Troubleshooting

What Elephant’s Foot Looks Like Elephant’s foot is a specific geometry defect: the bottom 1-3 layers of a print are wider than the rest of the …

Diagnosing the Clog Before fixing anything, figure out how clogged the nozzle is. There are two types: Full Clog No filament extrudes when you push it manually …

What Under-Extrusion Looks Like Under-extrusion is when your printer extrudes less filament than the slicer expects. The result: Visible gaps between perimeter …

What Z-Banding Looks Like Z-banding shows up as horizontal stripes or bands on the vertical walls of a 3D print. The bands typically: Repeat at consistent …

Why Prints Warp Warping happens when the bottom of a print cools and contracts faster than the top. The bottom contracts, pulling the corners up off the bed. …

First-Layer Failures Are 90% of Print Failures If your print fails, it almost always fails on the first layer. Get the first layer right, and the rest of the …

Bed Adhesion Is the Foundation of Every Print If your first layer doesn’t stick, nothing else matters. The most advanced slicer settings, the most …

Layer Shifting Is a Mechanical Problem — Always Layer shifting is when your print’s layers suddenly offset mid-print, creating a staircase effect. Unlike …

Stringing Is the Most Common 3D Printing Problem — Here’s How to Kill It Those thin, hair-like wisps of plastic between your print’s features? …