Support button would only generate for manually-clicked cone-shaped placeholders. Therefore to generate support mesh for manual placeholders, just leave the Auto Support checkbox unchecked.
Auto Support
If Auto Support checkbox is checked, additional tools are available to get automatically-detected support points.
- Density:
- To adjust the density of the auto points.
- Lowest Gap:
- The minimum distance between auto points.
Find Auto Support Points
Find Auto Support Points button automatically creates support points on 3D items. The density of support points and the lowest gap between them are decided by the inputs provided by the user. Auto points can be deleted by click.
Generate Support
After getting the Auto Points, the Generate Support button would create support mesh for automatically-detected points, if any.
Floor Pad
If the Floor Pad checkbox is checked, a simple floor pad would connect individual supports together. Pad has a beveled edge to make it easy to peel off the print floor.
