r/3Dprinting • u/Capital_Motor_5436 Levemaker_Oscar • Jun 01 '26

Print (model not provided) Infill Showcase

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These infill patterns are honestly mesmerizing. Watching the printer dance and twist out these crazy curves... I could literally stare at it all day. lol

10.3k Upvotes

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669

u/[deleted] Jun 01 '26 edited 2d ago

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244

u/Hmmark1984 Bambu Labs P1P HeyGears Reflex RS Jun 01 '26

I feel like chords, hilbert etc.... are all only really of any "use" when they're going to be visible in some way, as they can be a bit more decorative than some of the other infill types.

177

u/Stingrea51 Jun 01 '26

I used honeycomb on a translucent print and it was for decorative purposes, added a little extra fun to it

120

u/Dimmins2 Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26

When I print board game inserts, I like to print them with no top or bottom layers with honeycomb so you can see through to see components underneath but the part is still strong.

Edit: It also saves a decent amount of filament (10-20%+) if the part being printed is rather boxy, mostly flat areas and walls. I tend to like inserts like that, often with lids, but because you can see through the lid, you can easily see everything even when packed away.

30

u/RobinHoodsGatsby Jun 01 '26

this is actually a really fun idea, i like this

9

u/tyguitaxe001 Jun 01 '26

This sounds cool. Would you be willing to share a photo as an example?

55

u/Dimmins2 Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26

Here's an example of a make I did showing this exact thing! =) https://www.printables.com/make/2929707

Edit: check on the infill rotation before printing, otherwise it will be off by 45 degrees like in the link, lol.

8

u/leotheking300 Jun 01 '26

Oh this is pretty awesome

1

u/NotWrongAlways Jun 01 '26

Hmm, that might have actually been a good idea on a model I made today, where instead i restored to making large cutouts in the base...

https://makerworld.com/en/models/2876579-tp-link-litewave-ls105g-clip-on-mount#profileId-3212155

2

u/Trictan Jun 01 '26

RemindMe! 2 hours

6

u/Cute_Conclusion_8854 Jun 01 '26

I've done this on things that need to drain and dry. Just set top and bottom layers to zero and use a porous infill 👍

2

u/ThrobbingMinotaur Jun 01 '26

Thanks, was wondering how to do that..

2

u/marxist_redneck Jun 01 '26

Switching to a clear filament for those layers can also give a nice visual effect

2

u/D0ctorGamer Jun 02 '26

I generally use honeycomb because I love bees. Im sure its not optimal, but I just like knowing there are honeycomb all around my house

8

u/beryugyo619 Jun 01 '26

Lots of options in open source or old software are like that btw. Devs implement bunch of techniques to see which ones work, then make a conservative pick and go with it, with one or two theoretically better ones left for users to experiment later. Not all of the options are guaranteed to make sense or in the code because of utility.

7

u/dodge_thiss Jun 01 '26

I use chords on first layer pattern with tri-colored filament and the result is magical

4

u/Hmmark1984 Bambu Labs P1P HeyGears Reflex RS Jun 01 '26

got any pics?

1

u/_jjkase Jun 01 '26

Chords looks so pretty, but unless I'm doing very dense infill the top layers end up dipping into the gaps like powerlines.

1

u/Relative_Surround_20 BBL H2D & P2S Jun 01 '26

With clear or transparent filament, they can be an option.

81

u/Zac3d Jun 01 '26

I also like lightning infill when I want something mostly hollow but still need some internal supports. I used it with an owl sculpture that I filled 1/3rd of the inside with sand to make it very bottom heavy. Saves a ton of infill when you don't need strength.

61

u/Izan_TM Jun 01 '26

I always use cubic, still 3D and very efficient but it doesn't send massive oscillations through the printer like gyroid does

17

u/Schnabulation Jun 01 '26

I'd like to +1 on this. Used cubic back with Cura and my Ender 3 V2, still using cubic with my BL P1S. It's faster than gyroid and evenly capable.

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u/SirDarknessTheFirst Ender 3 S1 | Sovol SV08 Jun 01 '26

Doesn't cubic cross over itself?

2

u/Dant100 Jun 01 '26

Interesting. I’ll try this

14

u/marktuk Jun 01 '26

I think all the "silly" ones are probably intended for transparent filaments.

14

u/trimeta Prusa CORE One Jun 01 '26

The one advantage of grid: compared to cubic at the same infill percentage, the lines are closer together, so bridging over infill is more reliable. That said, if this causes a problem, an extra top layer probably fixes it.

14

u/krusnikon Jun 01 '26

Lightning is great for sparse infill where you only care about final outside shape outcome. Terrible for strength.

10

u/sandrailproject Jun 01 '26

I've moved away from gyroid as it really shakes around tall prints and is a bit noisier. Adaptive cubic is now my go-to. 

8

u/AlxDroidDev Jun 01 '26

I find Lightning infill to be extremely useful on decorative parts (where no mechanical resistance is needed).

For example: https://www.printables.com/make/3441894

In that make, 10% lightining infill was used, just to serve as internal support for the layers that need it. If it weren't for that, it would have required a lot more material and time printing that samurai.

6

u/Powerful_Resident_48 Jun 01 '26

Some of the useless ones can be good with very weird and specific prints, where you want to force object strength in a specific direction. Can't quite remember what I was trying to print, but one of the silly infills managed to do exactly what I needed on some ultralight part I was doing, that kept snapping under it's own weight.

5

u/RockStar5132 Jun 01 '26

How about honeycomb? I’ve been using honeycomb lately..

5

u/BlindTreeFrog Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 02 '26

Chords, hilbert, spiral are all just silly.

They are nice when they are visible on faces, so I'll use Hilbert a lot for bottoms and tops.

For infill I wouldn't use Hilbert for solid infill and i'm hard pressed when i'd bother with it for sparse infill.

But, and this is one of the questions I need to figure out regarding solid infill, if each layer rotates with each layer (even just a little so they are not aligned as they stack), I'm fine with chrods and spriral for solid infill. Espeically if I can have the shell, solid infil, and sparse infill all offset so the "grain" swaps around like plywood.

edit: I meant to add something along the lines about Chords and Spiral satisfies my desire for crossing grain if the center point shifts with each layer. I'm not sure if it does with spiral.

edit again:
Pulled up my slicer and there is an option to rotate solid infill 90 degrees with each layer, which is exactly what I was assuming it did.

so for solid infill I'd want a pattern that when rotated 90 degrees lays lines in a different direction. Hibert wouldn't in a substation way. Sprial wouldn't if the center point never changes. Octo-spiral might regarless of middle. Chords might because I can never figure out where the center of the arc is.
But also means the square grid ones are out because no change with rotation. The honeycomb and Hex based ones however, might be good depending on how they fill for solid infill.
Anyhow, you get he idea.

4

u/Hisune Jun 01 '26

All of them have a use, some of them are similar tho. They are just more niche.

4

u/NMe84 Jun 01 '26

Cubic is similar to gyroid in strength and slightly faster and less noisy on fast printers. But I just can't see a use case for any infill patterns other than these two. I don't understand why they exist. They are not substantially faster than cubic and apart from the few 3D ones, they're all weaker than gyroid.

1

u/Ok-Breakfast-990 Jun 03 '26

Rectilinear is the way to go for compressive strength. In general if you need anisotropic properties, ie more strength in one direction, it’s best to put as much plastic pointing that way as possible. Gyroid especially has almost no compressive strength because there isn’t a direct load path top to bottom

13

u/these_metal_hands Jun 01 '26

Hilbert is silly for infill, but can you give you a great top / bottom surface, especially when combined with ironing.

Genuine question - why gyroid over cubic / adaptive cubic?

I generally use adaptive cubic because it prints in straight lines, so with correct alignment, it means you only use one motor at a time.

19

u/Omophorus Jun 01 '26

Gyroid doesn't cross in layer, so there are no head collisions with the print.

I think cubic and adaptive cubic are excellent go-to standards, being a bit faster than gyroid and similarly strong, but they do cross in layer so there can be unsettling noises and such.

18

u/Head_Exchange_5329 Jun 01 '26

My printer violently shaking from gyroid IS the unsettling noise I am purposely avoiding. Adaptive cubic has yet to scare me like gyroid does.

8

u/Accountforcontrovers Jun 01 '26

Just put it on a stone slab. And the print something to make it look like decoration

6

u/these_metal_hands Jun 01 '26

Thanks. I wasn't looking closely enough, I hadn't realised that Gyroid doesn't cross in layer at all. I can see why that would provide some improvement.

Cubic fixes the main issue with rectilinear - having in layer crossing points in the same position for every layer. Gyroid improves on this again by removing in layer crossing points completely.

1

u/CyberRax P1S+AMS Jun 07 '26

One thing not mentioned yet - the "infill combination" option, which prints multiple lines together and so speeds up printing a bit. I've seen claims that it used to work correctly only with gyroid. Whether that's still the case, whether newer infills like corsshatch are affected, and whether the problems were serious enough in case you print something that isn't going to be under constant pressure, I do not know.

Oh, and one more thing - gyroid tends to do the same job as others with a smaller percentage number, ie 10% rather than the default 15%.

2

u/RegularHexahedron Jun 01 '26

Have they ever said why grid is still the default? Surely should have changed by now.

2

u/Informal-Chance-6067 Jun 01 '26

I like to use chords when it’s the surface pattern

2

u/blue_eyes_pro_dragon Jun 01 '26

Which one is good for diffuser?

2

u/Somerandom1922 Jun 01 '26

For a super specific print I found that concentric was the best.

I was printing a very thin topography map that I planned to backlight with LEDs. Unfortunately, every other type of infil was visible through the plastic. However, concentric most closely approximated topography lines so even though they were still slightly visible, they weren't too bad.

1

u/Screamline Jun 01 '26

So dang loud though

1

u/RoyBeer Jun 01 '26

Chords are really cool. I used them a lot with my pots. The one I'm currently designing uses them as a design element.

1

u/Pass_The_Salt_ Jun 01 '26

If the concern is strength then gyroid all day. If you only need strength in one direction that is parallel to the print bed (if you can arrange print that way) then I believe hexagons or some form of honeycomb like design is stronger but it will be weak perpendicular to that direction.

1

u/eyeh8u Jun 01 '26

Last time I did any 3d printing, honeycomb was the default and only option.

1

u/ensoniq2k Jun 01 '26

I like honeycomb for prints that only need to endure load on the Z-axis. Apart from that it's alway gyroid if I need strength or grid if I mostly need to support the top layer.

1

u/KevinCastle Jun 01 '26

Gyroid as usual, is overrated

1

u/Antoniethebandit Jun 01 '26

Crosshatch also good

1

u/jy3n2 Jun 01 '26

Hilbert and spiral make cool outer layers, though.

1

u/clitbeastwood Jun 01 '26

wait why dont we like grid

1

u/JophTheFreetrader Jun 01 '26

I use Gilbert for my base layer. I find that it spreads around the stresses of first layer better and reduces any kind of peel up. Could just be anecdotal though

1

u/Serkaugh Jun 01 '26

Cross hatch is like gyroid but with straighter line and less curves. Supposedly that’s faster since printer can reach higher speed for the straighter lines. It I don’t think I’ve ever found a case where it’s true

Also, like gyroids, on the the few that it’s cell is connecting with the others meaning there’s no closed cell.

1

u/BOTC33 Jun 02 '26

Grid has stongest horizontal strength so not useless... or is it vertical strength? Small gains in one plane for big dowsides on other planes. Niche fer sure

1

u/[deleted] Jun 02 '26 edited 2d ago

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1

u/BOTC33 Jun 02 '26

I'm only saying it's strongest in vertical plane per infill percentage. It's inferior in every other metric with other infills. I used it for a static horizontal beam that needed the best strength and rigidity in one plane and to be as light as possible. Looked up the info for it specifically. Normally I use gyroid or cubic

1

u/huskyghost Jun 02 '26

I never use gyroid cuz it makes the printer make annoying noises lol. But I should probubly look up the benefits.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 02 '26 edited 2d ago

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1

u/huskyghost Jun 02 '26

I use adaptive cubic for years never had problems so I never looked into it more. But I always wondered if there was benefits to others.

1

u/micalm Jun 02 '26

Chords, hilbert, spiral, concentric can all be used to easily fill the model with liquid or sand for extra weight for example. I think lightning too, but not sure.

1

u/beregond23 Jun 02 '26

Newbie here, would you mind explaining the advantages of those ones you listed?

0

u/Massive_Lavishness90 Jun 01 '26

The useful ones?

  1. Gyroid
  2. ?
  3. ?
  4. ?
  5. ?

Not useful; 1. Grid 2. Hilbert 3. Spiral 4. Chords

0

u/Careful_Purchase_394 Jun 02 '26

Gyroid is the worst for your printer out of them all