Layer Height Guide
Layer height is a direct trade of print time against visible layer lines — here's what each common range actually looks and prints like.
| Layer height | Relative speed | Surface finish | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.08–0.12mm | Slowest | Very fine, layer lines barely visible | Miniatures, detailed display models |
| 0.16–0.20mm | Balanced (most common default) | Good, minor visible lines | General-purpose printing, most functional parts |
| 0.24–0.28mm | Fast | Visible layer lines | Larger parts, drafts, iteration prints |
| 0.30mm+ | Fastest | Strongly visible lines | Big, simple, non-visual parts where time matters most |
The nozzle-diameter ceiling
Layer height is capped by nozzle diameter, not just preference — as a rule of thumb, stay at or below about 80% of nozzle diameter for reliable extrusion. A standard 0.4mm nozzle tops out around 0.32mm in practice (most people stay at 0.28mm or under for safety margin), while a 0.6mm or 0.8mm nozzle can run noticeably taller layers, which is part of why swapping to a larger nozzle is a common move for people who mostly print big, simple parts and want print time down without changing anything else.
Layer height and layer adhesion strength
Thinner layers generally bond to each other slightly better than thick ones for a given nozzle temperature, since there's less mass to reheat the layer below on each pass — this is a secondary effect next to material choice and printer cooling, but it's part of why very tall layer heights on a marginal material (nylon, PC) can show weaker inter-layer strength than the same material printed thinner, even at the same temperature.