What is Infill?
Infill is a process that fills up the interior of a 3D model, while the exterior is referred to as shells. As the name suggests, infill comes in various types such as rectangular, grid, concentric, and others.
Ensuring a strong connection between the infill and shell is crucial; otherwise, the model's interior and exterior won't be properly connected. Most common slicers allow users to adjust settings that can enhance or reduce this connection.
However, the debate on the shape of infill remains open among many. While some types are undoubtedly stronger than others, we believe strength isn't solely determined by infill type or percentage. It's the combination of all settings, including filament type, that determines strength.
Companies like MarkForged have introduced innovations like using carbon fiber as a continuous string within the shell, aiming for strength comparable to aluminum. But our focus here isn't on specific brands or types of 3D printing.
So, how much infill do we need for a model? Strength isn't the only factor to consider; printing time and filament usage are also important.
Opinions vary—some argue that solid infill is inferior to 80% infill, while others advocate for maximum infill density.
What is the best infill percentage?
A recent study explored the combined effects of different infill patterns (line, triangle, concentric) and densities (75%, 80%, 85%) with varying layer thicknesses (100μm, 200μm, 300μm). The study found that a concentric infill pattern, combined with 80% infill density and 100μm layer thickness, yielded the best results. Under these conditions, tensile strength increased by 123% and 115%, and impact strength increased by 168% and 80% compared to line and triangle patterns, respectively.
Which infill pattern and density?
Based on our own experience, we've found that honeycomb infill at 80% density produces the strongest results.
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