Operating a desktop FFF 3D printer can be a ton of fun, except when you make mistakes. Mistakes can cause print failures, and also embarrassment when they are so obvious you really should not have made them.

Let’s take a look at my list of the eight dumbest FFF 3D printing mistakes you can make.

Mismatched filament

Symptom: “Why is there no extrusion? Is there a jam?” No, it’s because you’re trying to print a higher-temperature material like ABS or ASA when you’ve sliced the job for PLA temperatures.

Cause: This is a common mistake caused by forgetting to select the proper material when slicing a print job. It’s easy to focus on other parameters and forget to match the slicing material to the actual spool on the machine.

Solution: Always double-check the spool type and slicing material.

Forgetting support structures

Symptoms: “Why is this print all spaghetti?” “What happened to the underside of the protrusion?” “The print just failed, and I don’t know why.”

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