Stainless steel: under 3 mm walls

These rules should help you print items with wall thickness under 3 mm. It does not guarantee the successful print of all models, but should provide guidelines for most. We are working with our providers to generate more specific information (% failure rates, ratio numbers) to help you. Before proceeding, take a look at the Stainless Steel Basic rules, especially the examples. There's also a blog post that describes some of the nuances.

Key Points

• Weave in thick walls
• Small models can have thinner walls
• Add more support layers
• Distribute the weight of the walls
• Thin bars are ok if they are well supported

Weave in thicker walls

Thin walls 1.5-3 mm are printable as long as there isn’t a long stretch of thin wall. If there is a long stretch of thin wall (a big, thin, flat area), then it will break.

Check Rope Ring by Stop4stuff

This ring would work because the thin walls (the indented parts of the checker pattern) are supported by surrounding thicker walls (the embossed part of the checker pattern). The thin walls can be around 1.5 mm thin given the high density of thick walls (extruding checkboards) around it.

Swirl Pendant by Stop4stuff

This pendant would not be an issue since the thinner walls (the indented portion) over cover a small area before they are reinforced by thicker walls (the embossed design). The thin walls can be around 2 mm. This model must be thicker than the example above since the thin walls expand over a larger area before being reinforced by thicker walls. Note: we would rather see the eyelet hang flat with the donut and hole go through; cross section of eyelet would like to keep > 1.5 mm (the wall)

If you had a flat pendant that was under 3 mm, or a simple bracelet that had a walls under 3 mm, then it would most likely break during the production process. 

Smaller models can survive with thinner walls

 

	A simple ring can be 2 mm thin since the wall extend over a relatively small area. Rings less than 2 mm would likely break.
	On the other hand a bracelet would have a higher chance of breaking since the walls extend over a larger area. Bracelets would need to be at least 3 mm thin. Bracelets less than 3 mm would likely break.

Add more support layers to thin walls

Thin layers are printable if they are supported by additional layers of material
 

2-layer twist ring by nervoussystem	This ring is printable since the double layers of mesh structure (though mesh structure is under 3 mm)
1-layer center ring by nervoussystem	On the other hand, this ring would require reprints since it contains only a single layer of mesh, therefore it is not as strong structurally--though it can be printed with a 2 mm wall since the piece is held together with a mesh design. If on the other hand, this is is just a 2 mm wire ring (without the mesh strucutre), then the design would break in production.

Distribute weight of thin walls

Thin layers are printable if their weight can be distributed to other parts of the model. Parts must be supported by thick walls, or else they must be supported by multiple walls. (More specific numbers regarding how thick of walls required are to be drafted)

Step Twin Die by Stop4stuff	For example, this die is printable since the thin walls are connected to the center along the side AND corner of the inner die.
Stepped Die D6 by Stop4stuff	On the other hand, this die will not work since it is only connected to the corner of the inner die. In this example, the inner die will likely break off and the walls will not be able to support the weight since it is too thin.

Thin bars are ok if they are well supported

Thin bars under 1.5-3 mm are printable if it extends only a little before encountering thicker walls for support. If there is a long bar with no support, the model will fail to print.

Tri mobius twin rail earring by Stop4stuff	In this example, the thin walls are really thin bars. However, these thin bars are acceptable since they only extend for a short distance before encountering thicker walls (overlapping bars) that support the structure. These bars must be 1.5 mm. On the other hand, if this design was say 100 mm (4 inches), the thin bars would have to extend for more distance before reaching an area of overlapping bars (thick walled support), and that design would be rejected.
Twin rail pendant by  Stop4stuff	This model can also be printed (ignore the ball in the middle--no movable parts!) because the wall will support a lot of the model. Even though there are thin bars, they are connected to thicker walls so the bars receive support. The bars here should be 2 mm.
3 strand mobius pendant by Stop4stuff	On the other hand, this model will be difficult to print since the thin strip is not supported by any thicker walls. This model is actually one thin strip that weaves around itself (think of a single rubber band that twists on itself). This model would have to have a wall of above 3 mm.