How Layer Height Affects the Strength of 3D Prints
Discover how layer height influences the mechanical strength of FDM 3D prints, and learn how to optimize your settings for better results.
You buy a 1kg spool of filament and wonder: how many parts can you actually get out of it? It depends on part size, but there's a pretty concrete way to estimate it.
How much filament is in a 1kg spool
A standard 1kg spool of 1.75mm PLA holds roughly 330 meters of filament — PLA's density is about 1.24g/cm³. PETG and ABS yield slightly fewer meters for the same weight, since they're a bit denser.
How many parts you can actually make
Here are real consumption references (at 15% infill, standard for decorative parts):
- Small figurine (a desk capybara, ~6cm): 15–30g → 33 to 65 of them per kilo
- Phone stand or small organizer: 40–80g → 12 to 25 parts
- Medium decorative vase (15cm): 80–150g → 6 to 12 parts
- Large functional part (case, drawer organizer): 150–300g → 3 to 6 parts
Curious about the viral capybara trend? We already worked out its material use in our capybara printing guide.
What changes the yield
- Infill: going from 15% to 50% can nearly double the material used for the same part.
- Supports: parts with heavy overhangs burn extra filament just to hold the print up — and it's thrown away afterward.
- Wall thickness: more walls means more strength, but also more grams.
What this costs in practice
With filament running roughly $15–20 per kilo, each gram costs a few cents — that 20g figurine costs well under a dollar in material. To calculate the exact cost of any part (including power and machine wear, not just filament), use our FDM cost calculator.
Recommended filaments
- Bambu Lab PLA Lite — reusable spool, great color consistency
- Creality PETG (4kg pack) — bulk pack, cheaper per gram if you print a lot
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