This is really a newbie question as opposed to a problem. I have noticed a lot of models have their main “object” on a slant, with lots of supports underneath. I am curious why one would do this rather than leaving it flat on the bed. for example:
That looks like a resin print. I have never used a resin printer, but I have noticed, like you, that many resin prints seem to require supports. I don’t know why.
I can’t speak to resin prints, but for FDM prints tend to be stronger in the direction of the layers lines. I believe CNC Kitchen has some YouTube videos on this.
Totally. Grain orientation is vital to many prints. Decorative miniatures and other non-functional prints don’t care so much about the grain, but I think most functional prints can benefit from optimized orientation.
For example, under Pictures of my builds, I post about a mouth guard box I created for my brother in Florida. On a video call with him a couple of weeks ago he mentioned that he and a neighbor were talking about their need to use a mouth guard while asleep. He showed his neighbor his box. Now, his neighbor wants 1.
I asked about what parts of the box could be improved. My brother said the weakest part of the design was the latch. It was printed as an integral part of the design. This meant that the force to unlatch the box is across the grain: i.e. the weakest direction. So, I have redesigned the box to have a slot, into a which latch piece can be inserted and glued. The latch itself will be printed separately, laying on its side. That will change the grain direction by 90 degrees, placing the direction of the unlatching force against the strongest direction.