3D printer overhang

10 Ways How to Improve Overhangs in Your 3D Printing – 3D Printerly

Learning how to improve overhangs in your 3D prints is a skill that your print quality will really appreciate. I’ve had some pretty poor overhangs in the past, so I decided to set out and figure out the best methods to improve them. It actually isn’t as hard as I thought.

To improve overhangs you should improve your cooling with a fan upgrade and fan duct to direct cool air to melted filament. Reducing model angles to be 45° or less is a great way to reduce bad overhangs. You can also decrease layer height, printing speed and printing temperature so filament isn’t as melted, allowing it to cool quicker.

This is a good starting point to improve overhangs. The rest of this article goes into some pretty key details to help you understand the problem and how each method assists in improving your overhang (with videos), so keep reading to find out more.

What Are Overhangs in 3D Printing?

Overhangs in 3D printing are where the filament your nozzle extrudes ‘hangs over’ the previous layer too far, to a point where it is in mid-air and cannot be adequately supported. This results in that extruded layer ‘overhanging’ and producing poor print quality, since it cannot form a good foundation underneath.

A good overhang is one where you can actually 3D print at an angle above the 45° mark which is diagonal angle. To put this into perspective, you can picture the letter T trying to be 3D printed.

You would do fine up to the middle part of the letter because it is nicely supported, but when you get to the top line, this 90° angle is far too sharp to have any support underneath.

That is what we call overhang.

There are overhang tests which you can try which have angles going anywhere from 10° up to 80° to see just how well your 3D printer handles overhangs, and they can perform pretty well as long as you take the right steps.

The most popular overhang test on Thingiverse is the Mini All in One 3D Printer Test by majda107, which tests several important features on a 3D printer. It is printed with no supports and 100% infill to really test your printer’s abilities.

Its difficult to print overhangs at sharp angles because there isn’t enough of a supporting surface below your next extruded layer for it to stay in place. It will practically be printing in mid-air.

In 3D printing, the general rule to combat overhangs is to print angles that at 45° or less, where angles above this will start to be negatively affected by overhang.

The physics behind this angle is that, when you picture a 45° angle, it is right in the middle of a 90° angle, meaning that 50% of the layer is support, and 50% of the layer is unsupported.

Going past that 50% point really outweighs the support needed for a solid enough foundation, and the further out the angle, the worse. You want your layers to have more surface area to have adhesion for successful, strong 3D prints.

Some models are complex, making it pretty hard to avoid overhangs in the first place.

Luckily, there are many methods to improve just how much overhang our 3D printers can deliver, so stay tuned to find out these tips and tricks.

How To Improve Overhangs in Your 3D Prints

As previously mentioned, making sure your models don’t have angles higher than 45° is a great solution to overhangs, but there are a lot more ways to improve overhangs that you can be implementing in your 3D printing.

Here’s how to improve overhangs in your 3D prints

Increase fan cooling of parts
Decrease layer height
Change the orientation of your model
Reduce your printing speed
Reduce your printing temperature
Decrease layer width
Split your model into multiple parts
Use support structures
Integrate a chamfer into model
Tune up your 3D printer

1. Increase Fan Cooling of Parts

The first thing I would do to improve my overhangs is increase the efficiency of my layer cooling. This comes down to either replacing the fan for a higher quality one, or using a fan duct which properly directs the cool air to your 3D prints.

Many times, your 3D prints will be cooled on one side, while the other side is struggling with overhangs because it doesn’t have adequate cooling. If this is your situation, you can correct the problem pretty easily.

The reason fans and cooling works so well is because, as soon as the material is extruded through the nozzle, it gets cooled to a temperature well below the melting temperature, leaving it to quickly harden.

The hardening of your filament as it get extruded means it can build a good foundation regardless of little support underneath. It’s similar to bridges, which is extruded lines of material between two raised points.

If you can get good bridges, you can get great overhangs, so most of these overhang improvement tips also translates to bridging.

Get a high quality fan – the Noctua fan is a great upgrade that thousands of users love
3D print yourself a Petsfang Duct (Thingiverse) or another type of duct (Ender 3) which is proven to work very well

2. Decrease Layer Height

The next thing you can do is decreasing the layer height, which works because it reduces the angle at which your extruded layers are working at.

When you picture your extruded layers like a staircase, the larger the staircase, the more material is off the edge of the previous layer, which in other words is overhang.

On the other side of this scenario, a smaller staircase (layer height) means that each layer has a closer foundation and supporting surface to build upon for the next layer.

Although it will increase printing time, sometimes its necessary to get those awesome overhangs, and sweet print quality. The results are usually better than the sacrifice in time!

The video below by the 3D Printing Professor illustrates this really well.

The default layer height in Cura for a 0.4mm nozzle is a comfortable 0.2mm which is 50%. The general rule for layer height relative to nozzle diameter is anywhere from 25% to 75%.

This means you can use a range of a 0.01mm layer height up to 0.03mm.

I would try using a layer height of 0.16mm or 0.12mm for your 3D printer
Make sure you are implementing ‘Magic Numbers‘ for your layer height so you aren’t micro-stepping.

3. Change the Orientation of Your Model

The orientation of your model is another trick you can use to your advantage to reduce overhangs. What this means is, you can rotate and adjust your 3D print model to decrease the angles at which the model is printing.

This may not always work, but in some cases it can work perfectly.

You might not be able to decrease angle below 45°, but you can get pretty close.

For resin 3D printing, its advised that you orient your 3D prints to be 45° to the build plate for better adhesion.

Rotate your models to reduce overhang
Use software to automatically orient your 3D print models.

Cura Software Plugin

Makers Muse has a great video describing the details behind print orientation in terms of strength & resolution, giving you a better understanding of how important print orientation is.

He describes how there is always a trade-off when it comes to orientation, and in some cases you can get the best of both worlds. It takes a little bit of thought and knowledge of how layers make up parts to get things right.

4. Reduce Your Printing Speed

This tip is somewhat related to the cooling aspect of things, as well as better layer adhesion. When you reduce your printing speed, it means your extruded layers have more time to benefit from cooling, so it can create a good foundation.

When you combine a reduced printing speed, with improved cooling, a decrease layer height, and some great part orientation, you can significantly decrease the presence of overhangs in your 3D prints.

5. Reduce Your Printing Temperature

The optimal temperature for your 3D printer is one which extrudes nicely at the lowest possible temperature. You don’t want to use a nozzle temperature higher than you actually need, unless you have other goals in mind.

The reason behind this is that your filament will be more liquid and hotter than it needs to be, so cooling won’t be as effective with a more melted filament, thereby contributing to decreased overhangs.

A higher print temperature can help out with increasing part strength or reducing under-extrusion issues, but if you fine-tune your 3D printer, you can usually fix many issues without using temperature as a solution.

I would do some trial and error by using a temperature tower, calibrated to test several temperatures within the range of your filament.

For example, a 10 part temperature tower and a filament temperature range of 195 – 225°C can have a starting temperature of 195°C then increase in 3°C increments up to 225°C.

You can really dial in a perfect temperature using this method, then seeing the lowest temperature where your print quality looks great.

GaaZolee created an awesome Smart Compact Temperature Calibration Tower on Thingiverse.

Find your optimal printing temperature
Make sure your not using a higher temperature than you need as it can lead to high flow of material

6. Decrease Layer Width

This method works somewhat because it decreases the weight of each extruded layer of material. The less weight your layer is, the less mass or force behind it hanging over the previous layer.

When you think about the physics of overhangs, it relates back to the decreased layer height and being able to better support its own weight at the overhang angle.

Another benefit with decreasing your layer width is having less material to cool down, resulting in a faster cooling of the extruded material.

Decreasing your layer width may unfortunately increase your overall printing time because you are going to be extruding less material.

7. Split Your Model Into Multiple Parts

This is a method that is a little more intrusive than the others, but it can work wonders with troublesome prints.

The technique here is to split your models into sections that reduce those 45°. Check out the video by Josef Prusa below for a simple tutorial within the Meshmixer software.

3D printer users also do this when they have a large project and a relatively small 3D printer which can’t fit the whole piece. Some prints are split into several parts to make one object, such as a Stormtrooper helmet which takes over 20 pieces.

8. Use Support Structures

Using support structures is kind of the easy way out for improving overhangs, because it is creating that supporting foundation rather than letting the overhang work its magic.

In many cases you will find it hard to completely avoid support material, no matter your orientation, layer height, level of cooling and so on.

Sometimes you’ll just have to go ahead and add in your support structures via your slicer. There are some slicers out there which allow you to closely customize your supports

The video below by CHEP shows you how to add custom supports using a special plugin, so feel free to check that out to reduce your supports.

9. Integrate a Chamfer Into Your Model

Integrating a chamfer into your model is a pretty good method to reduce overhangs because you are reducing the actual angles of your model. It’s described as a transitional edge between two faces of an object.

In other words, rather than have a sharp 90° turn between two sides of an object, you can add a curvature which cuts away at a right-angled edge or corner to create a symmetrical sloping edge.

It’s usually used in carpentry, but it definitely has great uses in 3D printing, especially when it comes to overhangs.

Since overhangs follow the 45° rule, a chamfer is perfect for improving overhangs when it can be used. In some cases a chamfer won’t be practical, but in others, they work out nicely.

Chamfers do significantly change the look of models, so keep this in mind.

10. Tune Up Your 3D Printer

The last thing to do which doesn’t specifically relate to overhangs, but to overall 3D printer quality and performance is to simply tune up your 3D printer.

Most people neglect their 3D printer over time, and don’t realize that regular maintenance is a good idea for your print quality. 3D printers are very durable, but they do consist of parts which need some extra care such as belts, rollers, the print nozzle and rods.

Check over your parts & make sure you replace parts that are noticeable worn out
Tighten up screws around your 3D printer as well as your belts
Regularly apply some light machine or sewing oil to your rods to help them move smoother
Clean out your extruder and fans since they can easily build up dust and residue
Ensure your build surface is clean and durable
Run a cold pull every so often – heat up the nozzle to 200°C, insert filament, reduce heat to 100°C then give filament a firm pull.

There are many methods to improve your overhang which work pretty well. Hopefully this article has steered you in the right direction to finally get some overhangs that you can be proud of.

How to Print Overhangs, Bridges (& Exceeding the 45° Rule)

The difference? Bridges on the left, and the right is an increasingly proportionate overhang

In this guide, we’ll explain how to defy gravity and pull off those hard-to-print objects without resorting to needing hard-to-remove support structures.

Read on to learn our best 3D printing overhang tips and experience-based advice on solid bridging. You’ll be printing the 8th wonder of the (3D printing) world in no time.

In order to get the most out of your 3D printing experience, you’re going to want to produce objects that are more complex. This means that there are going to be times when you will need to push past self-imposed design limits in order to see what’s really possible.

Note: In order to print more complex objects, you will likely need to have to deal with overhangs, bridges and angles in excess of 45°.

Getting that crisp, clean, 3D printing overhang or some sharp ABS bridges can be a bit of a dark art. Essentially 3D printing without support material.

Why Would You 3D Print An Overhang?

Let’s start with an overview of the basics to this type of 3D printing ‘problems and solutions’ guide. As you know, a 3D printer starts printing an object from the bottom up. Theoretically, every layer of extruded material is either supported by the print surface or the previous layer of material.

However, with objects that have more complex designs, there can be upper areas that are not supported by underlying material. These areas are known as overhangs or bridges, depending on the shape of the design.

Think of the letters Y, H, and T. The letter arms of the letter Y consist of two overhangs at a 45° angle. The crossbar of the letter T consists of two overhangs at a 90° angle. The letter H, on the other hand, contains no overhangs at all, but does include a bridge that is supported at either end by two uprights.

The different overhangs and the bridge in these objects all present the same basic problem. Your printer filament is subject to the law of gravity. It can’t be extruded onto thin air. So, what’s the solution?

Well, even though all three objects present the same basic problem, the solution to that problem depends on the shape of the object itself. So let’s take a look at what type of solutions exist for the problems presented when printing overhangs and bridges.

The 3D Printing Overhang

Rather than thinking about how to add support for 3D printing, let us open your mind to the possibility of extreme overhangs.

Basically, in order to create an overhang at any angle less than vertical, your printer offsets each successive layer. The lower the angle gets to horizontal, or 90°, the more each successive layer is offset.

So, for example, with a 45° angle, each successive layer is offset by 50%. In other words, 50% of the new layer remains in contact with the layer below.

This type of contact provides fairly substantial stability, as each new layer has enough foundational material to grab onto and stay put.

However, when we begin to get closer to horizontal, the amount of offset becomes more and more extreme. For example, with a 75° angle, each successive layer is offset by nearly 80%.

In other words, less than 20% of each new layer remains in contact with the layer below.

It’s readily apparent that this type of contact is much less stable than the contact which occurred at 45°. Every new layer has much less surface area to bond with.

Very often, the result is delamination of layers or sagging of the overhang and even collapse. So what’s to be done to prevent this from happening? Let’s take a look at a couple of solutions.

Avoidance, or the 45° Rule

This is typically the safe bet – but we’re here to talk about ways beyond this.

You could avoid the entire problem by following the 45° rule.

The 45 degree rule in 3D printing is a general rule used in 3D modeling that advises against designing objects that contain angles greater than 45°.

But who cares about general rules. You know a better way.

By eliminating angles greater than 45° in your designs, you also limit the scope of what you are able to create. So, in some sense, the 45° rule isn’t always a viable solution to the problems presented by overhangs.

Some beautiful and functional objects require difficult overhangs to obtain their beauty or functionality. So let’s keep looking.

Use a Chamfer

A chamfer is one of those ‘cheat’ 3D printing techniques – a symmetrical, sloping surface at an edge or corner that is used to avoid violating the 45° rule.

In other words, a chamfer essentially makes an angle that is greater than 45° and turns it into an angle that is 45° or less. Here again, we have a solution that solves the problem of difficult overhangs by delimiting design.

In some cases, the use of a chamfer might work fine. In other cases, a chamfer could destroy the integrity of the object that you were trying to produce. So, a chamfer isn’t so much a solution to printing difficult overhangs as it is a way to avoid them.

How to 3D print a support structure or material

So if you must cheat, here’s how it’s done…

A support material, as the name implies, is a printing material used to support overhangs on a designed object. Your printer first lays down a layer of support material underneath the area where the overhang will be.

Once the supporting printing filament is in place, your printer is able to continue laying down the upper levels of your model. Once printing is completed, the support material is removed.

Most support materials are soluble because they need to be removed after printing. For example, PVA is soluble in water, while HIPS is soluble in Limonene. After printing is finished, the object is submerged in a container containing the solvent in question.

After a certain amount of time and some gentle and occasional agitation, the support material dissolves, leaving the object and its difficult overhangs intact.

Not all support materials are soluble. Some printing materials are compatible for use with a breakaway support material. A breakaway support material is printed underneath the area where the overhang will be, just like a soluble material.

However, unlike a soluble material, once printing has finished and the object has cooled, the breakaway material simply and cleanly snaps off the object, leaving the difficult overhang intact.

Hide Your Support Material

Another solution is to design your object so that difficult overhangs are supported but, because of the design, the eye is fooled into thinking that no support was used.

This is a trick that sculptors have been using for the last two thousand years. For example, take a look at “Venus Victrix” by the Italian sculptor Antonio Canova.

The right arm is an overhang, but the pillows act as a support. Likewise, the left leg is another overhang, but this time the bunched toga underneath does the necessary supporting.

The point is, with careful design, support for overhangs can be incorporated into an object in such a way that it doesn’t look like support. Instead, the object retains an organic look that naturally incorporates what otherwise would be difficult overhangs.

How To Exceed 45° Without the Use of Support Materials

45° is often the steepest angle that can be achieved without utilizing support materials. However, under the right circumstances, steeper angles are possible.

Let’s take a look at how.

Dial In Your Printer

In order to print overhangs that contain angles steeper than 45°, you have to make sure that your printer is in tip-top shape. Make sure that your bed is level. Replace your build surface if needed.

Check that the print nozzle is clean and clear of any debris or carbonized build-up. We recommend using Floss cleaning filament for an effortless, fast and thorough nozzle clean.

In general, perform all necessary routine maintenance so that you have the most precise build space possible. You’re going to be doing some very precise printing, you want to make sure that your machine is up for the challenge.

Solidify Your Print Material Quickly

Cooling is always important. Here on the left, cooling has not been sufficient. On the right, you notice the crisp 45-degree overhang, with sufficient cooling.

As we saw above, angles above 45° mean less contact between each successive layer in your overhang. This increasingly minimal contact means that the longer the material takes to cool, the greater the chances are that sagging, delamination or collapse will occur.

Because time is of the essence, make sure that you are doing everything that you can to solidify your print material quickly. Make sure that you are making good use of your layer cooling fan.

Your material needs to shed quite a lot of heat in a short period of time. Consider using a radial fan setup with a ducted blower which displaces more air than an axial fan.

Also, try printing at a slightly lower temperature than normal. You want to find the sweet spot that is slightly above the material’s melting point but still hot enough to prevent clogging of the print nozzle.

This will not only help with cooling, but it will also prevent potential over extrusion of the print material which, as we will see in a moment, can be catastrophic when printing extreme angles.

Make sure you’re using high-quality filament, good quality PLA can be printed at lower temperatures while maintaining excellent layer adhesion. This means you can span those distances neatly, without compromising strength or the finish of your print.

This is also the trick to minimizing stringing, which can plague overhangs and bridges. Better quality filament maintains its viscosity consistently and won’t leave stringing.

Using lower temps, better cooling and increasing retraction settings will also prevent stringy 3D prints which could make your bridges look messy.

Adjust Your Slicer Settings

First, adjust your slicer settings to use the lowest layer thickness possible. This is effective when printing a difficult 3D printer overhang because there is less material being deposited with each pass of your print head.

Less mass equals quicker cooling time.

Second, change your shell settings/perimeters so that you printing from the inside out instead of the outside in. This will help anchor your topmost layer to the layer underneath as you print.

Reduce Your Speed

Again, rapid cooling is essential for successfully printing angles above 45°. Reducing your print speed can help you speed up this essential cooling. The slower the speed of your print head, the longer that it takes for your material to get from the print nozzle to the object.

In addition, slower print speeds mean that your layer cooling fan spends more time directing air flow over a particular section of your object.

Once you’ve got your printer up to speed and you’ve dialed in your settings, it’s a good idea to print a calibration object. A calibration object will allow you to test your settings before you pull the trigger on printing an object that you’re going to use.

When it comes to overhangs, there are a lot of designs out there, like this one on Thingverse, that will push your printer and your printing skills to the limit.

3D Printing Bridges

Bridges present much of the same printing problems as overhang 3D printing. The difference is that bridges, by definition, are 90° surfaces supported by nothing more than two vertical structures at either end.

Like any bridge, it is the tension on both ends of the string of print material that prevents the middle of the string from collapsing. In some sense, because of the angle involved, you could describe bridging 3D printing as the most difficult overhang of all.

In general, the shorter the length of the bridge, the greater the chance that the bridge will succeed structurally. Conversely, the longer the bridge, the greater the chance that it will succumb to structural stress.

As a result, just as you are generally in safe territory with overhangs containing angles less than 45°, you are also generally ok with bridge lengths of 5mm or less.

However, as was the case with overhangs, in order to create truly beautiful and functional objects, you’ve got to be able to stretch the limits of what you, your printer and the filament you’re using can do.

After all, at least with bridges you don’t need to worry about 3D printing support material removal. Let’s take a look at some of the techniques that will help you bridge the gap in your designs like never before.

Luckily, bridges are just a variant of overhangs. This means that, by and large, the same techniques that help you print angles over 45° will also help you lengthen the distance that you can cross with your bridges.

Learn to 3D print without support

Our 3D printing bridging tips are, firstly, to make sure that your printer is operating at optimal levels. You also want to make sure that you are cooling your printing material as rapidly as possible.

Just as with overhangs, the longer it takes for your material to cool, the more likely it is that your bridge will deform or fail. Therefore, use your layer cooling fans aggressively.

Also, lower your printing temperatures as much as possible. Adjust your slicer settings and reduce your printing speed to facilitate the cooling that will let your bridge the largest possible distance.

It helps to use a good quality, low-temperature grade material to begin with.

Print slower! Get from one end to the other in nice and smooth way; there’s no need to rush. The extra time will allow for better adhesion of the layers, resulting in a stronger, neater bridge.

In addition, there are one or two other tricks that you can try to make printing bridges easier. First, if you’re faced with an extreme bridge distance, try changing the orientation of the object that you’re printing.

A difficult bridge may be impossible when the object is viewed vertically. However, the impossible bridge is a piece of cake if the object is rotated 90° and printed on its back.

In some respects, printing a bridge is more likely to succeed than printing an overhang, because you have two anchor points for a bridge – one at each end.

However, it’s worth bearing in mind that this only works well as long as the bridge is perfectly level, spanning only one layer. If it’s tilting upwards just slightly, spanning a few layers, the bridge will not complete quickly (or neatly) in a single layer.

You can also make difficult bridging situations easier by slightly altering the shape of the bridge. A flat bottomed bridge enforces the 90° angle that is so difficult to print.

By altering that angle slightly, say with a slight arch, you reduce the difficulty of the print angle. A straight 90° angle suddenly becomes a much more forgiving 60° to 70° angle due to the added arch. Much more achievable in the long run.

Finally, choose a printing material that is of high quality to get those overhangs with the minimum of fuss. The quality of any print is surprisingly dependent on the quality of your filament, and bridging is no different.

Related articles:

How to fix poor quality bridging in 3D printing
How to fix rough surfaces and poor quality above supports
3D printer troubleshooting – all problems solved
Optimum infill settings for 3D printing
3D printer nozzle size pros and cons

(Solution available) 3D printing protrusions that exceed 0.2 inch

print-quality extrusion support-structures

I'm new to 3D printing but have been doing CNC machining for a few years now. I have a part I'm trying to print which is a 1" diameter cylinder. in diameter and has an overhang of 0.2 inches starting at 1.300 inches. In other words, I'm printing 1,300 inches. a 1.500 inch tall cylinder that is 1.300 inches high. its diameter increases by 0.200 inches.

When I first printed the part, the tab sank or fell out. Not strong and still usable, but with a crappy finish. What would I need to do to keep the overhang from falling when the base layer expands outward 0.200" at 1.300"?

I tried to slow down the feed rate, but it was worse. I also lowered the temperature to 195°C.

I am using a Monoprice Select Mini running at 200°C and a speed of 1.0 (not quite sure what this feedrate is in mm/s). Based on what I've seen so far, I would increase the speed and keep the temperature at 200°C.

Any suggestions, I hope I explained my problem well enough. @apesa So 0.2 inches is better called 5mm, which is a significant amount: that's 11 to 13 perimeters from a 0.4mm nozzle, depending on the width of the extrusion (0.46 and 0.4mm, respectively). Also, element hole is also not supported, it is bridging.

To print tabs and webs without sagging, you must activate the generation of the reference material in the slicer.

Generally speaking, PLA (judging by the printing temperature) does not need to be raft printed, and is best served with fields of for table bonding if you do not have a perforated table. If you need to print in the specified orientation, you must enable support generation in your slicer.

However, there is a better solution for this part: it has a very simple geometry and does not need to be printed as shown in the picture, but it can equally be printed "upside down" by rotating around the x-axis by 180° in the cut. This has two advantages: it removes all unsupported protrusions and it avoids the supporting structure, which virtually eliminates unnecessary material.

I highly recommend taking a look at my 3D Design Tutorial and the excellent question on how to determine print orientation? and then delve into further reading:

How to print an overhanging arc
How can I improve the overhang angles that my printer can print successfully?
Is there any setting that would allow me to print this tab without support?

Oct 11 19 , @ Trish

▲ 0

It looks like your part could be printed upside down. If possible, I would strongly recommend doing this, as it basically avoids having to support everyone together.

Oct 11 19 , @ Peter

Troubleshooting 3D Printing・Cults

This article should help you identify various 3D printing related issues. Find the image or description in this list that best describes the problem you're experiencing. We offer some tips that should help you solve this problem.
As you know, 3D printing is an empirical process and it is through mistakes that you learn to understand, set up and use your machine. With the help of this list, you should be able to resolve the major bugs. If you are still experiencing issues or have additional tips to add to this list, feel free to contact us and let us know!

#1 Drooling

Symptom
Thin threads are woven into gaps between different parts of a 3D printed part.

Common Name: oozing

Possible Cause
Plastic continues to leak out of the head as it moves due to residual pressure in the heater and fluidity of the molten plastic.

Suggested remedies
Increase filament retraction length in Slic3r, retraction distance in CuraEngine. Retracting the filament will cause the pressure in the print head heater to drop. The effect can be modulated by adjusting the retraction speed directly in the slicer.
Increase print head speed. This allows the melted plastic to spread less time and leave marks between the printed parts.
Reduce the extrusion temperature of your plastic. If it is too high, the plastic becomes more fluid and flows out of the extruder faster.

#2 It is collapsing

Symptom
Collapse or poor quality of the overhanging surface, leaving small bumps.

Common name: overhang

Possible cause
Plastic deposited on the periphery of the protrusion does not solidify fast enough, so the deposited filament moves before it solidifies. The phenomenon is repeated or emphasized from one layer to another.

Suggested fixes
Vent the deposited plastic more efficiently, for example by adding a fan to the extruder or directly with a portable fan.
Create print supports under the overhangs.
Reorient the part to avoid overhangs.

#3 Flaking on the sides or top

Symptoms
Contours not bonded enough.
Flat surfaces are not completely covered.

Possible cause
Not enough material is deposited. Too narrow, the deposited wires do not touch each other enough and therefore do not stick to the adjacent wire.
There is dirt in the nozzle, which prevents the passage of the melt.
The extrusion temperature is too low, the wire dries out too quickly or shrinks and therefore does not stick to the adjacent wire.

Suggested Tools
Calibrate the extruder to obtain material flow according to data received from the slicer.
Unlock the extrusion nozzle.
Increase extrusion temperature.
Increase the blending speed in your slicer.

#4 There is not enough material on thin parts

Symptom
The edges of a very thin area are not strong enough, there is not enough material.

Possible cause
Recycling or reworking is not effective enough.
Incorrect filament solidification.
Thread drive slippage during retraction.

Suggested remedies
Reduce the retraction speed and length while printing.
Increase "extra leg length when retracting" when using Slic3r.
Increase the spring pressure on the driven gear.

#5 Blisters

Symptom
Blisters, mismatched geometry, such as small bumps that are seen mostly in areas with a small surface area.

Possible cause
The filament is too hot during extrusion or the filament cooling system is not effective enough.

Suggested media
Place more parts on the plate while printing. In this case, the nozzle will print more objects and therefore allow more time for the part to cool before passing over it again.
Improve the cooling of your 3D printed object by adding cooling systems.

#6 Thin walls delaminate

Symptom
In a thin wall without filler, the threads diverge, they are not glued together on the sides.

Possible Cause
The walls of your 3D print are too thin or not adapted to such a small size.

Suggested tools
Draw thicker walls to adapt to the thread thickness.
In the slicer settings, set a sludge width that is a sub-multiple of the wall width while remaining consistent with the extrusion diameter and layer height.
Change slicer.

#7 Layer shifts horizontally

Symptom
The layer is shifting in the X or Y axis (or both).

Possible cause
There is a problem with the print head or plate movement.

Suggested fix
Decrease the acceleration on the axis that has the problem.

#8 Layers shift evenly

Symptom
Layers almost always shift along the X and/or Y axis after a certain print height.

Possible Cause
Head or plate offset failure due to overheating of motors going into safe mode.

Suggested fix
Cool engines with cooling systems (fans).

#9 Corners curl up

Symptom
Deformation in Z direction during 3D printing. This figure increases in case of a strong overhang.

Common name: curling

Possible cause
Poor hardening, shrinkage effect due to temperature difference of the wire deposited on the previous cooled layer.

Suggested Solutions
Increase slope in the 3D part to reduce overhang.
Further cooling of the deposited plastic using a ventilation system.
Add print supports to affected areas.

#10 Corners fall off

Symptom
The corners of the printed object are peeling off the plate, creating an uneven base.

Common name: warping

Possible cause
Poor fit between workpiece and insert.
Material shrinkage factor too high.
The first layer is not pressed enough against the board.

Suggested remedies
Change media as PLA is less likely to warp.
Apply adhesive to the printing plate (glue, tape, varnish, etc.).
Correctly adjust the plate height before printing.
Apply a thinner first layer to further crush the deposited wire.
Add a bezel under the first layer.
Heat up the stove.
Clean and degrease the base.
Change the filling strategy. Fill the bottom concentrically instead of linearly, then fill the inside in a honeycomb pattern to avoid any shrinkage effect.
Reduce the internal fill density of your 3D printed object.

#11 Extrusion density too low

Symptom
Incorrect material density.

Possible cause
Material consumption too low

Suggested remedies
Unlock the extrusion nozzle.
Filament blocked upstream of extruder (e.g. spool assembly)
Check thread drive (e.g. knurled screw problem)

Corners #12 are not forming correctly

Symptom
The corners are not straight enough, they can even stick out and increase the size of the part.

Possible cause
Too much material is deposited in the corner due to the nozzle slowing down too much as it passes through the corner.

Suggested remedies
Intentionally soften the corner of the part in the 3D modeling software.
Increase the "jerk" on your 3D printer's axis controller.

#13 There are black drops

Symptom
Burnt (blackened) plastic in some areas of the printed object.

Possible Cause
Poor nozzle seal causing burnt PLA or ABS to drip around the nozzle.

Suggested fix
Remove the nozzle and close it again.

#14 Layers poorly welded

Symptom
Part breaks at the attachment point between two printed layers.

Possible cause
Too much cooling, the deposited layer does not adhere well to the previous layer, because it was not hot enough during the deposition.

Suggested remedies
Reduce fan speed during printing.
Increase the minimum print speed in the slicer.

#15 Bubbles form on the first layer

Symptom
The first layer comes off the plate locally in the form of bubbles.

Possible Causes
Moisture present in the material which gradually evaporates upon contact with the heating plate.
Insufficient heating plate temperature for the material being used.

Suggested products
Store raw material rolls in a dry place, in closed packaging, with a desiccant bag.
Dry damaged material: place in a rotary oven at 40°C for approximately 3 hours. Be careful not to heat above 45°C or 50°C as this may cause the threads to stick together in the bobbin and even lose their cylindrical shape.
Increase the temperature of the heating plate.
Printing on tape or special adhesive.

#16 Fragile top and bottom

Symptom
Horizontal sides too thin and brittle.

Possible Causes
Insufficient material thickness above and below thin fill print. The laid threads have too few support points and break between the threading ribs.

Suggested remedies
Place at least 2 or 3 fully filled layers ("Solid layers" option in Slic3r) for the "top" and "bottom" faces.
Increase the fill of your object.

#17 Hole tops collapse

Symptom
Horizontal center hole top wires collapse during construction.

Possible causes
Plumb line too horizontal.
Mismatch between nozzle temperature, wire cooling and speed.

Suggested Fixes
Reduce or eliminate this overhang area by modifying the 3D file geometry. An example is in the large hole in the photo, shaped like a drop of water, not a cylinder.
Add print supports below this area if the ledge is too difficult for the 3D printer.
Avoid too much slowdown in this area, even if the layer print time is short.

#18 Color or transparency varies

Symptom
The color or transparency of the material changes in different areas during 3D printing.

Possible causes
Different crystallization of the material due to different cooling rates. This may be due, for example, to the printing time of individual parts of the object or to the power of the fan.
Radiation from the nozzle can affect the thermal cycle of the previous layer and thereby change its appearance.
The applied layer is too hot because the underlying layer has not cooled down.

Be careful, the physical-mechanical properties of the part may change due to these differences in crystallization!

Suggested fixes
Better control of cooling with slicer settings: change fan power based on plate cooling time or slow print speed in proportion to plate surface.
Reduce extrusion temperature for faster and more uniform phase transition.

#19 Layers delaminate

Symptom
Some layers are flexed and cracks appear between the different printed layers.

Possible causes
Twisting phenomenon due to the effect mentioned in #9 the above happens between layers.
The wire cools too quickly at the exit of the nozzle, it does not weld properly with the previous layer.
Strong contraction of the material during cooling or phase change.
Some materials extruded at high temperature (ABS, PC...) may present a significant shrinkage phenomenon.

Suggested remedies
Change the extrusion temperature.
Change the media.
Avoid blowing on a deferred wire, reducing fan power, or placing the printer in a draughty room.
Close the assembly area in a controlled cabinet at a temperature close to the glass transition temperature of the material.

#20 Drops appear

Symptom
Drops of material are deposited at various points on the side surface of the 3D printed object.

Possible causes
Excessive extrusion when resuming extrusion after stopping extrusion when moving from one point of the part to another or when changing layers.

Suggested Remedies
Some slicers have a setting that after a pause in printing, request that more be pushed in before resuming normal printing than was removed by retraction.

#21 Bowden extruder salivation

Symptom
Bowden Extruder is either too hard or too hard. First impressions of your extruder are not great, too much extruded material, bridges between different areas in motion where extrusion should stop.

Possible cause
Insufficient thread shrinkage to compensate for the gap in the Bowden tube. Depending on the diameter of the tube and filament, as well as the length of the body, the motor must draw a certain length of filament through the bends of the tube before the filament is drawn out of the heating head.

Suggested fixes
Increase the "pull" distance in the slicer. The detail on the left was printed with 1.5 mm of indentation, which was clearly not enough. When the pull-in distance was increased to 6mm, the center part was printed. Too much shrinkage causes hot material to enter the thermal break, the temperature of the thermal break gradually rises, and the melting thread eventually gets stuck in the thermal break. The engine is no longer able to effectively push it. Reducing the retraction distance to 4 mm results in the part shown on the right.

#22 Streaks or regular patterns on extrusion

Symptom
Repeating patterns appear on the walls of 3D prints.
The pattern may change depending on the direction of movement of the motors.