Layer Height vs Print Speed: Finding the Balance
What is layer height?
Layer height is the thickness of each individual layer in a 3D print. Typical FDM layer heights range from 0.1mm (fine) to 0.3mm (coarse). Resin printers go down to 0.01mm. Lower layer heights produce smoother surfaces with less visible layering — but take proportionally longer to print.
The time tradeoff
Halving the layer height roughly doubles the print time. A 100mm tall object at 0.2mm layers = 500 layers. At 0.1mm = 1000 layers. For a functional bracket that will be hidden inside an enclosure, 0.3mm is fine and prints 3x faster than 0.1mm. For a display piece, 0.1mm is worth the extra time.
Practical recommendations
Functional parts: 0.2-0.3mm — strength isn't affected by layer height, and these parts are usually hidden. Decorative pieces: 0.12-0.16mm — good balance of quality and time. Miniatures (FDM): 0.08-0.12mm — push detail as far as FDM allows. Miniatures (resin): 0.03-0.05mm — standard for tabletop quality.
Layer height vs nozzle size
The golden rule: layer height should be 25-75% of nozzle diameter. With a standard 0.4mm nozzle, use 0.1-0.3mm layer heights. Going below 25% produces poor layer adhesion. Going above 75% causes extruding issues. If you want finer layers on FDM, you need a smaller nozzle (0.2mm nozzle enables 0.05mm layers).