Maybe increase the wall thickness a little? 1mm seems optimistic for low cost consumer grade 3d-printers, especially with the size (height) of the model. Adding some kind of base (a ring) to the models long thin “legs” to have a bit more surface sticking to the build platform would help a lot too. (You can always cut that ring away once the print is done) And you need a big fan cooling the model while it gets printed on FDM machines, again, due to the thin walls the plastic would stay “soft” for too long otherwise and could bend away from its original spot making a big mess out of it. Maybe that already helps a little to get you going…
One thing we tried was to put a very thin layer between the legs to give it more stability but for some reasons it didn´t print so well. The layer was too thick to remove it easily afterwards, so that it looks now more like a solid pylon…
The idea to increase wall thickness in combination with some rings sounds promising, but means rework too.
Thanks a lot. If no other good ideas come up I will try your hints!
I took a look at the file. You’re probably not going to have much luck printing that with FDM/FFF printers. It’s much too delicate a structure to print without significant support. It would be the type of thing I’d print in an SLS printer. I’d give Shapeways a try, otherwise you’ll have to redesign it with printing in mind.
This looks to me like a design where 3D printing is simply not the best method of production. That’s not to say that it can’t be 3D printed or that 3D printing wouldn’t have a place in the production process. I’d 3D print a mould and vacuum form the actual shape itself from the mould. Perhaps 3D print a jig that would make cutting out between the octopus legs more accurate too. If you insist on 3D printing it from scratch, turn the design upside down and print on a delta-style machine.
The design is nice , but as mentioned very fragile, it needs support and extra structures to stabilize the print also rotating the object 180 degrees should reduce support material. An SLS printer should do the trick but at what costs?
saw on your hub that you use Ultimkaker2 and most people here think that this is something for an SLS machine… so feel free to prove that it works but deal is only valid for reasonable quality print.
