Layer Height, Infill, and Walls: What 3D Print Settings Mean for You

When you order a print, you might be asked about layer height or infill, or you might just see those words on a quote. You don't need to run a slicer to make good choices — you just need to know what each setting trades off. Here's the short, practical version.

Layer height — smoothness vs speed

Layer height is how thick each printed layer is, and it's the biggest lever on how a print looks and how long it takes.

• Fine (around 0.1 to 0.15 mm) — smoother surfaces and better detail, but slower and a bit pricier.
• Standard (around 0.2 mm) — the everyday default; a good balance for most parts.
• Coarse (around 0.3 mm) — faster and cheaper, with visible layer lines.

If you don't need a showpiece finish, standard or coarse saves time and money.

Infill — how solid the inside is

Prints aren't solid plastic. The inside is a lattice, and infill is how dense that lattice is, given as a percentage.

• 10 to 15 percent — plenty for decorative and display parts.
• 20 to 40 percent — general-purpose strength.
• 50 percent and up — heavy-duty, load-bearing parts.

More infill means more material, more time, and more cost — so don't pay for 80 percent when 20 will do.

Walls (perimeters) — the real strength

The walls are the solid outer shell, and they often matter more than infill for strength. A part with thicker walls and modest infill is usually stronger and lighter than one with thin walls and dense infill. If your part needs to take stress, ask for more walls, not just more infill.

Top and bottom layers

These are the solid caps on the top and bottom faces. Too few and you get gaps or a rough top surface; a few solid layers give a clean, closed finish. It's a small setting that quietly affects how finished a part looks.

Supports — scaffolding you pay for and throw away

Steep overhangs need temporary support material that's printed and then removed. Supports add material, time, and cleanup labor, and can leave small marks where they touch. Designing or orienting a part to need fewer supports lowers both cost and finishing effort.

How the settings add up

Every setting pulls on the same three levers: strength, finish, and price. Finer layers and more infill and walls look better and last longer, but cost more and take longer. The art is matching the settings to the job — no more, no less.

A good shop picks sensible defaults so you don't have to. When you order through a shop running KTIZO 3D, those choices flow into the quote you see, so you can dial material, detail, and strength up or down and watch the price respond — and land on a part that's exactly as good as it needs to be.