3D Printing Toolkit › Troubleshooting

Print troubleshooting

Defect → cause → fix for the problems that actually come up. Causes are listed most-likely first, because several of these look alike and guessing in the wrong order wastes filament.

Stringing & oozing

Wispy threads between parts

Warping & adhesion

Corners lifting off the bed

Under-extrusion

Gaps and thin walls

Layer shifting

Layers offset mid-print

Elephant's foot

Bulging first layers

Z-banding

Repeating ridges up the wall

Blobs & zits

Bumps where the nozzle starts/stops

Ghosting / ringing

Echoes after sharp corners

Over-extrusion

Too much material, rough walls

Top pillowing

Gaps or bumps on the top surface

Poor bridging

Drooping strands across gaps

Or start from the filament

Plenty of these are a material problem, not a printer problem. The filament settings chart has nozzle and bed temperatures, drying schedules and the known weak points for 12 materials.

Every number on this page is in the app too — next to the calculators that use it, working offline at the printer.

Get it onGoogle Play