When the part stays soft, speed becomes a compromise.
Fresh material adds heat with each pass. Short layer times and thick walls can leave the previous layers too soft to support the next bead. Sagging or slumping can then force you to reduce speed or add a cooling pause.
The limit can change as the part grows. A long path gives a layer more time to cool; a short path brings the nozzle back sooner. The same feed strategy can therefore work well in one region and leave another too hot.
Different wall thicknesses need different cooling.
A thick section holds heat longer than a thin one, even within the same layer. If the wall thickness changes along the path, one cooling setting cannot suit every section. Enough cooling for a thin wall can leave a thick section too soft; enough for the thick section can cool the thin wall more than it needs.
LEAM’s cooling is temperature controlled. It adapts along each layer as wall thickness and local heat buildup change, giving each section the cooling it needs. This maintains the right temperature and temperature distribution across the part, keeping the build stable while maximizing productivity.
Cool the build. Reheat the bonding surface.
Active cooling helps the bulk shed heat and become stable sooner. That can reduce both the waiting time between layers and the need to print slowly.
The bonding surface has a different job. LEAM can heat a thin surface film immediately before the next bead arrives, while the material below stays stable. Cooling and localized heating work together to give you a stable build and a surface ready to bond.
Heating happens as the print moves and does not necessarily require a pause. If the surface needs more time under the heater, you may need to print more slowly. The effect on total build time depends on which thermal limit your process reaches.
See the three critical process temperatures and what LEAM controls
LEAM print trial / PETG
From 1 hour 29 minutes to 43 minutes.
In a trial on the same 350 mm PETG cube geometry, adaptive feed plus cooling shortened print time from 01:29 to 00:43 (hours:minutes), compared with the constant-layer-time reference.
Adding localized heating kept print time at 49.9% of the reference.
Find the limit your print reaches first.
Look at the point where the operator slows the machine down or the part starts to sag. Note the layer time, bead dimensions and material output there. Those details help establish whether cooling could let you reach the throughput you need.
Then check that the bonding surface can reach its target temperature at that speed. Travel speed and material throughput affect heating in different ways; considering them together helps you find a useful production setting.