1 Topic by JustSomeGuyTN

  • JustSomeGuyTN
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  • Registered: 2012-08-31
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Topic: What's the difference between honeycomb and rectiliner support?

I'm guessing that they are different shapes but I'm wondering if one is better than another in certain stls.  I've always used rectiliner set at 0 degrees 2.5 mm apart.  But on some of my prints with very small areas that need support the support isn't printing right.  It looks to me like there is just too little space for the head to put down enough plastic.  I need to calibrate my plastic feed but I don't have a good caliper yet.

2 Reply by bahstrike

  • bahstrike
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  • Registered: 2012-09-27
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Re: What's the difference between honeycomb and rectiliner support?

By definition and looking at code,  Honeycomb is symmetrical-  although the cell shape is allowed to be oblong, all cells throughout the entire print will be identical.   I would guess that this is appropriate for very homogenous prints like a sphere, box, etc.  However for prints with largely-varying features, I'm guessing that if you tweaked it to be better for smaller areas, it would probably fill too much plastic where such density is not needed.



By definition and looking at code,  Rectilinear is explicitly non-symmetrical-  interconnecting lines are generated that are meant to be context-specific.


For Rectilinear, it appears there are two major input parameters (Flow Spacing and Density) that determine the final fill structure.

my $min_spacing = scale $params{flow_spacing};
my $distance_between_lines = $min_spacing / $params{density};
my $line_oscillation = $distance_between_lines - $min_spacing;

I'm assuming you can find Flow Spacing and Density the GUI?   If so, try:

1)  Reduce the Flow Spacing to allow those smaller support areas to get more lines, maybe more like 1.0 - 1.5mm  (to calculate, I would divide the diameter of your smallest structure by 4-  eg.  a 5mm diameter tube with Flow Spacing 1.25mm of would have 4 fill lines).
Note that this will have the side effect of increasing the apparent fill amount, so...

2)  Reduce the Density to increase the variance in line spacings.  This should allow less-sensitive areas to continue having more empty space rather than unnecessary fill.


I don't think angle would have much predictable influence unless you had a print that was fairly homogenous, and predominently thicker in one axis VS another. Then it could have a huge impact. Is the default 0?  My own personal position would be to use 45 degrees at all times-  if this resulted in even a little bit of wobble due to manipulating both X/Y axis simultaneously I would think that will actually make a stronger interconnect.


I don't have a printer yet so I can't really confirm these speculations.
If you're willing, please try it and share the result.