Jump to content
UltiMaker Community of 3D Printing Experts

Infill Setting


Recommended Posts

Posted (edited) · Infill Setting
Does increasing infill improve print quality?

That depends on the object that you are printing. For print quality, if what you mean by that is the best surface representation of the model, the infill percent only has to be high enough so that all features are supported sufficiently and top layers will close and not sag.

Simple designs that taper slowly to a point don't require infill at all. For most everything else, an infill of 20% is usually ample if you are using the usual number of top layers. With Cura 2.3 and higher, you can even save material by setting infill to 20%, then setting Gradual Infill Steps to a 1 or 2 so that the 20% is phased in from 5% or 10% as the printing approaches your top layers.

 

Does increasing infill improve print durability (i.e. mechanical part)?

Once again, it depends. You have to look at what kind of stresses your part will be subjected to. Is it tension, compression, shearing, or some combination? Greater infill can be useful if it is compression, but increasing your wall thickness is generally more useful otherwise.

Edited by Guest
  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Infill Setting
    Is wall thickness the same as shell thickness?

    Yes, is the same as shell thickness. It's called wall thickness in Cura.

    How do you adjust Gradual Infill Steps? Is that done through Cura or the firmware?

    If you are using the new version of Cura, use the advanced settings Gradual Infill Steps and Gradual Infill Step Height along with your setting for Infill Density. You can add these to your UI by clicking the gear icon next to the Infill Category and checking the boxes on the resultant dialog.

    With this at your disposal, you can set, for example, Infill Density to 20%, Gradual Infill Steps to 2, and Gradual Infill Step Height to 2mm. The result will be an object filled at 5%, until 4mm before the top of the infill area, whereupon the infill will switch to 10%, then at 2mm before the top of the infill area the infill will switch to 20%.

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Create an account or sign in to comment

    You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

    Create an account

    Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

    Register a new account

    Sign in

    Already have an account? Sign in here.

    Sign In Now
    • Our picks

      • UltiMaker Cura 5.3 stable released
        In this stable release, Cura 5.3 achieves yet another huge leap forward in 3D printing thanks to material interlocking! As well as introducing an expanded recommended print settings menu and lots of print quality improvements. Not to mention, a whole bunch of new printer profiles for non-UltiMaker printers!
          • Thanks
          • Like
        • 22 replies
      • Here it is. The new UltiMaker S7
        The UltiMaker S7 is built on the success of the UltiMaker S5 and its design decisions were heavily based on feedback from customers.
         
         
        So what’s new?
        The obvious change is the S7’s height. It now includes an integrated Air Manager. This filters the exhaust air of every print and also improves build temperature stability. To further enclose the build chamber the S7 only has one magnetically latched door.
         
        The build stack has also been completely redesigned. A PEI-coated flexible steel build plate makes a big difference to productivity. Not only do you not need tools to pop a printed part off. But we also don’t recommend using or adhesion structures for UltiMaker materials (except PC, because...it’s PC). Along with that, 4 pins and 25 magnets make it easy to replace the flex plate perfectly – even with one hand.
         
        The re-engineered print head has an inductive sensor which reduces noise when probing the build plate. This effectively makes it much harder to not achieve a perfect first layer, improving overall print success. We also reversed the front fan direction (fewer plastic hairs, less maintenance), made the print core door magnets stronger, and add a sensor that helps avoid flooding.
         

         
        The UltiMaker S7 also includes quality of life improvements:
        Reliable bed tilt compensation (no more thumbscrews) 2.4 and 5 GHz Wi-Fi A 1080p camera (mounted higher for a better view) Compatibility with 280+ Marketplace materials Compatibility with S5 project files (no reslicing needed) And a whole lot more  
        Curious to see the S7 in action?
        We’re hosting a free tech demo on February 7.
        It will be live and you can ask any questions to our CTO, Miguel Calvo.
        Register here for the Webinar
          • Like
        • 18 replies
      • UltiMaker Cura Alpha 🎄 Tree Support Spotlight 🎄
        Are you a fan of tree support, but dislike the removal process and the amount of filament it uses? Then we would like to invite you to try this special release of UltiMaker Cura. Brought to you by our special community contributor @thomasrahm
         
        We generated a special version of Cura 5.2 called 5.3.0 Alpha + Xmas. The only changes we introduced compared to UltiMaker Cura 5.2.1 are those which are needed for the new supports. So keep in mind, this is not a sneak peek for Cura 5.3 (there are some really cool new features coming up) but a spotlight release highlighting this new version of tree supports.  
          • Like
        • 22 replies
    ×
    ×
    • Create New...