Wall thickness refers to the distance between a surface to its corresponding surface. Generally speaking, the thicker the wall thickness of 3D printing, the greater the hardness and strength of the parts.
The specific wall thickness should be determined according to the actual situation.
When the wall is too thick:
1. More materials will be used, and the price will be more expensive.
2. The greater the thermal stress generated, which is likely to lead to cracks or fractures.
When the wall is too thin:
1. May not be able to print, and holes will appear.
2. Parts may be able to use due to insufficient strength.
Different materials and different printing techniques will both affect the wall appropriate thickness.
Techniques:
1. FDM: >=1.2mm
Suitable thickness: 1.2mm-2.5mm; recommend at 2mm
2. SLA: >=1.0mm
Suitable thickness: 1.0mm-2mm; recommend at 2mm
Materials:
1. Stronger materials, such as Alumide, Sculpteo (Plastic): >=1.0mm
2. Other softer materials, such as Sculpteo (Multi-color material): preferably above 2mm
3. PLA/ABS (Plastic): >=1.0mm
4. Photosensitive resin, high-precision ABS, PC: >=1.5mm
5. Flexible PLA, full-color sandstone, metal (such as stainless steel/ gold-plated), etc: preferably above 2mm.
Model size:
Wall thickness has a lot to do with model size. The larger the size, the greater the minimum wall thickness required. for example:
When using stainless steel, the vertical wall thickness of 5mm2 only needs 0.3mm, the vertical wall thickness of 100mm2 is at least 1mm, and the horizontal wall thickness of 100mm2 needs 2mm wall thickness;
If the printing material is brittle ( such as ceramic ), a size close to 50mm × 50mm × 50mm object acceptable minimum wall thickness of 3mm; the minimum wall thickness of 100mm × 100mm × 100mm model needs 6mm. For larger models, we recommend a wall thickness greater than 6mm.
3D printing is based on a three-dimensional model drawing. What to do if it can't print because the wall thickness in the model drawing is too thin/too thick when printing?
1. Adjust the wall thickness data in the 3D model file in stl format, the thickness is based on the actual production situation.
2. The minimum and maximum wall thickness of different materials are different, as a result, if there is no specific requirement for the material, the problem can be solved by changing the printing material.
