this post was submitted on 07 May 2026
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what in the world is going on here? (feddit.nu)
submitted 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) by lime@feddit.nu to c/3dprinting@lemmy.world
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i've been battling this wrinkling phenomenon for weeks. it shows up at random, and i can't figure out what i'm doing wrong. i've changed layer height. i've checked the z-offset of the extruder. i've lowered acceleration to 1/10th of normal. i've lowered the flow rate. i've raised the flow rate. i've cleaned the plate with soapy water and IPA. i've checked for bumps on plate and the bed. i've flipped the plate over. i've done automatic and manual levelling. i've redone the bed compensation calibration like twelve times. i've moved and rotated my print. i've tried different colours, materials and makes. i've dried the filaments to under 10% humidity. i've switched extruders. i've placed the printer on a mass damper (a 25kg slab of concrete on top of a 2cm thick rubber granule mat). the last thing i did was physically holding on to the extruder as it moved (that's what that thicker band in the top left is).

this can happen no matter how far along the print i am. it can be fine for the first 300 layers, then start happening on layer 320 and be so serious that the extruder hits the wrinkles and loses its place on layer 330. i've been sitting there staring at the printer as it does it and the filament just seems to... come out like that. it doesn't expand or anything. and sometimes it doesn't happen at all. the only common denominator is that all the prints that it happens on have large horizontal planes.

i don't think this is caused by overextrusion of the first layer, partly because it never happens on the first layer, and partially because i did a bed adhesion test:

yeah adhesion is awful here. i forgot to actually clean the plate this time. but the part in the middle is the only one that matters, and that is clean. if anything that looks like underextrusion. i just don't understand. i think i need professional help. first from the 3d printing community, then from a therapist.

here's my bed compensation matrix, for reference:

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[–] neidu3@sh.itjust.works 7 points 6 days ago (1 children)

The washboarding happens if you try to squish too much plastic onto a too small area. I had a problem with this until I calibrated my flow rate perfect. At perfect flow rate it is very rare for me - only on very big first layers, so I have chosen to slightly under-extrude.

[–] lime@feddit.nu 1 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

wouldn't it be more consistent if that was it? i'm underextruding as it is.

[–] sychthys@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago

Not necessarily. If the flow is slightly too high then you'll get inconsistent results like this. I had this happen as well and it drove me nuts until I went through Orca's flow rate calibrations like 4 or 5 times.

[–] Monument@piefed.world 3 points 6 days ago (2 children)

I’ve seen wrinkling like that occur on taller parts with lower infill when the outer shell traps warm/hot air, which distorts the top of the shell as it tries to escape.
If that’s at play here (it doesn’t feel exactly right, though), then as others have suggested, perhaps it’s a cooling fan speed setting?
Any chance your bed is too hot, or some settings like first layer temp/final layer temp are causing unexpected issues? That’s a giant skirt for a large, flat piece. Is the thing tacoing on you?

My other thought on this could be uneven drying of your filament. Perhaps one side is drying to 10%, and the other side is not. Any way to rotate the filament as it’s drying?
How long are you drying for?

[–] lime@feddit.nu 1 points 6 days ago

this printer reads the manufacturer settings from the spool so i was assuming it couldn't be the fan. probably worth tweaking though.

i don't know why but it just keeps coming loose. all the edges just want to bend up.

this spool was dried in a polydryer on low heat for six hours at which point the hygrometer read 10%, left there overnight to see if the humidity climbed back up as it cooled (it didn't), then tossed into my long-term spool storage (a big plastic bin with a half-kilo dessicant bag meant to dry out cars) where it's been for something like two weeks. humidity in there is like 8%. if it's not dried out after that i don't know what will do it.

[–] myplacedk@lemmy.world 0 points 6 days ago (1 children)

If the first layer is good, this looks like some sort of over-extrusion.

How many layers up is this? The more solid layers, the less overextrusion it takes to get this pattern.

And yes, it's normal to have it in areas like this, with no good explanation of why it's a problem "there", and not "there".

A good closeup would help diagnose this. Maybe even a nice closeup video of how it looks while it's printing. When I get these results, it's very clearly overextrusion, when I look closer.

If it is overextrusion, there are many solutions, each with different side-effects. You can consider doing an extension rate calibritation, with the exact filament roll you are using. Or maybe simply adjust the extrusion rate down a little bit.

[–] lime@feddit.nu 1 points 6 days ago

on the original image it's like 7 layers in, but i did another adhesion test (after properly wiping the plate) with two layers and wrinkling happened instantly on the second layer.

i've done a flow rate test but i don't have time to sit down and look at it today.

[–] floquant@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 6 days ago

I also have this issue pop up randomly and like you I've been trying everything and losing my mind. I really hope we can find a solution in this thread

[–] waz@feddit.uk 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Maybe investigate the pressure / linear advance setting, or equivalent. Looks like the longest runs are not balanced for the extrusion rate for the speed the printhead is travelling at, so during acceleration it’s one rate and when steady it’s another. Teaching Tech on YT is a good resource for tuning methods

[–] lime@feddit.nu 2 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

this printer has pressure advance calibration, so i thought that would be a non-issue. maybe i'll tweak that manually.

Edit: hang on. there are sections right next to the wrinkly area that are longer and yet completely fine.

[–] waz@feddit.uk 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

But with the other features on the area, the longest run with a steady extrusion of width without changing direction?

[–] lime@feddit.nu 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)

yeah, here:

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 2 points 5 days ago

I've seen this with filament that has a diameter variance. The mechanical rate of advance is consistent but more plastic is pushing through.

[–] SpikesOtherDog@ani.social 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Do you have airflow through that area, like a vent or something? Is it possible that you have a draft that cools your project unevenly?

[–] lime@feddit.nu 1 points 6 days ago

it's an enclosed printer.

[–] Clasm@ttrpg.network 0 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I'd say your print time per layer might be too high, aince the filament looks to be contracting off of the plate as it cools. I'd see if there was a way to speed-up the print time of each layer, or break up the plate's large surface area with holes or other features to dissapate the stress as it cools.

[–] lime@feddit.nu 1 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

the parts that are contracting is where i managed to touch the plate, so that's mostly caused by skin oils.

Edit: do you think this could be caused by the cooling fan being set too high? i can bump the speed up but i need good surface finish.

[–] Clasm@ttrpg.network 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I was referring to the waveyness in the center, though the warping on the esges is partly caused by both the oils and the cooling shrinkage, I believe.

The uniform buckling of the layer in the middle of the sheet is what I'm leaning on, but I don't believe that your fan speed is too high, or there would be more seperation between layers as the filament would cool too much before adhering to the layer below.

I believe there are test STLs that assist in Dialing in your settings for printing plates in particular, but I'm avoiding printing surfaces that large until I get an enclosure built.

[–] lime@feddit.nu 2 points 6 days ago

yeah i did one of those test prints yesterday. haven't looked at the results yet though, hopefully it gets me somewhere