Printing small parts often brings forth many woes. Whether it be adhesion, corners, or rounded edges, small parts usually need their own specific settings for a successful outcome.
The most important factor for any 3D model is bed leveling and Z axis offset.
Having the print head too low will cause it to drag the bed and make the stream too wide and thin.
Having it too high will cause the layer to not adhere to the bed.
If the bed is not level, likewise can apply in a constrained section of the bed.
Low spots are also a possibility – You may not be able to see 0.2 or 0.3 of a millimeter with the naked eye to recognize a low spot in the middle of the bed. That is a full layer thickness and can cause issues depending upon where the print head’s Z axis is calibrated.
Adding a BRIM is the first line of defense with small parts. Doing this will make the contact patch with the bed larger, so the part has better likeliness to adhere and stay during the duration of the print.
Reducing the Print Speed is the main line of defense with small parts. By slowing down the print head to 15-20 mm/s, it is able to more accurately make curves and small details in the prints, and is less likely to have loose “hairs” or “strands” randomly sticking out of the model. For some intricate or tiny designs, even 10 mm/s is suggestible.
Increasing Wall or Shell Thickness can also be a crutch on small parts. If you are making a part that will have tube-like properties, it may be better to increase the thickness of the walls rather then tweak the infill density.
An example is a ring-like shape with a wall of 2mm thick. Assuming the E3S1Pro’s default line of 0.4mm wide x 0.2mm tall: Rather than having inner and outer shells of 1 layer and an infill range of 1.2mm, set the profile for 2 layers so that the infill range is 0.4mm. Best would be a wall thickness of 3 layers, because then there is no infill.
Finally, there is a Cooling setting. For small parts, you want this box turned on so that each layer will be properly “dry” by the next time the print head comes around. With that said, you do not want it turned on in situations where the part may overly cool before the next pass, at which point the layers may not adhere properly – This can lead to the part cracking or having a weak spot. As such this can be kind of a judgement call with relation to Print Speed.
These are some rough starting points for settings:
- Parts less than 1 square inch of area (1″ x 1″ or smaller):
- Brim enabled
- Print Speed 10-15 mm/s
- Cooling ON
- Parts 1-4 square inches (1″ x 1″ to 2″ x 2″):
- Brim enabled
- Print speed 15-20 mm/s
- Cooling OFF
