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Home Xometry Community Industrial Design Reducing stepping on slopes surfaces in 3D printing

Reducing stepping on slopes surfaces in 3D printing

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Greetings! There is an issue with stepping on sloped surfaces in FDM prints, specifically at a 20° angle to the x/y plane using FDM technology. Parts require a smooth finish with minimal post-processing. Tried reducing the layer height, but the problem persists. Is there a way to further fix this issue beyond just lowering the layer height? Would changing the part orientation or using a different 3D printing technology help with surface quality in sloped areas? thanks

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Solved by Zuhair A

Yeah, I'd agree with Yves on this one. FDM is tricky when it comes to sloped surfaces. One more thing you could try if you want to stick with FDM is chemical smoothing. If you're using ABS, acetone vapor smoothing can remove the visible steps. Other materials might have similar treatments you could look into.

That said, SLA or MJF will definitely give you a better surface finish. MJF in particular has more isotropic properties, so you won’t see that same stepping effect regardless of the part orientation. Plus, it can handle complex geometries better without compromising strength or detail.

    • A

      Greetings! There is an issue with stepping on sloped surfaces in FDM prints, specifically at a 20° angle to the x/y plane using FDM technology. Parts require a smooth finish with minimal post-processing. Tried reducing the layer height, but the problem persists. Is there a way to further fix this issue beyond just lowering the layer height? Would changing the part orientation or using a different 3D printing technology help with surface quality in sloped areas? thanks

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    • Y

      I’ve run into similar issues with FDM. Unfortunately, with parts printed at angles like 20°, you’re bound to see some stepping. Lowering the layer height helps, but it’s not always enough. One trick I’ve used is to reorient the part so that the steep angles aren’t in the z-direction. For example, if you can rotate the part to minimize the slope, the layer lines will be less visible. Of course, this might not always be possible depending on your part’s geometry, but it’s worth a shot

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      • Z
        YvesYves

        Yeah, I’d agree with Yves on this one. FDM is tricky when it comes to sloped surfaces. One more thing you could try if you want to stick with FDM is chemical smoothing. If you’re using ABS, acetone vapor smoothing can remove the visible steps. Other materials might have similar treatments you could look into.

        That said, SLA or MJF will definitely give you a better surface finish. MJF in particular has more isotropic properties, so you won’t see that same stepping effect regardless of the part orientation. Plus, it can handle complex geometries better without compromising strength or detail.

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Reducing stepping on slopes surfaces in 3D printing
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