PRINT SETTINGS
How are CKHM aircraft designed?
CKMH airplanes are designed primarily for printing with LW-PLA, with additional components printed from rigid materials such as PC, PET-G, PLA, or ABS. The components are solid bodies filled with infill patterns generated by slicers. This approach provides an easy way to update designs and adapt them for different applications.
Each aircraft has its own instructions, specifying settings for infill and wall line count for each individual part. The general rule is to print fuselages with a Gyroid infill of 3–6%, while wings should be printed with a 2D Lattice (also called Lateral Lattice) infill of 3–6%. If there are any exceptions, they are noted in the instructions for a specific aircraft.
The airplanes are designed to be printable on standard printers with a small working area. Most elements fit within a 220×220×200 mm working area, and prototypes are tested on printers with a standard 0.4 mm nozzle.
Recommended printers
The range of suitable printers is quite broad. A build volume of 220×220×200 mm and a standard 0.4 mm nozzle are generally sufficient for printing CKHM models. One of the most popular choices among users is the Bambu Lab P1S / P2S / X1C series, which strikes a great balance between ease of use and professional-level functionality.
Types of LW-PLA: prefoamed vs active foaming
On the market there are many types of lightweight filaments. The key difference is whether they use prefoamed or active foaming technology. For CKHM models we recommend active-foaming filaments — every profile on this page is active-foaming.
Our foaming materials
Recommended Slicers
- Bambu Studio: Developed by Bambu Lab and tightly integrated with their printers. Highly optimized with full access to pressure advance and foaming settings.
- Orca Slicer: Forked from Bambu Studio with universal printer compatibility. The best choice if you use Creality, Prusa, Voron or other Klipper-based machines.
- PrusaSlicer / Cura: Can be used, but requires manual tuning of volumetric flow and retraction parameters.
Material settings & parameters
| Material | Nozzle Temp | Flow Rate | Bed / Plate | Part Cooling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bambu Lab PLA Aero | 260 °C | 0.55 | 55 °C (Textured PEI) | ~30% |
| ColorFabb LW-PLA | 267 °C | 0.60 | 60 °C (Textured PEI) | ~20% |
| ColorFabb LW-PLA-HT | 230 °C (1st layer 215) | 0.55 | 60 °C (Textured PEI) | ~20% |
| eSUN eLW-PLA | 250 °C | 0.52 | 55 °C (Textured PEI) | ~35% |
| Bambu Lab ASA Aero | 265 °C | 0.58 | 90–100 °C (Engineering) | ~15% |
Walls, infill & shells
- Wall loops: 1 (single perimeter — essential for maintaining low flying weight).
- Top / Bottom layers: 3 solid layers for fuselage and wing skin rigidity.
- Infill: 4% Gyroid default (Fuselage: 3–6% Gyroid; Wings: 3–6% 2D Lattice / Lateral Lattice).
- First-layer flow: 100% (non-foamed thickness) for strong bed adhesion.
Tuning the foaming & Drying
Lighter / More Foaming: Raise nozzle temp by 3–5 °C and decrease flow rate slightly.
Denser / More Detail: Lower nozzle temp by 3–5 °C and increase flow rate.
Note: Always turn OFF Bambu's automatic Flow Dynamics calibration (Pressure Advance) for foaming filaments, as expanded plastics cannot be measured accurately by lidar.
- PLA Aero / LW-PLA / eSUN: Dry at 50–55 °C for 8 hours before printing.
- ASA Aero: Dry at 80 °C for 8 hours in an active forced-air filament dryer.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely Cause | Recommended Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Stringing / Whiskers | Moisture in filament; long travel moves. | Dry the filament thoroughly (8h at 55°C); enable "Avoid crossing walls". |
| Under-extrusion / Gaps | Printing speed too fast for foam expansion. | Keep outer wall speed low (35–45 mm/s); don't raise Max Volumetric Speed. |
| Rough surface / Blobs | Over-foaming (temperature too hot). | Lower nozzle temp by 5 °C, increase flow rate slightly (+0.02). |
| Weak / Brittle layers | Excessive cooling fan blowing on the nozzle. | Lower cooling fan to 15–25%; disable auxiliary chamber fans. |
| ASA Warping / Peeling | Cold chamber draft; inadequate bed heat. | Ensure fully enclosed chamber; bed at 95 °C + apply glue stick / nano polymer. |
Using a non-Bambu Lab printer
These profiles are built for Bambu Lab machines, but they serve as an ideal baseline for any direct-drive printer (Creality Ender/K1, Prusa MK3/MK4, Voron, etc.):
- Retraction: Direct-drive should use 0.2–0.6 mm. For Bowden setups, start at 1.5–2.5 mm.
- Printing speed: Foaming requires time to expand consistently in the nozzle cavity. Keep speeds below 40 mm/s.