When we think of 3D printing, we usually picture a printhead laying down filament in flat, horizontal layers—one on top of the other. This process, called planar printing, is how nearly all standard prints are made. But what if your 3D printer could break free from the flat plane?
Enter non-planar printing, a technique that bends the rules—literally.
What Is Non-Planar 3D Printing?
In non-planar printing, the printhead follows curved or sloped paths instead of rigid, horizontal layers. This allows for more organic shapes, smoother top surfaces, and potentially even stronger prints due to better layer adhesion in curved forms.
Rather than stacking slices like a layer cake, non-planar prints resemble sculpting with a flexible trowel—gracefully adapting to the model's contours.
Why Try Non-Planar?
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Improved Surface Quality: Especially on curved tops like domes or helmets, you get fewer "stair-stepping" artifacts.
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Less Post-Processing: Because the top layers are smoother right off the printer.
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Design Possibilities: It opens the door to prints that better mimic natural forms or functional surfaces (e.g., aerodynamic parts or organic art pieces).
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Fun Challenge: For tinkerers, it's a way to push your machine to do something it's not explicitly designed for.
The Catch: It's Not Plug and Play
Non-planar printing requires:
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Special slicers or post-processors (like Fusion 360 + custom G-code scripts or experimental features in PrusaSlicer)
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Modified toolpaths, often via scripts that transform standard G-code
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Careful Z-axis control, especially on machines that weren’t built with non-planar motion in mind
Not all printers are up for the task—but that hasn’t stopped the community from experimenting.
Can the Ultimaker Handle It?
Ultimaker printers are known for precision and reliability—but they use a Bowden-style extruder, which can be less forgiving with unusual movement patterns. The real question is: has anyone gotten non-planar prints working on one?
If you’re using an Ultimaker (any model), we’d love to hear from you:
Have you ever attempted non-planar printing on your Ultimaker? What tools or techniques did you use? What challenges did you run into—and how did the results turn out?
Drop your experiences (or experiments!) in the comments or forum thread below. Bonus points for photos!
Let’s explore how far we can stretch our layers.
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