Optimising Makerbot Print Settings
Some custom settings in Makerbot Print can reduce print time significantly to get faster results if you do not require high levels of detail.
The following settings will result in a reduced print time. The use of the minfill print mode will reduce print time but due to the way that Makerbot resolves 3D infill patterns, this setting fails 99% of the time. Once this feature has been fixed these settings may become redundant.
You can download various acceptable print settings to suit your needs here and the following adjustment can be made for speeding up printing time.
Setting | Reducing Print Time | Limit |
Infill Density | Decrease | Minimum 7% |
Support Angle | Increase | Maximum 65° |
Support Density | Decrease | Minimum 10% |
Support Under Bridging | Turn Off | Spans < 15mm |
Layer Height (Shell) | Increase | Maximum 0.3 mm |
Layer Height (Infill) | Increase | Maximum 0.3 mm |
Orientation | Minimise overhangs | - |
Bed Layout | Compact your geometry | Minimum 1mm margin between geometry |
- Reduce infill density to 7%
- The default infill density for balanced prints is 10%, however it can be reduced to 7% to save print time.
- Increase Shell Layer Height to 0.3 mm
- The default infill density for balanced prints is 0.2 mm, in theory this change alone will reduce print time by roughly 1/3
- Double Check that the Infill Layer Height has also changed to 0.3 mm
- Reduce Support Density to 10%
- Makerbot's default support density of 16% is easy to remove and provides adequate support for overhangs, however a small tweak down to 10% will provide adequate enough support for these objects.
- Alter the support angle to 65°
- Only areas that make an angle to the Z-Axis greater than this number will have supports generated.
- Bridging can be turned off so less support material is generated, this is only recommended if there are areas with small spans only.
Generally, a smaller object footprint will reduce print time. Students should also pay mind to orientation to reduce the support material required.
Figure 0.1 - Object Orientation will change the amount of support material required
Remember that you can always refer to our design guidelines to better understand orientation.
Reducing the space between objects will also reduce print time. The print-head or extruder of a 3d printer will need to move in-between objects. Reducing the distance the extruder needs to move will reduce the overall print time. Make a judgement call with regards to this setting. If a reduced spacing between objects will result in a singular raft, this will increase the likelihood of warping. Particularly with a long print.
Figure 0.2 - Large spaces in between objects can increase travel, and therefore print time
If the model only requires point supports, custom supports in Meshmixer can also be used to reduce print times. Check out this page to learn more.
Figure 0.0 - Easily Achieve Significant Print-Time Reductions (Madeleine Thorpe)
Last modified 2yr ago