5 Ways To Improve the Durability of Your 3D Prints

Businesses are discovering the astounding benefits of 3D printing technology, but as the industry grows, the question of durability becomes increasingly significant. Whether you’re creating parts for automobiles or designing shoe soles, you need to produce strong, durable parts.

Countless industry leaders want to know how to improve the durability of 3D prints, so we’ll share just that!

Pick Strong Materials

When 3D printing, you will find that not all filaments are created equal. Some filaments are optimized for ease of printing and affordability, others for water resistance. For example, Nylon Kevlar filament is excellent for machinery parts that must resist corrosion and impact. You might choose TPU for the aforementioned shoes due to its flexibility.

Enhance Infill Density

The internal structure of your prototype is the infill pattern. The infill amount depends on the object you’re creating. Typically, slicers will default to 20 percent infill, and this works well for most parts. You can increase to 100% infill, but that can lead to wasted materials, slow prints, and poor end results. Try various values to optimize the design through testing.

Change Nozzle Size

It’s known that large nozzles produce strong prints at the expense of filament and print. However, it boils down to how much filament is used. Pay attention to the nozzle size you use with each filament.

Fix the Orientation

Did you know you can change the orientation of your 3D-printed parts? Part orientation refers to the position of an object on a printer, and this is controlled in your slicer software. By changing the orientation, you can set the walls and fill to be printed in the direction of the head movement in a single axis, making that extrusion more consistent.

Print With Thicker Walls

Wall thickness plays a critical role in strength more than infill. Changing your slicer from the default of two or three layers to eight or ten can have dramatic effects on the final product. I recently used eight-layer walls for screw holes so that I could use sheet metal screws to self-thread the holes. Three-layer walls split, but the eights held fast.

Master your 3D printer and make more usable designs. We believe you can create anything you want, especially strong, 3D-printed parts. Keep these ways to improve the durability of your 3D prints in mind as you prepare for your next project.

Filamatrix is here for the maker. We’re a 3D filament supplier selling US-made material selections, including durable and water-resistant filaments! Explore our online shop for more choices of materials to use in your next 3D printing project.