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Process › Quality› Layer heightinitial_layer_print_height

First layer height

How thick the layer that sticks to the bed is. A little thicker forgives an uneven plate and grips better.

How it works

The first layer is printed slower and a bit hotter than the rest, because it decides whether the part stays put or comes loose mid-print. A slightly thicker layer absorbs small differences in bed height, so the plastic touches the plate everywhere.

It's independent of the general layer height: you can print at 0.12 mm with a 0.2 mm first layer.

Bambu Studio profiles set it to half the nozzle diameter: 0.2 mm with a 0.4 nozzle, whatever the profile's layer height.

When to change it

  • A large, flat part like a tray that comes loose or leaves gaps between lines on the bottom: raise it to 0.25 or 0.3 mm.
  • A coaster with text or a logo on the bottom that you want crisp: keep 0.2 mm.
  • A smooth or glass plate instead of the textured one (PEI): 0.2 mm usually works; the problem there is usually glue, not height.

Typical values

ValueWhat for
0.20Standard on the textured plate (PEI)default
0.25More forgiving of an imperfect bed
0.30Large parts or uneven plates

Watch out for

  • With a 0.4 nozzle, don't go above 0.3 mm: the line ends up too tall for its width, gets squished too little, sticks worse and loses definition.
  • Very thin (0.1 mm), any unevenness in the plate shows: in some spots the line gets squished too much and in others it doesn't reach the plate.
  • “Elephant foot” (a bottom that comes out flared) isn't fixed here; that's what “Elephant foot compensation” is for.

Goes well with

Layer heightInitial layerElephant foot compensationBrim width
What Bambu Studio saysits help card, quoted

What Bambu Studio says

Height of initial layer. Making initial layer height thick slightly can improve build plate adhension

Bambu Studio tooltip for this setting · AGPL-3.0

Read more at the official source

This setting on the Bambu Lab wiki
In your profile0.20mm Standard @BBL A1 · 0.2 mm

In Bambu Studio, the profile 0.20mm Standard @BBL A1 sets it to0.2 mm

Helps with

The part comes off the plate

In other slicers

Orca Slicer
First layer heightQuality › Layer height
PrusaSlicer
First layer heightLayers and perimeters › Layer height
Cura
Initial Layer HeightQuality

Names taken from each program's code (Orca Slicer 2.4.2, PrusaSlicer 2.9.6, Cura 5.13.0). Credits