Fig. 4

A comparison of how the orientation of the dilator in an FDM 3D printer can affect the mechanical strength at the tip. The vertically orientated 3D-printed dilator (purple) will be more likely to snap completely due to the weakness between the layers compared to the horizontally printed dilator (yellow). However, the downside is that overhanging parts like the tip of the dilator when orientated horizontally requires printing of a support material