Thick bridges
Prints bridge lines round and as thick as the nozzle, instead of squashed to the layer height. They hold up longer bridges, but the underside comes out rougher.
How it works
A normal line gets pressed against the layer below and ends up as tall as the layer (0.2 mm). On a bridge there's nothing underneath to press it against: it comes out round, about as thick as the nozzle opening.
With “Thick bridges” the program plans for that and uses round, thick lines on purpose: more plastic per strand, more stiffness, and it can span longer distances without sagging. Turned off, the lines are calculated thin and the bridge comes out flatter and cleaner, but it's only reliable over short distances.
When to change it
- A long bridge (over 30–40 mm) that fails, like the crossbar of a shelf or the roof of a cable tunnel: turn it on.
- A short bridge where the underside shows, like the opening of a pencil holder: leave it off.
Typical values
| Value | What for |
|---|---|
| Off | Default; thin, clean bridgesdefault |
| On | Thick bridges; longer spans, rougher finish |
Watch out for
- With thick bridges, the first layer on top rests on round strands and comes out worse: you may need one more solid layer on top (“Top shell layers”).
Goes well with
What Bambu Studio saysits help card, quoted
What Bambu Studio says
If enabled, bridges are more reliable, can bridge longer distances, but may look worse. If disabled, bridges look better but are reliable just for shorter bridged distances.
Bambu Studio tooltip for this setting · AGPL-3.0
Read more at the official source
In your profile0.20mm Standard @BBL A1 · No
In Bambu Studio, the profile 0.20mm Standard @BBL A1 sets it toNo
Helps with
In other slicers
- Orca Slicer
- Thick external bridgesQuality › BridgingIn Orca it only affects external bridges; internal ones use thick_internal_bridges.
- PrusaSlicer
- Thick bridgesLayers and perimeters › Quality (slower slicing)
- Cura
- No clear equivalent.
Names taken from each program's code (Orca Slicer 2.4.2, PrusaSlicer 2.9.6, Cura 5.13.0). Credits