Layer Lines Don't Matter | Design Textures for Mass Production 3D Printing
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- Опубликовано: 15 июл 2024
- Discover the unique possibilities of 3D printed textures in our latest 3D printing design tutorial. In this video, we debunk the misconception that layer lines are a disadvantage in 3D printed parts, and instead, reveal how these lines offer creative opportunities for distinctive textures that injection molding simply cannot achieve.
Learn how to remove layer lines or embrace them to enhance your design. We cover various methods, including using CAD, and slicers like Cura and Idea Maker, to apply textures to your 3D printed parts.
Make sure to subscribe to the Slant 3D RUclips channel for more design tutorials, printer farm tips, and the latest 3d printing news.
0:00 Layer lines just don't matter
0:15 Why are layer lines frowned upon?
0:40 Injection molded textures
1:03 3D printed parts are allowed to have textures
1:41 How-to add textures in CAD
2:31 How-to add textures in Cura
3:04 How-to add textures in IdeaMaker
3:35 Outro
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They do matter in assemblies with moving parts, friction fits, sliding mechanisms, etc.
Design for the process.
Sometimes the layer lines can add helpful friction to friction fit parts.
@@DisorderedArray i really agree. I use that "feature" very often
For hobby/consumer grade 3D printing, I'd would be willing to argue that layer lines and textures don't actually matter much for parts that need to fit together, within reason. I often make functional parts that either need to fit together themselves, or accept other parts into them, and even the fuzzy skin on Cura has never altered the tolerances and dimensions enough to create a poor fit. The tolerances the printers themselves can accomplish are greater than the variations in layers and textures. Just my experience.
rekted
Dude no, injection molded plastics are not better because they're smooth, they're better because they get to be isotropic.
But your texture sides idea, I love that, I'll use that more from now on
The problem that layer lines create is a weak point where as injection moulded parts don’t have much of a weak point. Other than that I totally agree and love your comparison with wood.
I was about to say this as well. An FDM will never be as strong as an injection molded part with regards to layer separation. The molding temps and pressures of each process limits the outcome.
I would disagree. With materials like petg the break is nowhere near close to the layer lines. On the contrary it's a random fracture
@@shorb2289 The plastic doesn't get hot enough in FDM to reach the proper temp for homogeneous flow. There will always be the "outsides" of the filament that will never recombine as a continuous solid. Can you over come this? Sure but it will never be as good as an identical injection molded part.
Layer lines are no necessary a weak point, depends on the orientation, look at ropes for example
@@rperoba Just because there are no forces in that direction while using a specific model does not mean that model is free of weak points.
Layer lines make it impossible to print anything food related since even if you dial your settings for 100% watertightness, the textured surface is gonna harbor pathogens like crazy
I fundamentally disagree with the premise. There are even aesthetic reasons that later lines can be a problem. Imagine how much time could be saved in post processing if we could eliminate layer lines for parts that should be smooth. Not to mention the mechanical issues that layer lines introduce. That said, I had never heard of IdeaMaker before and that height map feature sounds super cool. Just downloaded it to play around with it. 😁
Design for the process
could you post a link to the app? I can't find it when google "height map"
When I contracted a company for injection molded parts, they asked me if I wanted a polished surface or a textured surface. So it certainly can be done, in fact that blue water bottle plug you showed was injection molded with a texture.
Those are lines parallel to to the ejection of the molded part so that the part can still slide out of the mold. Patterns, (diamond, orange peel, fuzz) are nearly impossible because they would essentially cause the part to be embedded in the mold. The only way to get is done is to raddically increase the complexity and cost of the molds. It is so expensive it is generally better to add texture after the part has been molded through actions like paint.
When the molding company asked you if you wanted texture they are generaly referring to the level of smoothness of of the mold. Fully polished or roughly machined.
@@slant3d Look I like your videos but the levels of dis-information in the majority of your videos concerning 3D Printing vs Injection Molding is incredible. I have been making molds for 25 years. You absolutley can have textures on Injection Molded parts. It's the secondary reason for draft angles on molded parts. the primary being to ease ejection of the part. I have done polished, sand blasted, bead blasted and leather like textures on molded parts. For heavier textures like bead blasting and leather textures you need to slightly increase the draft angle of your part. Due to part shrinkage in the mold cavity I have also been able to pull off 1-2inches of straight walled parts without draft and an aggressive bead blast finish that leaves a very nice eggshell appearance.
@@yatyas72come on, show us molded part with pattern like demonstrated on 3:31, 3:35, made with a cheap 2 piece mold, and also how it would be ejected without draft
The whole conclusion of the video is beside the point. Of course textured surfaces are cool, and nice, and desireable. But layerlines do not look like textures. They look exactly what they are: instead of deliberate textures, they look like imperfections. That is a huge difference.
Actually layer lines DO matter, especially if you're making an Iron-Man or Stormtrooper armor, or maybe when printing a model of the NCC 1701 Enterprise. Layer lines make a lot of stuff, that people use 3D printers for, look like garbage.
Design for the process
When structural strength is a factor in a part, layer lines and print orientation sometimes matters. Mind you it isn’t the lines that matter it is the adhesion of each layer. But otherwise I agree.
Great vid and great tips on adding textures. Just one clarification, injection molds have textures all the time. In many cases they don't want to put textures on the side walls because of the undercuts they create that get destroyed opening the mold. The part gets trapped. To solve this, they use side actions (slides) that move in and out to get the steel out of the way (from the texture) as the mold opens. The cost of these molds gets significantly more expensive which is sometimes prohibitive for small run production where 3d printing has a big advantage.
Came here to say this! While I'm a huge advocate for 3d printing, Textured molds are absolutely a thing and are used frequently.
Yeah I was thinking this too. Also the thing about layer lines not mattering aside from aesthetic purposes.
One example for this are the Playstation 5 controllers where there are tiny shapes imprinted. Search PS 5 controller close up on google.
Sure molds can have limited textures. But they are "extremely" limited and the addition of a texture radically changes the cost.
Comparitively 3D Printed parts can have unlimited textures. From fuzzy, to deep-cut dragon scales. And generally adds no cost.
@@slant3dDefinitely don't disagree with you, just think its a bad idea to say textured parts are impossible with injection molding. It's just not true.
I love 3d printing. It's a super badass process and I think that's why so many people gravitate to it. Just feels like your video tries to demonize injection molding a bit, lol.
Most of the content on this channel I really like and find it super interesting.
BUT
For the statement that injection molded parts can't have a structure I have to say that is completely wrong. They can have nearly every sort of texture, but for sure it has to be machined into the mold. This can get tricky or challenging sometimes, but basically you can create every texture on an injection molded part.
By 10x-ing the cost of the mold. (As long as it is even phyically possible to eject with the texture you desire)
@@slant3d for sure, it is more expensive, but not impossible
Layer lines actually do matter. Every divot in the surface is a potential crack waiting to happen. From a structural standpoint, layer lines are the worst thing ever. If you surface treat a part to fuse the layer lines, it's an automatic 20% jump in strength for most materials.
For replicated objects like statues, characters or props like helmets etc, layer lines can take away from the immersion or "realism" but for other things like functional or practical prints they don't really matter
Design for the process
@@slant3d For replicas thats not an option. I'm not in the market for statues and props, but if I were, I wouldn't even consider trying to convince myself of the beauty of layer lines on human skin and just pick a different process.
@@slant3d😂😂
Now one other thing to note is that I don't agree with the video thumbnail as it is very misleading. The video title is different from the thumbnail, but alot of people are going to pay attention to letters that are so many times larger than the title of the video aka "Eliminate Layer Lines". You would be surprised with how much people would be wanting to watch a video that has in big letters: "Layer lines don't matter!".
This is like hearing somebody hate on digital music because they claim the snap crackle & pop of a record is awesome, and that people who don't like noise need toy just get over it. Or like the kid in grade school loudly claiming he'd RATHER have C's on his report cards. Layer lines do matter. That's why people complain about them. Telling them they're wrong is... wrong.
My understanding as that layer lines introduce the potential for bad layer adhesion to make a part weak. The mold making process produces a monolithic part without the layer adhesion issue.
@Slant 3D I was trying to figure out how to get rid of the layer lines for an indoor planter pot when I stumbled across this video. I embraced your advice and simply turned on "fuzzy mode" to give it some intentional texture and it came out great! Thank you for the advice about the change in mindset.
Glad it helped
The reason I dislike layer lines is because the things I print are not aesthetically pleasing when they're present. The more I can reduce them and make them uniform, the easier it is for me to remove them. I would prefer 3D printed parts get to the point where the layer lines are nonexistent and I can choose to add texture back in if I want.
If your printer is INCAPABLE of printing what you designed in CAD (e.g. flat walls), that matters!!
One thing to note is that if you're using ceramic filament, it would not be feasible for bearing housings as that needs to be smooth for the bearings to last a while, other than that I would agree. I see alot of people arguing about whether it matters or not, it just depends on what your designing the part for.
in my opinion as someone who’s mostly interested in 3d printing toys and figurines… i just don’t like layer lines because they can be ugly lmao. i can’t afford injection molding so i mostly use sla printers.
those textures you showed how to make do look very good though, and I didn’t know about the heightmaps in ideamaker or the fuzzy thing in cura! those look really neat, i’ll have to experiment with them :)
Interesting. I always liked the layer lines. I also print over textured glass to avoid a smooth bottom
I totally agree. Clean layer lines are actually insanely pretty imo. Always puts a smile into my face seeing that things are 3d printed.
*nerd mode off*
It's worth noting that 2 small parts that take me 2 hrs to print for the set, take an additional hour to print if I use Orca Fuzzy with .1-.2 texture distance and thickness.
00:39 you are stating your opinion. Injection modeled parts are usually a lot tougher, cheaper to produce, faster to produce
Interesting take. Never really thought of layer lines being used in a way that could be an aesthetic or functional feature. I might have to give it a shot.
An excellent way to look at it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I don't mind that my 3d printed parts look 3d printed, but I am starting to experiment with texture.
Very good conversation starter for sure! Totally agree that better to figure what are limitations/features and control it.
One of the first videos I've seen cover fuzzy skin the way you have, referring to it as noise. I personally love to use fuzzy skin to 'hide' layer lines and using the term noise is best.
I find that setting one of the values to half and the other to a quarter the width of your nozzle to the best at hiding layer lines without compromising on time.
I use PrusaSlicer so the setting names aren't the same but for a 0.4 nozzle I use the following.
Fuzzy Skin Thickness = 0.1
Point Distance = 0.2
( Opened my Cura 4.1 and the original settings used there were as follows:
Thickness = 0.2
Density = 10 )
Agree with you on this one, since I know 3D printing the same designers and engineers have been trying to smooth prints and even sand them tediously with toxic post processing techniques, in my designs I find beauty on those layers, when printed well and make parts that respect the process. But injection molding can do lots of textures if the part is design well for that process, no need to bring a comparison and endless fight here and focus on the advantages and more deep guide will be good content for this channel.
I was impressed with some of the z-seams in the prints shown. I don't care that much about layer lines but i was never able to get z-seams i'm happy with.
Injection molded parts are also cheaper per piece at any reasonable scale, isotropic, and just straight up stronger in any given geometry. They also can be textures within reason.
You should watch our other videos
@@slant3d This is just the fact of the matter. If a part is designed correctly and intended to be produced at a large scale 3d printing will never be cheaper. Additionally due to the methods by which fff/fdm printers function the parts will always be weaker than an equivalent injection molded part.
Mass 3d printing is useful but only in a relatively small range where the low cost to change the product or start producing something entirely different isn't outweighed by the substantially higher marginal time and product costs.
This is just fact. Especially when we're just talking about standard filament based fff and not any of the crazy high performance 3d printing technologies.
You can have textures with injection molding. Those molds cost more as they pull in more than 1 axis. Even with 1 axis pulls if the part has some flexibility and the pattern is very shallow the part csn flex out. All that aside its common to not want a pattern - smooth is most sought after. Either matte smooth or shiny or semi matte. The worst would be a variable unintended pattern...
Just getting into 3D printing and glad I stumbled on this take on layer lines before setting my expectations in stone. Texture application will not only save a ton of time in post, but it adds an entirely new subsection of finishing options. That tip earned an instant sub.
WORD!! Working WITH the constraints 😄
Modifiers in blender work really well too!
Good suggestion. We left that one out.
Please do not use blender as a CAD program it is actually very fucking terrible for that if you need anything even remotely approaching precision.
There are times where nondestructive modeling cannot replace a proper design tree.
Plenty of injection molded parts have texture:
Car dashboards
Children's toys (like toy dinosaurs)
Headlamp reflectors
Keyfobs
That's just off the top of my head. I think people would like to reduce layer lines because they are undesired artificats which they can't control. Having the ability to CHOOSE the inclusion/exclusion would be great, but isn't the case. A design which was made to be smooth may suffer at performing its desired task with those additional artificats. I myself would like the Have no layer lines, that way I can use FDM printing for items which were intended to be smooth.
Great way to look at things, great video. Thanks.
Thanks for watching!
That's an interesting re-framing. I liked it!
First of all thank you for another great video. Your videos are very motivational and thought provoking. You have potential to change old mindsets for good. From your video I have just noticed that layer lines actually simulate popular brushed metal finish used typically on aluminium and stainless steel parts. The orientation of part simply decides the direction of brushing. So I simply agree with you that layer lines are actually aesthetic. I have experienced that spray painting (especially metallic silver or any other metallic colour) enhances thick layer lines (0.3 mm to be precise). I just ignored layer lines but now I have started liking them after watching your videos.
The engineering aspects of layer lines requires a bit of research. From one of my personal experiences, two mating parts like spur gears should have layer plane normal to the axis of rotation for smooth movement and adequate gear tooth strength. Even though this scheme will make auto ejection difficult it is good for mechanical parts that require strength. This is one case where strength matters a lot more than aesthetics. Layer lines have an additional capability of increasing friction where required, if properly oriented. Layer lines also form micro channels with capillary action that have potential for lubrication or flow of fluids even though plastic parts require no to little lubrication.
I have a request. If you can make a video on creating textures in SketchUp. SketchUp is a very capable software for 3d printing. So far I have not found any video on the topic. You should also make a video on CraftWarePro slicer software. It is a very accurate and capable slicer. Thank you, once again.
Layers can be a game-changer when it comes to enhancing the overall appearance of your final product, especially when utilizing a 1mm nozzle and thicker layers. The end result can be truly impressive and showcase the beauty of the layers themselves. Keep up the great work!
What are you talking about "texture on injection molding is almost impossible"?
My PS4 and 5 controllers have injection molded texture, my Dewalt tools do, my Ruger does, my mouse does, almost every surface on the laptop I'm writing this on does. My keyboard does. My phone does.
Basically literally everything I can see from where I'm sitting thats injection molded has texture except for things that are explicitly disposable, and almost all of those are transparent, so they have to be smooth to serve the basic function of being transparent.
This is a fair enough take and I agree it's usually not worthwhile but it's also not very costly to smooth parts plus you get better moisture tightness and I I would argue "structural smoothing" (i.e. more uniform structural properties) for free. Plus you can have 0.6mm layer thickness no problem. Part of why ABS/ASA are still king for FDM in my book.
Layer lines are, from a hygiene point of view, pretty bad. Any crannies where bacteria can move in can in some circumstances be unacceptable. Anything 3D printed for food purposes needs to keep that in mind, at the very least. Also, of course, aesthetic preferences are personal, but a beautifully smooth product is beautiful.
Texture on injected molded parts is only there due to ribs and grain structure sandblasted , laser etched or water jetted into the mold cavity space , the tonnage when the mold clamps up and the injection fill , pack and cooling cycle determines the smoothness of the part. ... .I'm a die setter for automotive parts
Can’t wait till you sell us ringing as a feature
I wish that were true, but humans seem to like things smooth, people have been polishing stone since the beginning of civilization, and wood does have lines but they are big and uneven, and we do sand the surface smooth, so yeah, as a person who also 3d prints myself, I'd love for that to be true, but outside of very rare cases, smooth products just look better and more professional.
AGREED 100% i embrace them 100%, so much that i print with larger nozzles to show them off.
Sadly, layer lines are a showstopper for anything that needs to be food safe or sanitary.
Great topic and insight.
Glad you enjoyed
Something i want to try is introducing the same intervals of layer lines at 90 degrees to the printing plane, i think it'll be a simple way yo disguise layer lines without introducing a bunch of calculations or extraneous head movements.
The result aught to be a fine grid like pattern.
yep, they are pretty much like wood grain. you can also add simple noise to mask them nothing to worry about. i personaly like combination of different textures, things souldn't be all polished and rounded everywhere it looks boring.
great argument ... very good my friend.
It is kind of surreal the quality of the content you share here. Thank you for your videos.
Glad you enjoy it!
Great perspective I've always agreed with; FDM is pretty limitless!
Best Video I've seen in a while on this topic. Good stuff!
Glad it helped!
Yeah but what if I want the texture to be smooth? I'm designing a benefit rich phone case right now, and I dont want grime and bacteria accumulating in the layer lined
Random noise is a great thing to make random blobs disappear in 3d printed enclosures or other objects with large straight surfaces.
Layer lines do matter if I want a smooth surface, such as for figures and terrain.
Just print with smaller layer lines.
FDM is the wrong process for precision rendering, SLA printing is.
Layer lines can 100% be a bad thing, at least some of the time.
For example when designed objects meant to be worn, layer lines can increase chafing.
Second, for artistic pieces, layer lines can be undesirable visually
Third, optical pieces can be rendered unusable due to layer lines.
Those are some of the reasons one may want to remove layer lines
1:12 absolute bs.
Which part?
Yeah, it's totally doable in injection but that's not the point here. The point is that you can add random noise (Cura fuzzy feature) to your object to make it look better while trying to do this in injection methods would greatly increase cost of your final object as such methods would need more precision in injection molds.
3:04 it's fairly easy to do in on 3d printer for cheap while using injection methods you would have huge cost of molds and production.
I will be making prototypes of enclosure and I totally will be using random noise option so my prints will look somewhat professional compared to straight faces.
So not be just exaggerating to some extent making it impossible to do for plain company.that does not have so much money for extra features.
@@slant3d i literally time stamped it down to the second, but you know damn well which bits you're lying about.
Good point
This is your best video.
We're glad you like it. Thanks
Good points, and I mostly agree, but actually injection molded parts CAN have textures, it not very common and cost effective, but it can and has been done
Layer lines are an indication of weakness due to potential delamination between the lines. No question, injected molded.plastic parts ate much more dimensionally strong.
Good rant. 👍
Yeah, that’s just flat WRONG! Layer lines ABSOLUTELY are a problem. Not necessarily the aesthetic look of them but rather what they are showing you. And that is an inherent weakness in the part. I make a lot of structural prototypes and when they fail. It’s ALWAYS, 100% of the time, on a layer line.
That said, I do agree that they can absolutely be used to your benefit if that’s what you’re after.
Is there a way to get around the difficulty of cleaning 3D prints (e.g. in eating applications)? I've avoided a couple projects because of that concern.
A question about the little imperfection or ‘seam’ that is left behind by the print head in the surface of the print
I know that the user can choose where to place this ‘seam’, such as in the back of a vase. Or this seam can be scattered randomly across the printed surface.
Is it possible to add extra seams on the surface of a print? Such as having eight equidistant seams running up the side of the vase.
Thus the ‘seams’ become part of the design.
Maybe these eight ‘seams’ could spiral up the side of the vase, or cross over each other to form a diamond pattern?
Could we write a brand name up the side of the vase using the ‘seams’?
Could we make this imperfection a feature on the surface of the print?
Adding texture won't make layers line disappear
To similar material injection is way stronger, and those who put like carbon or whatever material in fdm should consider carbon or whatever in injection for correct comparators
Having non consistent layers line while Trying to get smooth plane surface is an issue. Plus having pattern with layers line are not what you wanted when you design the pattern...
Basically:
Good video. Not 100% sure its entirely accurate.
Inections molded parts can be made with tecture (car door panels have leather texture, modern handguns etc.)
-It's just more complicated (hence more expensive in many ways).
Extra for geeks:
Most I.M parts are just preffered smooth for the user's or the menufacturing cost's sake.
In 3d prints of a sculpture or a part, you can't have as smooth surface as you might have preffered, for your specific apllication. Plus we would all probably love to get the added boost in strength of I.M parts, having a uniform material.
You are speaking about esthetics. The issue is structural. Screw or bolts are the challenge since the torque is on the same plane as the layers.
If you have a way to test and demonstrate the structural integrity is equivalent regardless of print orientation, please share that ......
You have to design for the process. Do not attempt to 3D Print an injection molded design. The rules are different to create the same functional result.
In my experience, PET (not PETG) bolts have structural integrity even printed along Z axis. I have a couple of them holding up 80 mm fans off the back of my printer's gantry, with vibrations from extreme print acceleration hammering them, and they've never broken. This kind of layer bonding is one of the many awesome things about printing with PET.
@@daliasprints9798 Hey, thanks for the pro-tip. I'll have to try PET. I've tried just about everything I can with this 4yr-old CR10S, direct-drive, chamber-less printer. I've been using Taulman-230 Nylon, CarbonFiberPLA, PETG, PLA, PLA+, NinjaFlex(TPU). I have relatively thin threads using the Nylon for my filament spool rod and they have been great (not really any load though). Cheers
@@slant3d Well, that was helpful ...
Do you do any design or do you just print the models your customers send do you?
I do agree upon layer lines not being a problem, and for the most part they look kind of nice!
But wait a second, creating textures on injection molding makes the part unmoldable? Wrong! If pay attention to a threaded PET bottle, the thread is indeed a texture. How do you achieve this? Creating a "neck ring" in the mold. Which essentially is having a mold that splits in half in synchronous cycle with the part ejector.
So making textures in injection molding IS POSSIBLE. It is just more complex and your mold will become a whole lot more expensive.
Lines are bug period. Use resin 3d print if you dont want that bug. Injection molding is little stronger also.
Quick caveat; I am not any sort of engineer, just a guy who’s obsessed over functional and organic 3D parts for ~6 months.
Personally I like the layer lines aesthetically, even when things aren’t dialed in and they’re a little wonky it’s still nice to have that tactile feel to things. Organic prints are fine with .1mm layers and/or some post processing.
Functional prints are where you run into issues, even if they’re strong having something layered is going to be more prone to shearing than a single block of plastic; outside of materials, things like lowering cooling and orientation are used to alleviate the issues but the fact is those issues are still there.
Neither is objectively better, they just appear to have their own pros and cons.
I scoffed at ur video from the intro. But then it was excellent and I wholeheartedly agree
Glad you like it.
Within the field of tabletop miniatures, injection molding textures is very doable
I’ve found layer lines only matter to the masses that have zero 3D printing knowledge. The constant “why does it have these lines? Why isn’t it smooth like it’s supposed to be?” Stopped me dead in my tracks of print for hire, as they absolutely just do not want to understand the why.
You do have to make sure that you are making good products and then the layer lines don't matter. Don't make the mistake of attempting to 3D Print something people are used to seeing molded.
They are a problem in cosplay components but the texture idea is fantastic, especially with the "fuzz" for ease of use an applicability
Layerlines collect huge amount of dust like a micro fiber cloth that you hardly can get out without any luquid. That's why layerlines have to go away. Also because for further painting finishes.
What was the CAD package that was being shown at the start?
Cool video but your assumption on injection molding is wrong, Molded part can definitively have texture (check out Moldtech textures) and if you check out plastic part of tools, cars, trays etc... most of them got textures.
But yeah injection molding will stay more expensive for small batch of parts.
why can't we just make the spools in a triangle shape instead of a cylinder shape? Computers render models into triangles so why don't printers print in the same way? I'd imagine this would lessen the impact of layer lines if the printer was designed to print in triangles.
I'm playing this video through my phone speakers and have the phone resting on my belly so I can feel the vibrations of your voice on it
Great take on the layer lines. I actually like very consistent and smooth layer lines, it gives it a bit of a grippy and tactile surface. The bigger problem comes from poor tolerances due to layer lines or when you need things to mate with barely any gap for a seal or something. But there are ways to get around that with clever design and gaskets.
Key point "clever design." Designing for the process is the whole battle.
I love these videos in general but this just hits home while I'm trying to make my parts look like injection moulding parts but I did look at a vase I printed just like you see on this video and it looked beautiful for me (as long as it didn't have blobs) so ya, this does make sense.
Glad you liked it. Thanks for stopping by.
It takes foreverrrrrrrrrrrrrr to print a part compared to injection molding.
I hate everything about injection molding, from tooling cost to inconvenience to MOQs to sheer time and design inflexibility. And 3D printing in production fixes that. I'm about as big a proponent of additive manufacturing as you can get.
BUT even I don't try to sell layer lines as as "feature". In many cases, a smooth surface has a more premium feel. And sometimes that's hard or not possible in FDM 3D printing. It's OK to acknowledge a limitation. I don't think it's a huge one - but let's at least not come across as biased.
There's a reason why dashboards in luxury cars aren't FDM 3D printed - and it's not like the executives in those companies are retarded. Aesthetics, including smooth surfaces, matter.
P.S. the layer lines in wood don't stand proud of the surface, they're just a visible interior texture. Not the same with FDM printing, which you can run your fingernail across.
Steel Rusts in water....what a terrible material. Products have features. Design for the process and materials and you can often get any result you want out of it.
If you want to do that zebra pattern kind of thing (or any of the patterns really) you might be better off taking your model from your CAD into a mesh modeler like Blender to add the textures. CAD isn't really designed for that, while Blender could easily do the whole displacement-map surface sort of thing.
Prusaslicer also supports fuzzy skin.
Ive noticed yes layer lines arent really a problem. I honestly like the aesthetic. The biggest issue is just for mold release. Thats about it.
The claims here are defensive & don't really hold up. The objective is to reproduce a designed item with fidelity. Layer lines are not in the pre-sliced model but are an artifact of the manufacturing process, an undesirable artifact. Furthermore layer lines are actually a structural weakness and introduce material anisotropic strength, some of the weakness is inter-layer adhesion, and some due to the surface micro-geometry being covered with imperfections. In addition to this layer lines introduce additional limits to the performance mechanical components, for example hinges, bolts, bearings, etc with layer lines have additional friction, binding limiting manufacturing tolerances & impacting the performance of part assemblies.
process artifact. heard that term used in photography, but the idea is a process leaves a fingerprint on the picture. - litterally with wet plate...
Injection molded parts 100% have textures, there is an entire part of the industry that does that work. Just look at car interiors.
Take a look at the cost of those molds. And how shallow the textures are. "Can" is not the same as "should." Textures are free and unlimited with additive
The premise of this video is stupid. They matter because aesthetics if nothing else. As other posters have said, they are potential weak points if adhesion isn't good or delamination occurs due to outside forces (such as being outside or exposed to chemicals.)
I’m not getting old, my forehead has layer lines. It’s a feature.
But what if you're creating somewhere where you want varied textured sides? What if you want one side to be smooth and the other sides textured or ruff. You'd then be forced to sand it down until you get the texture you want.
design
Right, 3D Printing has its own benefits, like (as you said) the ability to create complex shapes and textures. However, saying FDM printed parts are not worse than those injection molded is just incorrect (and I think we both know that). A well printed FDM part will be lower in accuracy compared to a well injection molded part, and the strength caused by layers will be significantly lower. Also, there is noticeable warping on every cube print you showed, this will decently affect dimensional accuracy and is quite a big, but easily solvable print quality problem. You guys should try a PEI bed rather than glass, which many community members and myself love.
Don’t get me wrong - I love 3D printing, and I am active in the 3D Printing and Voron communities. I have highly modified and self built high speed and quality printers, and love being able to quickly prototype my designs. However, I am quite disappointed that a print farm of your caliber would accept such a trivial print quality issue (warping) and I feel it’s unacceptable. I also feel it’s wrong to present FDM printed parts equal to injection moulded ones, and for large scale consumer parts that can be injection moulded, there isn’t really a (functional) benefit to FDM printing.
Design for the process.
Prototypes are different from production
@@slant3d I understand designing for FDM, but it is very difficult to get the strength-weight ratio of injection molding. Injection molding is still much faster and cheaper at a large scale (although I understand there are large print farms which reduce cost, but I don't think it will reach a point where reliable abs parts can be produced in seconds and for a few cents).
@@slant3dI apologise if there is any misunderstanding, but I got the impression that the video is implying these are for production. For example,
"Injection molded parts are not better"
"3D Printing is a vastly superior technology"
"Here is what we do: Mass production 3D Printing"
But if only prototyping was meant, then I fully stand by 3D printing for prototyping, it is obviously better.
@@gedeonang7077 I think you are correct in your assumption that this video is about production and not prototyping.
Layer lines matter for printing display items, like a 3D figure , etc, unless you want the layer lines look in there. Personally i hate them
Layer lines are hideous. That matters.
"Well he would, wouldn't he?" As Mandy Rice-Davies once said. 😉