Reducing Print Time
Reducing Print Time
Lowering Infill Density
Lowering the infill density can reduce the print time. Note that if you reduce the infill past 10%, it is possible that the top of your part will not be as smooth as you expect, but for some prints this may not be a consideration. Reducing the infill will also make your part lighter since there will be less material inside it.
Here are the standard settings for printing a panther with supports.
The print time is shown above.
Here are the same settings but with the infill percentage changed to 5%.
The print time is a few minutes less. Note that this would make a bigger difference on prints with less complexity. Notice the decrease in grams of filament used compared to the standard 10% infill.
Increasing Layer Height
Increasing the layer height of a print will reduce the time it takes for a print because each layer will be taller, and fewer layers will be needed to construct the part. Note that the print details will not be as clear, but depending on the model this may not be a consideration. The standard layer height is 0.2mm, and the highest that can generally be used is 0.3mm (unless a larger nozzle is being used, in which case you should consult a staff member).
Here are the standard settings for printing a panther with supports.
The print time is shown above.
Here are the settings for the same panther with only the layer height being increased to 0.3 mm.
Here is the print time for 0.3 mm Layer height. Notice that the print time is just over 2/3 of the original time.
Support Extruder (for Extruder 2 Prints)
To minimize the printing time, the support extruder (the color that the supports are printed in) should match the part that is being supported. An example of the drastic difference in time this can make is below. 3DPrinterOS defaults the supports to be printed on extruder 1, so if you plan to print using extruder 2, it is recommended to change the support extruder to extruder 2.
Here are the standard settings for printing a panther on extruder 2 with the needed supports. The default extruder for the supports is extruder 1.
Here is the printing time with the supports on extruder 1.
Here are the same settings, but with only the support extruder changed to Extruder 2.
Here is the printing time with the supports on extruder 2, (roughly 2/3 of the duration of when the supports were on extruder 1).
Reducing Support Density
Decreasing the support density can reduce the overall print time since fewer supports will be printed. Note that this is a risk as the supports are more likely to fail.
To reduce the support density, you must first select Expert Mode from the banner along the top when slicing the print. Then find "Support" along the right and open the dropdown menu.
Scroll down in the dropdown until you find "Support Density". The default value is 15% and the value can be reduced to as little as 5%.
Here is the print time for the standard 15% support density on the same panther print from above (on extruder 1).
Here is the print time for 5% support density on the same panther print from above (on extruder 1).