PVA and HIPS - Support and Soluble Materials
Print supports that easily remove without model damage.
Soluble materials enable complex prints without manual support removal:
💧 PVA (Polyvinyl Alcohol) – dissolves in water: • White or transparent color • Print as support, soak in warm water for 2–8 hours after printing • Compatible with: PLA (best), PETG (conditionally) • Print temperature: 170–190 °C • Must be dried before printing (extremely hygroscopic) • Advantage: Clean water, no chemicals
🧪 HIPS (High Impact Polystyrene) – dissolves in limonene: • White or natural color • Compatible with: ABS (same print temperature) • Print temperature: 230–245 °C • d-Limonene – citrus solvent, relatively safe • Dissolving time: 30–60 minutes for thin supports • HIPS alone is an excellent material even without support use
⚙️ Multi-material printing settings: • Set Z separation distance: 0.1–0.15 mm for easy separation • Purge tower required to eliminate color contamination • Hotend 2 temperature must match the support material
💡 Alternative without second nozzle: • BreakAway from Ultimaker – mechanically breaks off • Paper inserts between model and supports (emergency solution)