Question What is infill? How does it affect my case?

[vyxxn11]

Hello! Because I don't know a lot about 3d printing and I don't have a 3d printer, I was looking to print a G-wii rev 2 case with an online service called craftcloud. When I selected the material I wanted to print it in, it asked me for the infill percentage. What is it? How does it affect the case? Which one should I choose? Thanks.

 

[Stitches]

Infill percentage is how printers save on filament. The printer prints the outside of the object in solid walls (the thickness of which can be configured), and then works out an internal lattice based on the infill percentage. Otherwise it would print the object solid, which would take years, or completely hollow, which would make top surfaces unsupported and brittle.

For most printed objects, 10-20% is a good infill to maintain strength and print speed. However, for a portable case like this where the walls are so thin, I print with 100% infill. The walls are thin enough that there isn't really any void space in the middle to calculate, so setting it to 100 just simplifies things.

 

[vyxxn11]

Cool, thanks for the help!

 

[sinjunx]

also keep in mind, the more walls make up the shell, the less you'll see the effect of the infill through your outer layer.

the more infill you have the heavier it get'sbut often also stronger parts.
Also keep in mind, for most cases, it's useless to print more then 50-60 percent but it's better to add a wall so that the area you want to reinforce has another layer of material to protect it from breaking

 

[vyxxn11]

Thanks for the advice! I actually just got my case today and it's pretty sturdy... I can't wait to start this project!