But when the Bambu HS2 PF003-5 got to the top, the finish
was sort of rough.
Some research led to using what an author called adaptive layer speed.
Exploration in Bambu Studio ver 2.7.1.57 did not produce a variable
called adaptive layer speed but a icon labeled Variable Layer Height
was uncovered.
As shown in the image above, in the Variable Layer Height drop down there are three options
Adaptive Quality/speed with a slide bar presently set at .55
Smooth Radius with slide bar presently set at 5
a Reset button
When the model is chosen and the text ‘Adaptive’ is clicked the dome turns reddish on the sides and green on the top of the dome. To return to state the model had before Adaptive is clicked, Reset is clicked.
What is the function of the Adaptive Quality/speed option and what effect does the slide bar next to Adaptive Quality/speed have on the print?
What is the function Smooth Radius option and what effect does the slide bar next to Smooth radius have on the print?
Can the problem with the top of the dome be solved with these two options?
I usually leave them at the defaults and click on both adaptive and smooth. If that is not smooth enough I have moved the quality/speed tab all the way to the left and radius tab all the way to the right.
The Adaptive Quality/Speed function automatically calculates and varies the layer thickness throughout your model based on its geometry.
Red zones (thicker layers): Applied to vertical or steep walls where thin layers aren’t needed for detail, saving you print time (Speed).
Green zones (thinner layers): Applied to shallow slopes and curves like the top of your dome to make the transitions smoother (Quality).
When the adaptive algorithm changes layer heights, it can sometimes create abrupt jumps (e.g., jumping straight from a 0.2mm layer to a 0.08mm layer). This abrupt change can cause visible lines on the print. The Smooth Radius option blends these transitions together
Yes. This is exactly what the feature was designed for. By shrinking the layer height at the very top of the dome to its absolute minimum (typically 0.08mm or less, depending on your nozzle size), the stair-steps become so tiny they are barely visible or felt.
To apply this for the best result, select your model, click the Variable Layer Height icon, adjust the Adaptive Quality/Speed slider to around 0.75–0.85, keep the Smooth Radius at 5, and click “Adaptive.” After slicing, change the preview color scheme from “Line Type” to “Layer Height” to visually confirm that the top of your dome is mapped with ultra-thin, green layers for a smooth finish.
Here is an example from one of my latest models. The color versions are not using adaptive layer height because of the extreme amount of purge and time it takes to print with it on for a multicolor print, the single-color versions show a much smoother surface (they are using these settings).
No idea what the buttons actually do, presumably some sort of guess, but if you click your mouse left or right on the visualizer gutter on the right side of the screen, you can control layer height up or down for that Z height.
But re: your aesthetics, silk is a notorious little ■■■■■ for having uneven finish for uneven printing types, and on your dome, the visible portion goes from seeing “only the outer edge of an outer wall” on the bottom to “the entire flat outer wall’s top flat part, portions of the inner wall, and eventually top surface as well” You should be able to anticipate the look from the preview pane’s “Line Type” visualizer.
I’d start first by clamping the Speed of all your lines to the same exact speed, and ensure the various “pattern” types are set to [IMO] concentric. “Only one wall on top surface” and its threshhold values will also impact the exact appearance of the top of the dome.
Just to add an often overlooked feature regarding variable layer height:
In the device settings (hover the mouse over the printer symbol in the upper left until the edit icon appears, then click it), in the Extruder section, you can change the effective min/max layer heights for variable layer height.
I have run min layer height trials successfully down to 0.03mm. To be on the safe side, I tend to stick to 0.04mm nowadays (although the color mixing feature uses sub-layer heights down to 0.02mm but it can lead to issues due to speed increases which are neccessary at these layer heights).
Going down below the defaults will significantly improve Silk appearance at the cost of print time.
It was also important to note that the post was originally made with the printer community and the key was to ask the question with the printer software community.
The slider trades overal print speed (i.e. time to completion rather than printing speeds) with quality (i.e. lower layer heights, longer print duration as speeds are maintained).
Note that after applying, a layer height illustration appears on the right. Left/right clicking it gives the opportunity of local manual control.
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