3D Printer FYIFEATURED CREATORS · SKILL ISSUE
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Part of SKILL ISSUE. Channel: CNC Kitchen. Site: cnckitchen.com.
“Some guy on Reddit said” is not a test method.
Stefan Hermann takes the arguments 3D-printing people have been repeating for years, builds a test rig, prints an unreasonable number of samples, breaks them all, graphs the remains, and ruins at least three confidently held opinions before lunch.
If MythBusters had one host, a universal testing machine, and a concerning supply of tensile coupons.
Why this makes you a better maker
On his About page, Stefan describes himself as a mechanical engineer with seventeen years in aerospace: eight as a structural engineer on landing-gear systems, six as a research engineer in metal additive manufacturing. CNC Kitchen is what he does with that brain now.
The format, he writes, has stayed the same since 2016: pick a question people argue about, design a test that can actually answer it, run enough samples that the result means something, and publish the numbers whether they match the expectation or not. Most results come off equipment he built himself — usually a universal testing machine pulling specimens until they break. Methods are published. This is a workshop, not an accredited lab. Source
That last part is why the channel deserves more than “good technical videos.” Stefan routinely does the thing the internet is terrible at: he allows the result to be boring, inconvenient, or wrong.
Want to know whether smaller layers make parts stronger? He printed and destroyed hooks at different layer heights and orientations. The result was not “smaller is always stronger”; the testing showed a practical sweet spot and how severe FDM anisotropy can be. Source
Want to dry filament? He compared a vacuum, food dehydrator, oven, and desiccant storage instead of repeating the usual moisture incantations. The practical result: heat matters, vacuum alone disappointed, and storage after drying is a huge part of the equation. Source
Heat-set inserts? A detailed guide covering temperatures, hole sizing, installation, orientation effects, and downloadable test geometry. Source
Then the fun side: he does not only test accepted practice. The Brick Layers experiment changed the order of perimeter deposition so layers interlock instead of stacking in perfectly aligned planes, with measurable strength improvements in his tests. Source
In 2026 he explored micro-non-planar Z anti-aliasing, measuring surface roughness rather than just eyeballing a pretty print; his tests showed large reductions in roughness on shallow slopes and that thicker layers could approach the surface finish of much thinner conventional layers. Source
He has also gone beyond videos into free, open-source browser tools such as BumpMesh, filaSim, and ScanRuler, designed to run locally so files never leave your machine. Apps
3D Printer FYI take
Stefan is where 3D-printing folklore goes to face cross-examination.
The hobby has no shortage of advice delivered with absolute certainty after somebody printed one cube on one machine with one spool of PLA.
CNC Kitchen responds by printing forty more cubes, machining a fixture, pulling them apart until something snaps, calculating the variance, and politely informing us that reality is more complicated.
It is deeply inconvenient.
It is also one of the best things to happen to desktop 3D-printing education.
The true CNC Kitchen experience is clicking a video because you want a yes/no answer and leaving 18 minutes later with a new appreciation for moisture diffusion, polymer behavior, experimental design, and why your original question was badly phrased.
He prints it. He breaks it. He graphs it. We stop arguing. For approximately six minutes.
What you’ll accidentally learn
- How layer height, orientation, walls, nozzle size, and material affect real part strength
- Why FDM parts fail differently depending on load direction
- How to think about testing instead of anecdotes
- Filament drying and storage beyond “wet filament lol” — see also advanced filaments
- How to install and design for heat-set inserts
- What newer slicing approaches such as brick layering and micro-non-planar printing can change — after you have a baseline
- How to read graphs without immediately scrolling to the comment section
- That “stronger” is meaningless until somebody defines how the part is being loaded
Start here
The Influence of Layer Height on the Strength of FDM Prints
Multiple layer heights and print orientations, measured.
Why feature it: Classic CNC Kitchen. Familiar question, proper experiment, answer more nuanced than the folklore.
Filament Drying: Vacuum vs. Oven vs. Dehydrator vs. Desiccant
A direct comparison of popular drying methods and moisture behavior.
Why feature it: The community can diagnose a power outage as wet filament. This is the antidote.
Tips & Tricks for Heat-Set Inserts
Temperatures, hole dimensions, orientation, installation, printable test pieces.
Why feature it: Quietly upgrades every functional assembly you design afterward.
Brick Layers — Make 3D Prints Stronger
An experimental slicing strategy that offsets perimeter deposition to create interlocking layers.
Why feature it: Stefan graduates from “testing the rules” to “okay, what if we change the rules?”
Anti-Aliasing for FDM / Micro-Non-Planar Printing
A 2026 investigation into dynamically varying Z inside layers to reduce stair-stepping.
Why feature it: New technique, numbers behind the pretty print.
BumpMesh
Free open-source browser software for applying real displaced textures to meshes, processed locally.
Why feature it: Useful tool plus evidence the channel contributes maker infrastructure, not just videos.