Articles · Learning path · Beginner

3D printing, from choosing a printer to smooth parts

20 lessons in the order you need them: choosing a printer, nozzles, picking and tuning filament, overhangs, smooth surfaces, troubleshooting, maintenance and safety.

20 lessons · about 137 min in total

  1. 1 Choosing your first 3D printer: FDM or resin, bed-slinger or CoreXYFDM versus resin, bed-slinger versus CoreXY, when an enclosure matters, how to size the build volume from a real part, and five questions to answer before you pay. 7 min read
  2. 2 FDM printer anatomy: hotend, extruder, heatbed, sensors and G-code explainedAn FDM printer part by part: how the hotend melts filament, direct drive versus Bowden, the XYZ axes, what each sensor does, and how to read the first lines of G-code. 7 min read
  3. 3 3D printer nozzles: sizes 0.2–0.8 mm, brass vs hardened steel, when to swapWhat a nozzle size trades for what, why 0.6 mm prints almost twice as fast, which nozzle material survives carbon-fibre filament, and how to tell a worn nozzle. 7 min read
  4. 4 Classify the print job first: decoration, load, enclosure, toy, outdoor, foodEach kind of job wants a different material, wall count, infill and orientation. A six-type table, plus a worked wall-bracket example of what walls and orientation buy. 6 min read
  5. 5 Filament types explained: PLA, PETG, ABS/ASA, TPU, Nylon, PC and compositesWhat each FDM filament is good at, how hard it is to print, nozzle and bed temperature ranges, heat and UV resistance, moisture, and the one table to keep by the printer. 7 min read
  6. 6 Pick the right filament for the job: heat, sun, load, flex, looks or easyA decision table that starts from what the part must survive, not from the spool you own. Six questions, a worked example for a car phone mount, and the swaps that fail. 6 min read
  7. 7 Tune a new filament spool: temp tower, flow, retraction, volumetric speedFour tests in order for a new spool: temperature tower, max volumetric speed, flow ratio, retraction. How to read each one, do the maths, and save a reusable profile. 6 min read
  8. 8 Damp filament: symptoms, drying times per material, and storing it dryPopping at the nozzle, new stringing and weak layers mean damp filament. Drying temperature and time per material, dryer vs oven, desiccant boxes, and the hygrometer. 7 min read
  9. 9 Bed leveling and the first layer: the right Z-offset and what good looks likeManual vs auto leveling, setting the Z-offset with paper and tuning it in 0.02-0.05 mm steps, telling a too-high, too-low and good first layer apart, and bed cleaning. 6 min read
  10. 10 Slicer basics: layer height, walls, infill and speed, and what each one tradesLayer height, line width, walls, top and bottom layers, infill percentage and pattern, and speed, with a worked example of what changing each one costs and buys. 6 min read
  11. 11 Prints lifting off the bed: fixing adhesion and warping step by stepWhy corners lift (warping) and first layers let go, and the fixes in order: clean bed, bed temperature per material, skirt/brim/raft, glue stick, draft shield, enclosure. 7 min read
  12. 12 Overhangs and bridging: the 45° rule, fan, speed and slicer settings against sagWhy plastic hanging in the air sags and curls, where the 45° rule comes from, how long a bridge can be, and how to set and test overhang speed, bridge flow and fan. 7 min read
  13. 13 3D print supports: when you really need them, how to set them, how to avoid themSupports hold up parts that hang in mid-air. When they are truly needed, normal vs tree, what Z gap and interface layers to use, and how to orient a part to need none. 7 min read
  14. 14 Which way up? Part orientation for strength, surface finish, seam and splittingFDM parts are strong along the layers and weak between them. Pick an orientation from the load, know which faces come out smooth, hide the seam, and split a big part. 7 min read
  15. 15 Dimensional accuracy and fits: calibration cube, compensation, elephant footMeasure a calibration cube to see what is off, set XY/hole and elephant foot compensation in your slicer, then pick a loose, snug or press-fit clearance. 7 min read
  16. 16 Smooth surfaces: layer height, ironing, seams, sanding, primer, vapor smoothingHide layer lines from the slicer to the bench: layer height, ironing, seam placement, fuzzy skin, sanding and filler primer, and safe acetone vapor smoothing of ABS/ASA. 7 min read
  17. 17 Strong 3D prints: walls before infill, layer direction and temperatureWhy extra walls beat extra infill, with the maths worked out; which infill pattern to pick, temperatures that make layers bond, material choice and a water-bottle test. 7 min read
  18. 18 Print speed vs quality: max volumetric flow is the real limitSlicer speed is not the speed you get. Layer height × line width × speed = mm³/s, worked through, plus acceleration, input shaping and what breaks when you go too fast. 8 min read
  19. 19 Troubleshooting common 3D print defects: symptom, cause, fixA table of 12 common print defects with likely causes and fixes, then the five most frequent in detail: stringing, under-extrusion, layer shift, blobs, elephant foot. 8 min read
  20. 20 3D printer maintenance and safety: schedule, thermal runaway, fumes, resinA maintenance table by print hours, the cold pull procedure, then safety: thermal runaway protection in firmware, overnight printing, ABS/ASA fumes and resin handling. 7 min read