Now that I’ve been using my H2D and Studio for a few months, I’ve learned a bit more about infills. But I’d like to hear from those more knowledgeable, for my prototype prints (not concerned about strength, just used to ensure fit and measurements are correct), what infill and density % would you recommend in order to save filament & print time?
In my opinion, lightning infill is the best for this use case. It’s basically just sparse internal supports, using almost no filament, but it also provides almost no internal strength. You can just use the default infill density because of how little filament lightning uses.
I’m no expert, but the issue I’ve run into with this theory (less infill, or any difference in print settings) is that it all affects the final dimensions/tolerances and how the thing will print in general. For infill specifically, it changes the shrinkage factor of the whole piece, among other possible differences, like top surface quality (if it has to cover the sparse infill)… it’s a fairly key aspect. YMMV of course, and depends on the part and what the goals are.
-Max
1 Like
For my test fit prints I import the part into the slicer and slice the prints up into pieces which just cover the fit area. For example if I have a butt joint 200mm long on a really big part, I dont print the part, I just cut out a section of the male and female joint sides, maybe 60mm long with a small section of body so its no more flexible than it will be when I do the real print. It has worked well for me so far.
I dont edit the infill because I have had issues with infill bulging through my walls and I want to check for that type of thing also when I do my test prints.
Im still wasting material printing test fit parts, but I hope eventually I’ll have enough experience to know the tolerances to design in. For example, I know I need .125mm for PLA.
1 Like