I came across a really clever idea today for minimizing warping on a large flat surface. The modeller made the first two layers into a series of bridges, which seems to let the plastic shrink and stretch a bit, also preventing some possible blobbing.
At least I assume that's what's going on here. I've never seen it before, but it printed great without curling or warping.
I've also picked up some looser ideas. Things like:
- Adding a 0.02 tolerance to interlocking part will help parts fit together. Adding small chamfers to edges will also help
- 3 shells helps give a nice, smooth surface
- Orienting parts on the bed so that layers are perpendicular to stress can prevents layers from delaminating in functional parts
- Orienting parts such that fine details are vertical will help things look prettier
- Add slight chamfers on the underside of overhangs can help minimize or even eliminate the need for supports
- Create inset holes with this method to eliminate the need for supports. This also works with other shapes
What other modelling tricks have you seen?
One thing about the bottom edge fillets, they actually can work for small radii. More than 1.5mm will start to show issues, but because of how small curves slice, it actually works below this value.