3D Printing resolution

With FDM (Fused Deposition Method-printing with a filament) 3D printers there’s always a question about the accuracy or precision of the print.

I read a great description of the misconceptions of how accurate 3D prints using this method can be:
“Clarification: the precision of the printhead in the horizontal plane (X-Y direction) is about .011mm (about 2300dpi). However, this number is a little superflous because we are extruding ABS plastic through a relatively larger .35mm nozzle, and all ABS plastic oozes a bit. So a more realistic & practical estimate of resolution in the horizontal plane is about .1mm. And to be crystal clear – this creates great prints. Trying to define the resolution more accurately than this is similar to trying to define the position of a garden hose nozzle to within millimeters – it’s essentially meaningless since the water is going to expand anyway.”

SOURCE

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Time limit is exhausted. Please reload CAPTCHA.