There is a slight difference, as we’ll explain below. This one is self-explanatory: regardless of whether you print horizontally or vertically, the finished product has the same mass and uses the same amount of filament. If you need to create lots of items very quickly, you might want to consider whether or not the quality is as essential as the quantity. 3D printing is like any other craft, though: if you take a little more time, you’ll find that the end product is usually of a higher quality. This is because the vertical print is composed of many more layers, and although they’re smaller in size, this takes a long time to print.ĭespite the horizontal layers being larger, there are less of them, and so the time to print is reduced. In this example, you’ll find that the horizontal cylinder prints considerably faster than the vertical one.

As such, horizontal orientation is better for support structures. On the other hand, because the grain of the object is horizontal, it’s less likely to split in half when pressure is applied to the top part. This is a result of our curve being processed as linear “steps” instead of being printed in a circle. Because our later layers will be hovering above the base, the finished product will likely have a different shape on one side than the other. Well, you’re more likely to have ragged edges for a start. If you print it horizontally, however, it’ll be created one rectangular slice at a time. If you print it standing on one end, you’ll find that it has a nice, clean, round shape. Let’s say you wish to print a hollow cylinder.

Split 3d model in simplify 3d