There are many other types of printing process where the number of layers is much more important than the amount of material used, such as binder jetting, SLA and SLS. Thus, the time for 1, 2, 3.n models is exactly the same. For DLP printing, the printing time for a (set of) models only depends on their total height and thus the number of layers required, since each layer requires the same amount of time regardless of the amount of material printed. If the model is large enough for minimum layer time not to be a factor, then printing the objects one at a time is generally faster because you save on travel moves between the layers of the two objects (and also results in better quality print, since the inter-object travel moves may leave behind stringing). At this point, adding more models will just add some constant number of minutes to your print time. This means that printing one copy will take exactly as long as printing two copies, which will take exactly as long as printing three copies, until you hit the minimum layer time. Since the model shown in your example is quite small, it's quite likely that it will hit the minimum layer time. This gives the print enough time to cool. However, some printers have a "minimum layer time" whereby smaller layers are printed more slowly, to ensure each layer takes at least this minimum time. It'll give you more time to work on other things, less releveling, and you can check in once in a while to confirm it's okay usually without having to do anything assuming all is going well.įor FDM printing, the printing time mostly scales linearly with the number of objects. If you're making parts for a prototype product that needs to be field tested in a few weeks, then i'd go with small batches of multiple parts. Less risk of failure, less wasted material and the time isn't super critical. If you're making parts for giggles and you don't need them done immediately, then i'd say one at a time. It'll come down to the criticality of your deadline on the parts. I did end up losing one 'batch' when one part came loose and started causing problems, but I found that was a small price to pay for being able to get a lot of other things done. I printed about 100-200 parts in this manner. The time saved came more from the fact that I could leave the printer for several hours and work on other tasks without having to babysit the printer waiting for it to finish each part. I found for smaller parts (under 1 inch cube) printing several parts at a time was more convenient, and minimally faster. The issues pointed out by the other posters are all bang on, but one factor that has been neglected is the time it takes you to clear the build plate and restart the print.
Printing multiple parts can save you time.
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