It is the maximum speed the printer’s motion system is rated to reach, not the speed at which a good part is printed. Real print speed depends on the material, the part, the cooling and the slicer profile, and much of a print runs well below the listed maximum.
Speed figures of this kind appear in the titles of many current printers, and they describe a machine capability rather than a result.
What the number is
A figure such as Max 600mm/s is the highest travel speed the printer’s frame, motors and firmware are designed for. It says the motion system can move the toolhead that quickly. It says nothing about whether plastic can be deposited well at that speed.
What limits the real speed
Melting. The hotend has to melt filament as fast as the nozzle lays it down, and there is a ceiling on how much plastic it can heat per second. Cooling. A layer printed too fast is not solid when the next one arrives. Acceleration. On a small part the toolhead rarely reaches its top speed before it has to turn. The part itself. Fine details, overhangs and first layers are printed slowly on purpose.
What a fast printer does change
Faster motion systems, input shaping and stiffer frames do shorten many prints, and they reduce the ringing that high speed used to cause. The improvement is real; it is simply not the ratio between two maximum speeds.
How this site reports speed
The maker’s speed figure is quoted as a maximum published speed. No print time is derived from it, because print time depends on the file, the material and the slicer settings, none of which a listing knows.
If this page and the manufacturer’s manual disagree, follow the manual. Every laser power, speed, build volume, resolution, temperature and safety rating on this page is taken from the maker’s own documentation, with its unit as published and its source named — none of it is measured here. A figure is written the way the maker states it and is not converted into another convention, because the converted value would be a different number. And for any print speed: a published maximum speed describes what the motion system can reach, not how fast a good part is printed. The speed that works depends on the material, the geometry, the cooling and the slicer profile. This page quotes the maker’s figure as a maximum and draws no print time from it.
Questions makers ask before buying
Does a faster printer finish a print sooner?
Often, but not in proportion to the headline figure. Acceleration, small features, first layers, travel moves and cooling limits all hold the average speed far below the maximum.
Why do some materials have to print slowly?
Because the hotend can only melt so much plastic per second, and some materials need time to cool or to bond. Flexible filament in particular buckles if it is pushed fast.
Last reviewed 15 September 2026