FDM 3D Printer Simulator (2D)

Print Settings

Layer height 0.20 mm

Print speed 50 mm/s

Nozzle temperature 210 °C

Extrusion quality: good — nozzle at optimal temperature.

Live Readout

Current layer

1 / 300

Progress

Est. time remaining

Layers total

300

How it works

An FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) printer builds a solid object out of molten plastic, one thin cross-section at a time. This side view shows the machine's three independent motion axes: the nozzle moves left/right along X, the bed/gantry steps in Y to trace depth, and after every completed layer the whole gantry lifts by one Z increment — the layer height.

Layer height trades resolution for speed: a thinner layer (0.10 mm) needs far more passes to reach the same object height, so it prints slower but with smoother, less visible layer lines. A thicker layer (0.30 mm) finishes faster but leaves coarser ridges.

Print speed is how fast the nozzle travels while extruding — it scales directly with total print time, but pushed too high it can outrun the melting rate of the filament and cause under-extrusion.

Nozzle temperature must match the filament: too cold and the plastic doesn't melt fully, causing gaps and poor layer adhesion; too hot and it turns runny, causing stringing and drooping. PLA's sweet spot is roughly 200–220 °C — this simulator flags both failure modes.

Printed layer (good extrusion) Marginal extrusion (temp off-range) Frame / bed / gantry