Using Chitubox Part 2: orienting your model and why auto-supports suck

[@remiravaz]

I only print from time to time, and forget the best practices over and over again. Coming back to this and I keep learning/re-learning things over the years. Great video!

[@ericvernon1182]

Just ordered a Resin Printer to print minis (mostly) this series seems like its going to be a huge help!!! Thank you sooo much for this knowledge...

[@musashidanmcgrath]

Long time 3D modeler and Zbrush sculptor here, just getting into 3D printing, and mate, these videos are pure solid gold. Thank you for going into such detail and sharing all of your supports knowledge/experience.

[@gramps9838]

Thank you ! Major difference.

[@justintime5021]

I feel like the chitubox auto supports have improved a lot. Still plenty of work to do after clicking add all but honestly it has saved me a lot of work. I learned a lot in this series about your support kung foo though. Very helpful

[@kl0wnkiller912]

FINALLY! After looking at dozens of videos I found one that actually says WHY you do things and how to fix problems. Well done and Thanks!

[@TD3DMakes]

Hey, I got my Elegoo Mars yesterday (still waiting on resin). You have by far the easiest to follow tutorials I've come across. You're clear, concise and get straight to the point. Looking forward to the rest of your Chitubox Tutorials and the rest as well. Thanks for sharing! (New sub)

[@TheMiniJunkie]

This video, plus your support settings, has been a godsend. Auto supports were failing my prints and leaving marks in all the wrong places. Now my prints are coming out WAY nicer.

[@3dprintingpro212]

Thanks man glad I could help! If you don't mind pointing your subscribers to my channel would be much appreciated :)

[@mrchoochoohead9033]

just started printing with an epax x1 as my first printer. havent had a failure yet! TOUCH WOOD. these tutorials are a god send

[@blueckaym]

I agree 100% auto-supports are horrible! And that's not just Chitubox failure, Lychee's auto's also suck bad. They recently released 5.2 which has some new feat for quickly placing supports on an area in a more controllable way, but it's imho still only good for like larger flat(er) areas, like the bottom of a base (but I print bases flat with a thin fundament-base underneath to hide the elephant foot, as I first saw in your video ... and hollow :) actually a 50mm horse's base pre-supported by default was using over twice as much resin as my whole horse-hollowed-and-supported-by-me, ie 11.7ml vs 5.5ml ... my base came at 3.7ml, so both my horse and the base supported were lighter than just the pre-supported base! so in total I spent 27% of the pre-supported model+base, or to put it in perspective I could print almost 4 horses instead of 1). Using auto-supports can save a bit of time, but it's not like click'n'print, because as you showed it leave blatant failures waiting (print) to happen. Lychee has this nice feature to detect islands (it works well when set to Detailed or Real level - I use Real), but still Lychee can decide to put a single (or too few) support(s) on a island that the start of heavy part, and not add other supports until the next island (or add them too high, which doesn't help if your print have already failed - it'll just form a blob at the very least). The other problem is auto-S doesn't shy in adding supports that attach no the build plate but to other model parts! Yes that depends on orientation (which is another thing that sucks hard in both slicers!), but sometimes you can't rotate to avoid all such places (you can only minimize them). After a month'n'half playing with the slicers (mostly Lychee later on) I refined a good way to support my models and save a lot of resin (w/o failures of course), but since I'm doing it manually it's quite slow :/ My method briefly is to build what I call a tri-truss-tower in an area that needs more supports, and then attach many tips to that tower. A tri-truss-tower is simply 3 vertical supports that are each linked with braces. Slicer though use way too many braces! I use less than half of what Lychee adds, so in a tri-truss-tower I use at least 25% less braces than Lychee uses in 2x2 braced columns. It doesn't even create braces between all 3 selected columns, only between 2, so I have to delete at least half the braces (& move few up/down), and use auto-braces again between the remaining un-braced columns ... and again delect half the braces. Basically what I'm using from auto-braces is that they're at 45° (and deleting half is sligthly faster than creating them). In Lychee I use the Line-Triangle raft, but whichever raft you use it acts as a bottom brace, so I don't need braces starting from the bottom. I only try to put at least one brace even between shorter columns, because single columns are too flexible in any direction - I only leave them alone if they're very short. If Lychee allow us to create braces between all selected columns, and allow us to control the density of braces, it would save me some time. The next step would be a bit more complex, but if they form such tri-truss-tower between nearby 3 columns that it would otherwise generate, and brace them as described above it would be additional help. And finally if it can connect all the tips it generates to the nearest tri-truss-tower it would be great (especially if tips are actually more precise - ie no missing islands, not underestimating that larger /& bottom/ parts need more tips, and that there's no need of tips on blue parts /ie at less than 45° of the vertical/) it would be finally very useful!

[@jonpk2000]

Great Video, I love the explanations why something is done, rather than saying "oh you do this because that's what you do".

[@SILVERF0X13]

Thanks, this video does a lot more to explain WHY autosupports are bad and why you want to tilt than most other videos I've seen. Understanding the reasoning is gonna help a lot more when it comes to me figuring out how to print stuff in the future. Just had a failure this weekend caused by a warped build plate, but after seeing this, there's a decent chance that my supports wouldn't have been good enough too. Now I know how to fix it for next time.

[@kilroy79763]

I have been doing 3D printing for about 3 years now and have recently gotten a resin printer. This information is priceless. Thank You. - AL

[@lucilagk3215]

Your videos are SO genius and to the point, thank you so much! I might be delving into the mini support world soon so this helps immensely

[@philippet2668]

It's been a long time I've enjoyed watching a tutorial video, but yours are really enjoyable! Thank you very much!

[@jupiterscreams]

You're a boss! Thank you so much

[@johnthompson5967]

Getting my 3d printer in a week or so, specifically for figures and D&D! Thanks for these vids!

[@DennisGentry]

This is great. You're going through all the mistakes I made, e.g., "Hey, I'll save some resin by making the 5.00 mm supports only 3.00 mm."

[@terrysilverthorn8616]

So glad I just watched this video & subscribed to your channel. You keep things in layman's terms which is gret for those of us who are just starting out. I just got a resin printer & have been trying to use the autosupports & scratching my head as to why things aren't working. Now to watch the next vid in the series to learn your tricks!

[@musashidanmcgrath]

Long time 3D modeler and Zbrush sculptor here, just getting into printing, and mate, these videos are pure solid gold.

[@rrswitch48]

Thank you! Your attention to detail and teaching technique is amazing!

[@sudonickx]

Thanks so much man. Just got a resin printer and the amount of supports have been driving me nuts. This is so helpful.

[@OmegaMouse]

Loving these tips. Very useful information for my next batch of prints.

[@TeardownOZ2CPU]

you are fantastic !! thanks for sharing, this is a MUST see, and must understand video for all SLA printer users.

[@PINACI]

You explain things in a very clear way.

[@chrillechrillesson6045]

This was awesome! I'm so glad I found your videos before I started printing allot of minis. Only printed a couple so far.

[@chriswebber8529]

Fantastic video! Wisdom gained. Thanks

[@oliverbrunt1]

I love the 'missiles into the pizza box' great vid! That info on the flat disk is exactly what I needed for my projects!

[@vaman1169]

Superb , massive help, easy to follow great content , thanks

[@LupinusCoraxian]

Just came across your videos and I love them. Thank you so much for your thorough and in depth explanations and examples! You've definitely helped me learn a great deal. Off to watch the rest! Thanks again and a great job accomplished with the video.

[@shokk1967]

Thx, great video. I've been fdm printing for about 2 years and have just got a resin printer. Completely different to fdm printing.

[@Gamma5232]

Hey! I'm new to 3d printing (1 success, 1 failure) and have some unsupported models I'd like to print. Just tried this method of looking at the model from below and adding supports to the brightest red areas. Chitubox was unable to detect any islands, so that's a good step! Excited to see how it comes out, thanks for the video!

[@DarkMiss]

I paint models for a living, so pretty models are a must! great advice, thanks

[@rickysosa3]

Thanks for your video and for taking time to share your best known methods! Awesome.. cheers...

[@oleksandrpanforov2203]

This is so useful! Thank you for your work. Also I like your speech and video structure, those are simple and with plenty of examples and explanation.

This knowledge should be included in the slicer manual.

[@furmeinvader3475]

They can sell you more resin when they don't.

[@JohnDoe-cj4gn]

You have earned my appreciation and a subscription. THIS is what KZbin is good for !

[@arcticbear9619]

thank you for the videos. I'm still brand new to 3D printing and i'm learning so much with these videos. your explanations are easy to understand.

[@Zen_Modeling]

Great Info & I really like your teaching style, very easy to follow....I just I wish I had started out by viewing these Chitubox Series of Instructional- I also needed help with {HOW 2) get from a CULTS File I liked over to Chitubox...( that was a PITA for me being a TOTAL NEWBIE.....ZenModeling

[@SpuneDagr]

I'm really surprised that the auto-support function is so bad. It SEEMS like it would be a simple thing to at least make sure the program checks for unsupported bits. Especially since you can easily see trouble spots with other in-program tools.

[@ScooterinAB]

I think the utility is to lay down a bunch of supports automatically. Then you can go in and add a few that it missed, rather than doing everything by hand.

[@sc149]

Another thing that makes a lot of sense I think, is cutting the model files into pieces that you can then position more easily in chitubox and glue together as if it was a monopose sprue model. Angling so that the "flatter" or more flat insides of the cuts are where most of the supports are, and are at an angle. this also means you can make a "flatter" layer, that can take less time over all to print.

[@kylethemonster]

Excellent videos, really helpful! It might be nice to see some pictures of failed prints, to know what it looks like if, for example, an island is unsupported, etc? It would help for troubleshooting failed prints. Keep up the great work!

[@3dprintingpro212]

well I'll try in a video to post failed prints, but if you see a flat area on the underside of the print that is not shaped properly there's your fail usually

[@3DJapan]

6:04 Instead of ramming a spatula into it I take a razor blade like an X-Acto knife and slide it under the edge. Then I either slide it all the way across or if it won't slide any further I get it part way and then gently lift it and the model should just pop off.

[@philipmarquette2808]

Hehe, missiles into a pizza box! I'm never going to forget that when I use CB. Also, those smaller mandibles that are used for breaking up food items and pulling them into the mouth are called chelicerae.

[@QuantumKatmusic]

in my personal experience, i find it best to use the lightest supports, especially with auto support (not that you can rely on auto support alone) even in heavy density, they just peel off in bunches with no harm to the model, making sure that contact shape is none , so i use heavy amounts of thin supports and have great luck, i still have to put supports where the crucial areas are , i dont get why chitubox SKIPS OVER the literal most important parts of the model, even it knows the red area is support necessary, yet it doesnt populate it with supports, stupid

[@ramblingbadger]

Really great explanation, thanks!

[@aaronreynolds8587]

So helpful! Thank you so much for this! You broke it down to a beginner level which is exactly what I needed! Subscribed and liked!

[@stinkyham9050]

With his settings I've found you can still use auto supports (because I'm lazy and don't have a lot of time) and the models come out close to perfect. Sometimes I'll actually flip the model upside down and have found there is less islands to support so less supports needed.

[@DaedalusProps]

We just gotta work on your audio a tiny bit and this'll be absolutely perfect. That tiny little thing aside though, this has been CRAZY helpful. THANK YOU

[@PolyWorkshop]

Did you try Lychee Slicer? What's your opinion about it when it comes to auto supports and what they did in version 3? It looks nice now. (well, I prefer doing manual supports ;))

[@joebochinski1693]

loving these videos

[@damofx]

Brilliant work man

[@MurderHoboRPG]

thanks for teaching me! where is the other video you mentioned about supporting the gun slingers backpack? Gr!

[@FlorianAzar]

Great help. Thank you!

[@charliewaters5289]

Hoping you can answer me a simple question. If you have a magnetic flexible build plate, would you then print flat surfaces direct to the plate for the sake of adhesion and not wasting resin? Or would you still build at an angle w/ supports to save the wear on the FEP?

[@tpra]

hello, many thanks for the videos, a lot of knowledge there :) you can double-right-click in chitubox to retrieve rotation controls at any time. still not a fix to the disappearing subwindow, but at least you don't need to move the mouse till the edge of the window

[@felixdesruisseaux1129]

thx for this video great for beginners getting in the world of 3d resin printing

[@casualsexfridays]

This video should be included in all splicing software. Seriously, I have learned so much in a short time watching this channel.

[@terrylemon6167]

Hi firstly as a newbie great information many thanks. However, when i orientate to view underneath i have no red areas???? Whatever i try i dont get any red shaded areas.... is there a setting i am missing? Thanks again

[@anthonywinder6657]

You only see the red if you're in support mode. You have to click on the tab that 3DPrintingPro does at 1:38.

[@gregoryhancock6057]

Question on the base: why would you not tilt the base 80 degrees instead of 10? It seems that it would require less support if it were nearly vertical. Great video!

[@kelenherbon8732]

by keeping it relatively flat you save on print time. like alot..

[@korewanandeska]

Great video 👍 so helpful thanks!!!!

[@smokey5882420]

Thanks for the videos. Buti have question. Im not sure if im the only only but when I use chitubox and adding supports. The supports will go through the part, not to the surface of the part. What can I do to fix this

[@TheMiniJunkie]

Around 15 min mark you mention you will make another video about adding supports to back of gunslinger while preserving the detail etc. Did you make that video? Couldn't tell from you listing plus I think I've watched most of your vids.

[@walt_man]

I'm getting some good prints now! Installed a respirator filter on my photon too!

[@nick-tt1qm]

Mine comes in today and I live in a barracks room so I'm going to try to keep it near a window but still worried about smell and fumes did u have to do any modifications or did u just buy a better filter that goes right in?

[@walt_man]

@@nick-tt1qm I printed on an FDM printer a filter attachment for my photon. The main issue with the Photon is the over pressure spills out air AFTER its drawn past the fan, even with a filter cartdrige attached. I suggest using activated carbon with a stack filter found on Thingiverse

[@Guennikolode]

Hi, great videos, will watch all. But have an question: On 13:24 you tilt the model because of the "feet area" which would be an instant big area in printing. But why do you not but it directly on the build plate? Because of the "elefant effect" you mention in later videos? Would your "add a circle area" trick for bases (later video) not work here also? I am new to 3d printing, thats why i ask. My printer is ordered and not arrived yet....

[@modmoto6016]

Do you think this still applies with the current chitubox version? On auto, I dont have any islands whatsoever in the current version.

[@psychoclown22]

Me either, also i print all my mins on light supports never had an issue. Have had issue with flat bases like he said though.

[@Maxiride]

In the last scenario where you placed the supports by hand on the gunslinger, wouldn't the left pistol fail because being printed in the air? I want to see if I got right the explanation of identifying the unsupported areas.

[@3dprintingpro212]

yes that's correct moving on I would place supports on all the low points of both guns/arms and all other parts :)

[@Maxiride]

@@3dprintingpro212 Thanks for the quick reply!

[@David-ey9jg]

Very helpful thank you.

[@haggismacphreedom]

I came for the Chitubox, I stayed for the Pokahonkey puns.

[@bugman72]

I have a question regarding the base. I understand rotating it in order to make it easier to remove the print from the build plate and I understand the issue with the large round footprint and the stress it will put on the FEP at layer change. But how is the issue with suction and FEP stress at layer change any different with having a raft that covers basically the same surface area. Ease of removal, I get that. Stress on the FEP due to a large surface area, I don't see the difference. Wouldn't you want to rotate the base more in order to significantly reduce the surface area of the raft in order to solve the stress issue with the FEP at layer change? I'm new to resin printing, so I'm trying to soak up as much knowledge as I can. Sorry if this is a dumb question. :)

[@rpcucunato21]

These videos have been so helpful! I am curious what are the settings for your supports?

[@markrichards5630]

But the supports have the same or larger footprint that the adhesion area you are trying to avoid. Its great looking from underneath because the foot of the support doesn't show. But it's sure going to print and adhere to the FEP. Angiling that disk only a little produces a riot of support feed all grouped together creating a larger area of adhesion. As the gunslinger - what's supporting the gun?

[@piknan5593]

Your vídeos are really helping me

[@3dprintingpro212]

great thank you, it's the reason I'm making these is just to help people :)

[@MrTjmk]

On a cylindrical print of 1 3/8" in diameter by 5 1/2" long and one end of that cylinder flat, can the print be printed straight up and down without supports? The inside of this example cylinder does have some internal features but these features are funnel shaped with drain holes down their centers and angled downward toward the bottom of the print. I'm new to SLA 3D printing and most of what I've seen about model orientation has to do with the kind of toys and trinkets like the models in this vid. I'm wondering if a smooth sided cylindrical model needs any supports at all if the print starts from the flat end of the cylinder?

[@3dprintingpro212]

short answer is yes depending on the suction created, but the bottom few layers will have "elephant's foot" and need to be sanded :)

[@MrTjmk]

@@3dprintingpro212 I never considered "Suction" as a possibility. I suppose that just the slightest amount of tilt might mitigate any suction while still allowing the resin to drain out of the cylinder. Many thanks for the quick reply. I appreciate it.

[@marshallbarrington4986]

Question: Is it possible to print lots of copies of the same object in 1 print? Let's say I wanted to print a lot of those head pieces you are working with in this video. Can you stack them on top of each other? So have supports going up to the head, the head, and then supports coming off the top of it to support another head. So like a chain of those parts, all in 1 stack up to the build height. Then copy and paste that stack and do multiple stacks all of the build plate at once. See what I mean? Like for a whole army of these things at once.

[@3dprintingpro212]

yep, but you'd have some support in ugly places...

[@ravensgategames1912]

Very informative! Thanks mate!

[@KenLives333]

Can one recycle the excess resin used for the supports once the model has been prepped and freed from its supports?

[@Oldmanmatt]

Again, great tutorial. I have a question - around 8m 29s you show the base with the support. THe bottom is literally side to side support bases. How is that any different than the base itself being on the plate? Is support somehow different than the model itself?

[@duskfinger6799]

You don’t need to worry about damaging the supports when removing them, whereas you will struggle to remove the base cleanly

[@darkness973]

When I am using Chitubox, the underside areas that need support, do not show up in red like yours do. How can I access that feature?

[@noneverniht3885]

Really cool! More!

[@xPaRaPhOiAx]

I've been following your videos but I still experience print failures. I even utilized your custom Chitubox support settings (video is about 2 years old). Seems like the supports don't hold up, or still leave support marks on the figures. Wish you offered direct support xD

[@renatosilva2078]

I know it's better not to place supports coming from the model, but what If it's Impossible to place It from ground? I also noticed when trying to place some supports like an Edge from a skull on a stand skeletton or a chin from a chest and there is a body in front of It making It Impossible to do It, or It attaches a barrel material Impossible to edit and make It thinner. How to solve It?

[@3dprintingpro212]

Watch the next few vids :)

[@renatosilva2078]

@@3dprintingpro212 I watched the videos. Thank you very much. Is there a way or other software that only add this tiny piece that we need from the chest to the chin for example, without that support part coming from the ground that will be useless since we will need only this tiny part?

[@snygg-johan9958]

Excellent tutorial! Subscribed

[@rvashko]

When in Support view, what is the teeny tiny line (sometimes red, sometimes green) that follows the tip of your mouse arrow, and seems to change angle as it follows the contours of the layer?

[@Jayy8Bit]

I know this video is old, but just in case anyone drops by and reads the comments, Chitubox auto-supports have come a long way (I use the pro version). Make sure to click "Auto Orient" first on your model, then just click auto supports. I never have to manually add supports anymore and it's extremely rare that I have a fail. I print everything from table-top mini's to massive 22" Warhammer pieces using all auto-supports.

[@bennyhoffa7648]

Just in case anyone drops by and read that comment, Chitubox auto supports still suck don't listen to that guy! The premium version might be better but I've yet to auto support a single file on the free version that didn't have issues EXACTLY like in this video. It's pretty good if you're lazy, but you WILL get fails constantly if you don't go behind the program and fix all of its mistakes and everything it missed. I didn't start watching a multi part video series on supports because auto-support on Chitu works well lol.

[@Jayy8Bit]

@@bennyhoffa7648 So... you haven't tried the pro version? Then how can you say it sucks? I agree the free version is horrible when it comes to auto supports, but the pro version does not. I run 4 Elegoo Saturn 2's almost daily and only use the pro auto support feature. If you're having that many fails, it may be more than your support settings.

[@EnchoMoskov]

Crazy good!

[@derpkerblerp61]

super helpful vid. cheers mate

[@exodous02]

What about small bases? Like standard GW troop sized bases? Do they get damaged when placed flat?

[@3dprintingpro212]

nope they are fine, they get a little of what's called elephant's foot, but generally OK and easy to fix

[@gjones625]

Thanks for the video...as a noob in printing I found it very helpful. Keep them coming. Please share a link for the patreons you mentioned.

[@utube2008utube]

gjones625 www.patreon.com/posts/cool-youtube-29218436

[@hazenwood1]

Would you recommend elegoo mars ? I assume these settings will work no matter which printer is used

[@Tristavillus]

After watching several reviews and talking to a few coworkers who have varied printers, the elegoo mars is a great printer and on par with the photon (possibly slightly better). As long as you get a usb extension there is no downside.

[@artificermike]

How do you typically end up supporting the base of models where the base/model are combined? Do you use auto-supports and then back-fill where it misses? Or do you do everything by hand? If you have the edges supported manually, does the auto-support work well enough for the middle?

[@3dprintingpro212]

auto supports are a no-no! even for the base! I'l will post a video next week supporting a model with a base so everyone can see :)

[@artificermike]

@@3dprintingpro212 You rock dude, I really appreciate it!

[@jmedia82]

Hi! what version of chitubox do you run currently? I have been using an older version since the newer ones crash way too frequently.

[@MrMarczyslaw]

Love the video !

[@grzegorzkonior5991]

I have a question tho, why not turn that head at 180 deg on X axes so the print would start being printed from the top of the head? Is there any reason why it needs to be printed in that orientation?

[@3dprintingpro212]

goal is always to minimize visible damage balanced v minimizing supports needed :)

[@grzegorzkonior5991]

@@3dprintingpro212 Ok, I get it, thanks ;)

[@danl382]

Thank you for a very good video.

[@tatosak8313]

Amazingly helpful! Thank you!

[@utube2008utube]

Thank you so much for this tutorial! Well made!

[@wolfandfx8846]

Where do you get these miniatures from that ombre hulk?

[@robertkirkpatrick1826]

I can only do a buck right now but if these tips prove as helpful as i think they will, ill figure out how to support more. I mainly got my printer to print bases so that video will help... though many of the bases i want to print are so 3d that your basic base video might not work? I will have to see.

[@3dprintingpro212]

Thanks everything helps and is appreciated! :)

[@robertkirkpatrick1826]

3DPrintingPro have well over $100 in Patreons right now but it changes month to month. Just finished the 3rd video in your series and will try the stuff tonight. Looking forward to seeing if both tour methods work on some larger bases as well.

[@ddtalks2821]

(16:05) - Layer lines : Also, after painting, "layering lines' will go away with the paint thickness.