As the title says. I’m new to 3d printing and I’m looking for tips on how make two parts fit together nicely. I’ve read 0.4mm clearance between the two parts modelled together is a nice rule of thumb.

  • Rolivers
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    11 months ago

    It strongly depends on how well your 3D printer is tuned. Have you done any accuracy calibration? Try printing a generic test cube and measure the dimensions using calipers.

    Also when printing horizontal holes in objects the holes tend to end up smaller than the 3D modelling software says it is. This is because the nozzle can’t really do perfect circles and will instead print a polygon that looks round. It literally cuts corners. Another factor is that molten plastic tends to spread a bit to the inside of the hole. You can offset this by making the hole bigger in the design or by using a slicer setting. In Cura it’s called Horizontal Hole Expansion.

    When printing objects close together you’ll need to use Slicing Tolerance (Cura term), that will affect how far different objects tend to be apart from each other. This is important for print-in-place gear designs or similar.

    You will need to do a couple of test prints to check the tolerances of your printer.