Ironing
After printing the top face, the nozzle passes over it again while releasing almost no plastic and “irons” the lines flat. That face comes out smooth and shiny, at the cost of extra time.
How it works
The top face of any part is made of parallel lines you can feel with your finger. With ironing, once that layer is done the nozzle repeats the path at the same height, slowly and releasing only about 10% of the normal amount of plastic. The heat softens the ridges and that little bit of material fills the grooves.
“Top surfaces” irons every face that points up, including the in-between steps. “Topmost surface” irons just the highest face. “All solid layer” also irons the solid layers inside the part, which nobody sees.
It only works on flat, horizontal faces: on curved or sloped surfaces it can't erase the steps between layers.
When to change it
- A sign with text, a box lid or a trophy base: any part where the top face is the one people see. Choose “Top surfaces”.
- A stepped part where only the highest face matters (for example, a name plate with raised letters): “Topmost surface” saves time.
- A figurine, a curved vase or a quick prototype: leave it on “No ironing”; it would only add time.
Typical values
| Value | What for |
|---|---|
| No ironing | Default; fastestdefault |
| Top surfaces | The usual choice when you turn it on |
| Topmost surface | Only the highest face; saves time |
| All solid layer | Rarely useful; lots of extra time |
Watch out for
- It adds time: ironing is slow and covers the whole surface again. On parts with a large top area it can add up.
- Because very little plastic comes out, very slowly, the filament sits hot inside the nozzle for a long time: with PLA, PETG and TPU the risk of a clog goes up.
- The nozzle rubs against the part: if it isn't stuck well to the plate, it can pop it loose or knock it over.
- If it's badly tuned (too much plastic or lines too close together), it makes the surface worse instead of better.
Goes well with
What Bambu Studio saysits help card, quoted
What Bambu Studio says
Ironing is using small flow to print on same height of surface again to make flat surface more smooth. This setting controls which layer being ironed
Bambu Studio tooltip for this setting · AGPL-3.0
Read more at the official source
In your profile0.20mm Standard @BBL A1 · No ironing
In Bambu Studio, the profile 0.20mm Standard @BBL A1 sets it toNo ironing
Helps with
In other slicers
- Orca Slicer
- Ironing TypeQuality › Ironing
- PrusaSlicer
- Ironing TypeInfill › IroningIroning is turned on separately, with the ironing checkbox.
- Cura
- Enable IroningTop/BottomIt's a checkbox; ironing_only_highest_layer limits it to the topmost layer.
Names taken from each program's code (Orca Slicer 2.4.2, PrusaSlicer 2.9.6, Cura 5.13.0). Credits