One of the most common inquiries made within 3D printing forums and communities is how to increase 3D printing speed. 3D printing is generally considered to be slow by many. If you’re a 3D printing enthusiast, you may be on the hunt for the fastest 3D printer you can get. Below we discuss 3D printing speed.
How Fast is 3D Printing?
Using a fast 3D printer can greatly increase your production rate. You can achieve much more in less time. The actual time taken to print a 3D model will depend on various factors including the size of the print, the infill pattern, the infill density and the layer thickness. In general, 3D printing can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours to complete. There are some prints that may even take days to complete depending on their size and complexity.
There are several factors that affect printing speed. These include:
- The resolution of the printed part
The resolution is determined by the thickness of the layers used. Thinner layers mean that you can achieve greater detail in your work. However, if you use thinner layers you will need to use more layers. This means a lower printing speed. For example, a print with 50 micron layers will require twice as much time to print as if the print had 100 micron layers.
- 3D printer technology
The printing technology used will greatly influence the speed of the printer. Many manufacturers are now looking into increasing printing speed to meet the demand for fast 3D printing machines. Snapmakers’ 3 in 1 3D printer for example is designed for high speed printing. The printer is compatible with a wide range of filaments. This printer is easily one of the best 3D printers as it saves you time without compromising on the quality of the prints.
- Size of the print
This is fairly obvious. Larger prints take a longer time to print than smaller prints. The details on the print will also affect the printing speed. A printer with lots of fine and complex details will take longer to print.
Tips to Increase Printing Speed and Save Even More Time
Snapmaker is known for making the best 3 in 1 printer. This is also one of the fastest 3D printers currently available in the market. Investing in a fast 3D printer like this one from Snapmaker will save you time without compromising on quality. However, there are several things you can do to increase the 3D printing speed even more. If you’re yet to invest in a fast 3D printer, you can apply the tips below to your current printer too.
- Increase the speed settings on your 3D printer
This is one of the most common and obvious ways to increase speed when it comes to 3D printing. Check the printing speed range that your printer can achieve. This is a figure given in mm/s. While it can be tempting to set it to the highest speed, you may end up sacrificing quality for speed. You will therefore have to find a balance between speed and performance. This will mean running several tests at different speed settings.
- Use higher temperature settings
Another easy way to increase the printing speed is to adjust the temperature to a higher setting. This may not increase the speed of the slicer but will reduce the total time spent printing. Using a higher temperature setting will help to melt filaments much faster. It will also mean that the filament is much easier to extrude.
You should be careful when it comes to temperature. Using a higher temperature can make it harder to achieve details in your model. Higher temperatures may also not be ideal when working with some types of filaments. It is therefore important to take the time to play around with your temperature settings and find the ideal conditions to work with for faster printing.
- Change your infill settings
The infill is important for the structural integrity of the 3D print. You can save on both time and materials by adjusting your infill settings. There are two infill settings that you can adjust to improve the printing speed. The first is the infill pattern. Choose a pattern that is not only strong but requires less movement to achieve. Simple patterns such as rectilinear patterns require minimal movements and can save you a lot of time in 3D printing without compromising the structural integrity of your prints.
You can also play around with the infill density. A 3D print with 100% infill density (or a solid form) is not that much stronger than a print with 70% infill density. However, printing a solid form will require more time and material. You can achieve balance by experimenting with different infill patterns and densities.
- Print several parts or prints as a batch
While this won’t increase the speed of your 3D printer, it will reduce the overall time spent 3D printing. You won’t have to go through the process of resetting and reheating the printer when you print as many parts of pieces in the same printing cycle.
This will take some planning. If you’re working with huge models, consider splitting them into smaller parts. This will reduce the amount of time required to print.
- Use a higher travel speed
Travel speed is the speed with which a 3D printer head moves from one position to another without extruding material. Using a higher travel speed setting will reduce the print time significantly. However, you can run into problems such as ghosting and layer shifting. It is therefore important to run several tests at different speeds to determine the optimal settings.
- Use a larger nozzle
This will increase the volume of material extruded. However, it can result in poor quality prints. You can achieve better quality prints with a larger nozzle by adjusting the layer height settings.
Being able to print faster will help to improve your production. However, it is important not to sacrifice quality in the quest for speed.