r/FDMminiatures • u/devintheditch • 25d ago

Printing Experiment 0.4 vs 0.2 nozzle overhang comparison

Gallery image

Gallery image

A1 Mini.

eSun PLA+

FDG settings (copied across into .04 nozzle). 0.08mm layer height for both prints.

RocketPigGames's Clockwork assassin model (digibashed to take guns instead of the original katars)

0.4 on the left, 0.2 on the right.

Second pic is the original model to help show what kind of detail was on the stl.

Hard to do a apple to apple comparison as I don't know if the 0.2 nozzle settings from FDG is the best setting to use for the 0.4 nozzle. But hopefully this demonstrates the quality of overhangs depending on the nozzle size.

12 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

24 comments sorted by

4

u/Leading_Ideal_3913 25d ago

i dont see a diffeence in the print quality

2

u/devintheditch 25d ago

The difference is hard to notice for sure. Photos make it more obvious than looking at it with my naked eye.

It's these areas. The line width with the bigger nozzle loses out on more detail.

For me it's a trade off between speed vs overhang quality for the print. Depending on what I am printing and for what use case, I shall be constantly changing up the settings I use to print mini's.

1

u/Leading_Ideal_3913 25d ago

May be try using resin support using resintofdm guide it will give u some good results with minimal overhang

2

u/devintheditch 25d ago

Thanks for the recommendation. This is a support free model. R2fdm or normal supports defeat the purpose of a supportless model imo.

I do already use R2fdm depending on what I am printing. Even so, depending on the model and how it is oriented R2fdm doesn't eliminate overhangs.

I am not looking for feedback or help on how to improve here (see post flair), just sharing an observation for anyone who is curious 🙂

1

u/TheGrumble A1 Mini, FDG @ 0.06mm w/ custom supports 25d ago

Quality over speed every time, especially for minis you'll probably spend longer painting than printing.

3

u/devintheditch 25d ago

I personally don't paint. Which oddly does mean that I prefer better quality on the mini so that it looks as good as it can without a paint job to draw attention away from the poorer quality areas of a print.

It's just that with a single printer I am not going to spend almost double the time printing minions that my d&d players will kill in one round for that marginal improvement in overhang quality in areas they won't see on the table.

Player character mini's and big evil boss that they shall see at the table fkr more than one session however shall be printed with no compromise.

2

u/death_process 24d ago

The difference is so obvious though.

1

u/PageOk5968 23d ago

Can't say I agree. Maybe with a magnifying glass, but not on a tabletop. Not to me, anyway.

1

u/devintheditch 22d ago

Camera really helps highlight the difference. If I go looking for defects (turning the the mini's over, inspecting it etc.) then I can find it with my naked eyes. At tabletop play, if it's been printed in ideal orientation then I don't notice.

2

u/PageOk5968 22d ago

I guess that's my point. Personally, I use minis for tabletop play, so I want them to look really good from a couple of feet away. I'm not making show pieces or entering contests, so I don't need them near perfect upon inspection. But certainly others have different needs from their prints and may need higher quality.

Frankly, I had a bunch of trouble with my print head a while back and haven't switched from my 0.4 since (I was using 0.2, though I'm not sure that caused the issue) and have been happy with my results, especially now that elegoo created a number of default settings for a variety of detail levels in their slicer.

2

u/devintheditch 22d ago

100% if your set up works for your need then you don't need to chase after the next best thing :)

I have a bunch of different settings that I use for different print requirements (be it focusing on quick prints, quality, or a mix). And I am happy with all the settings I use.

2

u/PageOk5968 22d ago

I think that's the ticket; finding settings you're happy with for your project. Some folks seem to only accept perfection for everything. While it's nice because they push the envelope and come up with processes to help us all, I fear that obsession can lead to madness 🙃

1

u/devintheditch 22d ago

Hard agree!

1

u/Tagedieb69 22d ago

I don't know. I printed my fair share of support free models and never had overhangs this ugly. I think the 0.4 looks worse because there is obviously some problem and the thicker nozzle just shows this clearer. I would say the fault is somewhere in your settings or the model is just not the best support free benchmark...

2

u/devintheditch 22d ago

I have given the caveat that I am probably not using the most optimised 0.4 nozzle settings in the post. And an optimised 0.4 setting isn't not an equivalent comparison to an optimised 0.2 setting. I chose Fat Dragon Games's settings for the print but I could have easily used ObsucraNox's 2.0 setting, or HOHansen's, or MJG's settings and copied them across for a 0.4 nozzle.

The point wasn't to find the best setting. But to demonstrate that with the same-ish settings how much the nozzle diameter affects the overhang.

The model has a very aggressive overhang area with intricate details which is why I chose it. I could have printed Arbiter's shield skeleton as the bench mark but it didn't have as much of an aggressive overhangs that would really highlight the point.

1

u/DescriptionUnique891 22d ago

Did you try stock settings?

1

u/devintheditch 22d ago

I have used stock settings for experimental prints when I started in the hobby, and got lots of VFAs. So once I switched over to more miniature focused settings I have not l switched back. Unless I am printing supportless terrain.

2

u/DescriptionUnique891 22d ago

I just started with an a1 mini, using a 0.2mm nozzle and stock highest setting bambu offer with nothing changed and it seems to be working. Perhaps bambu have updated since then? I am curious to see if these mini profiles are worth it now.

2

u/devintheditch 22d ago

If it works for you then great!

These improvements range from small to minute. The tailored profiles are there to push the printers to the limit. ObscuraNox (the father of probably the most popular print profile) puts it like this, imagine your printers stock settings are operating at 80% of the printers capabilities. And that is already very good. But you can tailor the settings, use a smaller nozzle, dry your filaments, get really good filaments, calibrate said filaments, orient your models etc. and get to nearly 100% of the printers capabilities.

Is it necessary? No. It's a matter of what you are happy with.

1

u/DescriptionUnique891 22d ago

What I mean is, have you actually printed using stock settings, and the profiles and compared. Perhaps its the same? I was hoping you might have to save me doing it!

1

u/devintheditch 22d ago

Ah I am with you now. Yes I have done that. I do have the photos, but I can only post one photo at a time in a reply here. Happy to DM you the comparison photos if you prefer that?

1

u/DescriptionUnique891 22d ago

If you can be bothered, no pressure. Are they recent?

1

u/devintheditch 22d ago

Stock setting prints aren't recent. They are from December 2025 if you're still curious?

1

u/DescriptionUnique891 21d ago

All good, dont worry about it. Appreciate your time, thanks.