How to 3D Print bores without supports (Fusion 360 Masterclass)

[@Lenbok]

This sequential bridging technique was invented by Nophead afaik, described in his blog post "Buried nuts and hanging holes", from 2014. His blog is a gold mine.

[@emanggitulah4319]

Can you share the Link?

[@Idiot_Engineering]

hydraraptor.blogspot.com/2014/03/buried-nuts-and-hanging-holes.html?m=1

[@runbuh]

@@emanggitulah4319 You can't share links via the comments. You'll need to google using the words that @Lenbok provided above. It's everything you need for the proper search.

[@cupbowlspoonforkknif]

​​@@emanggitulah4319 I searched "nophead blog" and went to the site titled HydraRaptor. It gave me a mobile version which was impossible to navigate so at the bottom I clicked web version. That gave me access to the side menu where I clicked 2014, then march to find the article.

[@mrkthmn]

Kinda hard to really claim who invented anything (first) since the only data to go off for verification is the earliest example of documentation or production. I could figure out a concept and sit on it for ten years to have someone else come out and say to the world, I just invented this! Did I invent it? I thought of it first I just didn’t make it. So is it the problem solved by a persons creation that’s the invention or simply the manufacture and subsequent public exposure of the solution that’s being titled? We know from history that people have gotten credit for “inventing” things that were other people’s creations, they just rushed to build it first. At the end of the day I give an amount of admiration to people for their creativity but I give “invented” titles a grain of salt.

[@TheNextDecade]

Been forcing myself to learn fusion, but some of the tricks you shared in the last third of the video blew my mind. Fusion has too many features that nobody talks about. Thank you so much for sharing. I'll be exhibiting at Opensauce, Excited to see you there Angus!

[@MakersMuse]

Awesome! What are you exhibiting?

[@armLocalhost]

You can do this exact technique in all CADs. It's nothing specific to Fusion

[@shadow368]

I’ve also recently started “learning” Fusion360. Learning is in quotation’s because I watched 1 video on how to make a Lego brick, and then just went from there experimenting and making my own things. Only looking up how to do something that my mind says “shouldn’t this be possible” or “what if I tried this”. I literally am only learning it this way because my ADD gets me distracted. I’ve definitely enjoyed it but I know I’ve just barely scratched the surface, just like you said. It’s amazing the things you can do with it.

[@slant3d]

Thanks Angus! Great Example that is highly applicable to mass production. The reduction in translation errors (when sending to a manufacturer) and of post processing labor are huge factors when trying to mass produce a 3D Printed product profitably.

[@netpackrat]

It's a great technique, but worth noting that since the extrude cuts used to manipulate the slicer into generating the bridging are tailored to the intended layer height, you still need to make sure the person slicing the files follows your print setting spec, same as you would if achieving this result through support material instead.

[@MrGerhardGrobler]

@@netpackrat yes, unless you send them a pre-sliced file. In my case, I have my own print farm, so no issue there for me.

[@LeftJoystick]

“Mass Produce 3D Printed Product” sounds like a losing game. Unless this definition of “mass produce” only applies to the scale a personal print farm can manage. Couple thousand a month or whatever.

[@genemaster74]

G'day Angus m8.....id love to learn to cad so i can make my own stuff, but the software scares me seriously. Im 49 and have spent since 2018 living a shut in existence living with Anxierty, Deep depression and PTSD plus lower back issues. So most of my chat is done outside the home is done via digital services. It was you guys of the 3d printing community that helped partly by showing me how easy 3d printing was to do in 2020 and so it gave me a hobby and striving when i can to use them i have an ender 3v2 was my first printer and have done some light mods in the last 4 yrs. living with my condition is hard for me and i just get this weird anxierty when someone says " ahh i'll just fix it in cad"... cheers if you read this m8... all good if ya skip it too. cheers from brisbane

[@aquilux-vids]

I'm a bit late on this, but here's an interesting suggestion that I've done a time or two for inverted details: Print the details separately, then insert them into the larger print the same as you'd insert a captive nut or bearing. For instance: I have a custom prusa print head that I designed myself, on prusa print heads they use the position of a steel ball to do filament out detection. I couldn't copy their ball holding system exactly so I made a captive channel. The back side printed fine, but the front side not only couldn't be printed due to overhanging but would have the ball in the way if I tried. So I printed the front side of the channel as it's own tiny print, then inserted the ball and the front side as a plug and just printed over it. Works like a charm. In this case, you could print what looks like a 2-4 layer thick washer, and insert it into a pocket in the main print so that it becomes the back of the hole.

[@ShellingtonLabs]

It'll be like those brass heated inserts or those screw threads for wood furniture. That's an interesting idea, I think I'll keep that in my pocket now thanks.

[@davydatwood3158]

I can't describe how happy I feel to learn that "Extrude from Object" is an "advanced" technique. I use it a lot, and since I basically learned how to use Fusion from your videos, it's like you just came and gave me a gold star. And since I live in Alberta and everything looks almost exactly like post-apocalyptic Caprica in the Battlestar Galactica reboot, I really, really needed that "good job" feeling. Because the smoke is so, so bad.

[@senatorsmiles]

Oh wow you taught me a new trick at 9 mins in. I'm new with 360 and cad in general, but I've been brute forcing the same style of using one sketch for complex parts by extruding new bodies from the same sketch multiple times, then moving them the appropriate distances, and finally combining them. I had no idea you could start the extrude from an object face!

[@DasBuzzBuzz]

If you ever end up using another CAD for any reason, Extrudes will typically have 2 directions. Setting the d2 to a negative value throws it the same way as d1 and can be used to "offset" a feature. Options for both of the directions should include things like "next" or "reference" that will take faces like in the video (even if they aren't parallel planes!). Definitely try not to move features lol, and good luck learning!

[@MalebogiaNemrod]

Thank you for your tips. I really like the sequential bridging idea. When it is possible, I just simply insert the nut (or any other metallic part) during the printing after I set a pause on the next layer in the slicing.

[@rickseiden1]

The modeling from one sketch was brilliant. I would have been creating new sketches and projecting the first sketch over and over again.

[@miranda.cooper]

How you described your workflow is similar to how my Solidworks professor told us to do it. I forget if that program would even allow you to do it this way lol Tripped me up so many times because she'd come around to my computer and make me change it right away lol. So glad I'm done with that xD

[@DefinitelyNotSr.S]

@@miranda.cooper I think it's better to have multiple sketches (unless it's a very simple model), that way you can modify it more easily in the future when you have to modify the initial sketch. At least that's what I've been taught by other fusion360 tutorial videos.,

[@evanbarnes9984]

It is generally better to work from multiple smaller sketches, but this geometry is simple enough that one sketch will be easy to understand in the future when you need to make changes.

[@PetrHosek]

I've come up with this trick independently about a year ago, didn't know it's "a thing". Glad more people are going to use it.

[@michaelj3971]

Ah! I get it! I had to go into Fusion 360 and follow along while rewatching your explanation. You're right, it is hard to describe. Your previous video on making sacrificial layers was an excellent tutorial also. Many thanks from this retired guy trying to teach himself Fusion 360!

[@joegroom3195]

Glad to see a popular youtuber post on this. I've been adding 'sequential bridging' to my models for years now. Works great!

[@aschreiber]

One approach I've used for rapidly doing a lot of these type of holes in onshape is to create form tools for this and then boolean them out. It with a point pattern is a real quick way to place holes. Going to have to add this to my library of tricks though.

[@ShellingtonLabs]

I do the same for blender because it's so much more difficult to make precise parts there. But I can also see it being very useful for when you want to pattern a lot of more complex shapes like the solution presented here. Cause I image you could do this bridging with more than 4 cuts for even better hole precision and printing.

[@DasBuzzBuzz]

I like your method better! Makes sense if the nuts are standard.

[@aschreiber]

@@DasBuzzBuzz Also works well for heat set inserts too.

[@marcin.sobocinski]

Tell me why that sequential bridging isn't a part of a slicer? It would make my life so much easier!

[@MakersMuse]

With the current rate of slicer development it might not be long 🤔

[@sk1pp3r65]

Whether said or not i think it is important to say that this would be most applicable for complicated shapes that demand to be printed in a way that a bore like is being exampled would be in the orientation that is being shared. Well done mate!

[@mik13ST]

I think the sequential bridging should be implemented in slicers. It's a matter of 3D printing using FDM, not 3D modelling. The same goes for elephant's foot effect, I refuse to adjust my models with these details. Also, I think this should be doable in slicer in a single layer by first bridging one direction and then the other in the same layer.

[@thirtythreeeyes8624]

Cura "initial layer horizontal expansion" for elephants foot. Not sure on other slicers Cura has every setting I'll ever need and then some so I've never used any others. Seems like the rest just copy Cura anyway with things like tree supports and arachne lol

[@IrocZIV]

I would suspect that printers with advanced bed leveling do deal with elephants foot, but printers that you level yourself are a bit too variable to predict, I would think. I don't get elephants foot on my on my prints (no auto bed level) so if there was any auto-adjustment, the changes might bevel the bottom of the print rather than keep it straight.

[@rpavlik1]

I see where you're coming from. But, design for any manufacturing process includes some details of the process, and not just an abstract ideal model. "Design for manufacturing" is a field for a reason. I do try to avoid overly depending on 3d printing in my models, but I don't go overboard.

[@michaelj3971]

If it is included as a slicer option, the modeler needs to know how the slicer implements the sequential bridging in order to account for the (in this case) changes in hole depth. That is, it will affect the accuracy of the hole depth and therefore the fit up of your parts.

[@wyzedfz1495]

@@michaelj3971 I guess that if this sequential bridging is ever implemented, this should be more like knowledge or tips you should apply for models that are supposed to be printed. I mean, "Add a 1mm more thickness to prevent the slicer to modify your accuracy if sequential-bridging". Personally I use a lot the trick of "water drop" like holes for holes that are printed vertically. The idea is fairly great. However I am not agree on how it is implemented on this video. I mean, the part should be nothing but the part. Once the design is done, another design should start from the previous one and that's when all the 3D design tips should be applied (Water-drop holes, sequential-bridgin, elephants foot chamfer, horizontal expansion... whatever) . I think that this allows you to design a part without thinking at all on the way of how it would be manufactured. If this tips are eventually included on the slicers, you can always send the "untouched" part instead of the FDM adapted one.

[@derektoy4444]

This is so helpful and exciting because I can’t wait for an update on this like two years from now for new techniques that people develop.

[@TheNerd389]

One easy way to improve the 45 degree overhang approach is to simply print a matching insert as well. So, for a counter-bored hole where you use the 45 degree trick, just print a 45 degree cone (with a hole matching the smaller bore) that fits directly into that hole. I've seen significant improvements from this over using just the 45 degree trick, as the layer lines seem to mesh together, transferring the load much more directly than you'd expect for a simple 45-degree interface.

[@ChrizRockster]

6:50 - This bridging can be done in SuperSlicer automatically by basically turning on "Keep Only Bridges" in drop down box (Print Settings > Perimeters & Shell > Advanced - "No Perimeters on Bridge Areas"). But not so many bridges.

[@scratchinjack608]

Excellent video!! Your CAD work explanation was fine by me. True, it is a "more advanced" use of the software, but if you already have a good understanding of Fusion, it made total sense!

[@FufsowyFufs]

I just stumbled on this dilemma while 3D designing yesterday, great timing!

[@WhereNerdyisCool]

That’s very interesting. One thing I have used with very good success has been Cura’s tree supports. With a low density of 2-3% and support interface, my large overhang prints for my Iron Man build have gone incredibly well.

[@DiscoLucas]

I've had great results using 0% infill with tree supports, and saved so much time

[@Dangerdad137]

This is a *very* clever approach. When I'm doing extrusions like this, I typically extrude above and below the plane rather than from object, but I'll be adding this approach to my toolbox as well.

[@doranku]

The real second best option is to enable the new, experimental feature in prusaslicer 2.6 to use "extra perimeters on overhangs". Still has some failure on the first layer of the bridge, but better than "just print it". For the 45 overhang, you could of course print a separate object to put on the bold before inserting.

[@ChrizRockster]

Funny how Prusa Slicer is adding this feature, yet on SuperSlicer it already exists and we have "Simulate Prusa No Thick Bridge" to basically make it work like PrusaSlicer. I had having bridges that act as perimeters because the speed is dictate by the perimeter speed and not the bridge speed / flow / fan.

[@doranku]

@@ChrizRockster Ahhh didn't know, use superslioer only sor tuning filament. Ill look into it a bit more.

[@JeronimoStilton14]

@@ChrizRockster isn’t super slicer the slicer that just undid it’s lifetime license and wants like 100 dollars for a slicer that’s missing a bunch of key features of the freebies?

[@shawnjones5443]

​@@JeronimoStilton14 , you're thinking of Simplify 3D. SuperSlicer is a fork of PrusaSlicer. Which is a fork of Slic3r. Bambu Labs also forked off of PS and reskinned it

[@heavyweather]

​@@shawnjones5443and the Orca took bamboo slicer and...

[@ahadmrauf]

Thanks for this follow up video! I hadn't really understood sequential bridging from your last video, but this explanation makes it really clear how to do it! I'll try it out next time I need a curved overhang like this.

[@LincolnWorld]

This is the kind of great and helpful content that I subscribed for so many years ago. I love your full project ones too, but the ones you have done on how to solve specific issues are always my favorite! I'd love to see more music making content too. Love your music, and only about 2 years ago I started learning to make music with a DAW. But I know that stuff doesn't fit the channel as well.

[@davidstonier-gibson5852]

Angus, your description was a bit too quick to follow, but the idea is enough for me. Thank you. I like that you are very much like me, a "design to the process" kinda guy. I giggle whenever I see someone want to 3D scan an injection moulded car component, complete with ribs and bosses, and expect to 3D print an exact replica.

[@oasntet]

With the 45° overhang roof on the bore, you could also print the positive version to insert before the nut. It should be an easy print, and distribute loads more evenly, and if the tolerances are just right you could actually have a stronger feature than with support material due to the increased number of perimeters...

[@gerGoPrint3D]

true, but that's a bunch of extra work

[@TeamPanicRobotics]

Another trick you can do for the 45 degree overhang option is to print the difference between the part and the overhang part (in this case a hexagonal pyramid with a 6mm hole in the middle) as a separate part and glue it in afterwards Yes its more printer time and an additional step, but it makes the CAD easy and still gives you a flat bottom to the hole to tension a bolt

[@MakersMuse]

Yeah that'd work too! Many options for sure

[@bots2beasts]

@@MakersMuse Dang it...I posted the same thing just seconds before scrolling down an inch and seeing this...DOH! lol

[@bots2beasts]

Great minds think a like I guess. Didn't even think to look 'til after I posted and then thought wait a second...SOMEBODY probably already thought of...dammit. LOL

[@caramelzappa]

You don't even need to glue it in, the nut/bolt will hold it ini like any washer! The major advantage of this vs bridging is that it doesn't make the model dependant on a certain layer height.

[@imacmill]

IMO, it's faster to use a full sacrificial bridge and drill them out, than it is to use this insert method.

[@c0mputer]

I just started doing this from a video I found 3 years ago from @Maniacal Lab LLC. And for horizontal holes I use the method you showed in your print without supports video with a modification to the teardrop hole shape. I cut the top of the teardrop off so it has a flat edge. The printer can bridge that easily. Make the flat part at the same radius where the circle would be. Makes for a nice fitting hole if anything is supposed to fit inside since you’re now supported at the top as well. You only have two small bits of open air at like the 10:00 and 2:00 position.

[@MrGerhardGrobler]

Great video. As someone who prints for a commercial reason, and some fun prints. Sometimes I need to print holes/bores. I am a tinkercad user. And I can see how to incorporate this into my tinkercad designing, and orientation on the build plate. Cooling on most new 3D printers are good enough to support minor bridging. So adding it into the design can save filament and print time. Mixed with CHEP's Ender 3 profiles, this saves me much time and headache. Because of South Africa's power outage issue, I have to fit my prints into a timeslot, bacause, SHOCK! sometime print resume fails. Or it leaves a terrible missing layer line on the print surface. So, again, thank you for your videos. You, and other YT content creators makes my life so much easier with your educational videos. Or fun, watching you trying to balance a MK4 on a table that is a bit small for the purpose.

[@couryrussell7653]

I loved your explanation of the sequential bridging. I’m still new to fusion 360 but have some small amount of prior experience with auto cad and am trying to translate over my already limited knowledge pool to fusion so this explanation definitely helped a lot! Thank you so much!

[@IscuAndrei]

The hardest part of my 3d printing experience was designing parts with machining in mind. I've worked in a CNC shop, programming and machining custom parts, eventually ending up doing a large run of parts for the aerospace industry (F16 and MIG21 upgrades). The design always stuck me as simple and elegant. Once I started to design my 3d printable parts with machining in mind I found out that they were a lot easier to print and in one case, it was an absolute joy going to mass production via injection molding. For people getting into this hobby/profession, I'd recommend reading books on technical drawing, machining basics and industrial design. Their are a Godsent and make learning CAD modelling a pleasant experience!

[@6sensory]

Thank you for this! I have wanted to address this in a part or two and hearing you articulate it made it crystal clear. 'Got's lots of work to do now TYVM

[@EricMcCormick]

I just tried this out and it works great! No more drilling out sacrificial layers.

[@robevans8555]

Wow, that's what I love about this channel, learned another fusion tip, extrude from object. Thanks for sharing

[@brucejohnson1264]

I use the conical relief approach for making knobs with embedded nuts. They print up to the top of the pocket for the nut, then the slicer pauses so I can put in the nut. The conical relief on the top keeps plastic from gumming up the threads. They tighten against the flat base, not the cone, so strength is not a problem.

[@elijahle7936]

Those advanced techniques i use very often. I never thought of them as advanced. Thanks for the ego boost 👍🏻👍🏻

[@curtkeisler7623]

Thank you for creating this video. This is going to change a lot of my modeling just watching you. Thank you for all the content you give us.

[@101rotarypower]

I could watch videos like this Every day, Love the tricks and tips videos, and always interested to know of new approaches!

[@sypernova6969]

thanks man! I leaned a few new things. not only the techniques, but hte cad knowledge of extruding at angles and extruding starting at the surface of an object, two things I've been struggling with.

[@tommyunreal]

Tried that immediately, works like a charm. Great trick Angus, thank you!

[@OriginalMorningStar]

Nice, thanks! Thats a neat way of creating overhangs, but specifically for nut and bolt fixings like that I like to pause the print, drop the nut into place and then continue the print. I didnt come up with that one myself, but this is mine: Pour wax into cavities with closed tops after pausing the print, let it set and then continue. The wax plugs easily drop out with a little warm water, but it only works with TPU or other plastics that stick to a cold print bed.

[@auxchar]

I saw this a while ago in a hackaday article. Very useful technique. Especially useful for internal captive nuts, where you model a void for the nut, and you put in gcode to pause the print at the last layer before bridging, insert the nut, and then print over top of the nut.

[@iTeerRex]

Hey Angus, I like this trick for strengthening a part with metal or carbon fiber, and it would work for situations like this too. Pause the print, drop the strengthening object into it cavity, and resume the print.

[@Doogleraia]

Been seeing people do that prusa-bridging style as triangles and getting really nice overhang, making for less layers needed as bridges be only 2 (and saw one where it's 1 layer as a triangle and then somehow the next layer was circular)

[@ChrizRockster]

This bridging can be done in SuperSlicer automatically by basically turning on "Keep Only Bridges" in drop down box (Print Settings > Perimeters & Shell > Advanced - "No Perimeters on Bridge Areas"). But not so many bridges.

[@gloriousapplebees]

Thanks, I have a lot to learn, I'm sure this will come in handy eventually. Currently for parts like this I have no issues printing either side down with no supports, I didn't even realize this could be an issue, all my parts like this turned out fine.

[@4techs]

Thank you very much for that awesome trick! It made my life as a professional designer and maker of 3D printed parts much easier!

[@kwissiekwissie]

SIMPLE tip!!! It is SO simple,... why didn't I come up with this??? ... Thats why this is a GREAT video!!!

[@dc321059]

Hi ! Thank you for this technique. I use another one, but not by modifying the modeling. I often make parts that require a molded nut, incorporated into the part. I program a print pause just before the layer that covers the nut's imprint, I place the nut directly in the printed part, and I restart the print. The nut supports the axle hole.

[@BakeJake]

I've been waiting for this!!! I knew you'd not disappoint! I cant wait to watch this! game changer! Thanks Angus

[@RoseKindred]

Even though I don't have F360, this was informative. I typically only make those types of holes with the third option, "chamfered bore." Then again, I use Blender for my modeling, all I know right now, outside of Nomad Sculpt.

[@satibel]

@10:17 I would do a cut with the 2 inner bridges at -n layers and then the corners at -2n layers. That kind of bridging makes the bolt supported on the sides so doing a cut you're not adding thickness to the part and having the bolt stick out by a mm or so Another option is to have a nut body that has the clearance and integrated bridges and use csg cut with it wherever you need nuts if you need a lot of them

[@alaingrignon]

Super interesting technique. Just makes me wonder if you could do a single sequential bridge (the largest one), then the rest is handled by a 45 degree cone. The bridge would prevent the nut from wedging up, and the 45 angle would keep the rest of the print clean. Would be curious to know if that would work.

[@max-olevonwaldow703]

I like the idea of sequential bridging. Is there a fast way to repeat the same CAD features for multiple (possibly different) parts of the design? It seems tedious for more complex prints.

[@giaxxone]

For anything with more than 1 hole I’d extrude the main body with holes only then extrude the nut/bridges as a new component, copy it to each hole location and use those to cut the main body… this would maintain parametricity and a much cleaner timeline. You could also copy the feature to each hole, but it’d be messy. I don’t see a simple solution across different features.

[@CaptainSlug]

You model all of the known-working and identical features as a positive solid, then make them as an assembly constrained to all the holes you want them duplicated to. Then load that assembly as a boolean subtract so you can apply it to every hole.

[@Premier-Media-Group]

for standard sizes and geometries, it can sometimes be as simple as using a wedge of wood, a metal nut, or something similar added to the print before the layers start printing that would need the support.

[@BorisH2000UK]

Great video, as always Markus. The only thing to improve when explaining sequential bridging would be to show section analysis in F360 after every step to make it clear which bridge you are adding.

[@avaviel]

Sometimes you CAN'T print something like that another way. So methods like this are super useful.

[@richdobbs6595]

Thanks. I've used these approach with my models implemented in OpenSCAD.

[@Erbsensuppe22]

Thanks for sharing this to us! Sequential bridging is a very smart solution.

[@ZoneKei]

Great idea. 3DSet's Landy Mini on Printables uses really cool thin bridge supports for the windows of the body. They bridge the whole window gap, then stay a mm away from the edges for a cm or so upwards, then have another small bridge, then print the window overhang. The bridge breaks away clean but easily holds a 90 degree overhang without ruining the vertical parts of the window.

[@6yjjk]

Great tips. I'd extrude the half with the bore up from the sketch plane, and the hex and bridges down, so everything was relative to the sketch, but there'll be dozens of ways to skin this particular cat.

[@mistaecco]

Your castle test with the "Bridge" subtitle made me laugh out loud. Quality visual pun 👍

[@satibel]

If you need to take a higher load you might want to enable the option that increases infill over holes for a few layers, that way you can use lower infill in your parts and have them with a similar strength. In cura you can also set a block to like 80% infill for the whole column above the bolt if you need it to take a large load. Though you may want to add cones and/or pegs to locate and take some of the load. You can also use rubber from bike tubes if you want extra friction. If you have conductive filament you can use brass heat set inserts as plugs. It can make design simpler. But if you don't you can also use channels in which you put single strand wire that you bend to shape using a guide. You can do it either in 2 parts or by pausing the print and putting the wire inside.

[@KaidoLP]

Extra Perimeters on overhangs in Prusa Slicer 2.6 or Arc Overhangs could also be an interesting option for bridging the ceiling of hex nur holes

[@simoneiorio9703]

In some cases is available an “infill emulation” bridging. You can construct some bridges grids (more or less spaced) of lines (your nozzle define the measure), and then make the suspended layer. In the specific case you explained for the nuts with empty area on top, due to the inclined walls, if you want, you can print a solid with the empty volume shape (clearance calculated) and put it inside the hole, so the printed structure can be compressed, as a unique printed piece.

[@DalTronPrinting]

I did this about a while ago, but I simplified it by starting a sketch on the surface that I wanted to have the sequential bridge, then I extruder every bridge by 0.2mm more than the last one. I was using it for a piece of wall art that I wanted to hang, but I didn't want it to be solid and waist material, but I didn't want to have to support the center. It came out great!

[@DalTronPrinting]

@action jackson yeah, I mean it's a cool way to get it all done in one sketch, but I don't think it's worth it. It makes it harder to remember what sketch had what feature of I pack too many in one.

[@nosmokingnl]

Really great tip thanks for sharing. Other related question, what dimensions are you using for the hex and bore? Exactly the same as the nut, or some offset? Is there a rule of thumb, like always add 0.1 mm?

[@kohjb]

Omg....I learnt something new today! And it wasn't such the sequential bridging, but I never knew that in Fusion 360 you could extrude from an object's surface! I've been jumping through hoops trying to get the same outcome and it was right there under my nose! 😂

[@timojissink4715]

With my printer I'm sometimes pushing the 45 deg rule to 65 deg, which makes it way more usefull, if you have the proper cooling and knowledge to do so. I havn't tried many bolt holes yet but i'll definitelly keep the sequential layer trick in mind for when I need it 😁

[@TheSupertecnology]

In some instances, a support blocker can be used to add an infill pattern that, counterintuitively, supports those floating layers from bores. It's a tried and tested method for me, and I'm printing a piece with such method as I write.

[@aneb2002]

Have you considered printing a washer to fill the wedge missing from the 45deg overhang option? No manual processing other than inserting an extra part where 2 are already being inserted, so minimal extra work. I did consider injection molding the plastic into the cavity after the bolt was inserted with a 3d printing pen or epoxy, but that seems like a bunch more manual work vs just printing a washer.

[@aneb2002]

should also have a higher fill ratio than the partial-bridging strategy that misses at least a couple of layers where the bolt needs support

[@olegvelichko1659]

That's really useful!!! Thanks so much for this! I am currently in the middle of drawing a design that sort of requires this technique. Very cool. Thank you so much for this

[@runforitman]

I've just always done supports that I knock out with a bolt but, I've had multiple times where that support has been almost impossible to get out due to the design so having this under my belt will be useful

[@wandererstraining]

That's an awesome idea! Thank you so much for sharing it, and hats off to its inventor, Nophead.

[@drewrinker2071]

Stefan did a video on another technique a while back that I thought was interesting but I need at welder enabled in your firmware. But it essentially makes arc curved bridges until it is filled in

[@Rebar77_real]

Couldn't spiralized overhangs do a quick concentric spin from the outside or are those still too new? You could try inserting a premade spiral to simulate that? For the next bird box maybe, heh heh. Thanks!

[@Derek_Lark]

Yes, with complex designs sometimes you have to print that way up. Thanks Angus.

You're welcome Oisin

[@Megavoltamper]

I used to extrude a 1 layer thick material in the hole. So it's just an overhang and usually doesn't need to drill out, the screw can be easily pushed through it.

[@Repkord]

Excellent explainer as always Angus. Nice work! 👏

[@JeffsAquaponics]

I like the simplicity of the chamfered hole. I think printing an additional chamfered plug with a clearance hole to fill the space would work as well.

[@meltdown78]

I mostly use sacrificial layers. Benefit: it can be easily added to existing models directly in the slicer via adding a small 0.2mm thick disc shape. That would be a cool feature request to do automatic sacrificial layers for holes directly in the slicer

[@epedja]

I stumbled on this issue number of times, and usually I just print it without supports and then clean up. Just few days ago I talked with someone about this issue and expressed expectation that slicers can handle this in more or less same manner as in your example. 3D printers handle bridges quite good and that should be exploited by slicers. This idea of creating supports in model is interesting. I did not think of that and will try it. I believe it is OK until you have to do lots of holes. As I said, would expect slicer to be able to handle this. Now, another idea of handling supports. One may simply pause printing, insert actual nut and then continue printing. Also not applicable in all situations but may do the job sometimes.

[@OldCurmudgeon3DP]

Cool methods. Take that a step or 2 further and that round becomes a knob for a hex bolt. Add a very slight draft angle to the hex extrude, use a nut to pull the head thru from the build plate side, and it stays put due to friction. I've used this often when making split-ring hose clamps and pivots for mounts. The draft keeps the nut in place on the other side of the part too. Helps to account for machine tolerances while keeping a tight fit.

[@rynnjacobs8601]

Especially on larger holes I generate a lightweight support structure 0.5 mm from the inner perimeter, so the bridge does not span the whole area. This has the additional advantage that one can remove the sacrificial layer easily by breaking out the support.

[@TrickyNekro]

Im in to composite planetery gears at the moment, this is indeed a nice trick for those bearing holes that do need to be precise. Cheers!

[@andrewglick6279]

Wouldn't you want the sequential bridge lines (8:10) to be tangent to the hole, rather than coincident with the vertices of the hexagon?

[@kspec2001]

congrats on hitting 1 million subs too btw!!!

[@heyspookyboogie644]

This is exactly the sort of thing I wish slicers had an option to do automatically where possible considering most people currently don’t design this way.

[@rcmaniac25]

Well explained. I know I started doing it after seeing it in a Prusa part and going "what's that?". Though I don't print with many nuts/bolts anyway so it's not common for me.

[@bryceg5709]

2 methods I use. Foam plugs with a pause hex builds before it closes you pause and poke a plug in. It doesn't pull heat and supports the extrusion poke out with the hardware. Undersize badly which acts like support then use a screw and nut heated to red hot as a tool melt in pull out insert nut

[@RickMeasham]

I've not done a pile of 3D printing but would another option be to have the print pause to allow you to insert the nut before finishing the top layers? Then the nut is providing the support

[@SianaGearz]

Yeah that works but it's got its own issues, like sometimes the nut can ride up and scrape the nozzle, and you can't have the nut too snug in the hole, and your beautiful unattended print becomes a print with a manual operation. But yeah it works, it can be done.

[@ghrayfahx]

@@SianaGearz plus it wouldn’t work well for things like ABS where you need to keep it warm while it prints. You would have to open your enclosure which would cool the part and cause layer separation.

[@davisdiercks]

Awesome! I've used sacrificial bridging for years (learned from you haha) but maybe I'll give the sequential bridging a try! You explained it really well and it could save valuable post-processing time.

[@sahanfernando4414]

8:09 the side lines aren't tangent to the circle, an easy way to do this is instead of joining corner to corner, draw the vertical line beyond the bounds of the hexagon, then tangent it to the circle, and finally trim the excess

[@raytice8964]

With the cone trick, you don't need bolts with coned shoulders - just print matching coned washers. Same trick works for stepped bridges under high loads - print washers with matching steps.

[@raytice8964]

I would expect stepped bridges with matching washers to be stronger than conical with matching washers, but that's worth an experiment to confirm/refute.

[@Arek_R.]

It's such a nice trick, why slicers don't have it as an option?

[@veehexx]

the sacrificial bridging is available in superslicer that doesnt need cad reworking. "No perimeters on bridge areas". Print > Perimeters&shells > advanced. doesn't seem to work with archne enabled, so has to be in classic mode.

[@hazonku]

I've always done this in the inverse just using extruded faces but I'm usually fairly good at accounting for these sort of overhangs before I get to designing them.

[@robertsturtz8360]

Awesome video, I found it very helpful and easy to understand. As a potential improvement on this technique for nuts where the bore hole has a diameter equal or greater than the length of one of the sides of the hexagon, have you considered doing 3 sequential bridges per set of bridges, and two sets of bridges? (It can avoid the issue where the edge of your sequential bridge may obstruct the sides of the bore slightly if the circle has a diameter greater than the length of one of the sides of the hexagon). For your sketch, 3 lines tangential to the circle for the bolt, parallel to every second side of the hex, with each line extending to two sides of the original hex, would provide the basis for the first set of sequential bridges, and then a second set of lines tangential to the circle for the bolt, parallel to every second side of the hex that you did not use for the previous set of 3 lines, with the line extending to two of the lines from the previous set of 3. hopefully this gives enough detail for you to work out the required extrusions... There, now that is a badly explained explanation ;p please let me know if you understand what I am trying to communicate, or if there is something that is unclear please let me know so I can have another go of explaining what I mean... Thanks again, Regards, Rob

[@KnotHead1008]

At 4:14 instead of drill bit use a bore bit of appropriate size. Machinist use those bits to make a hole clean. Kind like a debur.