Why Do Partial Supports Break in Mid-Print?

What’s Wrong with my Resin 3D Print?

Have you ever noticed when some parts of the supports suddenly stop printing during the middle of your print? Your supports either stop printing out completely or start printing out again after several layers, effectively creating a gap between the supports.

What Causes the 3D Printing Issue?

While the issue may seem similar to layer skipping, which itself could be a slicing issue or a hardware problem, the reason why supports break during mid-print can be classified into two categories. This usually happens due to the following factor(s):

Resin Profile Settings.

1. The normal layer exposure time has not been set high enough.
2. The lifting speed is too fast.
3. The light-off delay time is not long enough.

Support Settings:

1. The supports are too thin.
2. The density of the supports are not thick enough.

Z-axis:

1. Bearing sleeve clogged.
2. Z-axis needs lubrication.

Troubleshooting the Supports Breaking Issue

Resolving the support breaking issue may require adjusting several settings, redialing your resin, and then continuing on with adjusting the supports. The following steps are in the order of the most likely cause of the printing issue:

Adjusting the Resin Profile Settings:

1. Check out the official resin profile and make sure you’ve dialed in your resin correctly.
2. Increase the normal layer exposure time by 10%.
3. Lower the lifting speed to 40mm/min.
4. Adjust the light-off delay time according to this calculator.

Adjusting the Support Settings:

1. Increase the supports’ middle diameter.
2. Increase the support density.

Cleaning the Z-axis:

1. Dry clean the z-rod, then use Dry Lube PTFE WD-40 to lubricate the z-rod. Click here to learn more.