Easily Remove 3D Printed Supports | 5 Methods for Clean Results

I walk you through my favorite techniques for removing 3D printed supports easily and safely. Whether you're dealing with intricate miniatures or larger prints, these methods, including heat guns, pliers, and a bit of water, will make your post-processing a breeze. Join me as I demonstrate how to handle different supports effectively, ensuring your prints come out clean and your hands stay safe. Don't forget to check out the tools and tips I use to protect my workspace and myself!
Gear I use:
⚠️ SAFETY ⚠️
Safety Glasses:
amzn.to/44LCvRq
Cut Resistant Gloves
amzn.to/3UCIm6P
Respirator
amzn.to/3WCYBn9
Respirator Filters
amzn.to/3WE1hAJ
Method 1
Screwdrivers
amzn.to/4ag3eqo
Steel Prying Tools
amzn.to/4bwuSAk
Snips
amzn.to/4buwSZK
Deburring Tool
amzn.to/4beIhNO
Xacto Knife
amzn.to/44GMJCj
Method 2
Needle Nose Pliers
amzn.to/4bgADCq
Plier Set
amzn.to/4bgADCq
Deburring Tool
amzn.to/4beIhNO
Xacto Knife
amzn.to/44GMJCj
Snips
amzn.to/4buwSZK
Method 3
Soldering Iron
amzn.to/3UGFWUG
Soldering Iron Set I got
amzn.to/4dDMtZ6
Snips
amzn.to/4buwSZK
Method 4
Heatgun
amzn.to/4dznrKD
Snips
amzn.to/4buwSZK
Method 5
Snips
amzn.to/4buwSZK
Water.... :)
Models I used:
Louie from Pixel and Plastic
thangs.com/designer/PixelandP...
Storm Trooper Planter:
www.thingiverse.com/thing:300...
Skeleton Minis
lostadventures.co/products/sk...
00:00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:46:08 - -Disclaimer
00:01:36:12 - Safety
00:05:53:11 - Method 1
00:14:01:08 - Method 2
00:19:07:11 - Method 3
00:22:00:04 - Method 4
00:31:18:03 - Method 5
00:39:32:21 - Final Tips
00:40:24:03 - Conclusion

[@tomevans7567]

I got my 3D Printer (Elegoo Neptune 3 pro) a little over 6 months ago and am pretty much obsessed with 3D printing at this point. When I first got my printer I pretty much binge watched every KZbin video I could find on how to do it properly and just went for it. And yours were probably the first ones I watched and they were the beginning of my education on 3D printing. And now a little over six months later, although I'm of course nowhere even close to being an expert and am still learning daily (especially now that I'm using CAD more and more to create my own designs,) thanks to you and other like you, I feel at least somewhat more proficient at least. The rest will come with experience, learning through my successes and my possibly even more important through my failures. So, I just want to say thank you for being a part of me finding and putting me on the road to learning my new passion and love of 3D printing. Keep up the great work.

[@ItsMeaDMaDe]

Hey! That’s so awesome I’m glad I could help you get further down the road on your printing journey! I’ve been 3D printing for over 10 years now and I’m still learning. I just try to be that resource I wish I had back when I got started cause there is so much to this amazing hobby. Thanks a lot for the support and I hope I keep helping you in the future. I wish you luck on your projects!

[@omegafire6253]

Even more so if you learn to 3d model, then possibilities are limitless.

[@BounceLv]

You get my subscribe for your fine work, but you get my love for your magnificent mustache.

[@Lurker1222]

Its true… loo

[@ItsMeaDMaDe]

Ha ha. Well thank you on both fronts. 😂

[@FilamentStories]

These tips are great! Safety, safety, safety, totally agree. I've never heard the soldering gun trick, that's brilliant! Thanks for always sharing your knowledge with us. -Courtney

[@ItsMeaDMaDe]

Hey Courtney! Love your channel I just check and I realized I’ve never subbed 😔. Apparently you’re just in my feed all the time. Safety is absolutely the most important. I feel it’s never addressed enough by us creators. I’m glad I could give you another technique you haven’t tried. Thanks for the comment!

[@gadgetgurl7]

Never considered using a soldering iron or water! Always learning something new from you!

[@ItsMeaDMaDe]

I’m always glad to hear I can keep teaching you something. 😁

[@Jubijub]

Subscribed, your content is really clean and super helpful for people joining the hobby.

[@ItsMeaDMaDe]

Awesome, thank you!

[@adampilkinton1701]

Don't forget to watch his CURA video on printing better supports that make it easier to remove! Lifesaver!

[@ItsMeaDMaDe]

Hey! Thanks for the support. Glad you found it helpful

[@CaptainBipto]

Will there be an updated support settings video? And which slicer has the best results, for easy to remove supports?

[@ItsMeaDMaDe]

That’s a great idea for a video. I honestly never thought about comparing slicers when it comes to supports. I’ll start doing to tests. Could be a good slicer comparison video. Giving them grades on ease of printing and removal of supports. Thanks for the idea!

[@CaptainBipto]

@@ItsMeaDMaDe Looking forward to seeing the video and the results. Would a bed slinger, core xy or delta printer have any effect on supports?And what about printers with Klipper?

[@ItsMeaDMaDe]

@@CaptainBipto another great thought. I’ve personally never seen any difference between xy core and bed slinger but I’ll test that too. And klipper I haven’t seen any differences with that the only differences I’ve seen between marlin and klipper is time printing. Thanks for the thoughts and input!

[@ShootingBlanks00]

Thanks Chris for another great video!

[@ItsMeaDMaDe]

You’re very welcome hope you got some good tips to help you.

[@mxdmxd111]

Amazing video! Can you also do an updated video for support setting recommendations?

[@ItsMeaDMaDe]

It’s in my list to do!

[@Majatecks]

Great tips, but the best tip I've ever tried was changing the support interface spacing to something small between .08 and .16 and the supports come off really easy

[@Plazman]

Deburring tool is a must-have. I get much better results with it compared to an Exacto knife.

[@gierhedd75]

Thanks for the video! Would you suggest making more light supports and hitting with hot water after? I'm trying to print models with lots of textures/patterns, and trying to avoid leaving scars on smooth surfaces and interruptions in the patterns.

[@ItsMeaDMaDe]

I’m very honestly found any type of tree support works you can use strong and water still works. The key is your tree supports have 1 wall.

[@John-NeverStopLearning]

I too was hoping for some settings and type of plastic you are using. Especially for the more delicate ones. Possibly layer height and nozzle size. Good 👍 video a couple of ideas I have not tried.

[@zkfo6969]

Good video for people new to it especially. I've done several konshu statues and that was way too much support lol.

[@ItsMeaDMaDe]

That I definitely was targeting beginners to help them. And for the konshu you are 100% correct. That was really a test I did with some settings and it was ridiculous with the supports.😅

[@connieclinton1456]

Great video thank you! Hey I have been trying to find your video on using the cut tool in bamboo studio. I want to make the crystal dragon larger so need to cut to make larger pieces fit on the plate and print separately. Where can I find it please?

[@ItsMeaDMaDe]

Glad you liked it. I do believe this is the one. Bambu Studio 101 | Beginners Guide to Bambu Slicer Software | Top Tool Bar kzbin.info/www/bejne/jKrPqYCkn7ibmNU

[@techyjames1945]

Love the options. My only question especially with the hot water have you tried like PVA support material that dissolves in hot water? I haven’t tried it yet, but I have used the Bambu Labs PLA Support material which many times comes off very clean.

[@ItsMeaDMaDe]

Yes I have I got good results too. I didn’t put it in this video because I was trying to keep it generic to everyone that 3D prints knowing not everyone has an ams. But I’m planning on doing a video in the future showing those methods.

[@camilocortes6315]

Please, can you share your supports config? Very good video!!!

[@bradleycornell7248]

Finally the video I have been waiting for! Thanks a ton for making this. Do you make any adjustments to bottom and top Z distance on the slicer? One issue I have is when I have supports that are connected at both ends to the model the bottom of the support fuses to the model and causes gnarly scarring.

[@ItsMeaDMaDe]

Honestly I rarely adjust my settings i typically do more adjustments on where my supports are placed and the angle of the model to reduce my supports. I covered that in the previous videos I show at the end of the video. Orientation is one of the most important things when it comes to supports. One model might need a ton of support rotated one way and barely any if rotated another. I do have plans for a future video where I go over the setting I do change when I change them.

[@bradleycornell7248]

@@ItsMeaDMaDe thanks for the response. I will go and re-watch the other video.

[@PeterAgostiniJdcap26]

Got some shopping to do, have used a chisel to . And a vacuum makes a mess on the floor Like the hot water method

[@charlesrestivo870]

Are thses all fdm or are the small minatures resin prints Also very infromative video

[@-SeanyBoy-]

nice vids, although my main question, which you never spoke towards are the "actual" settings in the slicers? by that i mean distances from the part on x,y, & z, etc... i use orca slicer, which is almost the same as bamboo, of which i saw you do a supports vid on. i think explaining the different variables could help a lot.

[@Bez007]

That's what I was looking for aswell

[@dkev001]

You know, if you set your Top Z Height in your support settings, to .26. It will make life so much easier. You will not have to suit up to remove supports.

[@SherryMaynard-xk7os]

Hey I like your coffee cup

[@ItsMeaDMaDe]

Yeah! I gotta have my coffee. ☕️

[@anthonylong5870]

Heres an additional way that works well...Get a small desktop electric heater. point it facing across your work surface and at the model. Turn the model in front of it and at the same time take needle nose pliers to bend and remove the supports. Just make sure to keep the model moving

[@ItsMeaDMaDe]

That’s another great option for sure. Thanks for sharing.

[@anthonylong5870]

@@ItsMeaDMaDe Sure thing! 🙂

[@user-fg2lh2kk6l]

I use scrapper or cloth gloves

[@church493]

Non mentioned techniques should be: No supports is easiest removal of them where one can get by without :) Custom supports that are less connected to part then stock generated ones. There is also water soluble support material like PVA. And using different filament that sticks less to main one (eg. petg to pva).

[@ItsMeaDMaDe]

Yeah good stuff I actually covered a good bit of what you mentioned in my previous videos. My last vids were me on my soapbox explaining how to get the right orientation to reduce as many supports as possible. Thanks for the comment.

[@3dpathfinder]

I thought this was going to be about setting

[@sahhull]

So far. Ive never cut myself. Ive spent 37 years in the oil and fuel testing industry. I dont have girly soft hands. I generally try to snap supports off. If that doesn't happen with no effort. I start cutting. No point in making it difficult for no reason.

[@hotfix7387]

I can't find the reference handy, and I have been meaning to say something for months now, but I wanted to make the suggestion you reconsider your signature opening move. I took public speaking for training since I lead classroom instructions in IT, and one of the things they taught us was to not gesture towards the audience with palms down. It can come across to some people as pushing them down or away and has a totally different vibe than doing a similar gesture palms up which is considered more open/welcoming. I know I am not doing the explanation justice at all but consider your hand movements especially as a part of a greeting should be as welcoming as possible. Also when you do that hand gesture you kind of lean in/almost lunge at the camera. When you combine it with the downward palm hand gesture it can come across as really off-putting, and I feel like pulling back from you when you do it. Maybe it's just me and the training I have had, like once you know about it you can't help but see it every time. Anyway, I am trying to make a helpful suggestion, so your video openings are more engaging with the audience versus them feeling like they have to pull back from you. Beyond that, your video was full of content, for example I hadn't considered using a heat gun to loosen up the supports before.

[@readyorknot2344]

What an N95 mask doesn't create a complete seal around your face... You must be some kind of "conspiracy theorists"