3D PRINTING TROUBLESHOOTING COMMON 3D PRINTING PROBLEMS
Out of Filament:
What’s the 3D Printing Problem?
Nothing is printing even though the model has been set and configured correctly in the slicing software. However, try as you might when repeatedly sending the print to the printer still nothing happens bar the odd spit of filament emerging from the nozzle.
Alternatively a model is part way through the print and the filament extrusion stops but the nozzle continues to print into air.
What’s Causing this 3D Printing Problem?
It’s an obvious problem that’s unmissable in many printers such as the Prusa i3 style machines where the filament reel is in full view, but on other printers such as XYZ DaVinci, Cel Robox and Ultimaker machines, the issue isn’t always immediately obvious.
These and many other printers either encase the filament within the design of the printer, or the filament is hidden round the back.
Of course, some printers feature smart spools that feed back data to the software and highlight if the filament reel is close to, or out of material. However we all like to tinker and use our own tweaked firmware or third party software, and these sometimes work around such failsafes. And then there are other printers that simply don’t feature any type of failsafe at all.
In all cases, especially with Bowden style extrusion systems, you’re going to have to extract some remaining filament and then feed in fresh material.
Do the Below:
Look at the filament reel and see if there’s any filament left. If not load a new reel. Easy.
Check the filament reel
Nozzle too close to print bed:
What’s the 3D Printing Problem?
Inexplicably, despite loading the filament and the print head moving without a hitch, no filament is depositing on the print bed.
What’s Causing this 3D Printing Problem?
Quite simply, your nozzle may be too close to the print bed. If you’ve somehow tuned your print bed to mere microns from your nozzle opening, it’s unlikely the melted filament has room to escape. At best your print will be missing its first layers, and have a higher chance of not sticking once the filament does extrude. At worst, you’ll cause a backup of melted filament in your hot end, possibly leading to a blockage.
Do the Below:
Z-AXIS OFFSET: Just raising the height of the nozzle slightly can often help. Most 3D printers in their system settings will allow you to set a Z-axis offset. To raise your nozzle away from the print bed you’ll need to increase the offset into the positive value. This also works for the reverse, with a negative offset helping to address your prints not sticking to your bed.
Be careful though, too high of an offset and it won’t stick to the platform.
LOWER THE PRINT BED: Alternatively if your printer allows for it, you can achieve the same effect by lowering your print bed. This is the more troublesome fix though, as it requires you to re-calibrate and level the bed for even prints.
Nozzle too close checklist:
Z-Axis Offset
Lower Print Bed
Blocked Nozzle:
What’s the 3D Printing Problem?
You initiate a print job but whatever you try, nothing comes out of the nozzle. Extracting the filament and reinserting doesn’t work.
What’s Causing this 3D Printing Problem?
A small piece of filament has been left behind in the nozzle after changing spools, often because the filament has snapped off at the end. When the new filament is loaded, the piece of old filament that is left in the nozzle doesn’t allow the new filament to be pushed through.
A little printer maintenance can go a long way to reducing the chance of problems like a blocked nozzle affecting your extrusions. In fact you’ll often find that before a clog even appears, there is old carbonized filament sitting inside your nozzle. It can and will sit there for weeks or even months without you realizing, but there will be small signs in the quality of your prints.
The effects are often overlooked; such as small nicks in the outer walls, small flecks of dark filament, or small changes in print quality between models. These defects are often simply put down to the slight variants we come to expect from 3D printers, but really there could be something a little more sinister going on. A cleaning method known as the Atomic Pull or Cold Pull (which we detail below) can clear this up.
You’ll commonly see this if you frequently switch from a PLA to ABS, for example. A small amount of PLA is left in the nozzle, and it is heated beyond its normal melting point. That can mean it will carbonize and burn.
Likewise, switch between ABS and Nylon and again you’ll witness something similar. It’s not uncommon to see a wisp of smoke appear briefly as the new filament is fed through.
Do the Below:
UNBLOCK WITH A NEEDLE: if you’re lucky then unblocking can be a quick and easy process. Start by removing the filament. Then using your printer’s control panel (if it has one) select the “heat up nozzle” setting and increase to the melting point of the stuck filament. Alternatively, hook your printer up to a computer running compatible control software and heat the nozzle using that. For PLA set the temperature to 220 C. Once the nozzle reaches the correct temperature, use a small pin to clear the hole (being careful not to burn your fingers). If your nozzle is 0.4mm then you need a pin that is smaller; an airbrush cleaning kit works perfectly.
Be careful though, too high of an offset and it won’t stick to the platform.
OLD FILAMENT THROUGH: If you find that the nozzle is still blocked then you may be able to push the filament through with another bit of filament. Start by removing the filament as before and then remove the feeder tube from the print head. Heat up the hot end to 220 C for PLA and then using another piece of filament to push this through from the top to try to force the stuck filament in the nozzle out. Usually if the new filament hasn’t succeeded in unblocking then the extra pressure you can exert by hand might just do the job. However don’t push to hard as you’ll risk bending the horizontal printer rods.
Once the end clears use a needle to push through the nozzle and a brush to clean any filament excess.
DISMANTLE AND REBUILD THE HOTEND: In extreme cases when the nozzle remains blocked, you’ll need to do a little surgery and dismantle the hot end. If you’ve never done this before then it’s a good idea to make notes and take photographs so you know where everything fits when you reassemble. Start by removing the filament, then check your printer’s manual to see exactly how to dismantle the hot end.
ATOMIC PULL PART I – CHOOSE A MATERIAL: You can use ABS or Nylon for this, but over time we’ve found that the most consistent results come from Nylon due to its higher melting point. The filament also holds its shape far better. ABS is more common however, so we’ll use it here.
ATOMIC PULL PART II – REMOVE FILAMENT: Start by removing the filament that’s already in the print head in the usual way for your printer. Then remove the Bowden tube or release the direct drive, so that when the time comes you can manually feed the filament through.
ATOMIC PULL PART III – INCREASE THE NOZZLE TEMPERATURE: Increase the nozzle temperature to 240 degrees. We’re using ABS, but if using Nylon check the melting point temperature on the packaging. Leave it at this temperature for 5 minutes without pushing the filament through.
ATOMIC PULL PART IV – PUSH THE FILAMENT THROUGH: Slowly apply pressure to the filament until it starts to come out of the nozzle. Pull it back slightly and push it back through again until it starts to flow from the nozzle.
ATOMIC PULL PART V – REDUCE THE NOZZLE TEMPERATURE: Reduce the temperature to 180 degrees for ABS or 140 degrees for Nylon (you’ll need to experiment a little for your filament). Leave the printer at this temperature for 5 minutes.
ATOMIC PULL PART VI – EXTRACT THE FILAMENT: Pull out the filament from the head. When you look at the end you should see some black carbonized material at the end. Repeat the process until clean. If the filament won’t pull from the nozzle, increase the hot end slightly.
Heat the nozzle and clean with a needle
Remove the feeder tube and try pushing the filament through with another piece of filament
Dismantle the hot end and see if you can extract the filament blockage
Try an Atomic Pull (Cold Pull)
Print Head Misses the Bed:
What’s the 3D Printing Problem?
There’s really no missing this one. At its most severe the noise will instantly alert you that something is very wrong.
When the printhead misses the bed it will usually also have reached the limit of either the X or Y position. As the head tries to travel beyond it’s furthest point noise will be generated through slipping belts, grinding cogs, or the head simply trying to rip through the side of the printer.
It’s very unlikely that your printer will succeed in producing a print in this state. And while it’s easy to fix, it’s not a problem that can be overlooked or dealt with at a later time.
What’s Causing this 3D Printing Problem?
Misconfiguration, wrong printer selection or worn out or broken end stops are all common issues.
If the problem starts with a new printer then the likelihood is that something is amiss with the printer’s configuration. Run through the setup process again and ensure that you have the correct firmware version for your printer.
Accidentally selecting the wrong printer from a dropdown list in your slicer program can be a common cause for this 3D printing problem. For example, trying to print using Ultimaker Go using print files configured for the Ultimaker 2.
When you set up your printer ensure that you have specified the correct print volume, again either in the printer’s firmware or through software. If the printer thinks it has a bigger print platform than it has then it’s going to try to use it, even if it’s not there.
If your printer is usually fine and then the problem occurs suddenly, start by double checking your print preparation software. Something may have reset or been altered by an update! It’s not unusual for software to either revert to the default settings or to automatically select the latest printer version, even if that not the one you’re using.
And if all else looks fine then it could be that one of your end stops in the printer has stopped working.
If this happens it can all get very messy.
Do the Below:
CHECK SLICER FOR CORRECT PRINTER: Before trying anything else make sure that you have the correct printer selected in your printing software. All printers are different so even if the print bed of two printers are the same it’s highly unlikely the other dimensions and settings will match exactly.
UPDATE FIRMWARE: If you’ve just purchased the printer and this issue is happening make sure you have latest version of the firmware installed. Once updated run through the setup process and double check all settings, especially around the size of the print area are correct.
CHECK END STOPS: This will take a little more effort to diagnose. Watch the print head move. If it tries to push past the furthest point one of its axes, check that an end stop hasn’t disconnected. If all looks fine (and none of the above steps fixed the issue for you) then replacing the end stops with new ones should be your next step.
Check slicer for correct printer
Update firmware
Check end stops
Snapped Filament:
What’s the 3D Printing Problem?
The filament spool still looks full, and when you check there appears to be filament in the feed tube, but nothing’s coming out of the nozzle. This is more of an issue with Bowden feed printers than direct feed as the filament is hidden so breakages aren’t always immediately obvious.
What’s Causing this 3D Printing Problem?
Caused by a number of issues but primarily old or cheap filament. Although the majority of filaments such as PLA and ABS do last a long time, if they’re kept in the wrong conditions such as in direct sun light then they can become brittle. Then once fed into the printer no amount of adjustment is going to help.
Another issue is filament diameter, and this can vary through manufacturer and batch. Sometimes if the idler tensioner is too tight then some filament that still has a good amount of life left in it can snap under the pressure.
Do the Below:
REMOVE THE FILAMENT: The first thing to do is to remove the filament from the printer in the usual way. In the case of the Ultimaker select Maintenance and Change Material. As the filament will usually have snapped inside the tube you’ll need to remove the tube from both the extruder and hotend. Then heat the nozzle and pull out the filament.
TRY ANOTHER FILAMENT: If after reloading the filament it happens again, use another filament to check to see if it’s not just the old brittle filament that should be disposed off.
LOOSEN THE IDLER TENSION If the new filament snaps check that the idler tensioner isn’t too tight by loosening all the way. As the print starts, tighten until there is no slippage of the filament.
CHECK THE NOZZLE: Check the nozzle isn’t blocked and give it a good clean.
CHECK FLOW RATE AND TEMPERATURE: If the problem continues check that the hot end is getting hot and to the correct temperature. Also check that the flow rate of the filament is at 100% and not higher.
Check the filament isn’t past its best
Check the filament diameter
Adjust the idler tension
Check that the hot end is clear and reaches the correct temperature
Set the flow rate to 100%
Stripped Filament:
What’s the 3D Printing Problem?
Stripped or slipping filament can happen at any point of the print process, and with any filament. The result is that no filament is extruded from the hot end bringing your print to an abrupt end.
What’s Causing this 3D Printing Problem?
Blockage, loose idler tensioner, wrong hot end temperature, these are just a few of the common causes, but all are usually easy to correct. The result of the problem is that the knurled nut or toothed gear in the extruder is unable to pull or push the filament through the printer. As the motor spins the small teeth on the gear that would usually grip and feed the filament through the system, instead wear it away until there is no longer any grip, and the gear and filament slip.
Do the Below:
HELP FEED THE SYSTEM: If the filament has just started to slip, you can usually tell by the noise and the appearance of plastic shavings, then apply some gentle pressure to the filament to help it through the system. This will often help to get the machine printing smoothly again.
ADJUST THE IDLER TENSION: Start by loosing the idler, feed in the filament and tighten until it stops slipping. Filaments vary in diameter so although the idler will absorb some difference in diameter some filaments will require fine adjustment.
REMOVE THE FILAMENT: In most cases you’ll need to remove and replace the filament and then feed it back through the system. Once the filament has been removed cut the filament below the area that shows signs of slipping and then feed back into the system. If the filament has snapped it may be passed its usable best. Try it again and if it snaps again and you find the filament appears brittle discard and use another filament.
CHECK THE HOT END TEMPERATURE: If you have just inserted a new filament as the issue started, double check that you have the right temperature.
Help feed the system
Adjust the idler tension
Remove the filament
Check the hot end temperature