Bridging Test

thingiverse

The two major factors that come into play when printing a good bridge are Temperature and Print Speed. The lower both of these respective values are, the better your bridges are likely to succeed. This project's goal is to test prints very fast, with the full test expected to print in under 45 minutes. This model is fully parameterized if you have Inventor. ## Contents This project contains two .stl files that are ready to be sliced and printed: bridgeTest.stl, a complete test with 4 different lengths; oneBridge.stl, containing only the longest of the bridges at 25mm. The other file is bridgeTest.ipt, a parameterized Inventor file for changing the parameters of the test. ## Goals of This Print This print is designed to be fast, helping you troubleshoot any issues your printer may encounter as your bridges increase in length. By default, the bridge spans are 10mm, 15mm, 20mm, and 25 mm. The bridge is also set to be 3mm above the print bed by default. ## Speed If your speed is off, it will be very obvious. Over extrusion means that you have a bridge that may sag lower than it should, causing structural and visual issues above the bridge for a few layers before your printer hopefully recovers. Under extrusion can cause your bridge to break in the middle of the process, leading to a huge mess under the bridge. ## Temperature The key element in bridging is cooling melted plastic in place while it is suspended in the air. This means that you need to make sure your temperature isn't higher than its required value and that your print head fans are running at full speed to ensure the filament hardens as quickly as possible once it leaves the print head. ## Print Settings ### Rafts I didn't use any rafts, but if you're having issues with the print not sticking or if your bed is giving off too much heat, a raft may help. ### Supports Definitely defeats the purpose of this print unless you're testing your support settings. ### Resolution 0.40 mm resolution. ### Infill I would do something low like 10%-15%, more importantly, I would do 3+ exterior shells to ensure that you see how the bridge works with more layers on it. ## Download View this Project on my GitLab at http://bit.ly/AnsonBridgeTest.