<p>Printing multiple parts <em>can</em> save you time.</p>

<p>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. I found for smaller parts (under 1 inch cube) printing several parts at a time was more convenient, and minimally faster. 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 printed about 100-200 parts in this manner. 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. </p>

<p>It'll come down to the criticality of your deadline on the parts. If you're making parts for giggles and you don't need them done immediately, then i'd say one at a time. Less risk of failure, less wasted material and the time isn't super critical. 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. 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. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-03-05T14:57:02.923Z
2017-03-05T14:57:02.923Z
Diesel
<p>Yes, and no. It depends.</p>

<p>For FDM printing, the printing time <em>mostly</em> scales linearly with the number of objects. 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. This gives the print enough time to cool.</p>

<p>Since the model shown in your example is quite small, it's quite likely that it will hit the minimum layer 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. At this point, adding more models will just add some constant number of minutes to your print time.</p>

<p>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).</p>

<p>This only holds for FDM printing. 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. Thus, the time for 1, 2, 3,...n models is exactly the same.</p>

<p>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,... Here there usually is some time cost involved for material printed, but the main factor in the print time is the number of layers (and for SLS, the amount of time it takes for the build volume to cool down after each print, which is quite significant.).</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-28T05:37:51.187Z
2017-02-28T05:37:51.187Z
Tom van der Zanden
<p>The proportion of production improvement is dependent on the size of the items being printed, generally speaking. Unfortunately, it's variable enough to make a precise answer difficult.</p>

<p>Consider a single unit print. I'll use my printer as an example. Other printers may have similar sequences. The print is begun and the bed has to heat up to temperature. Once the set level is reached, the print head(s) also have to reach temperature. Ignoring for the moment the print duration, one then considers that the printer bed has to cool to release the print.</p>

<p>If you have ten items to print, you gain nine times the above elapsed time. That can be a substantial portion of production time.</p>

<p>On the flip side, there isn't going to be much benefit in time from ten prints opposed to one. You may lose some post-processing time if you have stringing between the items. </p>

<p>Directly related to quantity printing is yet another complication. If you have a single print fail, you've lost that time. As an example, one print may take 18 minutes. Twelve minutes into the print, you have a nozzle clog and have to abort the job. That's an unfortunate loss.</p>

<p>With ten prints on the bed, you are two hours into the print and have a failure. Much worse loss of time and productivity.</p>

<p>Obviously, one would prefer to have a properly fully working printer and be able to operate with the confidence that these failures won't appear.</p>

<p>Hobby grade printers can't provide that level of confidence, but industrial/commercial grade printers should, further improving the productivity time for printing multiple items on a bed.</p>

<p>If you have hot-swappable print beds, maybe combined with the ability to pre-heat the incoming bed, you gain time-wise. I don't know enough of the commercial grade printers to suggest that such a feature exists. My printer bed is attached with magnets and could be hot-swapped if I exercised care. The bed would begin to cool quickly, making a pre-heated plate all the more valuable. I'll just print multiple items and hope for the best, instead.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-28T00:21:42.553Z
2017-02-28T00:21:42.553Z
fred_dot_u
<p>It generally takes <strong>longer</strong> to complete the actual prints because of extra travel moves, but it <strong>does save you time</strong> in one important way: if you trust your printer, you can start a large batch and then just <em>walk away</em>. Instead of resetting every hour or so, you can come back after several hours, or over night.</p>
<p>In this way, printing in batches can allow you to put more items through your printer in the same amount of time.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-24T13:36:10.077Z
2020-06-27T15:11:06.597Z
2020-06-27T15:11:06.597Z
Joel Coehoorn
<p>It will save you and the machine time if done properly.</p>
<p>Simplify 3D has a setting that lets you do multiple layers at once; as most slicers do. Therefore if the part is 10cm tall, then you can set it to move to the next one after 10 cm. The machine would then build each one in turn on the build plate in sequence. You won't have to remove the parts very often, and the machine won't have to take the time to heat up after each print. If done incorrectly, as in moving from one part to another for each layer, then yes it will require a large number of slow retraction and Z-axis moves, costing you more overall time.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-24T15:27:16.197Z
2020-06-24T15:27:16.197Z
user77232
<p>Actually the answer is yes and no. So I had to print 12 of the same small objects for a science experiment. Just some rocks I made from domes with some displaced faces, anyway my printers minimum wall width is 0.5 mm. The objects were 2 cm³. The first print failed because of them being disconnected but then I connected the 12 items by 1×1×5 mm solidified cylinders in blender and ran it through my cutter and it printed no problem. Afterwards I jusy clipped off the cylinder and was good to go. Just make sure you're object is connected at every point facing another.  Based on your picture it should be connected something like this:</p>
<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/mEYHE.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-23T21:30:03.403Z
Are you saying that your printer will not print multiple STLs as one job, they must all be connected and imported as a single STL?
Davo
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-24T05:46:22.353Z
Welcome to 3DPrinting.SE. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, but this doesn't answer the question. Furthermore, parts not being attached to each other and failing because of that is something I've never seen or experienced. Printing multiple things on the build plate and wether they are connected or not is not related.
0scar
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-23T20:56:18.037Z
2020-06-24T05:34:25.577Z
2020-06-24T05:34:25.577Z
Collin Elliott Clark
<p>Actually no. It will take slightly more for each addition. You also then have the point of failure, where one gets knocked off and ruins all the prints.</p>
<p>The fastest way to print multiple objects is one at a time. In fact slic3r lets you do just that with their <a href="http://manual.slic3r.org/advanced/sequential-printing" rel="noreferrer">sequential printing feature</a>.</p>
<p>The reason is, the time it takes to lift 0.5mm, travel the few MM over to the next object, lower the 0.5mm back down.. Repeat for inner shells, outer shells, infill.. all add time. Doesn't seem like much till you do it 14,000 times.</p>
<p>In the case of your example, it would be negligible. In more complicated or well spaced prints its another story.</p>
<p>For extra extra fast, look into loss PLA casting...</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-28T05:38:27.733Z
What does "loss PLA casting" have to do with this? How does it allow you to speed things up?
Tom van der Zanden
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-28T15:09:49.470Z
You might add to your answer that the user is pretty much responsible for verifiying that the  required X-Y clearance for the extruder head after a few objects have been printed is set properly.      And of course for those not using slic3r,  the advantage of printing everything at once is that we can walk away from the setup and come back when everything is done :-)
Carl Witthoft
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-28T16:15:59.077Z
@TomvanderZanden They want to make a bunch. 3d print and make a casting.
MakerModder
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-28T19:42:12.483Z
That's not the right terminology then. "Lost PLA casting" refers to a process where a PLA print is encased in plaster, then burned/melted out, and then molten metal poured into the void left. The mold is then broken, and a metal part extracted. This doesn't help for making a bunch of parts, since both the master part and mold are destroyed. The idea to look in to (silicone) mold making and casting in resin is not a bad suggestion though, but not really related to the question (and there is no indication OP is looking to print *that* many copies of this part).
Tom van der Zanden
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-28T20:37:30.177Z
Yup, thats why it was a foot note and not the answer
MakerModder
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-03-05T15:01:39.110Z
If other processes are acceptable, "Cast Urethane Molding" would also be a really good option. It's a good option for the 20-1000 part numbers. Cheaper than injection molding or investment casting for those quantities. Faster and cheaper by far compared to 3D printing.  
 (suggested by Tom, but didn't have the terms explicit stated)
Diesel
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-22T22:20:13.310Z
Silicon molds would be what I recommend now. There is also talk of DLP resin printing, that can do a whole plate at the same speed as a single item. Resolution is lower than say SLA.
MakerModder
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-28T00:54:54.297Z
2017-02-28T00:54:54.297Z
2020-06-18T08:29:41.667Z
MakerModder
<p>I am wondering - of course if the 3D printer's bed big enough - printing multiple copies of the same print could save me significant amount of time in a small production line, excluding minor wastage such as setup time, post-processing time, etc.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/aQ1Zt.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/aQ1Zt.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>e.g. if my foo print takes 10 hours, printing 2x copies at the same time would take 2x times more, increasing linearly or it would be significantly less?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-02T14:40:10.677Z
This depends. Are you printing everything from one extruder, or do you have multiple extruders working in parallel?
Davo
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-09T05:13:31.900Z
Both. The Beast with 4 and a maker
Mehrad
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-24T15:22:46.030Z
Saves which time; your time getting the prints off the bed one by one or the printer's time building all of those parts at once?
user77232
<diy-3d-printer>
Would 3D printing multiple copies at once saves time?
Mehrad
# Would 3D printing multiple copies at once saves time?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-02-27)

I am wondering - of course if the 3D printer's bed big enough - printing multiple copies of the same print could save me significant amount of time in a small production line, excluding minor wastage such as setup time, post-processing time, etc.

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/aQ1Zt.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/aQ1Zt.png)

e.g. if my foo print takes 10 hours, printing 2x copies at the same time would take 2x times more, increasing linearly or it would be significantly less?

**Tags:** diy-3d-printer
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This depends. Are you printing everything from one extruder, or do you have multiple extruders working in parallel?  
> **username_0**: Both. The Beast with 4 and a maker  
> **username_2**: Saves which time; your time getting the prints off the bed one by one or the printer's time building all of those parts at once?  

---

## 7 answers

### Answer by username_9 on 2017-02-28. Score: 13 | Accepted answer

Actually no. It will take slightly more for each addition. You also then have the point of failure, where one gets knocked off and ruins all the prints.

The fastest way to print multiple objects is one at a time. In fact slic3r lets you do just that with their [sequential printing feature](http://manual.slic3r.org/advanced/sequential-printing).

The reason is, the time it takes to lift 0.5mm, travel the few MM over to the next object, lower the 0.5mm back down.. Repeat for inner shells, outer shells, infill.. all add time. Doesn't seem like much till you do it 14,000 times.

In the case of your example, it would be negligible. In more complicated or well spaced prints its another story.

For extra extra fast, look into loss PLA casting...

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: What does "loss PLA casting" have to do with this? How does it allow you to speed things up?  
> **username_10**: You might add to your answer that the user is pretty much responsible for verifiying that the  required X-Y clearance for the extruder head after a few objects have been printed is set properly.      And of course for those not using slic3r,  the advantage of printing everything at once is that we can walk away from the setup and come back when everything is done :-)  
> **username_9**: @TomvanderZanden They want to make a bunch. 3d print and make a casting.  
> **username_4**: That's not the right terminology then. "Lost PLA casting" refers to a process where a PLA print is encased in plaster, then burned/melted out, and then molten metal poured into the void left. The mold is then broken, and a metal part extracted. This doesn't help for making a bunch of parts, since both the master part and mold are destroyed. The idea to look in to (silicone) mold making and casting in resin is not a bad suggestion though, but not really related to the question (and there is no indication OP is looking to print *that* many copies of this part).  
> **username_9**: Yup, thats why it was a foot note and not the answer  
> **username_3**: If other processes are acceptable, "Cast Urethane Molding" would also be a really good option. It's a good option for the 20-1000 part numbers. Cheaper than injection molding or investment casting for those quantities. Faster and cheaper by far compared to 3D printing.    (suggested by Tom, but didn't have the terms explicit stated)  
> **username_9**: Silicon molds would be what I recommend now. There is also talk of DLP resin printing, that can do a whole plate at the same speed as a single item. Resolution is lower than say SLA.  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2017-03-05. Score: 8

Printing multiple parts *can* save you time.

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. I found for smaller parts (under 1 inch cube) printing several parts at a time was more convenient, and minimally faster. 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 printed about 100-200 parts in this manner. 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.

It'll come down to the criticality of your deadline on the parts. If you're making parts for giggles and you don't need them done immediately, then i'd say one at a time. Less risk of failure, less wasted material and the time isn't super critical. 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. 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.


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2017-02-28. Score: 5

Yes, and no. It depends.

For FDM printing, the printing time *mostly* scales linearly with the number of objects. 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. This gives the print enough time to cool.

Since the model shown in your example is quite small, it's quite likely that it will hit the minimum layer 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. At this point, adding more models will just add some constant number of minutes to your print time.

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).

This only holds for FDM printing. 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. Thus, the time for 1, 2, 3,...n models is exactly the same.

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,... Here there usually is some time cost involved for material printed, but the main factor in the print time is the number of layers (and for SLS, the amount of time it takes for the build volume to cool down after each print, which is quite significant.).


---

### Answer by username_5 on 2017-02-28. Score: 2

The proportion of production improvement is dependent on the size of the items being printed, generally speaking. Unfortunately, it's variable enough to make a precise answer difficult.

Consider a single unit print. I'll use my printer as an example. Other printers may have similar sequences. The print is begun and the bed has to heat up to temperature. Once the set level is reached, the print head(s) also have to reach temperature. Ignoring for the moment the print duration, one then considers that the printer bed has to cool to release the print.

If you have ten items to print, you gain nine times the above elapsed time. That can be a substantial portion of production time.

On the flip side, there isn't going to be much benefit in time from ten prints opposed to one. You may lose some post-processing time if you have stringing between the items.

Directly related to quantity printing is yet another complication. If you have a single print fail, you've lost that time. As an example, one print may take 18 minutes. Twelve minutes into the print, you have a nozzle clog and have to abort the job. That's an unfortunate loss.

With ten prints on the bed, you are two hours into the print and have a failure. Much worse loss of time and productivity.

Obviously, one would prefer to have a properly fully working printer and be able to operate with the confidence that these failures won't appear.

Hobby grade printers can't provide that level of confidence, but industrial/commercial grade printers should, further improving the productivity time for printing multiple items on a bed.

If you have hot-swappable print beds, maybe combined with the ability to pre-heat the incoming bed, you gain time-wise. I don't know enough of the commercial grade printers to suggest that such a feature exists. My printer bed is attached with magnets and could be hot-swapped if I exercised care. The bed would begin to cool quickly, making a pre-heated plate all the more valuable. I'll just print multiple items and hope for the best, instead.


---

### Answer by username_6 on 2020-06-24. Score: 1

It generally takes **longer** to complete the actual prints because of extra travel moves, but it **does save you time** in one important way: if you trust your printer, you can start a large batch and then just *walk away*. Instead of resetting every hour or so, you can come back after several hours, or over night.

In this way, printing in batches can allow you to put more items through your printer in the same amount of time.


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-06-24. Score: 0

It will save you and the machine time if done properly.

Simplify 3D has a setting that lets you do multiple layers at once; as most slicers do. Therefore if the part is 10cm tall, then you can set it to move to the next one after 10 cm. The machine would then build each one in turn on the build plate in sequence. You won't have to remove the parts very often, and the machine won't have to take the time to heat up after each print. If done incorrectly, as in moving from one part to another for each layer, then yes it will require a large number of slow retraction and Z-axis moves, costing you more overall time.


---

### Answer by username_7 on 2020-06-23. Score: 0

Actually the answer is yes and no. So I had to print 12 of the same small objects for a science experiment. Just some rocks I made from domes with some displaced faces, anyway my printers minimum wall width is 0.5 mm. The objects were 2 cm³. The first print failed because of them being disconnected but then I connected the 12 items by 1×1×5 mm solidified cylinders in blender and ran it through my cutter and it printed no problem. Afterwards I jusy clipped off the cylinder and was good to go. Just make sure you're object is connected at every point facing another. Based on your picture it should be connected something like this:

![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/mEYHE.jpg)

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Are you saying that your printer will not print multiple STLs as one job, they must all be connected and imported as a single STL?  
> **username_8**: Welcome to 3DPrinting.SE. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, but this doesn't answer the question. Furthermore, parts not being attached to each other and failing because of that is something I've never seen or experienced. Printing multiple things on the build plate and wether they are connected or not is not related.  

---

