Support design using MakerWare and the Rep 2X

[Ken Hecker]

In the photo above I have two different approaches to support structures.  These are printed out in HIPS.   I take it these are chosen automatically by MakerWare to fit the needs of the particular part being printed.  The bottom support design at first seemed quite adequate, but now sometimes the first layer of the part is printed out parallel to the support, causing the first layers to sag and fall in between the support lines.  Originally the support had been laid out at right angles to that first layer of the part.  Now I never know.  Also, I've had a lot of trouble with support printed like this suddenly letting go of the build plate, as you can see on the left.

The top support design is a very fine pattern of squares, and this, despite being harder to remove from the printed part, gives very good results.  I got this type of support for a few printings several months ago, but never could get an answer, on the old forum, of how MakerWare came up with it, and how to get it to do this type of support when desired.  Right now support is being printed out in this fine pattern, and I'm just afraid it will stop doing so.  It sticks well to the build plate without a raft.

Can anyone tell me how to make sure the finer square support is generated, and maybe even tell me how MakerWare decides to change the type of structure?

Ken

[KC]

The support structure is determined by user. 

In Makerware, generate a custom profile for your print and select "Edit Profile". Under the section of "doSupport", make sure your "supportAligned" is defined as "false". Your support will then be generated in little squares as you described. 

[Ken Hecker]

Thank you KC!  I'll try that out today.

[Ken Hecker]

I have one big problem (and have had from the start).  When I go to create a profile, and then save it, I give it a name.  When I go to edit that profile, the file "miracle" is opened.  No matter what I do, all I get is "miracle" even when I save it as a different name.  Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong?

Also, how do I tell MakerWare which word processor to use for creating and editing profiles?  It seems to want to open MS Word 2007, which is a pain.  All I want is to use MS WordPad.

Ken

[Gian Pablo]

You're not doing anything wrong. The print profile is always called miracle.json, but it is saved in a folder for that profile. The folder name has the name of the profile. For example:

|Strong support

|-miracle.json

|Fast printing

|-miracle.json

[Ryan Carlyle]

You need to associate .json files with the program you want to use. Right click one and go to "open with..."

This might be a good reason to try Proftweak.