21 Tips for Quality 3D Printing: Tested With My Experience!

The important thing of 3D printing is Quality. We have to follow many things to maintain the best quality. It is better to pay attention to quality since switching on the printer for printing.

Here you are guided for the quality 3d printing process throughout 21 steps. These all factors finally aim to the quality of the 3D printing.

01. Be Familiar With 3D Modeling

To make any object or product using 3D modeling software you may have a piece of better knowledge. So how this is very important to your 3D printing job. You may design a 3D object using software or download it online. If you can make it yourself it is great. After you import to the Slicing software you can see some parts are not connected well.

You can see some errors there. So if you have good knowledge about 3D modeling you can fix it easily. That kind of issues can is fixed with the Slicer. Hence we need Some knowledge about 3D modeling. It is enough to know the basic thing of the 3d modeling and export it as a . STL file type.

02. Be a G-Code Profession

The 3D printer is a numeric control machine. The instructions are written in the G-code language. It is the way to communicate 3D models and printers. Each part is moving according to the G-code. Hence G-code is very important.

Writing G code based on the Slicer Software is mainly used in FDM type printers. It s a language to command the 3D printer. So you should know how to read and write them.

Here is the basic commands of the G-code and you can check more. G code is generated with the Slicer Software. So it is very important to know everything about the Slicer. The slicer first divides the object as a stack of flat layers followed by describing these layers as liners as linear movements of the 3D printer extruder. There is much slicing software. You should be a good user with G code as well as Slicer software.

The above two TIPS are the basic thing that you should know about 3D printing. if you don’t know it. You have to get help. And hereafter things are mainly based on the 3D printing process.

Read More About – What is 3D Printing? – 11 Facts You Should Know!

03. Check the Bed Level Before Start 3D Printing

Without having a well-leveled 3D printing bed You are unable to do the process properly. Remember to clean the bed before you start 3D printing with Isopropyl Alcohol where it can be removed the dust and many particles. So after that, you can adjust the bed leveling.

What happens if you don’t have a leveled bed. There are many problems you can face with this. If the bed is not properly leveled one side is close to the nozzle and another side is far to the nozzle head. So when the 3D printing is going on layer thickness will not remain the same thickness.

The reason is one side is fully restrained and on another side molten material can be wipeout from the head of the nozzle. So layer thickness can reduce one side and another side can stay perfectly. When the layer thickness is not the same the strength is reduced.

And also filament will not be sticking the bed properly. Hence 3D printing is not able to do properly. These kinds of a problem will arise if you do not have the proper bed leveling.

04. Check the Bed and Nozzle Gap

To keep the proper layer thickness we must keep effective space between nozzle head and bed. Although the bed is perfectly leveled your printing will not be correct if you do not keep the distance between the nozzle head and bed.

Here nozzle is no need to close to them too much. If it is too close you can see stripes on the 3D printed layer. The reason is filament is wiped out towards due to the close of the nozzle. This will reduce the layer thickness and it will increase the material consumption.

If the nozzle is too far from the bed it will not bind layers properly. Sometimes it can be cooled when it reaches the previous layer. So proper bonding will not happen. And also you can observe the separate lines of the filament which are not bond together.

So what is the proper distance? It is better to keep the paper distance when the leveling of the bed.

05. Select the Right Type Nozzle

mainly there are 3 types of Nozzles. Classification is based on the size (physical size) of the nozzle. Actually, it’s height. So You had better select which nozzle is good for your 3D printing process.

Standard Nozzle
length is 12mm to 13mm and this is the common nozzle that you can buy from the market. This nozzle is with various diameters and selects the one you need. For domestic usage, this kind of Nozzle is very good. It is with V6 hot ends (Designed not to change the temperature inside the nozzle)

Volcano Type Nozzle
These kinds of hot ends are specially designed for special tasks like high speed and temperatures. This is with regular V6 Hot end and better thermal conduction. Usually, this is 21mm high.

Super Volcano
For the high flow rate of filament and wider and higher printing track, we can use the supervolcano nozzles. This is widely used in the industry, auto-motion, space. Due to the wide and height tracks it add more strength to the object. Normally it is 50mm in length and reaches 500C⁰ temperature and about 80W will be consumed.

Materials
More than that there are many nozzles made with many materials like stainless steel, brass, hardness steel, assembled nozzles, etc. And there is a difference in diameters. So it is carefully to select which one is better for your task.

Read More About – Why My 3D Printer Nozzle has Clogged? – How I Fixed It?

06. Check the Status of the Printer

The 3D printer is consisted of various parts like nozzle, fans, bearings, and builds plates. So before starting 3D printing you should check whether it is working properly. For the nozzle, you should check whether it is heated and is there any heat moving to the heat sink.

As well as you can lubricate essential parts of the 3D printer. So parts will not be abrasion quickly. And check the filament is enough for the 3D printing also. I think it is better to make a checklist for this to follow. And make sure the nozzle is properly cleaned.

07. Maintain Proper Nozzle Temperature

3D printing can be done at many temperatures. But Do you know what is the best temperature for 3D printing?. You can use various materials with different nozzles. But your out should be quality and well finish. Sow he to select the best nozzle temperature for your 3D printing process.

Mainly this depends on the material that you are used. Whatever you select as the material you can see these kinds of problems in 3D printing. If you are used the right temperature you can see a perfect model without fewer faults.

High temperature
At higher temperatures, you can see layers are bonded well and add more strength to the object. But if the temperature is too high it will be stretched more. So the layer thickness will be low and will take more time to settle. So do not use high temperatures.

Low temperature
If you choose the low temperature you can see some layers are not bond correctly and it can be loose. As well as not fit with correctly. Hence this does not add the proper strength to the model. For sharp edges, you can not keep it. These kinds of things happen in PLA. If you use another material the situation can be changed. You can make a Temperature Tower and see what is the best temperature for your printer.

08. Select the Correct Nozzle Diameter

Nozzle diameter can make your model more quality. it depends on the size of the object. If you have more size objects you can use more nozzle diameter. There are few nozzle diameters.

For small size diameter (<0.4)
Small size diameters like 0.25 are very good for detailed printings. It can print each tiny detail. If your model is too small and with high details, you can select the less-diameter nozzle.
01. It provides a better resolution of the object.
02. It is good for printing texts, jewelry, logos.
03. Its supports are easy to remove.
04. It will take much time for printing the object and there is a high risk of clogging, and jams, etc.

For large size diameter (>0.4)
If your model is large you can use 0.6 nozzles. If we use this kind of nozzle and print small-scale objects the tiny details can be missed. So it is better to print large-scale Objects using this nozzle.
01. It can do faster printing with 2X and
02. Similar to 0.4 nozzles.
03. It adds more strength to the object and it is more durable.
04. There is a low risk of jams
05. It is worse for the tiny detail
06. Hard to remove supports.

09. Stop Clogging the Nozzle

The nozzles can be clogged. This is mainly happening in small size diameter nozzles. There are so many factors for the nozzle clog. When the heat of the hot end is leaking to the upper parts and due to this upper part also heat more. Including heat sink too. Because of this melted nylon can be overflow through the top part of the nozzle. This affects the clog of the nozzle.

If you know your nozzle is clogged in the high temperature you had better cover it with heat resistant material and you can find many ways to prevent this if you refer to “My 3D Printer Nozzle Clogged and How I Fixed It?” In my blog.

For quality 3D printing you can follow that guide to stop clogging.

10. Stop Nozzle Dragging

Nozzle dragging has happened when the problem occurs in the G-code. You can see filament is moved freely on the printed area and it will damage the printed area and will engrave the printed area.

The actual reason is not able to find for this. Probably people trust this is happened due to the problem of G code. So it is better to check G code carefully if you can face the problem.

11. Reduce Gaps Between Infill and Outline of 3D Printing

When you do 3D printing you can observe gaps between infill and outline. So this type of problem can occur if you are using a high-speed printing process as well as not enough outline overlaps. When the infill and outline did not overlap together there will be holes in the surface.

To prevent that you can change it with the software. You can find “Edit Process Setting” and selecting the infill tab and increased in by 20% for outline overlap. If you already have 20% you can adjust it to 30%. Until it fixes.

And also if you are printing too much high speed you can reduce it. You can find it “Edit Process Setting” and set it to default. Adjust it until you disappear it.

These options are in Simplyfy3D

12. Prevent Gaps in Top Layers

After the final stage of your 3D printing process, you can see the top layer is not well finished. So you can see its tracks are not laid closely and it not like a finished layer. You can see it is like a hollow surface. So what is the reason for this?

The Top solid layer is not enough
Temperature problems can occur suddenly But more than that It can be top layer is not enough solid. You have to change the top layer solidity and check whether the problem is ok.

Infill percentage is low
If the problem is not fixed You can check the infill percentage of the top layer. If the infill percentage is not much enough you can increase it more than existing.

13. Prevent the not Sticking to the Bed

When you start the 3D printing your first layer should be stick to the bed. But if it does not happen properly you can observe many problems. It highly affects to the quality of the 3D printing. We make a foundation at the beginning for the whole object. If the foundation is not strong and the good whole object can be a mess.

Check nozzle temperature
So When the bed sticking happens first you had better check the temperature of the nozzle. Make sure it has a proper temperature.

The bed is not Level
The bed of the 3D printer is always level. But if you can face this kind of problem you can check whether your bed is perfectly leveled. If your platform is auto-leveled. Check its status.

Extruder and Bed High
You had better check how far your filament is moving out. If you have set up too much far it can go here and there when it flows to the bed. Sometimes it can be cooled after it flows on the bed.

Print Speed
Check the speed of the printing process. if there is a fast speed for the printing melted nylons can not be placed in the right place. So it can be placed here and there. Hence quality is very difficult to maintain with this kind of problem.

Out Side Temperature
If your outside temperature is too low the nylon can be shrink. So be care full with the outside temperature.

14. Reduce Gaps with Thin Wall

When you try to print a 3D model with thin walls you can see sometimes it was not printed correctly. When the wall is a few times larger than the nozzle size there will be small space at the end of the thin wall. What you should do about this.

So you need to use another nozzle with a small diameter and also you can lay another layer on it. So any way you must keep the wall top close.

15. Do not Miss Tiny Details in 3D Printing

In 3D printing, you have to print most of the parts. I meant most details. But If some details are missing what happens. I meant curviness, curls, and small contours. So this is depending on your nozzle diameter size.

If you have more size nozzle diameter your tiny details can be missing. This happens when you use a small-scale object. And also if you scaled it a bit more you can do 3D printing as details can be seen.

So the best option is to use the lower diameter nozzle size. This is very good for small detail printing.

16. Reduce the Weak Infill

Infill is the support of the outer layers as well as provides additional strength to the 3D object. When you are printing you feel that infill is not good and it looks like a weak structure. So what is the reason for this?

Sometimes you may reduce the material for the infill. Hence that kind of problem can be a rise. So what you can do for avoiding this. You can try an alternative infill pattern. Currently, you may be using a pattern that is not enough to infill. But you can change the pattern for the infill. When you change the pattern please check how it will affect the strength.

And also you can lower the print speed. When you highly print material can be thrown here and there. But you can slowly print it those will stick to the previous layer and it will fit the object very well.

And also if you can try to increase the infill extrusion with it is a great approach to solve this.

17. Stop the Over Extrusion

Have you ever checked the filament amount from the nozzle? How much volume is out in your filament? So check it and see how much filament is out from your extruder within a second. When extrusion is too much you can see over the extrusion.

So you can see the solution to this problem. Currently, most printers are not in this function. So you can manually calculate. Just multiply cross-sectional by print speed. Units should be in the same parameters.

18. Stop Overheating the Small Parts in 3D Printing

In 3D printing, all parts are not the same size. The object consists of different size parts. So when you are going to print it you can see some parts are melting and the shape is becoming odd.

Reduce Outer Temperature
So do you know the reason for this? First of all please check your room temperature. check whether it is too hot. If it is you can realize it takes more time to set the melted Nylon. So open some windows and reduce the inner temperature

Check the Nozzle Temperature
When you are print in with high-temperature nozzle melting nylons can be flown. Its viscosity becomes less So it acts like a liquid. That means out of the semi-solid. So it is great for doing printing at a low nozzle temperature.

Reduce the Printing Speed
If you are high printing speed extrusion will not overlay properly. it can move with differences. When the layer goes high you can see a clear difference of this. To prevent this from the beginning of the printing.

Increase the Printing Space
The main reason for this problem is not cooling the area quickly. Hence you can increase the printing space. That means you can print few parts together. Then extruder needs to move more and it takes good cooling time.

19. Prevent From the Layer Shifting

We do 3D printing with small layers from bottom to top. So if one layer is not extruded well it will be a mess. Layer shifting is one of those that directly affect the quality of 3D printing. So you can see your printed model is weak with one or a few layers. So do you know the reasons?

Lower Temperature Printing
A lower temperature will not stick layers thoroughly and the filament will not move correctly. So sometimes it can be cool when it is suddenly out from the nozzle. Hence use the correct and efficient temperature for your 3D printing process.

Check the Nozzle Position
When the nozzle is not close to the previous layer extruder can be hard before it lay on the layer. So it is better to check the nozzle position when you are going to print. And also one thing layed extruder can be rolled out from the previous layer due to this.

Increase the Infill design
Each layer is bonded together outer and inner. Inner we have infills. But outer will not add much strength to the model So the best way is to check the inner structure pattern whether it is alright for the model.

20. Stop the Layer Splitting

3D printing quality is based on many things but mainly we can highlight a few. Layer splitting is one of these. You can see your layers can be removed by each after the 3D printing is done. Do you know the reason for this?

• Low-Temperature Printing
  Temperature is the most important thing for the 3D printing quality more and less is not good. Here the problem is with low temperature. It will not sticky the layers properly. So better to increase the temperature correctly.

• Nozzle Diameter
  From the nozzle, you can have the layers. If the nozzle diameter is high you can have a high layer thickness. But what happens if your layer thickness is high. It will not stick properly. Hence strength is low.

21. Keep Rich Post Production

Post-production is essential for 3D printing. No printing provides the perfect object. So after you take out the model and add some quality to that. You can do it many ways to add quality to the model

• Clear Supports
  As you are well aware supporting is essential for some 3D printing. But it should not show to the final product. Better clear it. And also you had better use low-quality material for the supports than you can easily remove.

• Add Sand Paper
  Add sandpaper to remove the excess part of the model and use lower grade one for better finishing. When you do this pay attention to object dimensions. This can be changed when you do it.

• Add Some Polish
  Here you can add some polish quality to the surface. You can add some acetone for the outer surface and it will not show the sanded scratch very much.

22. Maintain the Quality

Always you should maintain your quality for your productions. It can be 3D printed object as well as any other. So everything keeps your quality as much as possible you can. Then it will be a huge demand.

When you keep the quality maintain the accuracy of the models, as well as final output, should be a “wow” one. And always think about the machines. Maintain them properly and fix them suddenly when there is a problem. Else it will be a double or tribble problem. Hope these facts are really interesting and will help you in many ways.