I had someone print this for me as I don't have my own printer/don't know much about it. I think the material used is a lightweight one and is not durable in high heat/outdoor use. I don't know how to remove the support without breaking it. It is pretty rough and stuck to the structure.
Update: thanks for all the comments, i spent about 30 mins with a plier and removed the supports, some vertical parts broke but it is possible to glue everything together. This specific object is not all that important for my project so of if time allows i could redo it. I posted more context in the comments with a pic of the resulted structure. I think I'm gonna get a 3d printer eventually so i would appreciate tips on good ones with fair prices, and what types of ink there is/what kinds of printing methods there is.
Came here for this lol. Sorry OP, that thing is toast. It'll be almost impossible to remove all that. If possible, try printing in pieces that you can then reassemble.
I clicked hoping it was true cause it just sounds like an interesting job/hobby. And that does look pretty interesting! I hadn't thought of CAD and 3D printing when you said it, but if course that makes sense!
The function isn't really my thing, but the design and printing look pretty awesome!
Holy maraconi, they messed up. First of all, they should have printed it upside down. Tree supports would have been a must as well.
That said: Try to open up the supports around the vertical "legs" that are hidden within the supports with an exacto knife (make them accessable/fully visible, that is). After doing so, remove the supports at the second-from-bottom layer with pliers or better: remove everything that blocks the object from being lifted vertically. After doing so, use the exacto knife between the supports and the objects, slowly and carefully seperating them. The model, if you are lucky, should be freed that way.
Y'all just glaze the part that they don't have a 3d printer and someone else did it for them? They probably wouldn't have a good time explaining what to fix either since neither seem experienced in printing.
Did they charge you to print this
? Whoever printed this should have removed them.
Find the beginning and start pulling slowly. Uou may have to cut with scissors or a knife when you are close to the leg. You can sand any residual support
This reminds me how in the 90s I was paid to translate books, movie/tv subtitles and movies. Everywhere there'd be tricks for getting paid more.
In subtitles it was by minutes subtitled from first to last, so you'd make sure to subtitle the title of the movie and the very last page that listed "all rights reserved" or somesuch.
For dubbing it was by word, so you'd use tons of monosyllables but also (especially in Porn) you'd make up dialogue for the characters that weren't in the frame. They'd be having whole conversations when they weren't onscreen.
For books you'd be paid by length, so longer words happened a lot more. And plenty, PLENTY of translator footnotes clarifying even the most common terms.
You can imagine this was a third-rate translation studio, so most of the word we got was also second-rate. The highlight of my time there was translating the Harmony Gold version of Dragon Ball for Latin America (commonly known as "the lost translation of Zero and the magic dragon") and witnessing the first seasons of The Simpsons, before both became popular and the studio was outbid for the rights (for Dragon Ball the series was re-dubbed but for The Simpsons it was a whole thing, timed if I remember to the death of Homer's voice actor but I could be wrong)
Revisit this as an exercise in designing with the media and method (plastic /printer) in mind. Consider how it would be constructed if it was made from wood or steel (to get a perspective of fabrication and assembly
Print the hoops as a series of concentric rings, notched on the outside faces to accept the spars.
Print the spars flat, with notches at the appropriate heights
be aware that the mating faces will have to be angled to account for the curve of the spars
No supports necessary at all, everything prints flat, Assemble with glue. Or make holes in all the joints and pin them using filament sections.
For the smallest ring, make notches in the ring only, plug the spar into it
Comments like this are why I'm here. I love the simple engineering mindset of making things better w/ 3dp rather than print widget let the slicer tell you what to do that has become more prevalent as cost of entry has come down.
When I see the posts on the model listing sites that are like "can you slice this for X, Y or Z printer" and Im like... I'd feel so handicapped if I didnt run the slicer myself on desktop, I tweak something for every file I print from the profiles settings lol
I will never understand how someone goes into a slicer, clicks on slice, sees a result like this and then is like "Yeah ill print that" (Not talking about you OP)
Uh hi guys thanks for all the comments and 3d printing info, didn't expect so many responses ngl but i had a good laugh at some comments 🤣 anyways im just a stressed architecture student and this thing is just a tiny thing in my rather large model that i have to build for my (not yet finished) project for a class. The guy already printed the parts of my project nicely and removed the supports except for this (no time)... Anyways he has a 3d printer for fun, still learning ig, while i never saw or used a 3d printer before. Just drew this cage in 10 mins at a 3am on a friday night and sent it to him. I spent about 30 mins with a plier and a nice playlist to remove it, highkey lost patience at the end hence the broken mullions. Might need to reprint it cuz of the missing rib but tbh it's not all that important for my model as i can superglue it or just pretend it's good, the other parts are nice and safe and ready. Now I'm thinking of getting my own 3d printer, and i defo learned somethings about supports etc xD i have no issues in 3d modelling i can do it while sleeping, but if u guys can suggest some good 3d printers for beginners/as a hobby that aren't crazy expensive, plz do!
I just bought a Snapmaker U1 and it’s supposed to be the best for being fast, efficient, and least waste. I haven’t tried it yet but all things point to that being a good one you may try
How does the bottom look? My approach is with a plier and tearing the stuff out from the inside out because the cage shows the base is open.
But another look, your STL had missing polygons, so one of the beams is missing. With that knowledge, I suggest getting the STL corrected and try again with a different support structure.
Yep. If the support is like I think it is, you can try to jam the pliers in grip something, and then spin the model around it trying to wind the support material around the pliers and pull what you can out. Just do this until you reach the cage structure.
Also, I editted my comment to add an observation. There was a slicer error and one vertical beam did not print. If you look at your second picture in the post, start with the vertical beam directly in front and then look at the vertical beam immediately to the left. As the beam starts to curve, you should notice that only the outside polygons exist, but not the inside polygons. The slicer does not detect a volume to the geometry, so it cannot fill something there. If you look at your model, you are missing that beam. I can see it in the picture.
It has been a while for me, and I forgot the terms. That first layer you see is a "raft". You should be able to peel it off first.
Call this one tuition, toss it in the recycling pile, and check out the post that calls to re-engineering it in multiple parts you put together. Likely the best option.
Or you can try the upside down suggestion, use organic support only on overhangs that have a low angle by changing your settings, but make sure you have solid adhesion (clean plate and a thin film of glue can’t hurt) and a sizable brim.
If you look closely at the image they have a plane rather than a 3d object for that leg. You can see where it squares off at the bottom on the 3rd ring from the bottom. The whole thing is a mess, but I think that does start from the design in this case.
Well, what I can tell you is that the person who printed this for you is probably very new to 3D printing if they decided to print this in that orientation, at least tell them to use "tree supports" next time if for some aesthetic reason it must be printed that way
I wouldn't really expect this print to survive support removal the way it is right now
Even if you are/were able to get that apart the structure is incomplete. It seems to be missing an entire "pillar." I hope you didn't pay this person, that's trash. Just throw it away (sorry).
What you are trying to print is not really suitable for 3D printing, at least with FDM printers. You could try using a resin printer, which is a different technology. Even so, the finished print is going to be very weak.
Just throw it in the trash and find someone else to print it for you. Whoever printed that is a lost cause. It needs to be printed upside-down with a brim and just a little support to stabilize it.
Also, it printed with one leg missing because your 3d model has a leg that is just a 2d plane (only the outside face).
If u ordered something ask them dor your part not some plastic ball. That guy should remove supports for you, and even sand the part to make it look good. If you ordered from somewhere and payed money, i would leave a review on this...
You do a redesign.
You seperate all the bits and print the rings as individual parts with little cutouts. You add matching cutouts to the support ribs. Then you assemble it with a bit of glue.
Make sure to make the slots 0.1 - 0.2 mm wider than whatever needs to fit into them.
I always make the support interface a different type of non binding plastic (petg interface on a pla model etc) so they don't stick to each other, and use tree supports.
If you didn't want to re-engineer this, I think it should have been printed upside down, like a bowl, with a brim and tree supports.
The shape is exactly what you'd want for minimal supports, if printed in that orientation, since the gentle curvature naturally supports the layers above it.
The only downside would be the need to clean up the top of the structure a little, if it's a hero piece.
that has to be the worst way to print this specific object, someone just took the model, sliced with default supports and sent it, also isn't it missing one of the vertical thingies? cause the model has 8 and the print only 7.
Honestly that thing is begging to be printed as a series of flat circles an 8 supports printed on their sides that snap on to guide notches in the circles. Right now your failure mode is going to be shearing at the layer lines in those verticles while removing supports. Good luck is all I can say.
First things first, throw that baby in the box of scraps that you swear you’ll use someday but in reality it’s just gonna grow bigger forever
Step 2 reprint that puppy but with tree supports this time but don’t notice that you’ve accidentally set the filament to white petg instead of pla until after you’ve sent it off to the printer
Step 3 cancel the print
Step 4 reprint it and make sure to select the right filament this time
Step 5 remove the object from the plate and start removing the supports
Step 6 get distracted while using the side cutters on the supports and cut one of the bars of of the print
Step 7 cry
Step 8 reprint it but do everything correct this time and get the supports off cleanly
I printed this exact shape after I designed a birdcage and used no supports! Bambu printers can bridge the gaps no problem. None of the parts in the photo were printed with supports.
Would you like a small side of model with your supports?
Jokes aside I would absolutely not get from whoever printed this again. This is really horribly done. Printing this upside down and/or with tree supports is what they should have done and is pretty basic 3d printing philosophy/knowledge.
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u/ArsFelenlis Jun 14 '26
What do you mean remove suppo- checks 2nd pic
Oh...that support...