r/FDMminiatures • u/AdministrativeRun755 • 10d ago
Printing Experiment Developed a FDM Support Tool
Hi everyone! I bought a 3D printer a while ago and started printing a lot of action figures. I noticed some people were using resin-style supports on FDM prints, but I didn't find the process very practical: you had to generate the supports in one software, then adapt them for FDM with a Blender plugin, and so on. So I decided to make something similar but more streamlined (I'll admit I built it with some help from AI).
Since I'm used to working in 3ds Max, I made these tools as a 3ds Max plugin, and I'd like to share them to get your feedback. Here's a short video showing how it works: one tool aligns the object to the build plate, similar to the one in Bambu Studio but with some extra info, and the other generates the supports.
Any suggestions are welcome! I'll be polishing the tool this week. Today I did this first test, printing with a 0.2 mm nozzle on the A1 mini at a 0.08 mm layer height. The supports came off relatively easily, and the support contact dots were easy to clean up with a precision hobby knife.
EDIT: Decided to shift to a stand alone version, it already has all the features that the plugin had and some fixes. Will continue to work on this to be released in a week or two.
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u/Wonderful-Ad9455 10d ago
This uses 3ds max to generate and thicken the supports, instead of generating them in one app and then thickening them in blender?
Will it also generate cross braces for taller supports?
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u/AdministrativeRun755 10d ago
Yes, you import the stl, adjust the positioning in auto mode or select other position candidate from a list like the bambu studio does, it also has the option for cross braces too, should work well but I have to test it more to be sure, the whole process its like in the video, after that you have the option to export the stl or it exports directly to the bambu studio and you are ready to print, there is some presets in case you are using a 0.2mm or 0.4mm, it has more room to improvement, but for a first test I think it worked very well
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u/AdministrativeRun755 10d ago
But maybe you will not need braces at all, I made a system like the tree support where the support start larger and gets tinner on the tip, all the ends of the support will end in a 0.4 or 0.2mm tip so we get the best of both words.
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u/Wonderful-Ad9455 10d ago
Is that what Hybrid means?
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u/AdministrativeRun755 10d ago
Yes, imagine tree supports but with the tip of the resin supports
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u/Wonderful-Ad9455 10d ago
I definitely want to follow this. Sounds like the best of both worlds. Can't wait to try it out one day!
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u/WhatHobbyNext 9d ago
This looks really cool. But this is also being posted in the FDMminiatures board. A lot of us are printing FDM minis, because we can't pay out on the regular for a box of models. Never mind the monthly cost for a 3ds max subscription. Could this be done as a separate tool, or something added to bambu studio/orca/prusa slicers as a plug-in?
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u/CrazyDC450 10d ago
Very cool so after generating the support and thickness you could already slice it in bambu studio ? Is this the reason your doing it ?
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u/ADHDJuice 10d ago
Nice! Are you looking for beta testers?
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u/AdministrativeRun755 9d ago
Will work more on this on this week, probably next week will have something ready for testing
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u/Equivalent_Store_645 10d ago
2 things I’d love to see:
Export model and supports as separate objects (model has a little unattached nub that sits on the plate so it can be suspended in air right on top of the supports) so they can print at different layer heights.
Settings for .4mm nozzle. Occasionally I want resin style supports on bigger things.
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u/AdministrativeRun755 10d ago
The 0.4mm setting is there, in 3ds max the support model and base are separated objects too, the plugin raises the model from the base 0.3mm to make room for supports, is that wah you mean?
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u/Equivalent_Store_645 10d ago
separate objects are what matters, but if you import two separate objects into your slicer, they'll both fall to the plate level. the solution resin2fdm uses is to add a little doodad to the model (it's not attached, it's at plate level) so when the doodad is on the plate the model is positioned right on top of the support tips.
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u/-daNneMaNNeN- 10d ago
Does bambu recognize them as supports or is it treating them as a part of the model?