Unsupported Bridge Experiments

The ProblemStandard slicer settings space bridged filament with the same line to line distance as supported layers, but bridged filament printed in midair maintains a circular cross-section instead of being squished into an oval. This causes gaps between lines and poor surface quality. The following images, from Bambu Lab&#39;s Line Width page, help describe the problem. The SolutionThrough systematic testing, I found that increasing bridge flow beyond the typical <1 range allows adjacent lines to bind properly. Combined with reduced bridge speed, this produces remarkably smooth bridges. Hypothesis 1: If bridge flow is increased beyond 1.0, then extruded bridge lines will expand enough to contact adjacent lines, providing lateral support through inter-line adhesion rather than relying solely on anchor points at the bridge endpoints. ACCEPTED Hypothesis 2: If bridge print speed is reduced, then each extruded line will have more time to cool and solidify before more weight is added by fu