Time to print 1 cm3 (3D) ?

[onesixright]

Hi,

Anybody can give me a estimate how long 1 Cubic cm would print (High & Low res)? I’m Just after a ball park number. Btw solid.

Thanks!

[wraper]

There is no ballpark. Completely depends on 3D printer, filling %, and what is fine and rough is very different for different 3D printers.

[Jeroen3]

A little bit under 5 minutes I guess.
But jokes aside:

Professional 3D Printing technology:

Full color printers utilize sandstone and they have a build rate ranging from  0.79-1.3 in/hr
SLS commercial printer on a standard setting can print 1.9-2.7 in/hr
Commercial wax printers can print on average 0.3 – 0.5 in/hr
Desktop 3D printing technology:

FDM printer can print anywhere from 0.3-1.7 in/hr on the standard setting
SLA printers print in resin and have a build rate ranging from 0.3 – 0.7 in/hr

[0xdeadbeef]

As wraper said, it depends on lots of factors. Printing technology, resolution, model complexity, allowed maximum movement speed/acceleration. Even the direction can have a big impact.
Anyway, that 1cm³ approach has one major flaw, namely the infill. Some technologies will always produce 100% infill, but most tend to create an infill pattern.
So obviously the infill percentage will have a very high impact.

BTW: there are quite a few slicers freely available, so you can try out how long they predict for an STL model to print. Usually it takes quite a bit longer though, e.g. heating the bed and extruder is typically not included in the prediction.

[onesixright]

Thanks all!

I understand that there are many factors. I'm considering buying one, for (mainly) small parts.

A few cubic centimeters, infill of ~50%.  I would print it 1st rough (fastest) check it, then higher.

I'm just trying to figure out if you can print, lets say 1 cm3 (50%) in like ~ 10 mins (fast). If that already takes > 30 minutes. Its going to be a long process.....

The slider is a good point, didn't think of that!

[ChrisLX200]

Print speed is adjustable within the slicer (factor of several-fold) but with a small object there is a need to slow the print speed right down because the previous layer needs time to cool. Large objects don't have this issue because by the time the print head returns to the same spot it's already cooled. This is necessary to avoid the print 'slumping'. You can also use forced air cooling at the nozzle (for PLA anyway) and that helps with bridging over gaps too. Another option is to print several of the same small items together - but the head then spends a lot of time moving from item to item - and you need to get your retraction settings right to avoid excess filament all over the place. 3D printing is generally not a quick process, you need to get used to setting the thing up and walking away while it gets on with the job.

[0xdeadbeef]

Be aware that everything that is not very, very small easily takes multiple hours to print with a typical filament based printer.
Even something as small as a knob for a rotary encoder in middle quality (e.g. 150µm) can take an hour or so.
And don't over-estimate the possibilities of speed-up or draft modes. Apart from adding effects like ringing or skipping steps, increasing the speed also cools down the extruder.
And increasing the layer height with a given nozzle diameter is also only possible within certain limits since the the amount of the material than can be pushed through the nozzle is limited by the nozzle diameter and the extruder's mechanical and thermal capabilities.

[PlainName]

I just set this up using default values on a FlashForge Dreamer. Time varied between 2mins (low quality) and 7 mins (high quality).