# What extruder sizes do you use?

**URL:** <https://forum.thingiverse.com/t/what-extruder-sizes-do-you-use/434>\
**Category:** General\
**Created:** [August 20, 2026, 7:15am UTC](https://forum.thingiverse.com/t/what-extruder-sizes-do-you-use/434 "2026-08-20T07:15:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jonathanpiasecki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecccb3/32.png) [@jonathanpiasecki](https://forum.thingiverse.com/u/jonathanpiasecki)\
**Post date:** [August 20, 2026, 7:15am UTC](https://forum.thingiverse.com/t/what-extruder-sizes-do-you-use/434/1 "2026-08-20T07:15:01Z")

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I design or modify scale models of buildings in the model railway scale of 1:87, commonly known as HO scale. Large parts of the models, like brick or wooden walls, are designed to be printed with the common nozzle size of 0.4mm at 0.2mm layers - which seems to be the default setting for most printers.

But finer parts, such as windows, doors, and roof panels representing corrugated iron or shingles, are designed to be printed with a finer 0.2mm nozzle at 0.1mm layers.

I am wondering if I am asking too much of people with these requirements.

What are the nozzle sizes that you commonly use for your projects? Does everyone here have a selection of nozzle sizes? Do you commonly print at finer resolutions and finer layer heights? Is it reasonable to expect that somebody downloading my models will read and follow the instructions and actually print with the recommended nozzle sizes and layer heights?

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**Author:** ![ksihota](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex032/user_avatar/forum.thingiverse.com/ksihota/32/264_2.png) [@ksihota](https://forum.thingiverse.com/u/ksihota)\
**Post date:** [August 20, 2026, 7:54am UTC](https://forum.thingiverse.com/t/what-extruder-sizes-do-you-use/434/2 "2026-08-20T07:54:38Z")

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I think it really depends on the person. If someone is serious about the models and are focused on something specific then I would think that they would use whatever the designer recommends. If they are just printing for fun they will probably go with whatever is easiest for them and just run a standard size. It also depends on the machine the person has. I find switching nozzles a pain so I rarely do so. I make adjustments to my slicer software to try and get the best print that I need. However, if I need something specific I will switch but in my case its usually to a larger sized nozzle since most of the things I print are not small models or figurines. For a while I had my tiny printer using a 0.2 nozzle and my Predator using a 0.6 nozzle. That allowed me to play around a little and since generally it was smaller items that used the smaller nozzle it worked out quite well.

I think all you can do is design the best you can and provide information that allows people to decide what they are willing to do. Its generally a balancing act with printing anyways.