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Engineering Reference

FDM Engineering Reference

Real design guidance for FDM parts, with a named source for every number. Where published figures disagree, we say so and explain why, instead of picking one and hiding the rest.

Wall Thickness for 3D Printing

Real wall thickness figures for FDM from six sources, and why the numbers split into a printability wall and a structural wall.

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FDM Tolerances by Machine and Formulation

Real FDM tolerance figures from Protolabs Network, Stratasys, Xometry, and Prusa, each kept in its own formulation instead of one averaged number.

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Supports and Overhangs in 3D Printing

Real overhang angle and bridging figures from Cura, PrusaSlicer, Prusa, Markforged and Protolabs Network, not the 45 degree myth.

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Print Orientation and Strength

Published FDM Z-strength ratios span a wide range across machines and materials, so no single ratio works as a design rule.

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Infill Percentage and Strength in 3D Printing

Real infill and perimeter strength data for FDM, showing why more infill is not automatically stronger and pattern can matter more than percent.

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Hole Clearances for 3D Printing

FDM holes print smaller than the CAD file states, and no source gives one universal offset. Published clearance figures, and the fix that works.

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FDM Dimensional Accuracy by Part Size

See how published FDM accuracy specs change with part size, the crossover math behind that, and why shrinkage numbers stay unpublished.

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Boss Design for 3D Printing

Real FDM boss guidance from Stratasys Direct and Markforged, and why injection-molding boss wall rules do the opposite job.

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Rib Design for 3D Printing

Real FDM rib thickness figures, and the four bureaus' molded-rib rules kept as a disagreement, not one house number.

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Snap-Fit Strain Limits for 3D Printing

Bayer and DuPont snap-fit strain data is for molded plastic, not printed parts, so it does not say how far a layered FDM arm can safely flex.

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Threaded Inserts in 3D Printed Parts

Published FDM insert pull-out data is thin. What Tappex, SPIROL, and one aging study show, and why a test coupon beats a table.

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FDM vs Injection Molding

See the real tooling and per-part cost figures for injection molding next to FDM, with the break-even range kept as a range, not one number.

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FDM vs CNC Machining

Compare real published FDM and CNC accuracy figures side by side, with sources, instead of a rule-of-thumb tolerance claim.

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Production Quantity Economics

See the real published research behind 'the cheaper process depends on quantity,' instead of one averaged rule for every part.

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Prototype to Production Bridge

See what 'bridge production' really means, why the term has no fixed definition, and how our own pricing scales without separate tooling.

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