Layer height
In Bambu Studio, the profile 0.20mm Standard @BBL A1 sets it to0.2 mm
How thick each slice of plastic is. Thinner means more detail and more time; thicker means a faster print with more visible steps.
How it works
The printer builds the part by stacking layers one on top of another, and this number is the height of each one. With a 0.4 mm nozzle, the sensible range is 0.08 to 0.28 mm (between 20% and 70% of the nozzle diameter).
Print time grows almost in step with the number of layers: going from 0.2 to 0.1 mm doubles the layers and nearly doubles the hours. Detail only improves on curved or sloped surfaces; a vertical wall looks the same at 0.08 as at 0.28 mm.
When to change it
- A figure to give as a gift, with faces, smooth curves or small text: go down to 0.12 or 0.08 mm.
- A box, a shelf bracket or any functional part: 0.2 or 0.24 mm. Thicker layers also bond better to each other.
- A prototype to check whether something fits: 0.28 mm and you're done.
Typical values
| Value | What for |
|---|---|
| 0.08 | Miniatures, faces, organic surfaces |
| 0.12 | High quality for figures |
| 0.16 | Good balance between detail and time |
| 0.20 | Standard; most partsdefault |
| 0.28 | Draft, large parts without detail |
Watch out for
- Don't confuse it with “Initial layer height”, which is set separately.
- Below 0.1 mm, the amount of plastic coming out (the flow) has to be well calibrated and the fan well tuned; otherwise you get bumps from too much plastic.
- Very thin layers and very high speed don't mix: the nozzle can't push plastic out that fast and the surface comes out patchy and rough. That's why the fine-layer profiles already lower the speed.
- In Bambu Studio, process profiles already come by height (“0.20mm Standard”, “0.12mm Fine”). It's better to switch profiles than to change just this number: the profile also adjusts speeds and top layers to match.
- If the part's height isn't a multiple of the layer height, the last layer gets rounded and the part can come out up to half a layer shorter. “Precise Z height” fixes this.
- Each nozzle has an allowed range (Printer › Extruder › Layer height limits); if you go outside it, the slicer warns you.
Goes well with
What Bambu Studio says
Slicing height for each layer. Smaller layer height means more accurate and more printing time
Bambu Studio tooltip for this setting · AGPL-3.0