Printing parts that fit

How molten plastic actually stacks up — orientation, overhangs and the wall-and-infill choices that decide whether a part prints clean.

• How FDM shapes your design
• Orientation and overhangs
• Supports and bridging
• Walls, perimeters and infill

Clearance, transition and interference fits, and the real-world gaps that make printed parts slot together.

• Choosing fits: clearance, transition, interference
• Real-world printed clearances
• Holes, pegs and first-layer squish
• Assemblies and tolerance stack-ups

Where FDM parts break and how to stop them — layer adhesion, ribs, living hinges and shedding weight without losing stiffness.

• Layer adhesion and anisotropy
• Ribs, gussets and fillets
• Living hinges and flexures
• Lightweighting

Threads, heat-set inserts, captive nuts and snap-fits: joining printed parts to hardware that actually holds.

• Modelling threads
• Designing for heat-set inserts
• Captive nuts and bolt clearances
• Print-friendly snap-fits

From a finished body to a clean print — exporting, the built-in slicer, print settings and a first layer that sticks.

• Exporting for print
• The built-in slicer
• Print settings that matter to the design
• First layer and bed adhesion

Prove it before you commit filament — simulate, print test coupons and measure your way to a part that fits.

• A quick stress check with FEA
• Test coupons and calibration
• Iterate and measure