Even with experience, things sometimes go wrong: a part comes unstuck from the bed, layers shift, threads stretch between walls. Over the years we\u2019ve run into every one of these problems and know how to solve them. Below are the eight most common FDM printing defects, with specific advice.<\/p>\n
Printing yourself, or wondering whether to buy a printer instead of ordering prints<\/a>? This article will be useful either way.<\/p>\n The corners of the part lift off the platform and the model bends. Most often on large flat parts.<\/p>\n Plastic shrinks unevenly as it cools. The lower layers cool faster than the upper ones, creating stresses. ABS and nylon are the most problematic materials in this respect. Warping is rare with PLA and occasional with PETG on large parts.<\/p>\n Thin strands of plastic stretch between parts of the model. The part looks messy.<\/p>\n Molten plastic oozes from the nozzle while the head travels. The main culprits are insufficient retraction or too high a temperature.<\/p>\n Layers shift horizontally. The part looks as if it was cut and glued back together out of line.<\/p>\n A mechanical problem: loose belts, overheating stepper motors, too high a speed or the nozzle catching on the part. We\u2019ve seen this problem more often on budget Creality printers \u2014 their belts stretch after a few months of heavy printing.<\/p>\n The plastic doesn\u2019t hold to the bed, gathers into blobs, the lines are uneven. The print fails in the first few minutes.<\/p>\n The wrong gap between nozzle and bed, a dirty platform, too low a bed temperature or too high a first-layer speed. This is beginners\u2019 number one problem.<\/p>\n The first few layers are wider than the rest \u2014 the base spreads out. Critical for parts with precise dimensions (enclosures, lids, joints).<\/p>\n The weight of the upper layers presses on the soft lower ones. Too high a bed temperature or too small a gap between nozzle and platform make it worse.<\/p>\n The top surface shows gaps, small holes or sagging. The surface doesn\u2019t look sealed.<\/p>\n Too few solid top layers, too low an infill percentage or suboptimal wall thickness and infill<\/a>.<\/p>\n Under-extrusion:<\/strong> gaps between lines, thin brittle layers, the part breaks easily. Over-extrusion:<\/strong> a lumpy surface, blobs, the part is bigger than specified, the nozzle catches on previous layers.<\/p>\n Incorrectly calibrated extruder steps (E-steps), the wrong flow rate, a partly clogged nozzle, filament slipping or low-quality plastic with an inconsistent diameter.<\/p>\n Supports come off the bed, deform or can\u2019t carry the weight of overhangs. Overhangs sag, and the surface above the supports is uneven.<\/p>\n The wrong support type or density, too big a gap between support and model, poor support adhesion to the bed or the wrong model orientation.<\/p>\n Most defects come down to a few basics: calibration, temperature, filament quality and model preparation. Here\u2019s what works in practice:<\/p>\n Don\u2019t want to deal with calibration and defects? Send the model to us<\/a>. The equipment is tuned, the materials are tested, the experience is there \u2014 you\u2019ll get a quality part without the hassle.<\/p>\n Need quality 3D printing? printing materials<\/a>. prices<\/a>. order<\/a>. Delivery across Ukraine by Nova Poshta.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 8 3D printing mistakes and how to fix them Even with experience, things sometimes go wrong: a part comes unstuck from the bed, layers shift, threads stretch between walls. Over the years we\u2019ve run into every one of these problems and know how to solve them. Below are the eight most common FDM printing defects, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":341,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guides"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/3dprint.lviv.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/3dprint.lviv.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/3dprint.lviv.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/3dprint.lviv.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=476"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/3dprint.lviv.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":581,"href":"https:\/\/3dprint.lviv.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476\/revisions\/581"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/3dprint.lviv.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/3dprint.lviv.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/3dprint.lviv.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/3dprint.lviv.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}1. Warping \u2014 corners lifting off the bed<\/h2>\n
What it looks like<\/h3>\n
The cause<\/h3>\n
What we do<\/h3>\n
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2. Stringing \u2014 threads between features<\/h2>\n
What it looks like<\/h3>\n
The cause<\/h3>\n
What we do<\/h3>\n
\n
3. Layer shifting<\/h2>\n
What it looks like<\/h3>\n
The cause<\/h3>\n
What we do<\/h3>\n
\n
4. The first layer won\u2019t stick<\/h2>\n
What it looks like<\/h3>\n
The cause<\/h3>\n
What we do<\/h3>\n
\n
5. Elephant\u2019s foot<\/h2>\n
What it looks like<\/h3>\n
The cause<\/h3>\n
What we do<\/h3>\n
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6. Gaps and holes in the top layers<\/h2>\n
What it looks like<\/h3>\n
The cause<\/h3>\n
What we do<\/h3>\n
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7. Under-extrusion and over-extrusion<\/h2>\n
What it looks like<\/h3>\n
The cause<\/h3>\n
What we do<\/h3>\n
\n
8. Support problems<\/h2>\n
What it looks like<\/h3>\n
The cause<\/h3>\n
What we do<\/h3>\n
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How to avoid most problems<\/h2>\n
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Order 3D printing<\/h2>\n