Find out more to help diagnose the issues with your print.
In this page we will walk through the common issues and challenges encountered in 3D printing with a material science approach. The idea behind the page is to provide more scientific knowledge to common issues in order to easily overcome them. To beg
Elephant foot is an issue where the bottom few layers of your print are much thicker than the rest of your print. Almost as if the material was mushed out before correcting itself after a couple of layers. This is a fairly straight forward issue to
If you are using a non-geared extruder, especially one set up in a Bowden fashion – such as a stock Ender 3, it is likely you will eventually run into extruder motor skips, where you hear a clicking noise coming out of your extruder. When you look a
Ghosting in printing essentially refers to an “echo” where details in your print can be seen outside where they should be, which may also be called “ringing”. This chapter only has minor edits from previous editions of this book. The number one reas
Layer shifts refer to when the print looks fine other than the fact that one or multiple layers are shifted in the X or Y direction. Layer shifts can be something as simple as a loose wire or can be as difficult as recognizing that your stepper mot
Missing Layers and Holes in Prints. This particular problem in the photo above can also be known as “temporary under extrusion”, though it can also be as minimal as seeing some holes in your print. Replace poorly made extruder. If you are using an ex
Poor Layer Adhesion. Having strong layer adhesion is not only mandatory for watertight parts, but it is needed for clean, strong prints. If your individual layers do not stick together well, you are bound for a part that will break and peel apart. U
What material are you using?. Just about every single material type has different build plate adhesion requirements. We will go over some basic settings for different material types later in this page, but if you are working with a material you aren’
Warping:. The warping of parts is just about inevitable if you don’t understand the material or machine you are using. Warping is when corners or entire parts of the print curl upward due to uneven cooling, or due to improper bed adhesion. We can’t