3D printing troubleshooting
{n} print defects, what each one looks like, and the fixes ranked by how often they are the real cause.
Stringing / oozing
Thin, spiderweb-like strands of plastic stretch between separate parts of the print, or fi…
Warping
Corners or long edges of the first layers peel up off the build plate. Tall, wide parts cu…
Layer shifting
One or more layers are offset horizontally from the rest, leaving a visible step or a lean…
Under-extrusion
Walls have gaps or holes, top surfaces look porous, and the part feels weak and snaps easi…
Over-extrusion
Surfaces look lumpy, dimensions come out oversize, and the nozzle drags through raised rid…
First layer not sticking / poor first layer
The first layer beads up, peels, or shows gaps between lines; or it is so squished the lin…
Blobs and zits
Small bumps or pimples appear on walls, often along the seam or where the layer starts and…
Elephant foot
The bottom few millimetres bulge outward, so the part is wider at the base than the walls …
Ringing / ghosting
Wavy, repeating ripples echo outward from sharp corners or features on the walls.…
Clogged nozzle
Extrusion stops or becomes erratic; the extruder clicks or grinds and nothing comes out.…
Layer separation / delamination
Layers split apart horizontally, sometimes mid-print, and the part breaks along layer line…
Poor bridging
Horizontal spans sag or droop instead of forming a clean flat bridge.…
Rough / fuzzy top surface
Top surfaces are rough, hairy, or pilled instead of smooth and closed.…
Spaghetti / print knocked loose
A tangle of loose filament strands where the print used to be. The part detached and the n…
Z-banding / inconsistent layers
Regular horizontal bands of slightly different width repeat up the print, like a stack of …
Heat creep / filament jamming mid-print
Prints fine for a while, then extrusion stops. Pulling the filament shows a swollen, bulbo…
Supports impossible to remove
Support material fuses to the model and cannot be snapped off without damaging the surface…
Dimensions out of tolerance
Holes come out undersized, outer walls oversized, and parts do not fit as designed.…