# Clearance for for 3D printing

**URL:** <https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/clearance-for-for-3d-printing/23514>\
**Category:** Modeling Questions\
**Created:** [January 10, 2023, 4:19pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/clearance-for-for-3d-printing/23514 "2023-01-10T16:19:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![JNel](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/jnel/32/18150_2.png) [@JNel](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/JNel)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2023, 4:19pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/clearance-for-for-3d-printing/23514/1 "2023-01-10T16:19:24Z")

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I would like to get a suggestion for the clearance necessary for parts that I would like to 3D print. These parts must fit with a small tolerance. For Example: A shaft with a diameter of 10mm must fit into a hole that will receive this shaft. Is it necessary to make the hole just a little bit bigger? If so, I would like to know the amount of space that I need to allow for these parts to fit comfortably? A numeric value would be appreciated.

See drawing attached.

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**Author:** ![KPeter](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/kpeter/32/7644_2.png) [@KPeter](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/KPeter)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2023, 4:23pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/clearance-for-for-3d-printing/23514/2 "2023-01-10T16:23:43Z")

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Hi @JNel,  
The applied amount of tolerance depends on many details starting from printing technology and many other things. There was a discussion about this topic a few months ago, please check it if you have some time:

> [@Scale/size issue with printing model](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/scale-size-issue-with-printing-model/5680):
>
> Hi, I just tried to make a 3d print of a simple model (basically a simple ring) . I think the ring was about 50mm in Shapr3d, but when I exported it to STL (into Simplify3d), it became HUGE! like … twice as big as i expected. Am I missing something? Do I need to do something to keep the scale accurate? Thank you for any help!! MW ===== SOLUTION: [Why did my STL file change units? – Shapr3D Help Desk](https://support.shapr3d.com/hc/en-us/articles/115001796029-Why-did-my-STL-file-change-units-)

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**Author:** ![Oregonerd](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/oregonerd/32/8012_2.png) [@Oregonerd](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Oregonerd)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2023, 5:38pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/clearance-for-for-3d-printing/23514/3 "2023-01-10T17:38:54Z")

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Some factors to consider. Will you be printing multiple parts together at once on the build plate? .001” was fine for this simple project when printing them apart. But printing them together I could not separate them. Minute layer shifting may have placed a part. How well your printer is working, nozzle, quality are all factors.

 ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/uploads/shapr3d/original/3X/b/3/b377b905f9d7036b546f5d95e109d00270d63b28.jpeg)  
 ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/uploads/shapr3d/original/3X/6/8/68f807281ad96cdf8db0a913b8826d1775280748.jpeg)

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**Author:** ![JNel](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/jnel/32/18150_2.png) [@JNel](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/JNel)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2023, 5:47pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/clearance-for-for-3d-printing/23514/4 "2023-01-10T17:47:43Z")

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Thank you for the reply, I read through the post and I did see where it was mentioned that I can not expect to be able to put a 10mm shaft in a 10mm hole and that the two sizes needed to be adjusted. It was said that it should be in the range 0,3 to 0.5mm. And that it also depends on the material, shrink, and so on. It all makes sense to me, but it also makes me think that a test must be made and I have a sense that what I do today my not work next week, depending on the conditions and materials used.

When I first got my printer I printed a 20mm cube and it measured extremally close, but not exact

Any way… I will do my tests. Thank you for the response my friend. Much appreciated

John Nelson  
JNel

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**Author:** ![JNel](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/jnel/32/18150_2.png) [@JNel](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/JNel)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2023, 5:57pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/clearance-for-for-3d-printing/23514/5 "2023-01-10T17:57:53Z")

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I have never done parts that are together… like the toaster… Probably something I should try, but not something I do very often. most everything are separate units that fit together.

Thank you for the reply.

JNel