Layer Height, Supports, Infill, and Print Settings

Private: 3D Printing Fundamentals.

🧩 Lesson: Layer Height, Supports, Infill, and Print Settings

🖨️ Focus: Understanding the core slicer settings that control the quality, strength, and speed of your 3D prints

✅ Summary

Slicer settings like layer height, support structures, infill patterns, and general print parameters determine how your model prints and performs. This lesson breaks down each setting to help students understand how to achieve the best results for different applications—from decorative prints to structural prototypes.

🎯 Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, learners will be able to:

Define and adjust layer height for resolution and speed trade-offs
Configure support generation for overhangs and complex geometry
Choose appropriate infill patterns and density based on model usage
Tweak print settings (speed, temperature, shell thickness) for quality and material compatibility
Recognize how these settings interact and influence print success

📘 Lesson

🟪 1. Layer Height – Print Resolution

Definition: Layer height is the vertical thickness of each individual layer your printer lays down.

Standard FDM range: 0.12 mm – 0.3 mm
Typical SLA range: 0.025 mm – 0.1 mm

Layer Height	Print Speed	Detail	Use Case
0.3 mm	Very fast	Low	Drafts, prototypes
0.2 mm	Balanced	Medium	Functional prints, general use
0.1 mm	Slower	High	Detailed models, miniatures
0.05 mm	Very slow	Ultra	Resin prints, precision parts

🔍 Tip: Lower layer heights = better detail but longer print times.

🟧 2. Supports – Printing Overhangs and Bridges

Supports are temporary structures that allow the printer to handle steep angles, bridges, or floating features.

Overhang threshold: Usually anything > 45° from vertical
Bridge: Horizontal spans across empty space

Types of Supports:

Normal/Linear: Stronger but uses more filament
Tree-style (in Cura): Saves material and easier to remove
Custom/manual: Best for delicate models (available in PrusaSlicer, Chitubox, etc.)

Support Settings:

Overhang angle threshold (e.g., 45°)
Support density: More dense = better support but harder to remove
Z-distance: Gap between model and support; too low = stuck, too high = droopy

🛠️ For SLA: Always tilt the model and manually place supports under islands or overhangs to avoid suction failure and warping.

🟨 3. Infill – Internal Structure of Your Print

Infill affects strength, weight, material use, and print speed.

Infill %	Strength	Use Case
0–15%	Weak	Visual models, display items
20–35%	Medium	Light-use parts
40–60%	Strong	Functional parts, gadgets
70–100%	Very strong	Load-bearing tools, mounts

Infill Patterns:

Grid: Fast and decent strength
Cubic: 3D strength, good for stress
Gyroid: Even strength, visually appealing
Lines/Triangle: Quick prints with moderate durability

📌 More infill = longer print time and more material. Try balancing with thicker walls instead.

🟩 4. Shells, Speed, and Temperature Settings

🛡️ Shells (Walls):

Wall count: 2–4 recommended
Wall thickness: Should be a multiple of nozzle diameter (e.g., 0.8 mm for 0.4 mm nozzle)

⚡ Print Speed:

Standard speed: 40–60 mm/s
High speed: 80–150 mm/s (with Klipper or CoreXY printers)
Slower speeds = better detail, fewer errors

🌡️ Temperature:

Depends on filament type (FDM) or resin brand (SLA)

Material	Nozzle Temp	Bed Temp
PLA	190–220°C	50–60°C
PETG	220–250°C	70–85°C
ABS	230–260°C	90–110°C
Resin	Depends on printer LCD exposure time and resin brand

🧠 Summary

These core slicer settings form the foundation of every successful print. Understanding how they work together helps you achieve: