Digital technologies/3D printing/3D printing- Beginner/Troubleshooting a failing print
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Many things can go wrong when 3D printing. Thankfully, using recommended settings should always work well, and such, diagnosing a failing print is fairly easy. The following are a set of issues, possible causes, as well as potential fixes.
| Issue (symptom) | Possible Cause (diagnosis) | Potential Fix (cure) |
|---|---|---|
| Warping | Not enough/too much model base surface contact to the print bed | Use a brim or a raft (adhesion)* |
| Bad adhesion | Not enough/too much model base surface contact to the print bed | Use a brim or a raft (adhesion) |
| Uneven print bed/Bed too far from nozzle at initial layer | Relevel the buildplate | |
| No extrusion | No filament | Replace filament spool |
| Filament clog | Keep in mind that it is uncommon that this is the actual cause of lack of extrusion. Ask a Makerspace employee to assist with further diagnosis | |
| Underextrusion | The forwarding mechanism (gearbox) ground through the filament | Move the filament out of the forwarding mechanism. Use the change material feature to speed up the removal. While the mechanism is whirring to remove the material, pull slightly on the filament, at the back of the printer for the mechanism to grab. Break the filament clean off at the section where the filament was ground, clean up the end by cutting it off. Re-forward the material into the printer, making sure the right material is chosen in the menu. |
| Wet (very brittle) filament | Remove wet section of the filament (0.25 to 0.5m length) and re-load | |
| Filament clog | Keep in mind that it is uncommon that this is the actual cause of lack of extrusion. Ask a Makerspace employee to assist with further diagnosis | |
| Print not level | Model not well seated on bed (in slicer) | Use the snap to bed feature in your slicer (when available), add a brim to preview which flat sections are well seated on the bed |
| Drooling | No supports when needed | Add supports |
*Though it may be counterintuitive to increase part base area with a brim when the issue is that the base surface is too large, using a brim permits leads to reduced warping. If warping does occur, the brim acts as a sacrificial piece (reducing the impact to the part with little to no negative impact on print time or post processing time).