Adaptive Layer Height in 2025

[JanE]

Hello Andy & Whitney & Co.

I just listened an older episode #499 where you talked about adaptive layer height.
Andy was testing the adaptive layer height setting in Prusa slicer, but the test was not successful and he did not recommend using adaptive layer height. In that test the lowest layer height that the adaptive layer height setting was using was 0.10mm. And at 0.10mm problems started emerging.

"And anything less than 0.10mm are off the shelf, FDM machines just can't do it."
And you issued a challenge.

I have listened the episodes #499 to #556 and I cannot remember you talking about adaptive layer height setting after that. You might have, but my memory might not serve me right.

15 months later, what is your opinion now?

Best regards,
JanE from Finland

[JanE]

For me Adaptive Layer Height setting in Bambu Studio has been working great. I have a Bambu Lab A1 mini and I have been printing with Bambu Lab PLA Matte and Sunlu PLA Meta.
I mostly print some smaller household objects and board game pieces, and as the board game pieces are mainly visual, I have been using a 0.2mm nozzle. My default layer height has been 0.08mm.
If the object I am printing have curved top surfaces, I have been using adaptive layer height setting, it seems to use layer heights between 0.04mm - 0.14mm. I has been working very well.

Did you talk about adaptive layer height setting after episode #499?
What is your current understanding of the setting in 2025?

[JanE]

PS. Bags were printed with adaptive layer heights between 0.04mm - 0.14mm. The top surfaces (pictured) uses 0.04mm layer height and the object is about 10mm wide at that point. Zoomed in you can see the layers, but when you set the object to a table in normal lighting, you really cannot see the layers.

[3D Printing Tips and Tricks]

IIRC… the issue we had with adaptive layer heights… I.e., changing layer heights within a print… were problematic due to the visual effect from the layers. When one changes the layer heights the walls look different ant each change and that impacts the overall quality of the prints look. If  OTOH the layer height change is structural and esthetic is not applicable then I could see using it, but I’ve never had a use case where this made sense.

[3D Printing Tips and Tricks]

Yup… I see the line. Thats why we don’t use it.

[Bryan Murphy]

I've been experimenting with it recently.  I haven't had any issues and it seems to help the layering on the top of curved surfaces at least.  The only frustration I've had is that tree supports don't currently work with adaptive layer height.

Bryan

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[JanE]

Oh, in Bambu Studio Tree Organic does not work, but all the other tree support types work.

And I use "Independent support layer height" setting, as the support layer height does not have to be adaptive anyway.

[JanE]

Really?
I inspected several of my prints after your comment.
I did not see any visual differences caused by variable layer heights.
Nothing, I really tried to look and turned them around. No visual differences in any of the prints.

[JanE]

 I’ve never had a use case where this made sense.

Well, if you never print anything curved, then I understand.
But otherwise it seems to be no-brainer. If we talk about visual quality of round surfaces and the overall object quality, adaptive layer height seems to provide better results than printing the object with a constant layer height of 0.08mm for example. 

But of course that must vary on filament and printer used. If you print with a shinier filament, I can understand that thinner layer height reflect the light differently than thicker layer height.
But really, orserving and object that used (let's see the spider) layer height between 0.04mm and 0.06mm I see absolutely so difference in shine or appearance. Might be a tad bit faster to print when 0.06mm layers were used where 0.04mm layers are not necessary.

[JanE]

I also think it is quite fashinating that 15 months ago the statement "anything less than 0.10mm are off the shelf, FDM machines just can't do it" might have been accurate, but now we are defaulting to 0.08mm layer heights and using 0.04mm-0.06mm layer heights when necessary.
It seems to be that there has been technical advancements in recent 15 months?

[Bryan Murphy]

>But of course that must vary on filament and printer used. If you print with a shinier filament, I can understand that thinner layer height reflect the light differently than thicker layer height.

OR you are going to sand/prime/paint it anyway like I did for my Daughter's halloween mask.  Any time I can spend not sanding is a win in my book.

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[Jan]

Paint it or not, sub 0.08mm layer heights will help with the surface quality. Spray primer does not fill the steps between 0.10mm layers, but with 0.04mm layers the steps might be completely invisible after painting.

It does not really matter if the print takes 4 hours or 14 hours, I would (almost) always take the better detail and quality.

[Ed Street]

JanE, Here is my issue with this whole topic. The Bambu X1C was released in 2022, and from day 1, June 2022, or 31 months ago, it was able to print 0.06mm. Other printers can print that height long before the 15 months listed, i.e., Ender 5 Pro, Prusa i3 MK3S+, or the Raise3D Pro2.

[Ian Nicholls]

> I did not see any visual differences caused by variable layer heights.

I see them on my models.  I (too often) use the auto layer height tool of OrcaSlicer.  When one side of the object has greater detail, it lowers the layer height, but on the flat wall the other side of the object bulges slightly at those layers.  It might need an adjustment of the pressure advance or the min/max layer heights it should use.

For my functional models, it doesn't usually matter, and it saves print time by upping the layer height if a model has sections that are mostly upright or otherwise featureless.

[3D Printing Tips and Tricks]

The XL can easily do less than 1 mm, but it is really hard to see the difference when you go below that, yet one increases the number of layers as well as the possibilities of accidents… and statistically is it worth it?

[3D Printing Tips and Tricks]

Actually as I recall I was printing quite a bit on the CR30 and the Anycubic IDEX at .1 mm and less without realizing it. I wasn’t paying attention to how long it took and was impressed with the quality. Until I got hit with use cases that needed to complete a LOT quicker. I went back to .2 mm.