Design guides

Short, practical guides to the limits that decide whether a part can be printed, with the values Dokimion uses and what to change when a part does not pass.

Design limits by technology

• Metal 3D printing design check

  What decides whether a part can be made with laser powder bed fusion (LPBF): overhangs, walls, holes, trapped powder and support, with typical limits.

• FDM 3D printing design check

  What decides whether a part prints well with FDM: overhang angle, bridge length, wall thickness, clearances and layer strength, with typical limits.

• Resin (SLA) 3D printing design check

  What decides whether a part prints well in SLA resin: drain holes, support angle, peel force, minimum wall and detail size, with typical limits.

• SLS nylon 3D printing design check

  What decides whether a part prints well in SLS nylon: powder escape holes, minimum wall, thick sections, flat faces and how parts are nested.

Design rules that apply everywhere

• Minimum wall thickness for 3D printing

  Minimum wall thickness for FDM, SLA, SLS and metal 3D printing: the values Dokimion checks per technology and per metal alloy, and how to fix thin walls.

• Overhang angle and support in 3D printing

  When a surface needs support in FDM, SLA, SLS and metal 3D printing, how the overhang angle is measured, bridge limits and how to need less support.

• Part orientation in 3D printing

  How the orientation of a part on the build plate changes support, height, surface quality and strength, with a real six-position comparison.

• Drain holes and powder escape holes

  Sizes and placement of resin drain holes (SLA) and powder escape holes (SLS and metal), with a real housing that trapped 138 g of resin.

• Warping and thick sections in 3D printing

  Why parts warp in FDM, SLS and metal 3D printing: large flat faces, thick sections and sudden cross-section changes, with the limits Dokimion flags.

Files, choices and cost

• STL file errors and how to fix them

  STL file errors that break a printability check: open edges, duplicate and zero-area triangles, flipped normals, separate bodies, units, with fixes.

• FDM, SLA, SLS or metal: which fits a part

  How FDM, SLA, SLS and metal LPBF differ for a single part: support, smallest wall, closed cavities, materials and typical use, with values from the check.

• How the cost per part is estimated

  How Dokimion estimates the price of one printed part: machine time, material, labour per build, finishing and order preparation, shared builds and assumptions.

About Dokimion

• The Kolesar Score

  How Dokimion rates a part from 0 to 100 and A to E: equally weighted components, what each letter means, where thresholds come from and what is not covered.

• How to read a Dokimion report

  What each section of a Dokimion report shows and how to use it: score, components, findings, positions, thresholds with sources, cost and conclusion.

• Glossary

  Short definitions of the terms used in 3D printing design checks: overhang, support, island, drain hole, STL, mesh, cross-section jump and more.