<p>What you describe (the increased diameter of the filament) is the result of the problem called &quot;heat creep&quot;.</p>
<p>Heat creep occurs when insufficient hotend cooling, incorrect retraction, or too less filament flow passes the hotend (low speeds nd low layer heights).</p>
<p>You should first fix the retraction, print at higher filament flows and alternatively provide better cooling of the hotend.</p>
<p>This is a particular problem that also arises when people are putting enclosures around the printers (this isn't mentioned in the question), but raising the anclosure temperature also causes exactly the same result; insuffisient cooling causing heat creep.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-07-28T05:07:04.150Z
To address heat creep, I reduced the nozzle and bed temperatures by 5°C. Additionally, I adjusted the cooling settings in the software and relocated the printer to an environment with better air circulation. Despite continuous printing for two days, the printer is functioning well.
Mohammad Tahaye Abadi
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-07-26T06:22:50.563Z
2024-07-26T06:22:50.563Z
0scar
<p>I own a Creality Ender 5 Plus printer, and I use 1.75 mm PLA filament made by ESUN.</p>
<p>When I print parts weighing less than 200 grams within a day using the standard quality settings (0.2 mm layer height and nozzle temperature of 210 °C), everything works fine. However, when I print larger and more time-consuming parts with the same settings, the filament diameter near the nozzle increases, causing issues like filament jams.</p>
<p>This problem is particularly noticeable when printing lightweight parts at high resolutions (e.g., 0.12 mm). How can I address this issue?&quot;</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/F0mfnnYV.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Filament diameter increases"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/F0mfnnYV.jpg" alt="Filament diameter increases" title="Filament diameter increases" /></a></p>

<pla><filament><nozzle><temperature><resolution>
Increase of filament diameter near nozzle when printing long time
Mohammad Tahaye Abadi
# Increase of filament diameter near nozzle when printing long time

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-07-26)

I own a Creality Ender 5 Plus printer, and I use 1.75 mm PLA filament made by ESUN.

When I print parts weighing less than 200 grams within a day using the standard quality settings (0.2 mm layer height and nozzle temperature of 210 °C), everything works fine. However, when I print larger and more time-consuming parts with the same settings, the filament diameter near the nozzle increases, causing issues like filament jams.

This problem is particularly noticeable when printing lightweight parts at high resolutions (e.g., 0.12 mm). How can I address this issue?"

[![Filament diameter increases](https://i.sstatic.net/F0mfnnYV.jpg "Filament diameter increases")](https://i.sstatic.net/F0mfnnYV.jpg "Filament diameter increases")

**Tags:** pla, filament, nozzle, temperature, resolution

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2024-07-26. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

What you describe (the increased diameter of the filament) is the result of the problem called "heat creep".

Heat creep occurs when insufficient hotend cooling, incorrect retraction, or too less filament flow passes the hotend (low speeds nd low layer heights).

You should first fix the retraction, print at higher filament flows and alternatively provide better cooling of the hotend.

This is a particular problem that also arises when people are putting enclosures around the printers (this isn't mentioned in the question), but raising the anclosure temperature also causes exactly the same result; insuffisient cooling causing heat creep.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: To address heat creep, I reduced the nozzle and bed temperatures by 5°C. Additionally, I adjusted the cooling settings in the software and relocated the printer to an environment with better air circulation. Despite continuous printing for two days, the printer is functioning well.  

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