material: PLA

geometry_type: stringing

lesson: PLA strung at 215C in moderate humidity. Dropping nozzle to ~200C and nudging retraction up cleared it. With PLA, temperature is usually the bigger lever than retraction distance.

source: seed


lesson: High ambient humidity made PLA string even at a sane 205C. Settings tweaks did little; the real fix was drying the filament. Above ~60% humidity, suspect moisture before chasing retraction.


geometry_type: overhang

outcome: success

lesson: Steep PLA overhang printed clean with cooling fan at 100%. PLA likes maximum cooling on overhangs to freeze the layer before it droops.


lesson: PLA overhang sagged in a warm room even at full fan. Warm ambient air weakens part cooling; on hot days drop a few degrees and ensure unobstructed airflow, or add support past ~50 degrees of overhang.


geometry_type: bridge

lesson: Short PLA bridge under ~50mm printed flat with full cooling and slightly increased bridge flow. Max fan plus brisk bridge speed is the reliable combo for PLA spans.


geometry_type: adhesion

lesson: First layer wouldn't stick in a cold room. Bumping bed to ~60C, slowing the first layer, and turning the fan off for the opening layers fixed adhesion. Cold ambient hurts first-layer bonding most.


material: PETG

lesson: PETG strung badly at 245C. Lowering to ~232C, raising travel speed, and enabling wipe-before-travel cleaned it up. PETG strings more than PLA by nature, so live at the low end of its temp range.


lesson: PETG is hygroscopic and strung heavily in humid air despite good settings. Drying the spool was the only durable fix. Above ~60% humidity, dry PETG first and treat settings as secondary.


lesson: PETG overhang drooped when I ran the fan low for strength. PETG needs a cooling compromise: ~30-50% fan generally, bumped to 60-70% specifically over overhangs and bridges.


lesson: PETG layers came out brittle with the fan too high. Dropping cooling to ~30% and raising temp 5C restored layer bonding. Over-cooling PETG causes delamination; it is the opposite of PLA.


lesson: PETG bridge held by temporarily raising fan to ~70% for the span only, then returning to 40%. Targeted cooling bursts beat globally high fan, which would weaken the rest of the part.


lesson: Clean PETG print at 230C with gentle retraction (moderate distance, ~40mm/s) in dry conditions. PETG stays molten longer than PLA, so gentle retraction plus fast travel beats aggressive retraction, which clogs.


material: ABS

geometry_type: warping

lesson: ABS corners lifted in an open, cool room. ABS needs an enclosure and a 100-110C bed; without it, warping is near-certain regardless of settings.

source: ingested


lesson: ABS first layer held with bed at 105C, brim, and fan off for opening layers. Draught control matters more than glue for ABS adhesion.


material: TPU

lesson: TPU strung badly; it is highly hygroscopic. Dry the spool and print slow (~25mm/s) with minimal retraction — TPU clogs with aggressive retraction.


lesson: PETG strings heavily in humid conditions. Dry filament at 65C for 4+ hours, then lower nozzle temp 5-10C and increase retraction to 5-6mm. Wet PETG is the #1 cause of stringing.


lesson: PETG bridges cleanly with fan at 80%, nozzle 240C, and retraction at 5mm. PETG likes more cooling than people think — just not on the first layer.


lesson: PLA overhangs sag in a hot room (31C ambient). Max fan (100%) and lower nozzle to 200C rescued the next print. PLA needs aggressive cooling when ambient is above 28C.


geometry_type: vase

lesson: PLA vase mode at 205C/60C bed with 100% fan produced a clean spiral. PLA is forgiving in cool, dry rooms — the baseline material for vase-mode prints.


lesson: ABS overhangs curled upward at 80% fan — ABS hates part cooling. Keep fan at 0-20% for ABS, rely on enclosure ambient temp instead. Fan on ABS causes layer delamination.


lesson: TPU printed clean with 3mm retraction at 25mm/s in a dry room. TPU's flexibility means retraction must be slow and short — fast retraction stretches the filament instead of pulling it back.


lesson: PETG adhesion is strong on PEI at 80C bed — too strong on smooth PEI without release agent. Use textured PEI or glue stick as a release layer, not an adhesion aid, for PETG.


lesson: My own PETG print at 240C nozzle came out very stringy on a retraction-heavy part. PETG strings when the nozzle runs hot or the spool is damp - dry the spool, drop ~10C, and increase retraction.


lesson: Print detachment detected when layer-to-layer NRMSE score > 1.0 AND 5-layer deviance > 1.0. Large structural changes across consecutive layers indicate the part has separated from the bed. Check bed adhesion: clean surface, raise bed temp, use brim or raft.


lesson: Filament runout or nozzle clog detected when NRMSE score < 0.2 AND deviance < 0.2. Near-zero structural change means no material is being deposited. Check filament spool, extruder tension, and nozzle for clogs.


lesson: Partial breakage detected when frame-to-frame score delta > 0.2 AND deviance delta > 0.2. Sudden structural changes mid-print indicate layer delamination or part fracture. Reduce cooling fan, increase nozzle temp, check for drafts.