Frequently Asked Questions

when the nozzle tries to move across each layer, it may drag
through some of the excess plastic. Before you look at any other
settings, you should make sure that you are not extruding too
much plastic. Please read the Extruding Too Much Plastic section
for more details.
(2) Vertical lift (Z-hop)
If you know you are extruding the correct amount of plastic,
but are still having trouble with the nozzle dragging across your
top surface, then it might be worth looking at the vertical lift
settings in Simplify3D. Enabling this option will cause the nozzle
to lift up a set distance above the previously printed layer before
moving to a new location. When it arrives at its final location, the
nozzle will lower back down to prepare for printing. By moving at
an elevated height, this can avoid the nozzle scratch on the top
surface of your print. To enable this option, click “Edit Process
Settings” and select the Extruder tab. Make sure that retraction is
enabled, and then set the “Retraction Vertical Lift” to the distance
that you would like the nozzle to raise. For example, if you enter
0.5mm, the nozzle will always raise up 0.5mm before moving to a
new location. Please note that this vertical lift will only occur
when the nozzle is performing a retraction. If you want to ensure
that a retraction is taking place for every single move that the
printer does, click on the Advanced tab and make sure that “Only
retract when crossing open spaces” and “Minimum travel for
retraction” are disabled.