>2 mm

>0.5 mm

Surfaces with angles <45º will need supports and have poorer surface finish

Supports always required

capacity to bridge small horizontal surfaces (<5 mm)*

*material dependent

Not applicable

Vertical >2 mm
Horizontal >3mm

Horizontal holes and arches will not print perfectly round and will need supports which produce a worse surface finish. The design of the hole can be changed (picture) so it doesn’t need supports.

Vertical >1 mm
Horizontal >1 mm

A technique to increase bridging and avoid supports on unsupported holes is to create flat surfaces

Not applicable

<1 mm

Supports always required

clearance | >0.4 mm loose | <0.2 mm tight*

*material dependent

clearance | >0.3 mm loose | <0.15 mm tight*

Avoid sharp angles on the surface that will be facing the build plate, this prevents warping. This can be mitigated by using filets on the vertical corners.

Not applicable

Due to the layering process of FDM 3D printing orientation has a significant impact in part strength and surface finish

Isotropic Material Properties