Frequently Asked Questions

The plastic that exits your extruder may be anywhere from
190 to 310 degrees Celsius. While the plastic is still hot, it is
pliable and can easily be formed into different shapes. However,
as it cools, it quickly becomes solid and retains its shape. You
need to achieve the correct balance between temperature and
cooling so that your plastic can flow freely through the nozzle, but
it can quickly solidify to maintain the exact dimensions of your 3D
printed part. If this balance is not achieved, you may start to notice
some print quality issues where the exterior of your part is not as
precise and defined as you would like. As you can see in the image
on the left, the filament extruded at the top of the pyramid was not
able to cool quickly enough to retain its shape. The section below
will examine several common causes for overheating and how to
prevent them.
(1) Insufficient Cooing
The most common cause for overheating is that the plastic is
not being cooled fast enough. When this happens, the hot plastic is
free to change shapes as it slowly cools. For many plastics, it is
much better to quickly cool the layers to prevent them from
changing shape after being printed. If your printer includes a
cooling fan, try increasing the power of the fan to cool the plastic
faster. You can do this by clicking “Edit Process Settings” and
selecting the Cooling tab. Simply double-click on the fan speed
setpoint you wish to edit. This additional cooling will help the
plastic retain its shape. If your printer does not include an
integrated cooling fan, you may want to try installing an