No supports needed for these overhangs.

Greater than 45 degrees requires supports

60 degree overhang with support

Overhangs printed without supports = mess

Here, the overhang is unsupported. The printer will try to print the form, but because there is no support a mess will result.

Overhang with support

Here, the same shape is printed in the same orientation. Notice how the printer has created supports for the overhang.

The software will create these automatically.

Holes need supports

Open holes in a vertical surface will require supports. Remember, the top of the hole is actually an overhang.

These supports will have to be removed after printing

The orientation of your design will determine if it needs supports or not.

Goal: Try to` reduce the amount of supports you need.

Fewer supports means:

1. shorter printing time

2. less material used

3. shorter clean-up time

4. higher quality surface

No overhangs and no supports

Here the "L" object is printed with one side down and one leg pointing straight up. No supports are needed in this orientation.

"V" shapes are self-supporting

Because of their shape, they usually don't require any supports. If the inside angle is greater than 90 degrees, supports might be needed. The software will automatically generate them.

"Peaks" need to be supported

Usually, the a peak or overhang needs support. Notice how the software created a small "tower" to support the inside of the peak.

Low infill = 

• • slight more flexible/less strength

  • shorter printing time

  • less material used

  • lighter prints

Infill = 60%

High infill = 

• • less flexibility/greater stiffness/greater strength

  • more material use

  • longer printing time

  • heavier print

The 3D printing software will automatically create the supports for your design.

It is possible, though, to create different types of supports, or to adjust how the printer will create them.

1: Printed with no supports

In this example, notice how the overhangs (the neck and the belly of the bear) have strings hanging down. This is because there are no supports  for the overhangs.

2: Printed with Standard Supports in UPstudio

The software will automatically generate these supports.

These supports will have to be removed by hand after the object is printed.

This is the default setting for our printers.

You can edit the supports in UPstudio.  Click here to learn how. 

3: Printed with supports generated in Meshmixer

Notice how there are fewer supports compared to the ones generated by UPstudio.

This style of support breaks away very easily. However, you need to create the supports in a separate program before printing. For instructions on generating supports in Meshmixer and printing in UPstudio, click here.