Fault Finder

What went wrong with your print? Search for what you can see, or pick a heading. Each entry tells you what to check — in the order worth checking it — and what to change.

Describe it in your own words

Signed-in Supporters can describe the problem in their own words and get an answer back from the AI. The list below is free for everyone. Log in

48 faults

First layer & bed adhesion

Print won't stick to the bed

The first layer drags around behind the nozzle, peels up at the corners, or the whole print comes loose partway through.

Check, in this order

Nozzle too far from the bed — the first-layer lines look round like spaghetti instead of squashed flat.
A dirty build plate — fingerprints and skin oil stop plastic sticking, even on PEI.
Bed not level, or mesh levelling not being used — it sticks in one area and not another.
Bed too cool for the material — PLA wants about 55–65 °C, PETG 70–85 °C, ABS and ASA 95–110 °C.
First layer printing too fast, or the part-cooling fan on for the first layers.

What to change

Lower the Z offset in small steps (0.02 mm) while watching the first layer go down.
Wash the plate with warm water and washing-up liquid, rinse and dry it; wipe with isopropyl alcohol between prints.
Slow the first layer to 20–30 mm/s and keep the fan off for the first two or three layers.
Add a brim for small or tall parts with a small footprint.

Settle it with

First layer patches Warping plate

Link to this

First layer too squashed, shiny or ridged

The first layer is thin and see-through, has ridges or ploughed grooves, or the nozzle scrapes the bed. The bottom edge often flares out.

Check, in this order

Nozzle too close to the bed — the Z offset is too low.
Too much plastic on the first layer — first-layer flow or line width set high.
Bed hotter than it needs to be, so the bottom layers stay soft and spread.

What to change

Raise the Z offset in 0.02 mm steps until the lines are flat but no longer see-through.
Set first-layer flow back to 100% if it has been raised.
Drop the bed 5 °C.

Settle it with

First layer patches Elephant's foot gauge

Link to this

Gaps between lines on the first layer

You can see the bed between the lines of the first layer, and the lines are round rather than pressed flat.

Check, in this order

Nozzle too far from the bed.
Under-extrusion — the printer is not pushing enough plastic.
The bed is not flat or not level, so it happens only in some areas.

What to change

Lower the Z offset in 0.02 mm steps.
Check the flow with the flow cube, and check for a partial clog.
Print the first-layer patches and compare the corners.

Settle it with

First layer patches Flow cube

Link to this

First layer good in one place, bad in another

The first layer is perfect in one area and too squashed or too loose in another — usually a corner or one side.

Check, in this order

The bed is not level, or its surface is warped.
The saved bed mesh is not being loaded — the start G-code needs G29, or M420 S1 to load a stored mesh.
The probe offset is wrong, or the probe is loose.
Loose bed springs or wheels, so the bed moves after levelling.

What to change

Level the bed with the paper method at each corner, then run the printer's mesh levelling.
Make sure the start G-code loads the mesh.
Tighten the bed wheels or swap springs for silicone spacers.

Settle it with

First layer patches

Link to this

Elephant's foot — the bottom flares out

The bottom few layers bulge outwards, so the base is wider than the rest of the part and things do not fit together.

Check, in this order

First layers squashed too hard — Z offset slightly low.
Bed too hot, so the lower layers sag under the weight above.
A heavy part pressing down on the soft bottom layers.

What to change

Raise the Z offset a little.
Drop the bed 5 °C after the first layer.
Measure it with the elephant's foot gauge and put the number into your slicer's elephant foot compensation.
Add a small chamfer to the bottom edge of your own designs.

Settle it with

Elephant's foot gauge

Link to this

Print came loose partway through (spaghetti)

You come back to a tangle of filament — the part broke free of the bed and the printer carried on printing into the air.

Check, in this order

Weak first-layer adhesion — see "Print won't stick to the bed".
Corners warped up and the nozzle knocked the part over.
A tall part with a small footprint, standing on too little.
The nozzle catching on curled-up overhangs.

What to change

Use a brim, and a wider one for tall thin parts.
Turn on Z-hop so the nozzle lifts when it travels.
Lay the part on its largest flat face — the Print Doctor can suggest the best way up.

Settle it with

Warping plate Print Doctor

Link to this

Too much or too little plastic

Under-extrusion — thin, gappy, weak walls

Walls have gaps between the lines, the top has holes, and the part is weak and light for its size.

Check, in this order

Printing faster than the hotend can melt — a standard hotend manages roughly 10–15 mm³/s.
A partial clog in the nozzle.
Nozzle temperature too low for the speed.
Flow set too low, or the wrong filament diameter in the slicer (1.75 vs 2.85 mm).
The extruder slipping — too little tension on the gear, or a tangled spool dragging.

What to change

Slow down, or raise the temperature 5–10 °C.
Do a cold pull, or change the nozzle.
Print the flow cube and correct the flow rate.
Check the spool turns freely and is not crossed over itself.

Settle it with

Flow cube Temperature tower

Link to this

Over-extrusion — blobby walls, parts too big

Walls look lumpy and bulging, corners are rounded, top surfaces are rough and ridged, and parts come out slightly too big.

Check, in this order

Flow rate too high.
The slicer is set for thinner filament than you are using.
Nozzle temperature higher than it needs to be.

What to change

Print the flow cube and multiply your flow by (wall asked for ÷ wall measured).
Check the filament diameter setting matches the filament.
Drop the temperature 5 °C.

Settle it with

Flow cube Dimensional accuracy gauge

Link to this

Nothing comes out — nozzle blocked

The printer moves but no plastic comes out, or only a thin curly thread.

Check, in this order

Debris or burnt plastic in the nozzle.
Heat creep — plastic softening too high up and jamming (see "Jams after a while").
Nozzle too close to the bed at the start, so the plastic has nowhere to go.
A gap between the PTFE tube and the nozzle, where plastic collects.

What to change

Heat the nozzle and push filament through by hand.
Do a cold pull: heat, push, cool to about 90 °C, then pull the filament out sharply.
Replace the nozzle — they are cheap and wear out.
Re-seat the PTFE tube hard against the nozzle while cold.

Link to this

Extruder clicks, skips or grinds the filament

A clicking or knocking from the extruder, and the filament has bite marks or plastic dust.

Check, in this order

The nozzle is partly blocked, so the extruder cannot push.
Printing too fast or too cold for the plastic to flow.
Nozzle too close to the bed on the first layer.
Extruder gear tension wrong, or the spool is snagged.

What to change

Clear or replace the nozzle.
Raise the temperature or lower the speed.
Raise the Z offset a little if it only happens on the first layer.
Clean the gear with a brush and check the spool unwinds freely.

Settle it with

Temperature tower

Link to this

Extrusion comes and goes — uneven lines

Some lines are fine and some are thin, in patches, often with no pattern to it.

Check, in this order

The spool is binding or tangled, so the extruder has to fight it at times.
Wet filament — you may hear popping or see bubbles.
Filament diameter varies along the spool (cheap filament).
A dirty extruder gear, or a PTFE tube that has shifted.

What to change

Make sure the spool holder turns easily.
Dry the filament.
Clean the extruder gear and re-seat the PTFE tube.

Link to this

Prints fine, then jams after a while (heat creep)

The first part of the print is fine, then extrusion fades and stops — most often with PLA in a warm room or an enclosure.

Check, in this order

The hotend's heatsink fan is weak, dirty or not running.
An enclosure too warm for PLA.
Long retractions pulling soft plastic up into the cold zone.
Very slow printing, so filament sits too long in the heat.

What to change

Check the heatsink fan runs all the time the hotend is hot, and clean it.
Open the enclosure door or lid for PLA.
Shorten retraction (direct drive usually needs under 1 mm).

Settle it with

Retraction test

Link to this

Strings, blobs & seams

Stringing — hairs and cobwebs between parts

Fine strands of plastic stretch across gaps between parts of the print, like cobwebs.

Check, in this order

Nozzle too hot, so plastic oozes while it travels.
Retraction too short or too slow.
Wet filament — PETG and TPU in particular.
Long travel moves across open space.

What to change

Print the temperature tower first and use the coolest floor that bonds well — it is usually temperature, not retraction.
Then tune retraction with the retraction test, 0.5 mm at a time.
Dry the filament.
Turn on "avoid crossing perimeters" or combing in the slicer.

Settle it with

Temperature tower Retraction test

Link to this

Blobs and zits on the surface

Small bumps dotted over the walls, where the nozzle started or stopped a line.

Check, in this order

Plastic oozing when the nozzle stops and starts.
Retraction or the extra prime after it set too high.
Pressure advance (linear advance) not calibrated.

What to change

Set the seam to "aligned" or "rear" so the starts line up somewhere hidden.
Calibrate pressure advance in your slicer or firmware.
Turn on wipe, and try a little coasting.

Settle it with

Retraction test

Link to this

A visible seam line down the side

A vertical line or row of small bumps up the side of the print, where every layer starts and ends.

Check, in this order

Every layer has to start somewhere — the seam position setting decides where.
Pressure not settled at the start and end of each loop.

What to change

Put the seam at the back, or on a sharp corner where it hides.
Calibrate pressure advance.
Try your slicer's scarf seam option (OrcaSlicer, Bambu Studio).

Link to this

A blob of plastic where the print starts

A lump or string of plastic at the start of the first layer, sometimes dragged into the print.

Check, in this order

Plastic oozes out while the nozzle heats up and waits.
No purge line or skirt to prime the nozzle before the print.

What to change

Add a purge line to the start G-code, or a skirt of two or three loops.
Wipe the nozzle just before the print starts.

Link to this

Walls & surface

Ghosting or ringing — ripples after corners

Faint repeated ripples in the wall just after a sharp corner or a letter, like an echo of the feature.

Check, in this order

Acceleration too high — the printer shakes on sudden changes of direction.
Loose belts.
The printer is on a wobbly table, or its frame is loose.
Input shaping not calibrated (Klipper, Bambu, newer Prusa and Creality firmware).

What to change

Lower acceleration for the outer wall.
Tighten the belts so they twang, not flop.
Put the printer on a heavy, solid surface.
Run the printer's resonance or input-shaper calibration.

Link to this

Z-banding — regular horizontal ridges

Evenly spaced horizontal ridges or bands up the walls, in a repeating pattern.

Check, in this order

The Z lead screw wobbling or binding.
Layer heights that do not match the Z motor's steps.
The bed temperature swinging up and down between layers.

What to change

Clean and lightly grease the lead screw; check the coupler and eccentric nuts.
Use layer heights in multiples of 0.04 mm (0.12, 0.16, 0.2 …) on common 8 mm lead screws.
Run a PID tune for the bed.

Link to this

Fine vertical lines or a "salmon skin" texture

A fine regular pattern of vertical lines or a scaly texture across flat walls.

Check, in this order

Motor resonance at particular speeds.
Stepper driver settings (common on some boards in quiet mode).
Worn or poor pulleys and belts.

What to change

Try the outer wall 10–20 mm/s faster or slower — the pattern often vanishes at a different speed.
Check the pulleys and belts for wear.

Link to this

Pillowing — bumps or holes in the top surface

The top surface is bumpy, or has small holes where the infill shows through.

Check, in this order

Too few top layers to bridge over the infill.
Low infill, so the top has little to rest on.
Not enough cooling on the top layers.

What to change

Use at least 0.8–1.0 mm of top (four or five layers at 0.2 mm).
Raise the infill, or use a pattern with more support under the top.
Make sure the part-cooling fan is on for the top layers.

Settle it with

Bridging test

Link to this

Scratches or scars across the top surface

Thin lines scraped across finished top surfaces, where the nozzle dragged as it travelled.

Check, in this order

The nozzle travelling over printed surfaces without lifting.
Slight over-extrusion leaving the surface proud.

What to change

Turn on Z-hop (0.2–0.4 mm) on travel.
Check the flow with the flow cube.
Try ironing for flat tops.

Settle it with

Flow cube

Link to this

Small details melt, droop or blob (overheating)

Tips, spires, small features and the tops of thin towers come out melted, glossy and misshapen.

Check, in this order

Each layer is so small it has no time to cool before the next goes on.
Too little part cooling.
Nozzle hotter than it needs to be.

What to change

Set a minimum layer time in the slicer (8–15 s for PLA).
Print two copies at once so each layer cools while the other prints.
Turn the part-cooling fan up, and drop the temperature 5 °C.

Settle it with

Cooling spire Pin test

Link to this

Infill pattern shows through the walls

You can see the infill's grid or zigzag through the outside walls as faint marks.

Check, in this order

Too few walls, so the infill presses through.
Infill overlap with the walls set high.
Infill printed before the walls.

What to change

Use at least three walls.
Lower the infill/wall overlap.
Print walls before infill (or outer wall first) in the slicer.

Link to this

Layers & strength

Layers split apart — weak layer bonding

Layers peel apart, or the part snaps easily along a layer line.

Check, in this order

Nozzle too cool.
Part-cooling fan too strong — especially for PETG, ABS and ASA.
Layer height more than about 80% of the nozzle width.
Draughts cooling the print as it goes.

What to change

Print the temperature tower and go up a floor.
Turn the fan down (PETG 30–50%, ABS/ASA 0–20%).
Keep layer height under 0.32 mm on a 0.4 mm nozzle.
Use an enclosure for ABS and ASA.

Settle it with

Temperature tower

Link to this

Layer shift — the print steps sideways

At some height the whole print suddenly carries on shifted to one side, like a stair step.

Check, in this order

The nozzle hit something — a curled-up edge or a blob — and the motor skipped.
A belt slipping, or a loose grub screw on a pulley.
Speed or acceleration too high for the motors.
Something catching the moving parts — a cable, the spool, the wall.

What to change

Tighten the belts and the pulley grub screws.
Turn on Z-hop, and deal with any curling (see warping and overhangs).
Lower acceleration and speed.
Check nothing can snag the print head or bed through its full travel.

Link to this

Missing layers or a gap in one layer

A horizontal gap or thin band around the whole print at one height.

Check, in this order

A momentary under-extrusion — the spool snagged or the extruder slipped.
The Z axis sticking, so a layer was squashed then over-stretched.

What to change

Check the spool unwinds freely.
Clean and grease the Z lead screw and check it turns smoothly by hand.

Link to this

Printed part is brittle and snaps easily

The part breaks with little force, often cleanly along the layers.

Check, in this order

Wet filament.
Printed too cold, so the layers did not fuse.
The load runs across the layers — parts are weakest between layers.
Too few walls; strength comes mostly from walls, not infill.

What to change

Dry the filament.
Go up a floor on the temperature tower.
Turn the part so the load runs along the layers — the Print Doctor's orientation search helps.
Use four or more walls for parts that take a load.

Settle it with

Temperature tower Print Doctor

Link to this

Warping & cracking

Warping — corners lift off the bed

The corners of the part curl up off the bed as it prints, and the bottom is no longer flat.

Check, in this order

Plastic shrinks as it cools, and pulls its own corners up — worst for ABS, ASA and nylon.
Bed too cool, or draughts across the printer.
Large flat parts with sharp corners.
Weak first-layer adhesion.

What to change

Raise the bed temperature and add a brim.
Keep the printer out of draughts, or enclose it (essential for ABS and ASA).
Round the corners of your own designs, or add mouse ears.
Test with the warping plate before a big flat print.

Settle it with

Warping plate First layer patches

Link to this

Cracks between layers on tall parts

Horizontal cracks open up between layers, usually on tall ABS or ASA parts.

Check, in this order

The upper layers cool and shrink while the lower ones stay warm.
Draughts, or the part-cooling fan too strong.

What to change

Print in an enclosure.
Turn the fan down or off for ABS and ASA.
Raise the nozzle temperature a little for better bonding.

Settle it with

Temperature tower

Link to this

Overhangs, bridges & supports

Overhangs droop, curl up or come out rough

Surfaces that lean outwards droop, curl upwards or have a rough, stringy underside.

Check, in this order

The overhang is steeper than your printer can manage without support.
Not enough part cooling.
Printing overhangs too fast or too hot.

What to change

Print the overhang test to learn your real limit, and record it in your printer fingerprint.
Add supports past that angle, or turn the part so less overhangs — the Print Doctor shows both.
Turn the fan up and slow down for overhangs.

Settle it with

Overhang test Printer fingerprint Print Doctor

Link to this

Bridges sag or strands fall down

Where the print spans a gap, the strands sag in the middle or drop down loose.

Check, in this order

The span is longer than your printer bridges cleanly.
Not enough cooling, or bridging too slowly or too hot.
Bridge flow set wrong.

What to change

Print the bridging test and keep your own spans under the longest flat one.
Fan at 100% for bridges; try bridge flow around 85–95%.
Add a support under long spans.

Settle it with

Bridging test Printer fingerprint

Link to this

Supports won't come off, or damage the part

The supports have fused to the part and tear pieces off when you remove them.

Check, in this order

The gap between support and part (support Z distance) is too small.
Too many support interface layers, printed too dense.

What to change

Print the support gap test and use the smallest gap that snaps off cleanly — usually about one layer height.
Lower the interface density, or use tree supports.

Settle it with

Support gap test

Link to this

Rough, droopy underside where supports were

Surfaces that rested on supports come out rough, stringy or drooping.

Check, in this order

The support gap is too large, so the surface sags into it.
No interface layer between support and part.

What to change

Tighten the support gap using the support gap test.
Add two or three interface layers.
Turn the part so the important face does not need support — the Print Doctor helps.

Settle it with

Support gap test Print Doctor

Link to this

Size & fit

Holes come out too small

Bolts, pins and magnets will not go into holes that were drawn the right size.

Check, in this order

Plastic pulls inwards on the inside of a curve — nearly every printer prints holes small.
Low-resolution circles in the STL, made of too few flat sides.

What to change

Measure your printer's error with the hole size gauge and turn on hole compensation in the slicer.
Or add the measured amount to the holes in your own designs.

Settle it with

Hole size gauge Clearance gauge

Link to this

Parts don't fit together — too tight or too loose

Two printed parts meant to slide, snap or press together are too tight to assemble, or rattle.

Check, in this order

The clearance in the design does not suit your printer.
Elephant's foot making the bottom of one part wider.
Over-extrusion making everything slightly big.

What to change

Print the clearance gauge and design with the clearance it gives — typically 0.1–0.2 mm for sliding.
Fix elephant's foot, and check the flow.

Settle it with

Clearance gauge Elephant's foot gauge Flow cube

Link to this

The whole print is slightly the wrong size

Everything comes out a little bigger or smaller than it should, by the same percentage.

Check, in this order

Steps per millimetre slightly off on one axis.
Material shrinkage — ABS and ASA shrink about 0.5–0.8% as they cool.
Over- or under-extrusion adding to or taking from every wall.

What to change

Print the dimensional accuracy gauge; long arms make the error readable.
Scale ABS and ASA parts up by their shrinkage in the slicer.
Correct the flow first, then the steps.

Settle it with

Dimensional accuracy gauge XYZ calibration cube Flow cube

Link to this

The print is skewed — not square

Corners that should be 90° are not; a square comes out as a slight diamond.

Check, in this order

The printer's frame or gantry is not square.
Belts at different tension on a CoreXY printer.

What to change

Check the frame with a square and re-tension the belts evenly.
Use the skew correction in your firmware or slicer if it has one.

Settle it with

Dimensional accuracy gauge

Link to this

Printer & mechanics

"Thermal runaway" or "heating failed" error

The printer stops with a thermal runaway, heating failed, MINTEMP or MAXTEMP error.

Check, in this order

A loose or damaged thermistor — the printer cannot read the temperature.
A failing heater cartridge or a loose heater wire.
The part-cooling fan blowing on the heater block with no silicone sock.

What to change

Switch the printer off at the wall. This is a safety stop — never disable thermal protection to get round it.
Check the thermistor and heater wires where they enter the block, and re-seat them.
Fit a silicone sock on the heater block.
Replace the thermistor or heater if the error keeps coming back.

Link to this

Printer stops or restarts mid-print

The printer stops, freezes or reboots partway through, sometimes at the same point every time.

Check, in this order

A power blip or a loose power connector.
A bad SD card or file — it stops at the same place each time.
Printing over USB from a computer that went to sleep.
A filament runout sensor triggering falsely.

What to change

Re-slice and copy the file to a different SD card.
Print from the SD card rather than over USB.
Check the power connectors are tight.

Link to this

Filament

Wet filament — popping, steam, rough surface

Popping or hissing from the nozzle, wisps of steam, bubbles and a rough, fuzzy surface. Wet PLA also snaps on the spool.

Check, in this order

Filament absorbs water from the air — PETG, TPU and nylon quickly, PLA more slowly.

What to change

Dry it: PLA 45–50 °C for 4–6 hours, PETG 65 °C, TPU 50 °C, nylon 70–80 °C — a filament dryer or a food dehydrator both work.
Store spools sealed with silica gel.

Link to this

Filament snaps in the tube or on the spool

The filament breaks — on the spool, in the Bowden tube, or at the extruder.

Check, in this order

Old or damp PLA becomes brittle.
Tight bends in the filament path.

What to change

Dry the spool; if it still snaps it may be past saving.
Give the filament a gentle curve from the spool to the extruder.

Link to this

Spool tangled — the extruder is starved

Extrusion slows and stops, and the filament is pulled tight — the spool has a crossed-over winding.

Check, in this order

The loose end was let go at some point and slipped under another winding.

What to change

Always clip the loose end into the spool's edge holes.
Unwind the spool to the crossing and rewind it neatly.

Link to this

Lithophanes

Lithophane looks muddy or too dark

Held to the light, the picture is dark and murky and the shadows run together into one black.

Check, in this order

The thickest part is thicker than your filament lets light through.
The light behind it is too weak or too far away.
The photo itself is dark or low in contrast.

What to change

Calibrate your filament once — it measures where your plastic goes black and sets the range for you.
Use the tones panel's Optimise for lithophane.
Use a brighter light, closer behind it.

Settle it with

Filament calibration

Link to this

Lithophane is washed out — no detail in the light areas

The bright parts of the picture are blank white with no detail, and the whole thing looks faded.

Check, in this order

The thinnest part is thinner than your filament needs to hold any detail.
A very bright light close behind it.
The photo is overexposed.

What to change

Calibrate your filament — it finds your real thinnest usable thickness.
Move the light further back or use a diffuser.
Bring down the highlights in the photo before converting.

Settle it with

Filament calibration

Link to this

Layer lines or bands show through the lithophane

Horizontal lines or bands run across the picture when it is lit.

Check, in this order

Printed lying flat, so every layer is a step in brightness.
Layer height too tall for the detail.
Z-banding on the printer.

What to change

Print lithophanes standing upright, so the layers run across the image, not through it.
Use 0.1–0.12 mm layers.
See Z-banding if the lines are evenly spaced.

Link to this

Infill pattern shows in the lit lithophane

A grid or crosshatch appears over the picture when it is lit from behind.

Check, in this order

The lithophane is not printed solid — any infill shows as a pattern in the light.

What to change

Print at 100% infill, or with enough walls (10 or more) that the whole panel is walls.

Link to this

A bright hot spot from the light behind it

One bright spot in the middle of the picture, where the LED sits behind it, while the edges stay dark.

Check, in this order

The light is too close, or it is a single small LED.
Nothing to spread the light out.

What to change

Move the light further back.
Use an LED strip or panel instead of a single bulb.
Add a diffuser, or build a stand or frame that holds the light at a distance.

Settle it with

Lids, stands & frames

Link to this

Fine detail is lost — the picture looks blurry

Faces and fine detail come out soft, even though the photo is sharp.

Check, in this order

The lithophane is small for the detail in the photo.
A 0.4 mm nozzle cannot draw detail much finer than itself.
The photo is low resolution or has been heavily compressed.

What to change

Make it bigger — detail scales with size.
Use a 0.2 or 0.25 mm nozzle for small lithophanes.
Crop to the part that matters, and start from the original photo rather than a messaging-app copy.

Link to this

Troubleshoot a failed 3D print

Find out what went wrong with a print from what you can see. Search in your own words or browse 48 faults under headings such as first layer and bed adhesion, stringing and blobs, warping, layer shifts, overhangs and supports, size and fit, filament and lithophanes.

Every entry lists what to check, in the order worth checking it, what to change, and the calibration print that settles it. The list is free for everyone; signed-in Supporters can also describe a problem in their own words and get an answer from the AI.

Tips for a good print

Change one setting at a time, so you know which change fixed it.

Sort out the first layer before anything else: most other faults are harder to diagnose on a bad first layer.

Record what you find in your printer fingerprint so you do not have to find it again.

Frequently asked questions

Why won't my print stick to the bed?

Most often the nozzle is too far from the bed, or the plate is dirty. Lower the Z offset in small steps, wash the plate with warm soapy water, slow the first layer, and check the bed temperature suits the filament.

What causes stringing?

Usually the nozzle is too hot, so plastic oozes while it travels. Print the temperature tower first and use the coolest floor that bonds well; only then tune retraction, and dry the filament if it is damp.

Why is my print warping at the corners?

Plastic shrinks as it cools and pulls its own corners up, worst with ABS, ASA and nylon. Raise the bed temperature, add a brim, keep the printer out of draughts, and test with the warping plate before a big flat print.

Is the fault finder free?

Yes. The full list of faults and fixes is free for everyone; describing a problem in your own words to the AI is a Supporter feature.

Version 3

11 Sep 2026 Latest

Tools that remember how your own printer and filament actually print, and use it.

This is version 3. A new mark in the top-left corner of every page — and underneath it, tools that learn how your own printer and filament print.
New: Printer fingerprint. Find it in the menu under Tools → Calibration & test prints → Printer fingerprint. Print the calibration tests once for a printer and a roll of filament, type in what you read off them — best temperature, steepest overhang, longest bridge, thinnest wall, clearances and more — and they are kept, one set per printer and filament. Fill it in a test at a time: an empty box just means not measured yet. Start one.
The Print Doctor checks against your own printer. With a fingerprint in use, its wall and overhang limits come from your test prints instead of a rule of thumb, and it tells you in those terms: “0.9 mm is the thinnest wall your printer printed solid in this filament.” Pick a different fingerprint, or none, in step 2 of the Print Doctor.
Every calibration print shows your result. Under each test on Tools → Calibration & test prints → Calibration prints, you can see what your fingerprint has recorded for it, with a link straight to the box to fill in or update.
New: Print cost & quote. Find it in the menu under Tools → Sell your prints → Print cost & quote. Put in the grams and print time from your slicer — or drop in an STL for an estimate — and it adds up the filament, electricity, machine wear, your time, an allowance for failed prints and the packaging, puts your markup on top and gives you a price. Add the lines to a quote with your name, the customer and how long it is valid, then print it or save it as a PDF. Set your rates once and they are kept. Work out a price.
New: Fault finder. Find it in the menu under Tools → Calibration & test prints → Fault finder. Search for what you can see — stringing, corners lifting, lines up the side, a clicking extruder — and each entry tells you what to check, in the order worth checking it, and what to change, with a link to the test print that settles it. Supporters can also describe the problem in their own words and get an answer back from the AI, using one of their daily AI uses. Find a fault.
Downloads can come as a ZIP. On the Downloads page in the main menu, a model can now come as a single STL, a ZIP with several parts in it — the card lists what is inside — a link to where it is hosted, or all three. STLs still open in the 3D preview. Downloading needs a free account. See the downloads.
Downloads are not only models any more. Under Explore → Downloads, an item can now also be a program to install, a PDF guide or a picture — with or without an STL beside it. The button says what you are getting and how big it is. Like everything there, it needs a free account. See the downloads.
The free downloads are CC BY 4.0. Every model on the Downloads page in the main menu is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0: print it, share it, change it, even sell what you make, as long as you credit 3D-Lithophane.com. The licence is linked in the footer of every page and on each download.
The Print Doctor plans your supports. Find it under Tools → Change an STL you have → Print doctor, step 4. After the checks it works out how much support the model needs, how much of it would stand on the part and mark it, and whether tree, normal or painted-on supports suit it best — with the settings to use, taken from your printer fingerprint when you have one, and the way up that needs less. A Supports view shows where every column would stand.
Your account page, in tabs. The gear icon at the top right, once you are signed in, now opens your account in tabs — Account, Post to the gallery, My 3D models and Change password — with the site's own menu along the top. Open your account.
New: Photo to 3D, with Supporter Plus. Find it in the menu under Tools → Designers & generators → Photo to 3D, or on the front page. Turn a photo — or up to four views of something — into a printable 3D model, make a relief from a picture, or split a model into parts to print, and see the result in 3D beside your photo. Anyone can look round and see what a model would take; making them is part of Supporter Plus, which includes everything in Supporter and a monthly allowance of credits, counted from the day you pay; if you run out, a top-up pack adds more, and they do not expire. What you make is kept under My 3D models in your account.
New: Cut-out lithophane, with Supporter Plus. Find it in the menu under Lithophane → Cut-out, or Tools → Designers & generators → Cut-out lithophane. A flat lithophane whose edge follows your picture: whatever is transparent in it — or a colour you pick, like a plain white background — becomes a hole, so only the subject glows when it is lit. Loose bits are left out, and a solid strip along the bottom lets it stand. Anyone can try it and see the preview; making the STL is part of Supporter Plus. Make a cut-out lithophane.
New: Double lithophane, with Supporter Plus. Find it in the menu under Lithophane → Double, or Tools → Designers & generators → Double lithophane. Two lithophanes back to back with a hollow between them: a different photo on each side (or the same one twice), the light inside, closed over the top and open at the bottom so it drops over a lamp or a turntable. The border can sit flush or stand proud as a raised frame, and the whole job saves as a project, photos and all. It prints standing up with no supports. Anyone can try it and see the previews; making the STL is part of Supporter Plus. Make a double lithophane.
New: Lithophane Collage, with Supporter Plus. Find it in the menu under Lithophane → Collage, or Tools → Work on a photo → Lithophane Collage. Pick what it is for — a flat panel, a curved panel, a cylinder lamp or a lantern — and the collage is exactly that shape, so nothing is stretched. Add up to ten photos, start from a grid or a scattered look, then move, resize, turn and zoom each one, double-click a photo to choose which part of it shows, add names or a date with Add text, and see it lit. On a lamp the photos carry on round the join, and a lantern shows where each side folds. Right-click a photo to bring it to the front or send it back. One click opens it in the right generator with the size already filled in. Make a collage.
New: Split into tiles, with Supporter Plus. Find it in the menu under Lithophane → Split into tiles, or Tools → Change an STL you have → Split into tiles, or press Split into tiles on the Flat page. A lithophane bigger than your printer is cut into tiles that fit your bed, with puzzle joints that lock them together (or straight edges to glue). Make it A4, A3, A2 or A1 first if you like. Pick your printer and it works out how many; you get a ZIP with every tile and a map of where each one goes. Split a lithophane.
New: Puzzle lithophane, with Supporter Plus. Find it in the menu under Lithophane → Puzzle, or Tools → Change an STL you have → Puzzle lithophane, or press Make a puzzle on the Flat page. Your lithophane becomes a jigsaw: choose about how many pieces and a size up to A1, and every edge gets its own knob. The pieces print all together with a gap round each one, so they come off the bed separate — and the finished puzzle lights up. A puzzle bigger than your printer goes on more than one plate. Make a puzzle.
New: Product mockups, with Supporter Plus. Find them in the menu under Tools → Sell your prints → Product mockups, or press Make mockups on the Flat or Curved page. Photos of your lithophane for a shop listing: in a frame, on a light-up stand, or as a lamp, in a light or dark studio, a night-light room or on an evening shelf — lights on, lights off, or both side by side. Add your shop name or logo and a caption, and download at Etsy, Instagram or Facebook sizes, or as a set of four. Make mockups.
Saving designs on a free account. A free account can now keep two designs a day in the 3D Designer, and the top bar shows how many are left. Saving the same design again on the same day costs nothing, so you can work on one model all day. File → Save to file still keeps as many copies as you like on your own computer, and Supporters save as many designs as they want.
New in the 3D Designer: every tool in one place. The 3D Designer has a tool rail down the left: click a group — Shapes, Create, Draw, Place, Arrange, Combine, Modify, Text, Measure or Print — and all its tools open beside it, with their keyboard shortcuts. The top bar keeps File, Export and View; a dot on a group shows a tool of it is running, Search (press /) still finds any tool by name, and the designer now fits the window exactly, with no scrolling.
New in the 3D Designer: Move with snapping, copies and arrays. In the 3D Designer, open Place → Move with snapping on the tool rail down the left (or press Shift+M). Grab a part by a corner, an edge or a face and drop it exactly onto a corner, edge or face of another part — or onto a guide. The arrow keys lock the direction (right = X, left = Y, up = Z), holding Shift keeps it on the line it is on, and typing a distance makes it exact. Press Ctrl for a copy; straight after, type 5x for five copies at that spacing, or /5 for five spread evenly over it, and Enter.
New in the 3D Designer: draw on a face, and more room to work. In the 3D Designer, open Draw → Draw on a face on the tool rail down the left (or press Shift+R) and draw a rectangle, circle, polygon or lines straight onto any flat face — snapped to its corners and edges, with exact sizes if you type them (40,20 for a rectangle, a radius for a circle). Then Push/Pull it: push a circle in for a hole, pull a rectangle out for a boss. A shape drawn inside another one pushes and pulls on its own. The designer now fills the whole window: the site menu is gone from that page, with Home and Logout on the designer’s own bar.
New in the 3D Designer: Offset, Follow Me and a tape measure. Three more SketchUp-style tools in the 3D Designer, on the tool rail down the left. Offset (Draw → Offset a face, or Shift+O): click a flat face and move — a new outline follows the mouse, inside the face or outside it — then Push/Pull the new face to make a tray, a frame, a recess or a lip. Follow Me (Draw → Follow Me, or Shift+F): run a profile all round a face, or along one edge — round over, chamfer or groove it, or add a lip, a bead, a ledge or a cove moulding. Tape measure (Measure → Tape measure & guides, or Shift+T): click two points to measure, or start on an edge to place a guide line at an exact distance. Guides are saved with your design, and Push/Pull lines up with them.
New in the 3D Designer: Push/Pull. In the 3D Designer, open Draw → Push/Pull a face on the tool rail down the left (or press Shift+P). Point at any flat face and drag it — or click, move and click again, just like SketchUp. Pull out to add material, push in to cut a pocket, or push right through for a hole. Type a distance for an exact size, it lines up with the height of other parts as you go, and a double-click repeats the last push or pull on another face. Cutting and joining shapes in the designer is also much faster now on detailed models.
New in the 3D Designer: pack onto plates and check the build plate. In the 3D Designer under Print → Pack onto plates on the tool rail down the left, every part is packed onto as few beds as it takes — turning parts to fit more, keeping a corner free for the wipe tower, and keeping colours together if you like — and each plate downloads as its own 3MF. Print → Check the build plate shows each part’s first layer on the bed and warns about parts that float, barely touch the bed, are tall for their footprint, hang over the edge or are too big, with a button to fix it where it can.
New in the 3D Designer: exploded view, pictures and turntables, and parameters. View → Exploded view spreads a multi-part design apart to show how it goes together. View → Save picture / turntable video saves a PNG (square, wide or tall, even with a see-through background) or a spinning video or GIF for your shop and social media. And the new Parameters panel on the right lets you name measurements like wall = 2.4 and type formulas such as width - 2*wall into any size or position box — change one number and the design follows.
AI generate is rebuilt, with Supporter. In the 3D Designer under Create → AI generate on the tool rail down the left. Describe what you want and the AI now designs the real shape — curves, hollows, handles, lettering, screw holes and slots — instead of stacking simple blocks, and it lands on the bed as an editable model. A progress bar shows what the AI is doing while it works, and if the model does not come out right first time it is fixed automatically.
New in the 3D Designer: twist, loft, patterns, joints and rounded edges. In the 3D Designer, under Modify and Combine on the tool rail down the left: Twist, taper & bend reshapes a part along its height with a live preview; Pattern on a face cuts round, honeycomb, square, diamond, slot or Voronoi holes into a flat face for vents and grilles; Joint two parts adds a dovetail, a snap-fit clip or pins between two parts that touch, with the matching slot cut in the other part; and Round or chamfer an edge rounds just the edge you click. And Create → Loft blends one shape into another — a square base into a round top, solid or as a hollow adapter or funnel.
New in the 3D Designer: screw holes, fits, section view and exact measuring. In the 3D Designer: Combine → Screw hole on the tool rail down the left puts an M2–M8 clearance, countersunk, counterbore, heat-set insert, pilot or nut-trap hole on any face you click. Combine → Fit two parts sizes a peg, lid or insert for a press, snug, sliding or loose fit. View → Section view slices the view so you can see walls and holes inside. The ruler (M) now measures angles and diameters too. And while you drag the move, turn or size arrows, type a number for an exact value.
New in the 3D Designer: Scrap Pad, Model Preview and File → New. Open the 3D Designer and find Scrap Pad and Model Preview on the top bar, beside Search. The Scrap Pad is a small notepad for measurements while you design; Model Preview holds a photo or drawing of the model you are making. Both are small windows you can drag anywhere and resize from the corner, and closing them keeps your notes and image for next time. File → New starts a fresh model, and asks whether to save the current one first or clear it.
New: Paint your STL, with Supporter Plus. Find it in the menu under Tools → Change an STL you have → Paint your STL. Load any STL and paint it in your filament colours: a brush, a fill that stops at sharp edges, and height bands for layered signs and text, with undo. Download a 3MF for Bambu Studio, OrcaSlicer, Creality Print or PrusaSlicer with the colours already on your filament slots, ready for an AMS or multi-colour printer — and for a one-nozzle printer, it tells you the heights to change filament at. Paint a model.
New: the Pot & Planter Maker. Find it in the menu under Tools → Designers & generators → Pot & planter maker. Pots with working parts: a hanging planter with cord holes, a self-watering pot that sits in its own water reservoir, a jar with a lid, a jug with handles, cut-out walls (windows, bricks, slots, diamonds, round holes), a double wall with a decorative shell round the pot, a foot, a saucer, and tall pots that print in pieces and slot together. And the Vase & Pot Maker now has low-poly facets and patterns — diamonds, waves, knurl, basket weave and bubbles. Make a pot.
New: the Vase & Pot Maker. Find it in the menu under Tools → Designers & generators → Vase & pot maker. Start from a shape — classic vase, planter, bowl, bottle, tulip, star and more — set the height and widths, make it round, square, star or flower shaped, then twist it, bend it, add ribs, rings or a wavy rim. Hollow with a drainage hole and a saucer for plants, or solid for your slicer’s vase mode. It shows how much it holds and how much filament it takes. Download the STL like the other tools. Make a vase.
New: the 3D Design Service. Find it in the menu under Explore → 3D Design Service, or at the bottom of every page. Need a part or a model you cannot find? Describe it, add a photo if you have one, and we design it for you: three decades of 3D design experience, from $5 depending on the design, with a price before any work starts. Every design is test-printed, and you get a photo of the print and the files in STL, 3MF, OBJ, GLB and FBX (the print itself is not posted). No account needed: a private page follows its progress. Below the form, turn round the designs we have already made in 3D. Ask for a design.
A tidier menu bar. Downloads, Accessories, Gallery, Blog, Videos and the 3D Design Service are together under Explore at the top of every page.
New: Print-ready 3MF, with Supporter Plus. Find it in the menu under Tools → Change an STL you have → Print-ready 3MF, or press Print-ready 3MF on any lithophane maker. Your lithophane becomes a 3MF for Bambu Studio, OrcaSlicer, Creality Print or PrusaSlicer: on the bed and the right way up (a flat one stands on its edge, with a brim), with 100% infill, thin layers, slow outer walls and no supports already set on it — your own printer and filament profile stay as they are. Pick your printer, or use your printer fingerprint. Make a print-ready 3MF.
The guide, rewritten for calibration — and as a PDF. Open Help & Guide in the top menu: the new Calibrate & check chapter explains exactly how the calibration prints, the printer fingerprint, the Print Doctor and filament calibration work together, reading by reading, with a routine for a new printer and a new roll. The Download this guide as a PDF button at the top gives you the whole guide to keep or print.
See it in 3D before you download, and save more. The Cookie cutter and QR tag (in Tools), the filament strip (Tools → Calibration & test prints → Filament calibration), Split into tiles and the Puzzle now show the model in 3D, exactly as it downloads. Cut-out, Split into tiles and Puzzle (in the Lithophane menu) can now be saved as projects — the cut-out with its picture, the tiles and the puzzle with their STL.
A 3D preview that looks like the STL. Press 3D Preview on any lithophane maker in the Lithophane menu. It is now smooth and in white PLA, lit from where you are looking, like a slicer shows it. Before, the model was faceted and lit from fixed sides, so as a lamp turned, some photos looked thick where they print thin.
New: Tutorial videos. Find them in the top menu under Videos. Short how-tos on making a lithophane, getting the print right and using the tools here. Click one and it plays in a pop-up; you can download the file to keep, and give it a like. Free for everyone, with no account needed. Watch the videos.
New: the Newsletter. Find it in the top menu under Explore → Newsletter. Printing tips, project and gift ideas, and what is new on the site, an issue at a time — free to read, no account needed, and every issue has its own link to share with a friend. With an account you can get it by email too: switch it on or off under Newsletter emails on your account page (the gear icon at the top right), or with the link at the bottom of any newsletter email. Read the newsletter.
New: the 3D Designer for Windows. Download it free from the Supporter page in the top menu, under 3D Designer for Windows. It is the 3D Designer you know, as an app in its own window with your whole screen to work in. Sign in with your account: your saved designs and shapes are the same in the app and on the website, and a free account gets the same daily saves and exports as here. Get the app.

Show what you have printed

11 Sep 2026

A gallery of what members have made, and an account page that shows where you stand at a glance.

New: the Gallery. On the main menu: lithophanes, lamps, bins and everything else members have printed. Click any picture to see it full size. Have a look.
Post your own and earn Supporter days. Upload a picture or a short video from your account page. Every post that is approved adds 1 day of Supporter, up to 10 posts a month. A person checks each one first, so it appears once it is approved rather than straight away.
Your account page is a dashboard now. Your plan, Supporter days, referral days and gallery posts are figures at the top, and everything else sits in panels underneath instead of one long page.

Version 2

10 Sep 2026

A new look, menus that fit, and a run of new tools — a Gridfinity generator, stands and easels, filament calibration that feeds back into your prints, and a live preview that keeps up with you.

This is version 2. New mark in the corner of every page. Underneath it is the same site with a great deal more in it — and menus that can actually hold it all.
The menus have been reorganised. All eight lithophane shapes now live under one Lithophane menu instead of eight buttons across the bar. The nineteen tools are grouped under Tools, and each group opens to the side — so nothing scrolls and nothing is buried.
New: a Gridfinity generator. Bins, baseplates and lids for the 42 mm storage standard, built to the published dimensions so they fit anybody else's parts. Compartments, round, hex and slot pockets, a stacking lip, label tabs, a finger scoop, magnet and screw holes, and a free-size mode for a drawer that is not on any grid. There is a page on the standard itself if you want to know why every number is what it is.
Gridfinity: vase-mode bins. Choose Vase in the Gridfinity generator for a bin printed as one continuous spiral of a single wall — no infill, no layer changes. It comes as two files, because the chamfered foot has to be printed normally and glued on. Worth it for tall bins; below about four units it uses more filament than an ordinary one, and the generator says so before you print.
Stands and easels for a curved panel. The lid designer now makes the thing that holds a panel up as well as the thing that sits on top of a lamp — a slotted stand or a folding easel, sized to the panel you just made.
New: filament calibration that changes your lithophanes. Print one small strip, hold it up to the light, and note three steps: the last washed-out one, the first solid-black one, and the one half-way between. Every lithophane you make afterwards is corrected for your filament — no more guessing why one roll comes out muddy and the next is washed out.
See the tones before you print them. A histogram under the photo shows the original tones in grey and what your settings are actually doing to them in colour, updating as you drag. Optimise for lithophane sets brightness, contrast and gamma in one press if you would rather not fiddle.
The preview keeps up. Your photo appears the moment you choose it and updates as you change settings, instead of waiting for you to press a button.
The flat 3D preview shows the real thing. It was drawing an exaggerated, open sheet that looked nothing like the print. It is now a closed solid at true depth — what you see is the shape that comes out.

Refer a friend, get Supporter days

9 Sep 2026

Share your link. When a friend registers with it and confirms their email, you get 5 days of Supporter and they start with 2 days.

New: refer a friend. Your account page now has a referral link. Send it to somebody who prints — when they register with it and confirm their email, you get 5 days of Supporter and they start with 2 days.
Nothing is credited until your friend confirms their email address. Signing up is not enough, so a link that gets shared around does not quietly pay out on accounts nobody is really using.
Supporter time earned this way includes 2 AI model generations in total — enough to try it properly. Everything else it unlocks is the full thing: unlimited lithophanes, unlimited tool and Designer exports. Paying for Supporter lifts the AI allowance to 10 a day.
Your account page keeps the running list — who has joined, how many days you have earned, and how many of the 10 a month you have used. If one did not count, it says so and why, rather than leaving you to wonder.
The fine print, plainly: one payout per person for ever, you cannot refer yourself, and two accounts opened on the same connection at the same time do not count. Referred days stack on top of any Supporter time you already have — they never shorten it.

Accessories — and ask for a price on several at once

8 Sep 2026

LED bases, charging ports, stands and frames, with an estimated price on each. Ask about one, or collect several into a single quotation request.

New: Accessories. The bits that finish a lithophane off — LED bases, charging ports, stands and frames — each with a photo, what is in a pack and an estimated price in US dollars. Click a photo to see it full size.
Nothing is sold here. There is no basket to pay from and no card is ever asked for. Prices are estimates and exclude postage; you tell us what you are after and we come back with a real figure.
Asking about one product takes a moment and needs no account. Press Enquire, say where it would ship to, and it reaches us by email.
New: quotation requests. Interested in several things? Add to quotation collects them into one list with a quantity against each, and sends them together instead of as five separate emails. You get a reference back. This one needs a free account, because the list is kept on your account — start it on a laptop, finish it on a phone.
A proper delivery address. Pick your country and the state or province list fills in for it; pick a state and the city list follows. With a postal code that is enough to quote postage properly instead of guessing.
The list has a search box and two layouts: Grid for comparing at a glance, one product per row, and Gallery for browsing by picture.