Print Settings
Temperatures, layer limits and the speed ceiling your hot end can actually feed — by material, nozzle and layer height.
There is no single correct temperature for PLA, and the reason is more interesting than it sounds: the four largest manufacturers publish bed temperatures that span 35 °C and barely overlap.
Prusament says 40–60. Polymaker says 25–60. Bambu says 35–45. eSUN PLA+ says 45–60. These are not rough guides — they are technical datasheets for materials with genuinely different formulations.
So the honest answer to "what temperature for PLA" is: look at the spool you actually bought. The figures here come from those datasheets, attributed by brand, rather than averaged into one number that is right for nobody.
Two physical constraints bound everything else
Layer height ≤ 80% of nozzle diameter. Above that the extrudate cannot be pressed into the layer below reliably, and layer adhesion falls off.
Speed = volumetric flow ÷ (layer height × extrusion width). Your hotend has a maximum flow rate in mm³/s. Every speed increase has to come out of layer height or width, or it does not happen — the printer will simply under-extrude.
Drying is not optional for some materials
PETG, nylon and TPU absorb moisture from the air and print badly when wet — stringing, popping, weak layers. The datasheet drying figures are part of the print settings, not an afterthought, and a spool left open for a month in a humid room is a different material from the one you bought.
What first layer problems actually are
Almost always bed leveling or surface preparation, not temperature. Raising the nozzle temperature to fix adhesion works by accident and creates elephant's foot. Fix the geometry first.
ASA, 0.4 mm nozzle, 0.2 mm layers
| Nozzle temperature | 245–265°C |
|---|---|
| Bed temperature | 95–110°C |
| Max layer height80% of nozzle diameter | 0.32mm |
| Line width1.125 × 0.4 mm nozzle | 0.45mm |
| ASA max volumetric flowtypical for a standard hot end | 11mm³/s |
| Speed ceiling11 mm³/s at this layer and width | 122mm/s |
Notes
- Going faster than 122 mm/s at these settings asks the hot end for more than 11 mm³/s. The result is under-extrusion that looks like a clog but is not one.
- ASA: ABS that survives sunlight
- A high-flow hot end raises the volumetric ceiling, which raises the speed ceiling proportionally — it does not change the layer height rule, which is geometry.
Print settings by material and nozzle
48 calculations · browse all
- PLA, 0.2 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- PLA, 0.25 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- PLA, 0.4 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- PLA, 0.6 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- PLA, 0.8 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- PLA, 1 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- PETG, 0.2 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- PETG, 0.25 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- PETG, 0.4 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- PETG, 0.6 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- PETG, 0.8 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- PETG, 1 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- ABS, 0.2 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- ABS, 0.25 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- ABS, 0.4 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- ABS, 0.6 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- ABS, 0.8 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- ABS, 1 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- ASA, 0.2 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- ASA, 0.25 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- ASA, 0.4 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- ASA, 0.6 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- ASA, 0.8 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- ASA, 1 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- TPU, 0.2 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- TPU, 0.25 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- TPU, 0.4 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- TPU, 0.6 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- TPU, 0.8 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- TPU, 1 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- Nylon, 0.2 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- Nylon, 0.25 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- Nylon, 0.4 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- Nylon, 0.6 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- Nylon, 0.8 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- Nylon, 1 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- PC, 0.2 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- PC, 0.25 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- PC, 0.4 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- PC, 0.6 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- PC, 0.8 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- PC, 1 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- PETG-CF, 0.2 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- PETG-CF, 0.25 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- PETG-CF, 0.4 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- PETG-CF, 0.6 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- PETG-CF, 0.8 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers
- PETG-CF, 1 mm nozzle, 0.1 mm layers