PrintDial
Filament specs, print settings, and cost math you can trust.
| Sections | Latest |
|---|---|
| PLA SettingsTemperatures, speeds and first-layer numbers for PLA, with the source for every figure. | 7 |
| PETG SettingsPETG runs hotter, stickier and slower than PLA. What to change, and why. | 5 |
| Cost & SpoolsWhat a print actually costs: grams, meters, and the price per part. | 3 |
| Drying & StorageMoisture is the failure nobody photographs. How to measure it and fix it. | 4 |
| Filament ComparisonsSide-by-side numbers instead of vibes. | 5 |
| Print SettingsTemperatures, layer limits and the speed ceiling your hot end can actually feed — by material, nozzle and layer height. | 48 |
| 3D Print CostWhat a print actually costs — filament by weight and density, electricity by run time, and the waste allowance that separates a material cost from a quoted price. | 145 |
- Weak Layer Adhesion in PLA — Four Causes, Ranked by How Often
A part that snaps cleanly between layers is telling you the plastic never actually fused. There are only a few ways that happens.
- Part Cooling for PLA — 100% Is Right, Except When It Is Not
The same fan setting that gives clean overhangs gives weak layers. There is no setting that does both, which is why it is a per-part decision.
- PETG Overhangs — More Fan Than You Think, Less Than PLA
PETG at zero fan bridges badly and droops. PETG at 100% delaminates. The useful setting is in between and it is narrower than PLA's.
- How Much Filament a Print Uses — The Slicer Knows, and It Rounds Down
The estimate on screen is for the part. What leaves the spool includes the priming line, the purge tower and the print that failed at hour nine.
- Wet Filament — Popping, Steam, and a Surface That Went Rough Overnight
A spool that printed perfectly last month and produces rough, weak parts today has not changed chemically. It has absorbed water.
- PETG or ABS? PETG Covers Most of What People Buy ABS For
There is a real gap between 80 °C and 100 °C where only ABS will do. Below it, PETG does the same job without an enclosure or styrene.
- Filament Prices by Material — and Why the Cheapest Spool Is Rarely the Cheapest
Material price varies about fivefold across common filaments and it is almost never what decides the cost of a project. Failure rate is.
- PETG First Layer: Higher, Slower, and Less Squish Than PLA
Almost every PETG first-layer problem comes from applying PLA habits. The most important one is squish, and PETG wants less of it, not more.
- What Does 3D Printing Cost per Hour? Material Dominates, Time Barely Registers
People price prints by time because time is what the slicer shows. Almost none of the cost lives there.
- PLA vs PLA+: A Different Material Wearing the Same Name
PLA+ is not a grade of PLA. It is a toughened blend that needs more heat, and treating it like plain PLA is a common cause of weak layers.
- Filament Dryer or Food Dehydrator? One Costs More and Does One Thing Better
A dehydrator does the same physics for less money. What the purpose-built unit adds is the ability to print straight out of it, which matters for exactly two materials.
- ABS or ASA? Nearly Identical to Print, and Only One Survives Sunlight
They print almost the same and cost about the same. One yellows and goes brittle outdoors within months; the other does not.
- Fixing PETG Stringing: Dry the Spool Before You Touch Retraction
PETG strings for two unrelated reasons and only one is a settings problem. Tuning retraction against a wet spool is tuning against a moving target.
Cost of a print
144 calculations · 3D Print Cost · browse all
Print settings by material and nozzle
48 calculations · Print Settings · browse all