<p>It looks like the lines coming up on the bottom-right of your photo are from the hot-end being too close to the bed. I also see what looks like could be marks from the hot-end on the bed. It might be worth investing in a glass bed and a metal feeler gauge instead of paper - they're not too expensive. That and a glass bed did wonders for my leveling (Ender 5 Pro).</p>
<p>If it's not working day to day, you may also have a bad bed that can't heat evenly every time. Other things to check:</p>
<ul>
<li>Ensure no tension or sharp angles on the filament as it enters the hot-end.</li>
<li>Clean bed with lint-free cloth - avoid paper towels. Microfiber cloths work wonders.</li>
<li>When leveling, the more compressed the springs the more stable the bed so start with the springs as compressed as possible and adjust the z-height stop accordingly. Leave some play but get those springs as compressed as possible while still allowing adjustments.</li>
<li>Avoid printing near HVAC vents. I can imagine the fluctuation of cold air from an AC nearby impacting print consistency.</li>
<li>Control the moisture content of your filament</li>
</ul>
<p>I hope any of this helps. It can be challenging and is pretty involved. I stopped printing for almost a year because of similar issue. Controlling moisture while storing filament, getting a glass bed, putting the extruder just above the hot-end to eliminate the bowden tube, leveling with a feeler gauge, and building a filament holder above the printer made printing consistent and fun again for me. Keep at it.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-22T05:33:30.947Z
2024-08-22T05:35:33.957Z
2024-08-22T05:35:33.957Z
JayRugMan
<p>This could be due to several reasons.</p>
<p>It looks like your filament isn't being properly guided into the extrusion head and hence bending or slowing down. You may prefer buying what's called a bowden tube (if thats compatible with your printer).</p>
<p>There is also a high chance that some filament is stuck in your hot end. This can cause the jamming of fillament which prevents it from coming out or stops at random intervals.</p>
<p>It would also seems like your heat bed may be too close to the printer or out of level which prvents proper sticking or proportion of filament.</p>
<p>if the issue continues, kindly provide more info on the problem with a detailed review.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-07-18T14:57:44.250Z
2024-07-18T14:57:44.250Z
Aerospace_Nerd
<p>I started to 3D print a week and a half ago more or less, and I have been doing it with a decent quality, not perfect but decent, while trying to tweak the machine to improve the quality but have gotten mixed results; it seems I have broken something.</p>
<p>From this morning onward, anything that I try to print comes out like this, I've been trying to level the bed better which seems (to my inexperienced eye) to be the issue, with no luck. I have done the paper test, and all and it's still working like that. I'm using PLA filament and the temperature is 210 °C for the nozzle and 60 °C for the bed, it seems like its outputting too little amount of filament.</p>
<p>Any hint on what might be happening here?</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/pzlPVGUf.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Photo of stringy filament being output from nozzle"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/pzlPVGUf.jpg" alt="Photo of stringy filament being output from nozzle" title="Photo of stringy filament being output from nozzle" /></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-07-11T17:15:31.977Z
Hello Juan, seems to be a problem with Z height first layer. I dont know how some setting changes from one day to another. please read z settings, z offset, etc. there are a lot of asked quetions about this settings. Also about cleaning nozzle and bed temperature. Be sure to have the same setting each time you started to print even if is the same day.
Fernando Baltazar
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-07-11T19:10:11.563Z
Hello Fernando, thanks for the answer, I'll try to do that..
Juan Pablo Bustos Paulich
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-07-12T10:49:32.250Z
As @FernandoBaltazar said, you need to relevel your bed and adjust the initial Z-height e.g. using a sheet of paper. If you cannot manage this, add this to the question and there may be another problem at play. If it soles the issue, let us also know. We can then decide to close the question of link it to an existing question as a duplicate. Thanks!
0scar
<creality-ender-3><troubleshooting><pla>
What would cause my 3D printer to start printing badly from one day to the other?
Juan Pablo Bustos Paulich
# What would cause my 3D printer to start printing badly from one day to the other?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-07-11)

I started to 3D print a week and a half ago more or less, and I have been doing it with a decent quality, not perfect but decent, while trying to tweak the machine to improve the quality but have gotten mixed results; it seems I have broken something.

From this morning onward, anything that I try to print comes out like this, I've been trying to level the bed better which seems (to my inexperienced eye) to be the issue, with no luck. I have done the paper test, and all and it's still working like that. I'm using PLA filament and the temperature is 210 °C for the nozzle and 60 °C for the bed, it seems like its outputting too little amount of filament.

Any hint on what might be happening here?

[![Photo of stringy filament being output from nozzle](https://i.sstatic.net/pzlPVGUf.jpg "Photo of stringy filament being output from nozzle")](https://i.sstatic.net/pzlPVGUf.jpg "Photo of stringy filament being output from nozzle")

**Tags:** creality-ender-3, troubleshooting, pla
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Hello Juan, seems to be a problem with Z height first layer. I dont know how some setting changes from one day to another. please read z settings, z offset, etc. there are a lot of asked quetions about this settings. Also about cleaning nozzle and bed temperature. Be sure to have the same setting each time you started to print even if is the same day.  
> **username_0**: Hello Fernando, thanks for the answer, I'll try to do that..  
> **username_2**: As @FernandoBaltazar said, you need to relevel your bed and adjust the initial Z-height e.g. using a sheet of paper. If you cannot manage this, add this to the question and there may be another problem at play. If it soles the issue, let us also know. We can then decide to close the question of link it to an existing question as a duplicate. Thanks!  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2024-08-22. Score: 0

It looks like the lines coming up on the bottom-right of your photo are from the hot-end being too close to the bed. I also see what looks like could be marks from the hot-end on the bed. It might be worth investing in a glass bed and a metal feeler gauge instead of paper - they're not too expensive. That and a glass bed did wonders for my leveling (Ender 5 Pro).

If it's not working day to day, you may also have a bad bed that can't heat evenly every time. Other things to check:

* Ensure no tension or sharp angles on the filament as it enters the hot-end.
* Clean bed with lint-free cloth - avoid paper towels. Microfiber cloths work wonders.
* When leveling, the more compressed the springs the more stable the bed so start with the springs as compressed as possible and adjust the z-height stop accordingly. Leave some play but get those springs as compressed as possible while still allowing adjustments.
* Avoid printing near HVAC vents. I can imagine the fluctuation of cold air from an AC nearby impacting print consistency.
* Control the moisture content of your filament

I hope any of this helps. It can be challenging and is pretty involved. I stopped printing for almost a year because of similar issue. Controlling moisture while storing filament, getting a glass bed, putting the extruder just above the hot-end to eliminate the bowden tube, leveling with a feeler gauge, and building a filament holder above the printer made printing consistent and fun again for me. Keep at it.


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2024-07-18. Score: 0

This could be due to several reasons.

It looks like your filament isn't being properly guided into the extrusion head and hence bending or slowing down. You may prefer buying what's called a bowden tube (if thats compatible with your printer).

There is also a high chance that some filament is stuck in your hot end. This can cause the jamming of fillament which prevents it from coming out or stops at random intervals.

It would also seems like your heat bed may be too close to the printer or out of level which prvents proper sticking or proportion of filament.

if the issue continues, kindly provide more info on the problem with a detailed review.


---

