Journal
Design for 3D Printing
Wall thickness, tolerances, orientation, supports and the geometry rules that decide whether a part prints well.
- 9 min read
Wall Thickness in 3D Printing: The Number That Decides Everything
Wall thickness determines strength, cost, print time and whether a part is printable at all. And it's the dimension most often got wrong in CAD. The numbers to design against, why they're multiples of 0.4 mm, and how to choose for each kind of part.
- 9 min read
Tolerances and Clearances: Making Printed Parts Actually Fit Together
Two printed parts modelled to nominal won't fit. A practical guide to the clearances that produce free-running, sliding, snug and press fits in FDM, why holes come out undersized, and how to design assemblies that work first time.
- 8 min read
Threads, Heat-Set Inserts and Fasteners in 3D Printed Parts
Printed threads strip, and self-tapping screws only work once or twice. A practical guide to every way of getting a reliable threaded connection into a printed part, heat-set inserts, captive nuts, tapping and printed threads, with the numbers for each.
- 8 min read
12 Design Rules That Decide Whether Your Part Prints Well
The design-for-additive-manufacturing rules that matter most in practice, wall thickness, overhangs, hole sizing, orientation, fillets and tolerances, with the numbers to design against and the reasoning behind each one.
- 8 min read
How Print Orientation Decides Whether Your Part Survives
An FDM part can be twice as strong in one direction as another, and orientation is what decides which. Why layer adhesion is the weak axis, how to identify the load path, and the orientation trade-offs against surface finish, supports and cost.
- 6 min read
Infill Density Explained: How Much Do You Actually Need?
Infill is the setting people over-specify most, and it's rarely the strength lever they think it is. A practical guide to what infill does, why perimeters matter more, and the density to choose for each kind of part.
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