In this blog, we will discuss ways to become more efficient by increasing the 3D printing speed.
Printing speed is one of the most important factors when it comes to part productivity.
This time, we'll look into several strategies that can increase the 3D printing speed.
1. Reduce the support material usage
First, the user can consider to reduce the amount of support material usage by modifying the design of the printing output or by adjusting the print direction.
The reduction of support material usage will decrease the support printing time, hence decrease the overall printing time.
How can the user reduce support material usage from the type A530?
The 'Support Overhang Angle' option from the slicing setting of Weaver3 Studio is the option that will make this happen.
The overhang angle refers to the angle between the outer surface of the 3D printing model and the bed plate.
Overhang angle is the angle between the model surface and bed plate
In the Weaver3 Studio, the support is generated for faces inclined below the default overhang angle setting of 45°.
Therefore, no support is generated for faces erected at 45° or higher.
Support generated when the overhang angle is 45° or below (but not in opposite angle cases)
Therefore, when designing the 3D model to print, it is recommended to design the model with an angle facing more than 45° or more from the bottom surface.
In addition, when slicing the model, it is more efficient to rotate the model so that the angle is facing more than 45° or more from the bottom surface.
2. Print multiple 3D models together
When the user initiates the printing job with the 3D printer, the printer will not start the printing job as soon as the machine receives the order.
Instead, the printer will prepare the printing job by heating the chamber, nozzle, and bed, as well as cleaning the nozzle, and positioning the bed.
If the part printing is being executed one by one, the user will lose recurring print preparation time throughout every printing job.
Similar sizing parts can be printed together to increase productivity
By printing multiple parts at once, the user can increase the speed by reducing the time for overall part production.
3. Increase the layer thickness
One of the basic principles in 3D printing is stacking, layer by layer, to add height.
The increase in thickness, by stacking the layers, can result in an increase in speed of the 3D printing job.
As the layer gets thicker, the printing speed becomes faster.
However, when increasing layer thickness, the user also needs to consider the diameter of the nozzle (where the filament material is being melted and extruded).
The maximum thickness of the filament material that can be printed out at once is the nozzle diameter.
So, if the layer thickness is set being higher than the nozzle diameter, the printing job will fail.
Also, setting a layer thickness level similar to the nozzle diameter, may cause the print quality to deteriorate due to insufficient adhesion between each layer.
Hence, when using the type A530 proprietary filament, it is recommended to print with the default setting.
4. Reduce infill density
The FFF-type 3D printer wraps the outside of the shape in the form of a wall and fills the inside with a grid of various patterns.
At this point, the user can set different infill densities.
Naturally, as the density increases, the amount of material used to fill the interior increases, and it will result in a longer printing time.
However, if the infill density is lowered too much, the amount of internal filling is reduced, which weakens the strength of the printed model and is prone to deformation.
Infill density 10% (right) prints faster than density 30% (left).
Along with layer thickness, infill density is important for the correct balance between printing speed and printing quality.