This is part of my series of material that I edited out from my books prior to publishing. I usually cut whole sections like this when I realize they’re redundant or don’t fit well in the context. This is copy/pasted directly from my draft files with no additional editing, just for fun.
This was some first-draft copy from what is labeled “Chapter 9 — Printer Mechanics Impact on Part Design” although I don’t have any recollection of having that as a chapter title.
Intro
The various aspects of printer mechanical design can play a significant role in realizing the intended part shape and dimensions. Printer design and software settings should be optimized for the intended usage case. Fast and rough mechanical parts require a different design/operation philosopy from small, high-precisions cosmetic parts. This difference is important to recognize because building one machine to fulfill all objectives will rapidly become uneconomical. Like any other fabrication method, 3d printing involves trade-offs.
Fast, Precise, Cheap — a good printer design lets you pick two. A bad printer design only achieves one.