3D Printing Quality Issues — Solutions

📋 Contents

Under-extrusion
Layer Lines
Ghosting & Ringing
Droopy Overhangs
Stringing
Roughness on Small Areas
Gaps Between Infill and Outline
Overheating
Weak Infill
Stringing
Layer Separation
Layer Shifting
Warping
Small Features Not Printed
Ghosting/Ringing
Poor Surface Above Supports

1 Under-extrusion

🔍 Cause 1

Impurities in filament or temperature mismatch.

✅ Solution

Replace filament. Set correct temperature per packaging recommendations.

🔍 Cause 2

Carbonized buildup on nozzle. Manual feed diameter less than 0.45mm (normal 0.5±0.03mm).

✅ Solution

Replace the nozzle.

2 Layer Lines

🔍 Cause

Z-axis movement not smooth. Noise or jamming during up-down movement.

✅ Solution: Lubricate Z lead screw

Open grease and home XYZ.
Apply grease to Z-axis lead screw evenly.
Raise the bed (click 100 twice).
Apply grease under the bed.
Click homing to distribute grease. Move up and down several times.

3 Ghosting & Ringing

🔍 Cause

Insufficient belt tension.

✅ Solution 1

Retighten belts. Perform calibration and vibration compensation again.

✅ Solution 2

Reduce acceleration in Orca-Flashforge: Speed → Acceleration → Normal printing.

4 Droopy Overhangs

🔍 Cause

Large overhang angles.

✅ Solution

Enable "Slow down for overhangs" in Orca-Flashforge. Add supports for angles >30°. Increase cooling fan layer time.

5 Stringing

🔍 Cause 1

Moist filament (especially PLA, PETG, PLA-CF).

✅ Solution

Dry or replace filament.

🔍 Cause 2

Insufficient retraction.

✅ Solution

Increase retraction length/speed. Enable "Retract on layer change" and "Wipe while retracting".

6 Roughness on Small Areas

🔍 Cause

Speed too high, insufficient cooling.

✅ Solution

Reduce print speed. Adjust "Max fan speed threshold" for auto slowdown on small layers.

7 Gaps Between Infill and Outline

🔍 Cause

Insufficient infill/wall overlap or too high speed.

✅ Solution

Increase overlap: Process → Strength → Infill/wall overlap (25% recommended). Reduce top surface speed.

8 Overheating

🔍 Cause

Insufficient cooling, high temperature, fast printing.

✅ Solution

Increase layer cooling time. Lower temp by 5-10°C. Reduce [Max volumetric speed] in material settings.

9 Weak Infill

🔍 Cause

Nozzle wear/clog, low temperature, high speed.

✅ Solution

Replace nozzle. Increase print temperature. Decrease print speed.

10 Stringing

🔍 Causes

Wet filament (TPU, PVA, PLA). High speed. Improper retraction settings.

✅ Solution

Dry filament. Reduce speed and temperature. Adjust retraction and Pressure Advance.

11 Layer Separation

🔍 Cause

Fast printing/cooling, low temperature.

✅ Solution

Reduce speed. Increase layer time. Reduce fan. Increase print temperature.

12 Layer Shifting

🔍 Cause

Extruder collision with model. High speed.

✅ Solution

Clean and level bed. Reduce speed/acceleration. Ensure motor cooling.

13 Warping

🔍 Cause

Low bed temp, dirty bed, fast first layer, high first layer.

✅ Solution

Increase bed temp. Clean bed with alcohol. Reduce first layer speed. Calibrate Z-offset.

14 Small Features Not Printed

🔍 Cause

Details smaller than nozzle diameter. Improper extrusion width.

✅ Solution

Use smaller nozzle. Reduce extrusion width. Try Arachne instead of Classic.

15 Ghosting/Ringing

🔍 Cause

Improper belt tension, high speed, poor calibration.

✅ Solution

Adjust belt tension. Reduce speed/acceleration. Perform vibration compensation. Place printer on stable surface.

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🔍 Print Quality Troubleshooting

📋 Contents

1 Under-extrusion

🔍 Cause 1

✅ Solution

🔍 Cause 2

✅ Solution

2 Layer Lines

🔍 Cause

✅ Solution: Lubricate Z lead screw

3 Ghosting & Ringing

🔍 Cause

✅ Solution 1

✅ Solution 2

4 Droopy Overhangs

🔍 Cause

✅ Solution

5 Stringing

🔍 Cause 1

✅ Solution

🔍 Cause 2

✅ Solution

6 Roughness on Small Areas

🔍 Cause

✅ Solution

7 Gaps Between Infill and Outline

🔍 Cause

✅ Solution

8 Overheating

🔍 Cause

✅ Solution

9 Weak Infill

🔍 Cause

✅ Solution

10 Stringing

🔍 Causes

✅ Solution

11 Layer Separation

🔍 Cause

✅ Solution

12 Layer Shifting

🔍 Cause

✅ Solution

13 Warping

🔍 Cause

✅ Solution

14 Small Features Not Printed

🔍 Cause

✅ Solution

15 Ghosting/Ringing

🔍 Cause

✅ Solution

16 Poor Surface Above Supports

🔍 Cause

✅ Solution