How Fast are 3D Printers?

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Updated January 13, 2023

If you are new to the world of physical printing, you may wonder how fast are 3D printers. Some of the best printers, after all, are 3D printers, and these models ship in a wide range of designs and motor speeds. So how fast are the best 3D printers, and what can you do to speed up the printing process? Keep reading to find out.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • These printers are not known for being especially fast, though the 3D printing speed varies depending on a number of factors, including the 3D printing technology and print quality.
  • The printer itself places a cap on the speed, as does the complexity of the design schematic or blueprint for the 3D model and 3D print.
  • Speed things up by hollowing out the interior of prints and opting for simplified blueprint designs with lower layer heights.

How Fast is a 3D Printer?

When learning how long a 3D printer takes, you quickly realize that each printer is unique with its own printing timeframe. The same goes for design schematics if you are looking for 3D printing design tips. The presence or absence of infill also impacts the speed if you are learning about infill 3D printing.

Insider Tip

Clean and maintain your printer to keep it running speedily. A malfunctioning printer is a slow printer.

In other words, there are simply too many variables at play to give an actual speed estimate that covers the whole industry, even if you are preparing for a Geeetech A10m vs a20m review.

Tips to Speed Up Your Printer

No matter the speed of your printer, there are some ways to keep things moving so your print finishes sometime this century.

Hollow it Out

3D-printed objects consist of two main layers. There are the exterior walls, no matter the thickness, and the infill. The infill refers to the level of printing material inside the object. The infill increases overall stability and long-term durability but at the expense of printing speed. If you want to speed up your print jobs and save some money by preserving filament, try hollowing out your prints.

Simplify

Design blueprints vary greatly when it comes to detail. Everybody wants detailed physical objects, but an abundance of detail slows down the print considerably. If you want a quick and dirty print job that finishes before the holiday season, choose a greatly simplified version of the design schematic. Some printers also allow for easy simplification processes via the software.

STAT: Typically, faster 3D printing speed means lower quality, though. Above 150mm/s, the quality drops noticeably, and you may experience problems as the filament tends to slip at these speeds. (source)

Test, Test, Test

There are risks to printing too fast and risks to printing too slowly beyond the annoyance of waiting for a print to finish. To find the perfect middle ground for your printer, take some time to run tests and practice various designs. Before too long, you will find that happy medium that gives you solid and durable prints without taking up the remainder of the year to finish.

Printer Speed FAQs

How do you set the printing speed?

You should be able to set the printing speed of the print heads somewhere on the software settings page. Each 3D printing company developed unique software.

How does print speed affect your print?

Going for a faster speed reduces the printing time but could result in a simplified print via the print head. This is why 3D printing companies tend to go slowly when it comes to printing time with 3D printing materials.

What are the benefits of 3D printing?

Making a print layer by layer gives you access to unique physical objects with unique layer heights. In other words, the 3D printing process lets you make your own knick-knacks.
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