Fortus 250mc - print without any support/base?

[ConnyB]

Hi,

I just acquired a stratasys fortus 250mc. It has an empty cartridge of support material, but I would like to test it. Is it possible to slice in Insight to get just the part with no base or support requiring the support material?

[thadwald]

Yes, it is possible to print without support.

Mod the printer:
1) install a glass bed
2) level the bed to within a few thousandths of an inch.
3) adjust the tip offset (by entering a negative number) to make the second layer the correct height (see below for explanation why)


on each job:
1) after slicing and generating supports in insight, draw a tiny circle on the final base layer.
2) delete all base toolpaths except for the tiny circle

Explanation:
The first layer on Stratasys printers is apparently special. They always print the first layer at about 180C, regardless of temperature setting. They also don't print model on the first layer, and if there is no material change after the first layer, they continue printing support on subsequent layers. So the way I've been using mine for a few years now is to draw a small dot of base material on the final base layer, then deleting all auto-generated base layer toolpaths. I also set the tip heights so that the second layer is an ideal first-layer height.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

[ckcam]

Yes, it is possible to print without support.

Mod the printer:
1) install a glass bed
2) level the bed to within a few thousandths of an inch.
3) adjust the tip offset (by entering a negative number) to make the second layer the correct height (see below for explanation why)


on each job:
1) after slicing and generating supports in insight, draw a tiny circle on the final base layer.
2) delete all base toolpaths except for the tiny circle

Explanation:
The first layer on Stratasys printers is apparently special. They always print the first layer at about 180C, regardless of temperature setting. They also don't print model on the first layer, and if there is no material change after the first layer, they continue printing support on subsequent layers. So the way I've been using mine for a few years now is to draw a small dot of base material on the final base layer, then deleting all auto-generated base layer toolpaths. I also set the tip heights so that the second layer is an ideal first-layer height.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

When you say the first layer prints at a different temp, is the temp hotter or cooler than the rest of the layers the printer does? I have over-extrusion issues that only seem to appear on the first layer... Trying to figure out why.