How to 3D Print Text, Logos and Fine Detail

3D Printing text is very simple when you go down to the basics of how the technology works. If you are using a SLA (stereolithography) then the text that’s possible to achieve will be very small, with great levels of detail. However with FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling) it can sometimes be a bit more tricky to get the best results. Within this blog post we shall be exploring how to 3D Print text, and why you get better success in some orientations than others.

General Image/Text Tips

1. Make sure that your image is as large as possible, without any loss in image quality.

2. Make sure that the image is solid (no small lines, if you want to show lines, add a small contour!)

3. Remove any shadows/highlights, anthing that makes it look 3D if you can (shading, different colours etc.) Also add any extra text/image items needed for the print.

In comparison to what it looked like before it might look quite boring; but high contrast and clean, simple edges will help it transfer easier to 3D.

How to Print

The first place to start, is by having a think about the FDM printing process. The areas responsible for how well we can print fine details will be the nozzle (F), the extruded filament (G) , and the orientation of the part on the build platform (H).

When using an FDM printer (Markforged, Ultimaker, Raise 3D, Sindoh) you need to take into account the nozzle width. The nozzle is about 0.4mm thick which limits the amount of detail that it can produce when laying down material. To avoid this issue and produce high quality logos/names make sure you position them on the XY plane (sides) of your part.

This benefits the quality directly as the layer height defines the quality instead of the nozzle width. The normal layer height is 0.1 mm so therefore much more detailed; meaning your logo/text will come out much sharper and precise. Layer height is also customisable meaning that you can easily change the level of detail depending on what your part requires.

Conclusion

When it comes to printing logo/text/detail, there’s only one way to do it, and thats printing it on the XY plane. It’s far superior to doing it on the Z plane and looks much much better.

Solid Print3D is here to help you with the right decisions when it comes to 3D printing. For more information, please call Solid Print3D at 01926 333 777 or email at info@solidprint3d.co.uk