Tips for Removing Support from a Printed Mini
I like to use Meshmixer tree supports when I'm printing a mini. They release easier than most other forms of support that I've tried, while being able to snake around complex geometry to support the overhangs that need it (and avoid other parts of my model). Some of the things that I've printed have required a lot of support, so I've picked up a tip or two about how to cleanly remove it. When I'm removing support trees, I find myself using two tools: an X-Acto knife and a pair of flush wire cutters.
I like the flush wire cutters more than normal ones because the blades are only tapered on one side, leaving the other flat. That makes it easier to place the cutters exactly where I want then, so that the cutting edges are on the interface between the support and my actual model. I'll often gently squeeze with the cutters while I'm finding that perfect spot to snip, letting the taper of the tree guide the edges of the cutters to the actual interface layer.
I use the wire cutters in a few different ways. Obviously, I snip things with them. I don't always snip the support interface though, at least, not at first. When you snip a support tree, you are momentarily adding the thickness of your blades to the height of the support tree. Unless you have the cutters perfectly in plane with the interface, you're also going to apply some small amount of torque to the interface and, potentially, the model.
If the support tree is firmly attached at the bottom to other trees or to a brim or something, that force that you generate ends up going into your model during a snip. Sometimes that's fine, but if you're snipping support from the end of a hand that has a thin wrist, for example, that force might cause the wrist connection to break off. Since it's going to break at the smallest (aka, weakest) point, it's going to break at the point that's most difficult to glue back together. That's just science.
So, when I'm snipping supports from delicate parts like that, I like to use my other hand to apply some reinforcement to my mini, to ensure that I don't lose that delicate part. I'll also try and weaken my support trees at the base before moving up to the mini interface itself. If I've severed the base of the tree, that broken connection can freely rotate and move around when I go to separate the support from the actual mini. Snipping near the base also seems safer than snipping near the mini. It probably has something to do with torque and compression and other engineering concepts, but in practice, I haven't broken nearly as many things while snipping at the bottom of a tree as I have at the top. Once one end can freely move/rotate, snipping the top is much safer because much of those snipping forces won't be transferred into the figurine.
When I have a whole bunch of supports connecting to a single plane (such as the bottom of a foot), I try to approach my support along that object's long orientation. In the case of a foot, I would orient my cutters at the heel, pointing towards the toes (or vice-versa). Then, when I close the cutters on the support, I'm mostly using them to drive the support trees downwards (so I put the flush side against my model) and away from the model, which usually causes them to all break off at once (or, mostly, as sometimes the supports on the far end cling and require a bit more separation).
Sometimes, I find myself using my cutters as if they were a pair of pliers. Actual needle-nosed pliers are great, but when I'm trying to get some little bit of a support tree out from a mini, it's sometimes easier to get the flush cutters into position (or, as happens more often, they're just the tool that is already in my hand when I could use some pliers). Since support trees have such small interfaces, it usually doesn't take much force to snap them and I can often just grab a support with my cutters and twist it a bit to pull it loose.
I often use an X-Acto knife to remove the support trees that are very difficult to get at. If there's not enough of a gap for me to get my cutters at a given tree from an angle that I feel is useful, I'll use my X-Acto to separate that support instead. Its blade is much thinner than my flush cutters, so I don't need to worry as much about the added height messing up my model. I also need much less room to maneuver, since the tip is so fine on the blade.
When I'm cutting with the X-Acto knife (I'm officially tired of typing that name now, so let's call it something ridiculous, like a kumquat knife, from now on), I generally try to use a sawing motion, rather than direct force. Like I discussed above, I try to minimize the amount of force that I'm applying to my model when I'm removing support, and that means that I don't want to try and tug the knife straight through the material. Gentle pressure while sawing seems to work pretty well in this regard.
In addition to my gentle sawing motions with the blade of the cantaloupe knife, I'll sometimes use it like a wedge. If I'm in a particularly tight spot, I'll slide the tip of the knife right up against the interface, then gently twist it. My goal is to dig the edge of the currant knife downwards into the support material, while pushing the back or flat of the blade upwards against my model. In this case, I'm not using the quince knife as a cutting tool at all, just as a very small pry bar. Since the interface layer is so thin and fragile, it doesn't take much force to cause it to separate and release my model.
Well, that's how I've been removing my support materials. Let me know if you have any other good tips!
P.S. When snipping supports, wear safety glasses or at least make sure that your support is pointed away from you. It's possible to send little bits of plastic flying with surprising speed while snipping them off of your model, and I'd imagine that no one wants to get hit in the eye by one of those.
I like the flush wire cutters more than normal ones because the blades are only tapered on one side, leaving the other flat. That makes it easier to place the cutters exactly where I want then, so that the cutting edges are on the interface between the support and my actual model. I'll often gently squeeze with the cutters while I'm finding that perfect spot to snip, letting the taper of the tree guide the edges of the cutters to the actual interface layer.
I use the wire cutters in a few different ways. Obviously, I snip things with them. I don't always snip the support interface though, at least, not at first. When you snip a support tree, you are momentarily adding the thickness of your blades to the height of the support tree. Unless you have the cutters perfectly in plane with the interface, you're also going to apply some small amount of torque to the interface and, potentially, the model.
If the support tree is firmly attached at the bottom to other trees or to a brim or something, that force that you generate ends up going into your model during a snip. Sometimes that's fine, but if you're snipping support from the end of a hand that has a thin wrist, for example, that force might cause the wrist connection to break off. Since it's going to break at the smallest (aka, weakest) point, it's going to break at the point that's most difficult to glue back together. That's just science.
So, when I'm snipping supports from delicate parts like that, I like to use my other hand to apply some reinforcement to my mini, to ensure that I don't lose that delicate part. I'll also try and weaken my support trees at the base before moving up to the mini interface itself. If I've severed the base of the tree, that broken connection can freely rotate and move around when I go to separate the support from the actual mini. Snipping near the base also seems safer than snipping near the mini. It probably has something to do with torque and compression and other engineering concepts, but in practice, I haven't broken nearly as many things while snipping at the bottom of a tree as I have at the top. Once one end can freely move/rotate, snipping the top is much safer because much of those snipping forces won't be transferred into the figurine.
When I have a whole bunch of supports connecting to a single plane (such as the bottom of a foot), I try to approach my support along that object's long orientation. In the case of a foot, I would orient my cutters at the heel, pointing towards the toes (or vice-versa). Then, when I close the cutters on the support, I'm mostly using them to drive the support trees downwards (so I put the flush side against my model) and away from the model, which usually causes them to all break off at once (or, mostly, as sometimes the supports on the far end cling and require a bit more separation).
Sometimes, I find myself using my cutters as if they were a pair of pliers. Actual needle-nosed pliers are great, but when I'm trying to get some little bit of a support tree out from a mini, it's sometimes easier to get the flush cutters into position (or, as happens more often, they're just the tool that is already in my hand when I could use some pliers). Since support trees have such small interfaces, it usually doesn't take much force to snap them and I can often just grab a support with my cutters and twist it a bit to pull it loose.
I often use an X-Acto knife to remove the support trees that are very difficult to get at. If there's not enough of a gap for me to get my cutters at a given tree from an angle that I feel is useful, I'll use my X-Acto to separate that support instead. Its blade is much thinner than my flush cutters, so I don't need to worry as much about the added height messing up my model. I also need much less room to maneuver, since the tip is so fine on the blade.
When I'm cutting with the X-Acto knife (I'm officially tired of typing that name now, so let's call it something ridiculous, like a kumquat knife, from now on), I generally try to use a sawing motion, rather than direct force. Like I discussed above, I try to minimize the amount of force that I'm applying to my model when I'm removing support, and that means that I don't want to try and tug the knife straight through the material. Gentle pressure while sawing seems to work pretty well in this regard.
In addition to my gentle sawing motions with the blade of the cantaloupe knife, I'll sometimes use it like a wedge. If I'm in a particularly tight spot, I'll slide the tip of the knife right up against the interface, then gently twist it. My goal is to dig the edge of the currant knife downwards into the support material, while pushing the back or flat of the blade upwards against my model. In this case, I'm not using the quince knife as a cutting tool at all, just as a very small pry bar. Since the interface layer is so thin and fragile, it doesn't take much force to cause it to separate and release my model.
Well, that's how I've been removing my support materials. Let me know if you have any other good tips!
P.S. When snipping supports, wear safety glasses or at least make sure that your support is pointed away from you. It's possible to send little bits of plastic flying with surprising speed while snipping them off of your model, and I'd imagine that no one wants to get hit in the eye by one of those.
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