Using Set of Supports for Sintering in Additive Manufacturing

Selin Cinemre January 14, 2025

2 min read

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Learn how to create and optimize support structures in Autodesk Fusion to enhance the sintering process. This guide covers everything from setup to generating and managing supports, ensuring your parts maintain precision and quality during additive manufacturing.

Supporting part during sintering is an important process in additive manufacturing as it ensures the quality and precision of parts. The following tutorial describes how the “Set of Supports” feature in Autodesk Fusion will be used in generating functional support structures for parts that are sintered in a furnace. Even though you may not have watched the video tutorial.

What are set of supports?

“Set of Supports” in Fusion act as cradles for your parts during the sintering process. By reducing warping and distortion, these supports ensure your parts maintain their intended shape and structural integrity. This feature is compatible with various additive manufacturing technologies, including:

For this guide, we’ll focus on using a HP Metal Jet printer.

Preparing your setup

Step 1: Install the HP 3D printer add-in

First download and install the HP 3D Printer add-in from the Autodesk Fusion App Store. This tool streamlines the connection between Fusion and your HP hardware, enabling seamless additive setups.

Step 2: Activate the add-in

After installing the add-in:

  1. Launch Autodesk Fusion and navigate to the Design Workspace.
  2. Look for the Create HP Setup icon in the toolbar.
  3. Use this tool to select your desired HP printer and quickly establish an additive manufacturing setup.

Creating set of supports

Step 1: Position your part

Before generating supports, ensure that your part is correctly placed with enough space to accommodate the support structures.

Step 2: Generate the supports

  1. Go to the Supports tab in the toolbar.
  2. Select Set of Supports.
  3. Highlight the solid bodies or components that need support during sintering.
  4. Fusion will automatically create support structures based on the geometry of your model.

Step 3: Adjust support settings

For optimal results, configure the support parameters. In this example:

Separating supports for independent printing

To print the part and its supports independently:

  1. Navigate to the Modify toolbar group.
  2. Select Split Supports.
  3. Choose the body associated with the supports.
  4. Change the operation to Merge and New Components.
  5. Use the Additive Arrange command to place the part and supports side by side.

Sending the job to your printer

Once your setup is complete, you can:

  1. Use the Send To SmartStream or Connect and Print options in the HP add-in.
  2. Connect to your printer and send the job remotely.

Sintering simplifies the process ensures your parts are well-supported and accurately produced. By mastering this process, you can optimize your additive manufacturing workflow and achieve high-quality results every time.

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