image credit: 3d-printing-reviews.blogspot.hk
In the 3D slicing software, you will find there is a setting called ”layer height”. Layer height is used to determine the vertical resolution of a printout. The reason why the layer height is called vertical resolution is because the FDM 3d printer print the whole 3d model from the bottom to the top layer by layer. For example, if the layer height is set to be 0.2mm, it means that each layers will be printed in 2mm thickness. Therefore, the smaller the layer height, the higher quality the 3d model will be printed.
The following photo shows different effects when using different layer heights. You can see that the horizontal line pattern on the rightmost printout's surface is less obvious when using smaller layer height. On the other hand, using smaller layer height means that the time consumed to print the 3d model will be much longer.
image credit: theprintingbay.com
In general, layer height with 0.1mm to 0.15mm is considered to be high quality, while 0.2mm is regarded as medium quality. It is very easy to set the layer height in the 3d slicing software. Following example shows how to set the layer height in the Flashforge's 3d slicing software Flashprint:
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