Slicer won't bridge this gap nicely ????

[reffoxel]

I'm completely new to 3d printing, to be perfectly honest I have a velleman k8200 which we just put together but haven't printed anything yet. (bad thermsisters sp?) so please forgive my ignorance. I was wondering if you changed the orientation of the model so when it printed, it printed the slot facing up wouldn't that eliminate the need to bridge the gap?

[Roxy]

I'm completely new to 3d printing, to be perfectly honest I have a velleman k8200 which we just put together but haven't printed anything yet. (bad thermsisters sp?) so please forgive my ignorance. I was wondering if you changed the orientation of the model so when it printed, it printed the slot facing up wouldn't that eliminate the need to bridge the gap?

As it turns out... For the sample piece: "Yes!!! You could re-orientate it to avoid the need for a bridge." What I did was cut out the small section of what I was doing so the problem could be duplicated easier. (And since that time, we have had several experimental releases of the Slic3r program. The last one fixes the problem!)

But in reality, the answer is "No!" This section was cut out of this gear set. And pretty much, it needs to be orientated this way to print. The actual problem with bridging wasn't with the nut-trap. It was in other places where gear teeth needed to be supported.

The one small gear without support material is included just so you can see what it looks like. The other small gear with support material is designed to have the support material break away. The big gear is driven by a worm gear and the teeth on the upper side are right at the limit of what can be done.

If you want to see how difficult of a part your printer can handle... This .STL will put it right at the edge!