New to 3D printing and would love some guidance about windows.

Hey guys! This is my first post on this forum and I would love some guidance from some of you veterans. I work for an Architect, and we are trying to get into 3D model printing for our clients. We just recently purchased the CR-10S Pro v2 and have tried a few test prints. After calibrating it to our liking, we are now trying to model a few test buildings. I have found that a lot of people use the slicing program "Cura" so that is what I downloaded. After trying to get this test building printable, I keep running into the same problem. This problem is that whenever there is a window, the program tries to use supports under the structure to support it obviously, but I'm afraid it would be too much work to cut them out. Is there a better way to print these buildings with windows in them, and what would be your recommendation? I thought maybe there is a way to have an infill that I can pop out easily, but that might not be enough to support the emptiness. Any help would be appreciated, thank you!

For window areas that do not span great distances (think window lintel compared to garage door size), you should be able to get away without using supports. It's called bridges or bridging. I'm not familiar with Cura, so I can't advise where to look in the software to ensure that bridging is turned on.

Another option to consider is to use a slicer such as PrusaSlicer that allows you to place primitives mid-span that would turn a too-long bridge into two or three shorter versions. PrusaSlicer also allows you to "paint" locations to ensure supports or to exclude supports, providing a means to use the built-in support system in place of primitives. My experience with PrusaSlicer supports is that they remove very easily.

yeah, basically either switch supports off or use manual placement.
And as fred said, prusa slicer is much better than cura.

Essentially bridging is always on, so if you remove supports, it will still print.
Usually the worst case is you need to remove a hanging strand or two.
You'll be surpried at exactly how wide a gap can be succesfully bridged.

How large are the model buildings ?

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Originally Posted by curious aardvark

yeah, basically either switch supports off or use manual placement.
And as fred said, prusa slicer is much better than cura.

Essentially bridging is always on, so if you remove supports, it will still print.
Usually the worst case is you need to remove a hanging strand or two.
You'll be surpried at exactly how wide a gap can be succesfully bridged.

How large are the model buildings ?

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The models are relatively small. I will definitely play with sizing, and scales the more I feel comfortable with the programs. Since this post, and per the advice of you and Fred, I have switched over to Prusa's slicer. I haven't had any problems with it yet, and it has been printing my windows with no supports as you both had mentioned. Time will tell as I keep enlarging my models, but for now I really do appreciate both of your answers.

You can usually get at least 2 inches before bridging starts to sag significantly.
The better the part cooling - the further you can bridge, as the faster the extruded filament is cooled, the further you can print straight out :-)

Glad we could help :-)

Also consider to use one of the many bridging test models available on the 'net. I'd imagine that Prusa has some in its library, and I know for certain that Thingiverse does as well.

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Originally Posted by fred_dot_u

Also consider to use one of the many bridging test models available on the 'net. I'd imagine that Prusa has some in its library, and I know for certain that Thingiverse does as well.

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Right on. I'll browse a bit and see what I can find.

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Originally Posted by fred_dot_u

Also consider to use one of the many bridging test models available on the 'net. I'd imagine that Prusa has some in its library, and I know for certain that Thingiverse does as well.

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After a few successful prints, I am running into a problem, and I believe its the settings in my slicer. On one of the models, it starts an area, and then goes up three layers. It then goes to a second area but tries printing on the first layer. Because the extruder is already on the third layer, it doesn't stick to the bed, resulting in a failed print. Is there a setting in which I can make it print layer by layer? So start at the first layer and do the entire print through the first layer, and then go up to the second? I feel like it has defaulted to that in prior prints but this one has been a hassle. (I am using Prusa Slicer)

Take a look into settings, ensure you have selected Advanced from the upper right.

Print Settings, Output options.

Is the box for Individual Objects selected? That should be off unless you are certain of placement and collision.

When you use the scrubber in the preview, does it present on the screen the same thing you're seeing on the bed?

So I figured it out.... sort of. I looked at the preview and I now see that there are a few layers that are below everything else. So the main platform is actually three layers above the starting point. Is there a way to remove a few layers in the slicer program?

If the model is as you describe, sliced in this manner, there's something wrong with the model.