Design Guideline - 3D Printing

3D Printing Design Guidelines

List of requirements to ensure successful printing and put your mind at ease
Kindly select materials according to your requirements. Please check the properties of materials. Visit Materials for more information.
Check the thickness of your design. Every part of your model must be thick enough to be printed, survive post-production, and be safely packed and shipped. Please check the thickness design requirements for different materials.

Minimum Wall Thickness

Minimum wall thickness are the thinnest that your model can be on any given supported or unsupported walls. Please refer to below guidelines. Parts that does not meet the guidelines might warp or detach from the model during printing. Please increase the thickness or select different materials.

Supported Wall

Walls that are connected to other walls on two or more sides.

Process	Materials	5*5mm	10*10mm	50*50mm	100*100mm	200*200mm
SLA	Somos® GP Plus 14122 C-UV 9400E Somos Tough Resin Somos® Taurus Somos® LEDO 6060	0.6mm	0.8mm	1mm	1.2mm	1.5mm
SLA	Somos® WaterShed XC 11122	0.4mm	0.8mm	1mm	1mm	1.2mm
SLA	SLS White Nylon SLS Black Nylon SLS FS3400GF fiberglass PP GB	0.8mm	0.8mm	1mm	1mm	1.2mm
SLA	HP 3D High Reusability PA 12	0.6mm	0.8mm	1mm	1mm	1.2mm

Unsupported Wall

Unsupported walls are connected to other walls on fewer than two sides.

Process	Materials	Wall Thikness
SLA	Somos® GP Plus 14122 C-UV 9400E Somos Tough Resin Somos® Taurus Somos® LEDO 6060	1mm
SLA	Somos® WaterShed XC 11122	1mm
SLS	SLS White Nylon SLS Black Nylon SLS FS3400GF fiberglass PP GB	0.8mm
SLA	HP 3D High Reusability PA 12	0.8mm

Minimum Escape Hole Diameter

Recommended: > 2.0 mm Diameter

Prepare at least one escape hole for hollow model so that excess material can escape during 3D Printing process. It is best to have multiple escape holes at different locations so that excess material near the hole can be removed.

Minimum Vertical Post Thickness

In the model, post is the protruding part whose length exceeds 2 times the width (embossed detail is when length less than 2 times the width). Parts that does not meet the guidelines might warp or detach from the model during printing. Please increase the thickness or select different materials.
Supported post is when both ends are connected to wall

Supported post is when both ends are connected to wall

Process	Materials	Supported Post	Unsupported Post
SLA	Somos® GP Plus 14122 C-UV 9400E Somos Tough Resin Somos® Taurus Somos® LEDO 6060	1.2mm	1.5mm
SLA	Somos® WaterShed XC 11122	0.5mm	0.5mm
SLS	SLS White Nylon SLS Black Nylon SLS FS3400GF fiberglass PP GB	1.0mm	1mm
MJF	HP 3D High Reusability PA 12	1.0mm	1mm

Minimum Embossed Detail

Embossed details are feature raised on your model, such as text. Feature that does not meet guidelines of thickness and height might not visible on your print. Please consider the effect of post-processing. You may increase width and height of the feature or select suitable materials.

Process	Materials	Width & Height
SLA	Somos® GP Plus 14122 C-UV 9400E Somos® Taurus Somos® LEDO 6060	1.2mm
SLA	Somos Tough Resin	1.5mm
SLA	Somos® WaterShed XC 11122	0.5mm
SLA	SLS White Nylon SLS Black Nylon SLS FS3400GF fiberglass PP GB	1.0mm
MJF	HP 3D High Reusability PA 12	1.0mm

Minimum Engraved Detail

Engraved details are feature imprinted or recessed below your model. Feature that does not meet guidelines of thickness and height might not visible on your print. Please consider the effect of post-processing. You may increase width and height of the feature or select suitable materials.

Process	Materials	Width & height
SLA	Somos® GP Plus 14122 C-UV 9400E Somos® Taurus Somos® LEDO 6060	1.2mm
SLA	Somos Tough Resin	1.5mm
SLA	Somos® WaterShed XC 11122	0.5mm
SLS	SLS White Nylon SLS Black Nylon SLS FS3400GF fiberglass PP GB	1.0mm
MJF	HP 3D High Reusability PA 12	1.0mm

Minimum Unsupported Overhang Angle

Recommended: >20° from level

If there is an overhang angle in your design, the angle of this part needs to meet the minimum requirements or else it would break off the model during peeling, post-processing or delivery.

Process	Materials	Width & height
SLA	Somos® GP Plus 14122 C-UV 9400E Somos® Taurus Somos® LEDO 6060	1.2mm
SLA	Somos Tough Resin	1.5mm
SLA	Somos® WaterShed XC 11122	0.5mm
SLS	SLS White Nylon SLS Black Nylon SLS FS3400GF fiberglass PP GB	1.0mm
MJF	HP 3D High Reusability PA 12	1.0mm

Minimum Clearance

Clearance is the distance needed between two connecting or moving parts of a model. Support might not be removed if clearance less than the required distance.

Process	Materials	Clearance Distance
SLA	Somos® GP Plus 14122 C-UV 9400E Somos Tough Resin Somos® Taurus Somos® LEDO 6060	2.0mm
SLA	Somos® WaterShed XC 11122	0.5mm
SLS	SLS White Nylon SLS Black Nylon SLS FS3400GF fiberglass PP GB	0.5mm
MJF	HP 3D High Reusability PA 12	1.0mm

Threads and Screws Design Requirements

To design and 3D print threads and screws that fit is a challenge.

Process	Materials	Pitch Diameter	Thread Angle
SLA	Somos® GP Plus 14122 C-UV 9400E Somos Tough Resin Somos® Taurus Somos® LEDO 6060	0.6mm	20°
SLA	Somos® WaterShed XC 11122	0.5mm	20°
SLA	SLS White Nylon SLS Black Nylon SLS FS3400GF fiberglass PP GB	0.6mm	20°
SLA	HP 3D High Reusability PA 12	0.6mm	20°

Minimum Hole Diameter

Minimum diameter that a machine can successfully print.

Process	Materials	Diameter
SLA	Somos® GP Plus 14122 C-UV 9400E Somos Tough Resin Somos® Taurus Somos® LEDO 6060	1.2mm
SLA	Somos® WaterShed XC 11122	0.8mm
SLS	SLS White Nylon SLS Black Nylon SLS FS3400GF fiberglass PP GB	1.5mm
MJF	HP 3D High Reusability PA 12	1.5mm

3D Printing Unusual Parts

Kindly contact our sales department at info@3dpnext.com . or your account manager for unusual parts as the costing might be differ. Below are samples of unusual parts.

Design Guideline - CNC Machining

CNC Machining Design Guidelines

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CNC Machining is a popular choice for producing industrial parts because the process is highly versatile, repeatable, and reliable — plus, it is compatible with a broad range of materials. Variables in relation to the functionality of CNC models differ from one CNC type to the other.
Please Note: Below value is only recommendation for best CNC design practices.

File Format

Wenext supports up to 10 multiple files upload, size of each individual file should not exceed 64MB. Recommend format is STEP(.step / .stp) file

Material Consideration

Please consider the following when selecting your material as it will significantly affect machining cost:
1. Part Size
2. Material Hardness
3. Material Characteristics
4. Finishing Aesthetics

Tolerance

Please use standard tolerance when designing your drawings. Wenext standard tolerances is 100um, 50um, 25um. Tolerance could reach 2um though EDM, WEDM and Wire Cutting.

Size Limitations

Part size is limited by machining's capabilities. Machining costs are greatly affected by part size. Normally, the larger the part size, the greater the cost.
Milling maximum size: 1000*600*600mm
Turning maximum size: 800*250*50mm

Corners

Milling is done with circular drill bits, hence it is difficult to achieve sharp internal corners. It Is recommended to add a radius while designing inner edges and must be larger than the cutter to be used. The radius of the corner will be 1.3 times the milling tool radius as your inner edge radius.

Walls Thickness

Parts with very thin wall thickness could stress on the material and machine which will cause vibrations during machining and decrease the accuracy. In the other hand, using moderate and standard wall thickness will improve strength and accuracy of CNC process. Suggested thickness of your workpiece should be greater than 0.8 mm.

Holes

Hole Depths: suggested no more than 4 times the nominal diameter
Hole Diameters: standard drill bit sizes

Text

Engraved feature is less expensive than embossed feature as less material is removed. Ensure depth and width is at least 1mm diameter to ensure clear and easy reading.

	3 Axis	4 Axis	5 Axis
Tolerances	0.005 (±mm)	0.003 (±mm)	0.005 (±mm)
Maximum Size	1000x600x600 mm	500x400x300 mm	1000x600x600 mm
Minimum Size	6.35mm x 6.35mm	6.35mm x 6.35mm	6.35mm x 6.35mm
Cavity Depth	4 x cavity width	4 x cavity width	4 x cavity width
Internal Edges: Vertical Corner Radius	⅓ x cavity depth (or larger)	⅓ x cavity depth (or larger)	⅓ x cavity depth (or larger)
Minimum wall thickness	0.8 mm (metals), 1.5 mm (plastics)	0.8 mm (metals), 1.5 mm (plastics)	0.8 mm (metals), 1.5 mm (plastics)
Hole Diameter	standard drill bit sizes	standard drill bit sizes	standard drill bit sizes
Hole - Maximum Depth	4 x nominal diameter	4 x nominal diameter	4 x nominal diameter
Minimum hole diameter	2.5 mm (0.1'')	2.5 mm (0.1'')	2.5 mm (0.1'')
Text & Lettering	Recommend 5 mm engraved	Recommend 5 mm engraved	Recommend 5 mm engraved