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submitted 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) by PrintAltDelete@forum.guncadindex.com to c/help@forum.guncadindex.com

Hey guys, I’ve just completed my first prints. The top surfaces and sides came out really good, but the undersides came out a little rough. Especially where supports were, what’s the accepted standards for cleaning these areas up? Sandpaper, files, dremel?

What settings should I be looking at to make my next prints even better in these areas?

My setup: Qidi xplus3 Sunlu PLA + 2.0 (using its default filament profile in orca) @ 230/60 300blkfde’s orca/machine settings. 12 walls, 80% infill. Layer height: .2 Support distances: .19

I appreciate the feedback!

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[-] outlaw21k@forum.guncadindex.com 1 points 2 days ago

I've noticed that Sunlu's PLA 2.0 is a game changer. My best results with sanding was something I got from a 3D printing cosplayer that she uses an electric footsander. You can control the speed and direction of the wheel turning. It's not too harsh, so you won't take off too much material at once, and you do only a little at a time. The tool is small, so it's not that hard to get into some of the smaller areas. Just wear eye and mask protection from not getting the particles in your lungs. Nasty business from what I'm told.

Overall it looks very clean. I have printed my last 2 in .16 layer height, it adds like 2-3 hours but you see less of the lines when you take off the supports.

Interesting, I’ll have to look into the foot sanding deal, hadn’t heard of that.

I’ll also try out the .16 layer lines and see if that helps on the supports.

Thanks for the tips.

Few more pics of this lower. Overall I’m very impressed with how it came out for my first 2A print, even with the roughness on where the supports were.

I started working on them this evening a little by sanding with some mini files lightly. I think going slow and easy with the files and then some light finish sanding with sandpaper will clean them up pretty well.

[-] WolfLink@sh.itjust.works 2 points 5 days ago

That looks pretty good!

If you decide to sand it, don’t do it too much and wear a mask. The particles that result from that sanding aren’t great.

There are some acetone based approaches too.

Personally I just don’t try to clean it up more than that, and if you really need the part to be pristinely clean, I prototype myself and then buy a final print from a professional 3D printing company.

[-] StarvingMartist@sh.itjust.works 4 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Acetone doesn't work for PLA

Noted, thanks for the heads up.

I’ll post a pic of the top and sides cus I feel they turned out really good for my first go. Was just a bit put off by the undersides and support surfaces. These will just be range toys and to have fun projects to work with. Nothing serious enough for a professional print. That’s cool though, didn’t know you could do such a thing.

There are prints you can use to calibrate the support interface distance and it's specific to your layer height. They are available in bambu software but I imagine you can use them in orca slicer for your specific printer. You can select each tower with a different distance. It's not a long print.

The sides nearest the base I've seen those artifacts recently. Too harsh of an overhang angle that supports seldom fix unless they are basically fusing with the model and you use a different material as the support. You can also change the print orientation to minimize the overhangs but with PLA+ you don't wanna deviate too much from the reccomended. With nylon you can do whatever you want because the layer adhesion is great.

Any advice on tweaks I could make to correct it? And yea I’ve been cautious to not mess with any of the orientation on the plate. Read early on in my research to generally not change the plate setups if at all possible.

I’ll definitely look into that!

[-] StarvingMartist@sh.itjust.works 1 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

I've had good luck with an orbital sander, but it's going to be a bitch what ever post processing your going to do

Yea I’m still not sure. I gotta clean some of it up as it still has little bits of supports stuck in places. This pic was after just popping all the supports off.

this post was submitted on 02 Dec 2025
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