Blobs, zits and a visible seam line
A small defect where each layer starts and stops, stacked into a visible line.
Category: Print defects
What you can see on the plate: stringing, warping, first layer failures, under-extrusion, layer shifts. Each page is written against one specific failure mode, with the settings that change it.
Cracking and layer delamination
Layers separate under load or on their own. Weak bonding from cold plastic or a cold chamber.
Print detached mid-print and turned into spaghetti
The part came off the plate and the nozzle kept extruding into air. Adhesion, warping or a knock.
Drooping overhangs and failed bridges
Plastic sags before it sets. Cooling and slower perimeters do most of the work.
Z banding: repeating horizontal lines up the print
Bands at a regular pitch. Measure the spacing — it tells you which part is at fault.
Ringing and ghosting on vertical surfaces
Echoes of a corner repeating across the wall. Mechanical vibration the frame cannot damp fast enough.
Nozzle clogged: partial and complete blockages
A partial clog degrades quality gradually; a complete one stops everything. The cold pull handles both.
Elephant foot on the bottom layer
The first layers bulge outwards. Too much squish plus a bed hotter than it needs to be.
Layer shifting partway through a print
Everything above a certain height is offset. Belts, grub screws or a speed the machine cannot hold.
Under-extrusion: thin, gappy walls
Not enough plastic is arriving. Partial clog, worn nozzle or an uncalibrated flow rate — check in that order.