Water-Soluble PVA and HIPS Support Materials

Manually removing support structures from parts with complex geometries is both difficult and leaves marks on the surface. Soluble support materials used in dual-extruder printers solve this problem at its root.

PVA is water-soluble: when the part is left in warm water for a few hours, the supports dissolve completely and perfect surfaces remain. It is compatible with PLA and PETG. HIPS dissolves in a limonene solution and pairs perfectly with ABS; it can also be used on its own as a lightweight, impact-resistant printing material.

Soluble supports make it possible to print designs that seem “unprintable” — such as interlocking mechanisms, parts with internal channels, and organic forms.