Whether you're a beginner just unboxing your first machine or a seasoned pro looking to fine-tune your workflow, there's always room to improve your 3D printing experience. At 3D Cast, we’re committed to helping Australian 3D printers get the most out of their 3D printers. We don’t have all the answers, but from 10 years of experience here are our top 10 tips to make every print better, smoother and more successful.
1. Level Your Build Plate or Print Bed Regularly
This might seem basic, but it's crucial. An uneven build plate is the #1 cause of failed prints. For FDM users, re-level your bed often, especially after moving the printer location or switching build plate surfaces. Resin printers also require re-zeroing after vat or plate cleaning. A level foundation equals better adhesion and less frustration. Note: With newer 3d printers at a lot of levelling is automatically done for you, please double check with your 3d printer manual for recommendations on levelling.
2. Dial in Your Print Settings
Your slicer is your best friend, if you treat it right and take the time to learn all the settings in the software. Spending 1 hour in learning the settings will save you hours in miss prints.
Adjust key parameters like:
- FDM: Bed & Nozzle temps for your selected material, Layer height, print speed, wall thickness, infill patterns, flow rate.
- Resin: Exposure time, lift speed, light delay (adjust depending on the viscosity of the resin) and bottom layers.
Customizing your print settings for each material and model type ensures optimal quality.
3. Keep Your Printer Clean
Resin spills, filament dust, and general dust can wreak havoc on prints and printer components. Regularly clean:
- FDM: Nozzle, extruder gears, bed surface and grease bearing surfaces.
- Resin: Vat, build plate, use a screen protector and grease bearing surfaces.
A tidy machine is a happy machine and it prints far more reliably with less down time. Pro tip: Keep a small log book to document when and what you have maintain on your printer.
4. Store Materials Properly
Moisture is the enemy of both filament and resin materials. Store filament in dry boxes or in a zip lock bag. Always reseal your resin bottles tightly and store out of direct sunlight.
5. Master Support Placement
While auto-supports are helpful they’re not perfect. Take the time to manually place or edit supports, especially for resin prints. Balanced support placement reduces warping, prevents model failure and makes post-processing easier.
6. Calibrate Often
Run regular calibration tests to ensure dimensional accuracy and print quality:
- FDM: E-steps, flow rate, retraction distance.
- Resin: Use exposure calibration tests specific to your resin brand.
Precision tuning pays off in better surface finishes and tighter tolerances.
7. Use Quality Consumables
Don't cut corners with materials. Inferior resin or filament can lead to failed prints, poor detail and wasted time and money. We recommend trusted brands like:
- Phrozen
- Resione
- Monocure3D
You can find all of these stocked in our store. In the long run you actually save more money on consumables when you use quality materials over cheaper variants.
8. Maintain Ideal Print Temperatures
Temperature affects print quality significantly. For FDM, always preheat your bed and nozzle properly and ensure you are using the correct temperatures for the material you are using.
For resin, ensure your printing area is warm enough (ideally 25–30°C) or pre-warm your resin before printing. Newer resin 3d printers have vat heaters that help improve your 3d prints. If your printer doesn’t have a heater you can use a thermal band heater on the vat.
9. Don’t Skip Post-Processing
Post-processing brings your models to life and adds to their durability. Resin users should:
- Wash thoroughly first. Using a wash station is perfect.
- Blow your model with compressed air before curing
- Fully cure under UV light, take the extra time to ensure all resin is cured
FDM prints benefit from sanding, priming, or even vapor smoothing to achieve professional results. Having your printer setting correct will greatly reduce time spent cleaning up for FDM prints.
10. Learn from Failures
Each failed print teaches you something. Keep notes, take photos, and troubleshoot:
- Was the support structure weak?
- Did the bed adhesion fail?
- Was the temperature too low?
- Was I printing to fast?
The more you learn, the fewer issues you’ll encounter over time. It’s perfectly normal to have print failures so don’t let that discourage you from your next print.
Better Printing Starts with Better Habits
3D printing is both a science and an art. With the right practices, gear and mindset, you can elevate your printing experience to new heights. Anyone can learn quickly how to 3d print at home, work or school. Explore our full range of Hardware, Consumables and accessories.