In resin 3D printing, stable support structures are critical to a successful print. When supports break during the print process, it can lead to collapsed overhangs, missing layers, and incomplete models. This guide will help you identify the signs of failed supports, understand the underlying causes, and implement effective solutions to improve your success rate.
Problem Overview: What Does a Failed Support Look Like
If you're experiencing any of the following, support breakage may be the culprit:
- Parts of your model are missing or layers are visibly broken
- Overhangs collapse during printing
- Supports detach and fall into the resin vat
- Critical areas with fine details fail to print properly
These issues often occur in models with overhangs, tall structures, or long-duration prints.
Root Causes and Solutions
A. Weak Support Structure Design
Common Issues:
- Too small or thin contact points that detach easily
- Low support density, especially under heavy or long overhangs
- Long, narrow supports that flex or snap during layer separation
Solutions:
- Increase the size of contact points (e.g., from 0.3mm to 0.6mm)
- Boost support density to provide more structural stability
- Manually add strong supports in critical areas, especially beneath overhangs and narrow details
B. Improper Print Settings
Common Issues:
- Inadequate exposure time makes supports brittle and weak
- Insufficient bottom layer exposure causes poor adhesion to the build plate
- Excessive lift speed breaks supports before curing is complete
- Resin temperature is too low, leading to poor adhesion and weak layers
PS: In one case, a model’s waist area failed due to overhang and insufficient exposure. After adding supports and increasing exposure by 0.3s, the print was completed successfully.
Solutions:
- Increase exposure time. Approximately increase by 0.2-0.5s each time and test again.
- The specific time needs to be determined according to the current printing settings.
- Extend bottom layer exposure to ensure strong build plate adhesion
- Lower lift speed (e.g., 40–60 mm/min) to reduce mechanical stress. Castable resin is not recommended to exceed 50mm/min, because the printed parts are very soft and faster speeds may cause breakage.
- Preheat model resin to 20–25°C, 25°C - 35℃ recommended for engineering resins.
C. Poor Model Orientation
Common Issues:
- Printing flat or with a small angle increases the FEP contact area
- Larger cross-sections cause more suction and stress on supports
- Long unsupported spans break without adequate anchor points
Solutions:
- Rotate the model to a 30°–45° angle to minimize peel forces
- Avoid flat orientations whenever possible
- Add extra support to long overhangs and unsupported areas
📌 Resin-Specific Printing Tips
- After using auto-support, manually inspect and reinforce critical zones.
- When printing with black resins, increase exposure time slightly for added support strength.
- For tough or engineering resins like Siraya Tech Blu, Tenacious or soft castable resin, use thicker and denser supports due to higher material stickiness and resistance.
Final Thoughts
Support breakage is one of the most common causes of failed resin prints—but it can be avoided. By improving support design, fine-tuning exposure and lift settings, and properly orienting your model, you can significantly increase your printing success rate and produce higher-quality prints.
If you're still having trouble, we invite you to join the Siraya Tech Community on Facebook to share your settings, print results, and get support from fellow users around the world.
Happy printing!