From the course: Additive Manufacturing: Tips, Tricks, and Techniques

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Thicker layers

Thicker layers

- [Woman] 3D printing manufacturers often quote the thinnest layer they can produce. This would lead you to think that thinner layers are always better. Thinner layers are better for having a smooth surface, or to create fine detail on the sides of a print. However, you may not always want to try to print with the smallest possible layer lines. For printers that use film in particular, they'll have downsides to printing with very thin layers. First, as with any printing process, the print time goes up with the number of layers. The thinner the layer, the more layers it'll take to create a given print. Thus a print with thicker layers will print faster than one thin ones. Iris and extrusion can also be made worse by using very thin layers. As the amount of plastic coming out of your nozzle fluctuates a little, while the z axis movement is a little inconsistent, this area will be proportionately larger when printing with…

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