Not sure whether I can print this?

[Johncoffee]

I would like to ask you guys whether I can print this clamp. Not sure about the sudden horizontal layer thats being added.
Of course I could tip the whole clamp 90° over to the side, but I think that the structure would suffer that way.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

*John*

Clamp.stl

Clamp design in Tinkercad

(23.71 KiB) Downloaded 249 times

[thedoble]

Hey John

Assuming you're planning to print it in this orientation:

[img]http://i.imgur.com/CNWyW41.png[/img]

The horizontal overhang is not possible without supports. Your slicer software should be able to generate some.

As you mentioned, the alternative is to print the object on it's 'right' side, or on it's 'front' edge.

[IMBoring25]

I've built similar but much smaller features by adding a single-nozzle-thickness wall under the perimeter of the unsupported region in the model. That's enough to allow the area to be built as a bridge instead of an overhang, and some diagonal cutters and a file make it easier to remove than I've ever experienced with automatically-generated breakaway support. For that configuration, the span is long enough you'd probably have to build a latticework, too, but it should be doable if you want to attack it that way.

[Johncoffee]

Thank you thedoble and IMBoring25 for your answers.

I just found out how I can generate automated supports

The idea using a self made wall and some latticework sounds also reasonable to me. Not sure how much this is different from the generated support?

*John*

[Captain Starfish]

Printing it with the front face in thedoble's image will mean no supports required. Printing it as shown will need support of some kind. The difference between using the automated support and bridging across a perimeter wall is speed - your printer will spend plenty of time printing support one way, and only a thin wall the other. BUT bridging long spans is a tricky technique that usually requires a layer fan so, before you go down that road, it's worth downloading a bridging test object and trying it out.

When looking at the printing orientation remember that the part will be MUCH stronger in X and Y than it is in Z, as the layers aren't as strongly bonded to each other as they are to themselves. Printing hotter can make this better, but it will still be weak. So it's worth working out across which plane your part will be subjected to the most force, making that plane the XY plane in the print and working out the supports etc from there.

[Johncoffee]

Thanks Captain Starfish for your comments.
I indeed need most strength in x and y. I fear that the part breaks if rotated by 90 deg.
I'm successful running with a cross hatch support structure - but when MC crashed during print I had to restart. Now i'm struggling as every now and then with the Print start....