Skip to content
3D PrintBarcelona

Wall thickness: why 0.4 mm is not enough

How to pick a wall thickness so the part neither snaps nor turns translucent. The nozzle-multiple rule.

3 min read

The nozzle is 0.4 mm, so in theory you can print a 0.4 mm wall. In practice that wall is a single strand of plastic with nothing to hold on to: it breaks as you pull it off the plate.

0.4 mm — 1 perimeter✕ fragile0.8 mm — 2 perimeters✓ solid1.6 mm — 4 perimeters✓ solidWith a 0.4 mm nozzle, design walls in multiples of 0.4 mm
A two-perimeter wall is two strands welded together. That weld is where nearly all the strength comes from.
  • 0.8 mm — the sensible minimum. Two perimeters. For enclosures and decorative parts.
  • 1.2 to 1.6 mm — functional parts that get handled or carry something.
  • 2 mm or more — parts that take knocks, or that must last years outdoors.

Keep reading