3D printing of moving toys

Question

I just started diving into the world of 3D printing and I am faced with the problem of the last layer. There are platforms like islands, as if there are high layers at the end, even steps. I tried in Anycubic slicer with the settings (according to the video), but the result is not successful. I also tried the standard slicer settings and that is better, but still there are islands on the top layer. I then tried PrusaSlicer with standard settings and everything is fine but the last layer has these islands. Please help me achieve a smooth last layer.

Printer - Anycubic kobra 2 pro, PLA plastic.

Answer 1

You always get "islands" when you print curved objects, this is because you slice the object in slices of layer height thickness.

Image made by user Trish, see answer https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/13918/

You can lower the layer height, or change the print orientation, but with these small object you cannot do much. A resin printer would be a better solution as you can lower the layer height further than on classic filament deposition printers.

Answer 2

A possible solution for you to try is Variable Layer Height. Michael Laws of the YouTube channel Teaching Tech did a video on using Variable Layer Height in Orcaslicer to reduce the stair-stepping effect on curved surfaces. The video covers several different techniques to reduce the layer lines, but the one that some users would probably try the most is the Variable Layer Height feature. The part of the video that talks about this is at 7:24 and is linked below.

This feature allows you to adjust the size of the layers for a specific region of the model. Of course, this means that different-sized models on the same print bed will be affected. But if you are printing multiple iterations of the same model, you would benefit from printing them at the same time.

I tested the Variable Layer Height feature and can report that it works very well.