Skip to content
FFF: Design for Printing - 3DChimera FFF: Design for Printing - 3DChimera

FFF: Design for Printing

As with all manufacturing processes, you will come across some limitations in terms of what designs are suitable for 3D printing. That being said, we are capable of printing extremely complex geometries that no other process could. As long as we keep our designs within these constraints, we can start to see some pretty incredible parts.


1.Tolerances.  Plastics used in 3D printing have a tendency to shrink or expand slightly when they cool. To account for these slight changes in material properties, we design parts with tolerances of ±0.005”. A clearance of 0.010” allows for a tight fit. A clearance of 0.020” allows for a loose fit.  


tolerances

2. Minimum Wall Thickness & Feature Size. The minimum wall thickness is directly related to your nozzle diameter. On GRR machines, the default nozzle size is 0.040 mm nozzle which corresponds to the minimum wall thickness. A “bad wall” is one that only lays down one bead of plastic. The “minimum stable wall” will lay down two beads and a “better wall” will put down more than two beads.  Bearing this in mind, the minimum feature size is also driven by your nozzle diameter. It must be at least two times the nozzle size. So again, on GRR machines, with a default nozzle size of 0.40 mm, the desired minimum feature size is going to be 0.8 mm (0.031”).

minimum wall thickness

3. Joining Parts. We never have to feel limited by the size of our buildplate. There are several techniques we can use to join parts together for a larger one. One simple and foolproof way to join parts is with spring pins or dowel pins. Designing holes on the joining surfaces would facilitate a smooth connection.


joining parts joining parts 2


4.
 
45° Overhangs. FDM machines are capable of printing overhangs less than 45° without support material. We can take advantage of this fact to redesign mount points in housings, or idealize curvature of parts, to reduce print time and material usage. Adding just a little bit of material can go a long way in simplifying the process.   

overhangs

 

Want to learn how advanced manufacturing can support your business?

More You Might Like

SOLIDWORKS Training Made Easy: What’s Available and How to Use It

We’ve been helping small and medium-sized teams get up and running with SOLIDWORKS for years. One of the biggest struggles we see is when a company buys a license, installs the software, and then gets stuck. MySolidWorks is one of the easiest ways to stay unstuck.

Agility Is the New Advantage: Why Additive Belongs in Your Manufacturing Strategy

When supply chains break, tariffs spike, or customers need answers now, agility becomes your biggest competitive advantage. In this article, we explore how additive manufacturing gives companies the ability to pivot fast, stay flexible, and keep moving, even when everything around them changes.

Tariffs Exposed the Weakness. 3D Scanning Is How You Take Control.

3D scanning isn’t a workaround. It’s a reset button. And when you pair that with reverse engineering, you can rebuild your entire product line without waiting on someone else to hand you the files.
Back to top