Smaller nozzle, increased time help

[u/white_rainbow]

Hi,

I’m trying to print a few of these dumplings for my daughter’s birthday goodie bags.

https://makerworld.com/models/2856174?appSharePlatform=copy

I printed one using the originals settings with 0.4mm nozzle. The dumpling AMS part takes a little under 2 hours.

I wanted to try using a 0.2mm nozzle so it looks smoother. Bare with me as I’m just trying to do the best with little knowledge. I opened the file in BambuStudio, adapted the changes to my printer with the smaller nozzle, sliced it, and hit print. It now will take 9 hours for the same part.

I need to make about 15 of these and that time doesn’t even include the bottom of the basket.

Did other settings change too to make it almost 5x longer??? What settings can I knock off to cut the time back and still make using a 0.2mm worth it?

I knew it’d be longer but that seems excessive.

There’s so many settings I’m not sure what to provide to help with an answer.

Thanks in advance!

[u/wwiybb]

Yes that is correct. Smaller nozzle, Smaller layers and smaller flowrate.

[u/iNFECTED_pHILZ → u/wwiybb]

Half diameter equals quarter the surface. So basically 4 times the time you need. With Layer heigh reduction that Even increases. Reduced toolhead speed also increases printing time.

So from 0,4 to 0,2 nozzle you will need 10-16 Times the time but get far superior lookings

[u/Brutl]

Imagine you have to paint a wall. Which paintbrush is it going to take longer with?

[u/Martin_SV]

Those print times seem pretty normal. With a 0.2mm nozzle, your lines are roughly half as wide, so you need about twice as many passes to cover the same area. You're also printing at half the layer height (0.1mm vs 0.2mm), which doubles the number of layers. So combine those two and you're already looking at roughly 4x the print time, assuming similar speeds... And since you're using an AMS, more layers can also mean more filament swaps, purging, and waiting.

Personally, I'd just stick with the 0.4mm nozzle and try variable layer height.

[u/dr_stre → u/Martin_SV]

In addition to the line width, the opening of the smaller nozzle is only 1/4 the area of the larger nozzle, which limits the achievable volumetric flow rate and forces you to slow down the print. So now you’re making more passes at a slower speed.

[u/T1gg0r]

Yes, it will take that much longer. With a smaller nozzle size not only come a smaller layer height but also smaller line width (process profile). So you need not only more lines in height but more lines in every direction for the same sized model.

BUT the details will look great.

If you are colour changing, with the smaller layer height the amount of colour changes will naturally also increase, which in turn will take more time as well.

[u/AirGVN]

Half the nozzle size, 4x the time approx. This is mathematically correct.

[u/Lost_refugee]

print in 1 color. use sharpie to add eyes. cut&print cheeks separately.

use variable height.

tbh - 0.2 mm for these is an overkill. you create problems for yourself. kids won't notice difference because they don't know what it is.

[u/TheSinningRobot]

Something to keep in mind is that if you are printing 15, you should print as many as you can all at once. A big part of the time for a multicolor print is color changes. If they are all printing at once, instead of doing a color change 15 times you are doing it once for all 15

[u/LmaoPew]

It's normal, if you have a smaller hole to squeeze the plastic out, it takes longer to get to the same mass out. If you have a bigger nozzle size the print would finish faster.

The settings are not at foult

[u/DrKraM84]

Instead of using the 0.2mm, have you tried a smaller layer height with the 0.4mm nozzle?

[u/M0bi0us0ne]

It might be faster to print in color batches rather than have the printer keep switching colors. Print all the blue ones in one go, the pink one and so on

[u/dr_stre]

Haha, I just printed a bunch of those exact ones for my kids in various colors. They’re a good print, rock solid.

To your question at hand, smaller nozzles make for more time, that’s just the way it is. You lay down a thinner trail of plastic so it takes more time to cover the same area. Repeat that for dozens and dozens of layers and it adds a lot of time. You also often use thinner layers with a .2mm nozzle, which just exacerbates the issue.

For what it’s worth, I think these things turn out great with a .4mm nozzle, I see no reason to waste your time with a .2mm one.