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Is there a rule-of-thumb for how much filament is needed to complete a project?

winonageek

Is there a rule-of-thumb for how much filament is needed to complete a project?
August 11, 2013 05:57PM

Registered: 10 years ago
Posts: 2

I'm new to 3D printing and have a lot to learn still. I've been trying to understand how much filament it takes to make things. For example, if I want to print all the printable parts for a Prusa i3, how much filament will that take? Is there a general rule-of-thumb for estimating the amount of filament needed to complete a project? I thought this would be an easy thing to search for, but I haven't had much luck.

Thanks.

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Myles

Re: Is there a rule-of-thumb for how much filament is needed to complete a project?
August 11, 2013 06:19PM

Registered: 11 years ago
Posts: 75

I have a set of i3 printed parts with a fill of about 40%, and I have just weighed them, ~275 g
Faberdashery says 100 m of 1.75 mm filament weighs about 300 g,
so you should be safe with 100 m, as long as there are not too many failures.
Your slicer should also tell how much you need after slicing each part.
Hope that helps

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winonageek

Re: Is there a rule-of-thumb for how much filament is needed to complete a project?
August 11, 2013 08:16PM

Registered: 10 years ago
Posts: 2

Thanks Myles that does help. Can you clear up something for me though, what do you mean when you say "with a fill of about 40%"? Like I said I'm very new to all this and I don't fully understand what that means.

Thanks.

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jbernardis

Re: Is there a rule-of-thumb for how much filament is needed to complete a project?
August 11, 2013 08:40PM

Registered: 11 years ago
Posts: 1,320

Infill is the density of the interior of an object. Normally objects are not printed at 100% density; in most cases this would waste plastic. So we typically set our slicers to make the object interior less dense. 30% to 50% is a typical range.

See here for more info.

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RP Iron Man

Re: Is there a rule-of-thumb for how much filament is needed to complete a project?
August 11, 2013 11:06PM

Registered: 11 years ago
Posts: 246

I find that I can reduce the infill to 25% before it starts to have a measurable effect on structural integrity using honeycomb infill. jbernardis' link explains the concept. In Slic3r, the infill density settings are under: Print Settings--> Infill --> Fill Density.

Eric

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lucindrea

Re: Is there a rule-of-thumb for how much filament is needed to complete a project?
August 12, 2013 12:20AM

Registered: 10 years ago
Posts: 16

1kg of pla = 400 chess pieces (according to the google) .. that about as much as i know heh ..

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RP Iron Man

Re: Is there a rule-of-thumb for how much filament is needed to complete a project?
August 12, 2013 12:29AM

Registered: 11 years ago
Posts: 246

Also, forgot to mention when you slice an STl using Slic3r in Repetier Host you get an estimate of the length and volume of filament required. I am not sure how accurate this is but it is good for a rough estimate.

Eric

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redsalamander

Re: Is there a rule-of-thumb for how much filament is needed to complete a project?
August 12, 2013 12:00PM

Registered: 10 years ago
Posts: 17

Cura has a nice interface that gives you time to print, weight and length used.Seems acurate. I left a print running and measured the distance it said it would require and it pretty much used the amount it said.

Cura I find a little easier to use from a beginer pov slic3r does alot more I also used kiss slicer but there are some limits in the free version.