Why Do Partial Supports Break in Mid-Print?

1. What’s Wrong with My 3D Print?

Have you ever noticed that some supports of your models suddenly stop printing in the middle of your printing session? The supports either stop printing out completely or start printing out again after several layers, consequently creating a gap between the supports.Let’s find out what may cause this printing issue and how to address it.

2. What Causes the Printing Issue?

The printing issue may initially resemble layer skipping, often attributed to slicing or hardware issues. The breakdown of supports mid-print can be categorized into three categories as follows:

Resin profile settings

• Normal layer exposure time is not sufficient.
• Lifting speed is too fast.
• Rest time or light-off delay time is inadequate.

Support settings

• Supports are not thick enough.
• Support density is too low.

Z-axis

• Bearing sleeve is clogged.
• Z-axis needs lubrication.

3. Troubleshooting the Printing Issue

Resolving the support breaking issue may require adjusting several settings, redialing your resin profile, and then continuing to adjust the supports. The following steps are organized in order of likelihood to identify and resolve the printing issue:

Adjusting the resin profile settings

• Check out the Official Resin Profile and make sure you’ve dialed in your resin correctly
• Increase the normal layer exposure time by 10%
• Lower the lifting speed to 40mm/min
• Adjust the light-off delay time according to this Calculator

Adjusting support settings

• Increase the supports’ middle diameter
• Increase the support density (suggested value 70%)

Cleaning the Z-axis

• Dry clean the Z-axis
• Use proper lubricants to lubricate the Z-rod. Refer to the “Choosing the Right Lubricant for Your 3D Printer” section in this article for more information. 

If you are using a third-party resin or cannot find your resin in our official resin profile, please use a Resin Exposure Finder to dial in your settings. Light-off delay time is essential in resin 3D printing. With the correct settings, each layer will be printed in a much more stable manner, resulting in a better quality 3D print. Please refer to this article to learn more about Light-Off Delay. 

Contact Support

By following the above suggestions, you can resolve the support-breaking issue. If you find any issues, feel free to reach out to Phrozen Support or your Authorized Reseller for further assistance. When contacting Phrozen Support, kindly send some photos or videos illustrating the issue.