Stop Printing Flat: The 45° Secret for Stronger Parts

Comments · 965

• CN

  @CNCKitchen · 11 months ago · pinned

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• FR

  @FreeOfFantasy · 11 months ago (edited)

  I would probably just print that adapter from TPU standing upright and not worry about it. The layer adhesion of TPU is so great it&apos;s nearly isotropic.

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• SL

  @slant3d · 11 months ago

  Thanks so much for the shout out Stefan. Now we can say we made it on 3D Printing Youtube. Love all the work you do.

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• SH

  @shenqiangshou · 11 months ago (edited)

  Wow, after 10 years of 3d printing, I never understood the shrink line (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aJ4dDyyf20&amp;t=734">12:14</a>)! Thank you for explaining it!

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• NA

  @nakleh · 11 months ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aJ4dDyyf20&amp;t=935">15:35</a> That folding multiboard hook is genius!

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• MA

  @matthewpatterson3621 · 11 months ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aJ4dDyyf20&amp;t=668">11:08</a> honestly the stair stepping on this looks kinda cool. It looks like a topographical map

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• LO

  @LordHonkInc · 11 months ago

  I think the best advice on this topic I personally can give (because I&apos;ve had to learn it the hard way and would like to spare others the time) is: If you think you might run into problems with anisotropy, remember that (if you design a part yourself) you don&apos;t always have to make one big piece; screws, glue, or 3D-printed connectors can help you print multiple small parts in their optimal orientation and then connect them afterwards. An example I created was a rigid, flat wallet for credit cards etc. Printing it standing up would crack it when it flexed, and printing it flat in one piece didn&apos;t work because the bridging was too extreme. So what I did was print the two flat pieces (the &quot;top&quot; and &quot;bottom&quot;) flat on the print bed, and then made a &apos;C&apos;-shaped spacer; I left 2mm holes in regular intervals (I think every inch or so) and after all the pieces were printed, I used filament like rivets by cutting them a bit longer than the thickness of the wallet and then using a soldering iron to mushroom them out so the parts couldn&apos;t separate. I also chamfered the edge of the holes on both sides so the &quot;rivets&quot; would melt flat and still have room to widen, but in retrospect that was almost unnecessary. The wallet so far has survived about two years in my pocket, so the filament rivets do hold up pretty well.<br><br>TL;DR: If you can&apos;t find an orientation for a big piece, try to separate it into multiple pieces and assemble them after printing.

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• DM

  @Dmitry_IMHO · 11 months ago

  The most crucial step towards part strength is to design it with printing orientation and expected stresses in mind. This is often overlooked in printables and other platforms, as seen with 3D prints mimicking metal sheet parts, like the brackets shown here.

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• SY

  @sycoaniliz · 11 months ago

  I actually just had a project where I was fixing my couch. The original part was a fairly thin injection molded ABS, it got most of its strength from the staples holding it to the couch. Replacing it involves taking the couch apart just to staple in the same flimsy part. Instead I made my own, but since this is a leg and has to support not only my weight, but also shock/shear loads when someone sits down quickly and at different angles, orientation was critical.<br><br>I ended up splitting it into 3 parts, the leg itself and the two plates the attach to on of the boards inside the couch. It would be too long for a yt comment to explain the orientations and why, but suffice to say I&apos;m writing this on that couch with the new part right now 💪

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• BA

  @BartJBols · 10 months ago

  Best answer: turn it into 2 sleeves and print them in opposing angles, then glue them together for the best strength

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• GE

  @georgedorn_fnord · 11 months ago

  Splitting a print into multiple sections to solve strength issues is woefully underutilized in the community. &nbsp;For instance, with the bracket, my solution would be to replace the counter-sunk holes with a relieved circle the size of the screw head, about half as deep as the bracket is thick - like cutting a coin out of it. &nbsp;Then print a washer-like shape that fits into the relief, with the countersink. &nbsp;Print that flat, so you have maximum strength against splitting, since it will mostly only see compressive loads. &nbsp;Slip the screw through the washer, tighten it into the bracket, best of both worlds.

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• TS

  @TS_Mind_Swept · 11 months ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aJ4dDyyf20&amp;t=856">14:16</a> I usually think of part orientation <i>before</i> I draw my first sketch, that&apos;s how I know which one to draw

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