Start with what the print is doing.
Almost every print failure has one cause that is far more likely than the rest, and almost everybody changes three settings before checking it. Find the symptom below, do the first check, and only go deeper if that was not it.
While it is printing
Something is going wrong you can watch happen.
- It will not stick to the bedThe first layer lifts, drags around, or never bonds at all.Check first: Wash the plate with warm water and dish soap. Skin oil from handling is the most common cause and it is invisible.Bed adhesion and the first layer
- The corners curl upIt sticks, prints for a while, then a corner peels off the plate.Check first: This is shrinkage, not adhesion. Check whether your material wants an enclosure before changing anything else.Why parts warp
- Fine strings between partsWispy threads across gaps, or fuzz on tall thin features.Check first: Dry the filament before touching retraction. Moisture is the cause people skip and settings will not fix it.How to stop stringing
- Nothing is coming outThe extruder clicks, or the nozzle moves and lays down nothing.Check first: Partial clog or full clog. A cold pull clears most of them, and it is worth doing before replacing anything.Nozzle cleaning and clogs
- Gaps and thin wallsUnder-extrusion: lines that do not touch, walls you can see through.Check first: Check extrusion before flow. If the extruder is not moving the filament it thinks it is, every other number is built on a wrong one.Calibration, in order
- The layers shifted sidewaysEverything above a certain height is offset in one direction.Check first: Mechanical, not slicer. Something obstructed the head or a belt slipped. Check the part did not curl up into the nozzle path first, because that is the cause that hides as an electrical one.Curling into the nozzle path
The print finished, but
It came off the plate and something is not right.
- It came out the wrong sizeThe part is close but will not fit its mating half.Check first: Measure the same feature three times before concluding anything. FDM holds about ±0.5% and holes always print undersized.Tolerance and clearance
- The base is flaredThe bottom one or two layers splay outwards, so the part rocks.Check first: Elephant foot, and it is a setting rather than a fault. Your slicer has a first-layer compensation for it.Fixing elephant foot
- It snapped along a layerThe part broke cleanly between layers rather than through them.Check first: Layer adhesion. Usually too cool at the nozzle, too much part cooling, or a material printed outside its range. Check the profile for your material.Find your material
- The supports will not come offThey are fused to the part, or removing them tears the surface.Check first: Cut, do not pull. Most of the damage people blame on supports happens while levering them off with fingers.Removing supports without damage
- The surface is rough or blobbyZits, seams and a finish you would not show anybody.Check first: Some of this is fixable in the slicer and some is faster to sand out. Decide which before spending an evening on settings.Sanding and finishing
Or the material is the problem
Some failures are not faults at all, they are a material doing what that material does. Each profile records the failure people actually hit with it, alongside the settings.
Common questions
- Why is my 3D print not sticking to the bed?
- Most often the plate has skin oil on it from handling. Wash it with warm water and dish soap and dry it fully before changing any settings. If that does not fix it, check the nozzle is low enough that the first layer is squashed into a continuous sheet.
- Why does my 3D print have strings?
- Usually wet filament rather than retraction settings. Hygroscopic materials absorb moisture from the air, and the water boils at the nozzle and leaves fine threads. Dry the spool first, then tune retraction if it persists.
- What causes under-extrusion?
- A partial clog, a slipping extruder, or extrusion that was never calibrated. Check the mechanical causes before adjusting flow, because a multiplier tuned to hide a mechanical fault comes undone with the next material.
- Why did my print shift halfway through?
- Something physically got in the way or a belt slipped. The most common hidden cause is a corner of the part curling up into the path of the nozzle, which reads as an electrical fault but is really a warping problem.
- How do I know if my filament is wet?
- It strings and pops. Wet filament crackles audibly at the nozzle, prints with a rough surface, and produces fine hairs between features. Drying it and reprinting the same file is the test.
Most of these only happen once
A calibrated machine, a clean plate and dry filament remove the majority of what is on this page. The workshop covers each of those as a job rather than as a fix.
The workshopNeed the part now, without another test print?
If you have spent the evening tuning and the deadline has not moved, having it printed is a legitimate answer. Upload the model and see a price before you commit.
FDM only, up to 220mm per side, shipping within the United States. Accepts STL, 3MF, STEP, OBJ.
Get a printing quoteOwnership: 3DPrinterOnDemand is Another Anvil Road property, so we have a commercial interest in it. We are not recommending it as an independent party, and where it cannot print a material we say so and point elsewhere.