What is the Best Infill to Print With?

What is the Best Infill to Print With?

With so many different types of infill nowadays, it can be challenging to choose the best option for your prints. Some slicers like Cura have 14 infill options to choose from. While most of them are for aesthetic reasons and provide no mechanical advantages, there are two main infill patterns you should be using.

  • The Fastest Infill
  • The Strongest Infill

The Fastest Infill 

Hands down, the fastest infill pattern is rectilinear. This pattern features no directional changes, saving the printer a ton of time on acceleration and deceleration. It is also strongest if the applied load is perpendicular to the infill pattern. If you use the load transverse to the infill pattern, it, unfortunately, becomes one the weakest. You can get more in-depth information on this by watching CNC Kitchen’s excellent video on testing infill patterns for strength. Subscribe to his channel, as he puts out some of the best content I’ve ever seen!

The Strongest Infill

Gyroid infill is known for its beautiful & mesmerizing pattern, but its strength would surprise you. What makes it so unique is that its pattern is designed to provide mechanical strength from all directions. Unlike rectilinear infill, which is only strong when the load is applied perpendicular to the infill, the gyroid infill maintains the same strength in all directions. That and it is lovely to watch, I mean look at it! It is only 25% slower than a rectilinear infill with all its benefits, making it my go-to infill pattern!

2 comments

Zachary Walker

Zachary Walker

Can you cite any articles or sources for how you determined speed of print and resulting strength in this article? I’m currently working on an X1c and found a case where Gyroid is actually a few minutes faster than rectalinear.

Can you cite any articles or sources for how you determined speed of print and resulting strength in this article? I’m currently working on an X1c and found a case where Gyroid is actually a few minutes faster than rectalinear.

DANIEL FULLER

DANIEL FULLER

Thanks for the info, i have a Qidi and does not have rectilinear but has Lines which i believe the same.

Thanks for the info, i have a Qidi and does not have rectilinear but has Lines which i believe the same.

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