3D Printer Settings

It was at this point I got completely lost in 3D printing settings. There are an almost infinite number of combinations when it comes to print settings, which makes it a bit of a headache to understand how to get the best result from the 3D printer. I decided to dedicate some time to the different settings that I could implement in my prints. The next four categories I try and explain as basically as possible, there are many helpful videos that helped me grasp them which I will reference at the end.

Nozzle Size

I tried first to increase the nozzle size to save time. Nozzle size impacts how much filament (material) is pushed out of the nozzle at a time, the larger the hole the more material. This massively impacts how a print looks and how fast it can be made. Normally the larger the nozzle the faster the print. I found the 0.8mm the best.

Temperature

For the PLA filament to melt and form into a melted bead of workable material it needs to be hot enough. The optimal temperature can be hard to find depending on the size nozzle you are using and how fast the print happening. Typically with a 0.8mm nozzle, I found 220 degrees to be optimal.

Height and Widths

When the extruded PLA comes out of the printing nozzle it comes out at a set size (0.8mm), but it needs the 3D printer to determine the height and width it is laid down for the print. You need to find the right ratio, typically you want the width to be more than the height, this ensures you have good layer adhesion.

Time and Speed

Time and speed are crucial and took me a while to understand. To put it simply the ticker the extrusion of PLA the slower the print. Initially, I did not slow the printing down when changing to a wider nozzle, this led to very poor layer adhesion. The slower the better, but not too slow as the total print time will be too high.