1 Topic by knightshade

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Topic: Minimum Layer Height?

I'm fairly new to 3d printers - and trying to decide what printer that I might want to consider.

Solidoodle's low entry price has it's appeal - but I'm curious how it's print quality compares.

I read that it's typical layer height is .3mm, but that .1mm (100 microns) is possible.

A few other printers that I've looked at are capable of smaller layer heights (I've seen as low as 20 microns).

While such resolution wouldn't be practical for larger prints, my impression is that it might be useful for smaller parts with less post-processing being required.


I'm curious - is the 100 micron as fine of a Z-axis resolution as the solidoodle is capable of, or is it just the smallest of the provided/tested profiles?

2 Reply by justsomeguy (edited by justsomeguy 2013-05-16 19:12:50)

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Re: Minimum Layer Height?

I've printed at .05mm layer height with my Solidoodle.  I've seen at least one other person make the same claim.  Posted crappy pics in the STL Sharing & Print Showoff section.  You'll need to get it nicely dialed in first though.


PS  Note to self.  Try a 20 micron print or maybe even 15.  LOL

3 Reply by knightshade

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Re: Minimum Layer Height?

Thanks for the feedback....
I'll look for the pics.

Out of curiosity which Solidoodle?

4 Reply by Lurkios

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Re: Minimum Layer Height?

By the time you've gotten down that small doesn't nozzle size and expansion of the extruded material become the limiting factor as far as accuracy is concerned?

I wonder if the expansion is predictable enough that it can be taken into account... Can always get a smaller nozzle.

5 Reply by justsomeguy

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Re: Minimum Layer Height?

Lurkios wrote:

By the time you've gotten down that small doesn't nozzle size and expansion of the extruded material become the limiting factor as far as accuracy is concerned?

I wonder if the expansion is predictable enough that it can be taken into account... Can always get a smaller nozzle.

Brighter minds may correct me but I believe that's only a concern on the X and Y axes. My .05 prints are the same size (by eyeball) as my .1 and .3 prints and have many more layers. 

Solidoodle 2 by the way.  My Tree Frog thread also lists what mods and calibrations I've done to get there.

6 Reply by Shameless

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Re: Minimum Layer Height?

I forget where, I think it was Ian's blog, mentioned how for a .35mm nozzle diameter you want a thread width of .42mm for whatever layer height you choose. This limits some of the resolution, so for example I can't slice the Eiffel Tower STL at .1mm because the beams are too thin for me and it just comes out as random floating points. Other than that, the only difference I experienced moving to .1mm is difficulty bridging, which I'm going to see if the mounted fan on the extruder can help resolve.

7 Reply by 2n2r5

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Re: Minimum Layer Height?

justsomeguy wrote:

I've printed at .05mm layer height with my Solidoodle.  I've seen at least one other person make the same claim.  Posted crappy pics in the STL Sharing & Print Showoff section.  You'll need to get it nicely dialed in first though.


PS  Note to self.  Try a 20 micron print or maybe even 15.  LOL

I have done the same thing. I made a 1/10th scale tree frog with it. I can't find the one that came out really well but here is one that I printed by itself. This was before having a fan it overheated a bit.

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