I don't know about you, but my 3D printers cost a lot of money and I'm always paranoid that they'll break down and fail at the worst moment.So, instead of just being anxious and paranoid, I looked into what the actual early warning signs might be by trawling forums, watching YouTube and otherwise absorbing the collective wisdom of the internet.Based on that, these are the key warnings I'm keeping an eye out for.
Problems start appearing across multiple prints It only replicates failure now When one model fails, that's just bad luck.When two models fail, you've probably made a mistake.When your models have some sort of issue, regardless of which file you print, then there's something much more serious going on.
Usually the regular calibration steps of leveling your bed and checking the Z-offset will do the trick.If not, you need to carefully check your slicer settings, and perhaps reset everything to default.New firmware or a factory reset for your printer might also be in order.
If you do all of this and still get under-extrusion, layer adhesion problems, or a first layer that seems to give you problems more often than not, you'll want to check that the tension in your printer's belts are still up to spec, and if the bearings are starting to bind.This is almost always only the case on machines that have worked for a significant number of hours, so if your machine is still a low-mileage model, other issues are worth checking out first, perhaps, but at some point, these core components will wear down and need replacement.New noises you can’t explain This shake, rattle, and roll isn't music to my ears As a general rule of thumb, you don't want to spend much time in the same room as your 3D printers, because it's not good for your hearing.
However, your ears can be a great early warning system if you know what your printer sounds like during normal operation.So you should spend some time watching them work, ensuring that you have a baseline to compare.One of the first signs that something was wrong with one of my printers was a clicking sound from the extruder as the stepper motor failed to move the filament correctly.
This first clue exposed a jam, which was caused by a deeper issue that eventually required a replacement of the entire hot end.There are several stepper motors in a typical 3D printer, and unusual noises from any of them is a sign to stop what you're doing and check that everything is working as it should.Grinding or scraping noises could indicate a warped frame or lubrication problems, which should not be left unchecked.
There's an infinite number of things that could be going wrong, but if you know what a healthy printer sounds like, then you can often stop the show before some serious damage happens.Heat becomes unstable or slow to respond Hot or not? Either way it's broken The ability to precisely generate heat where needed is like half of what makes a 3D printer work, so any issues with the heating systems can have a catastrophic effect on your prints, and may eventually render your printer useless.What are the signs? An easy one is a print bed that doesn't warm up as quickly as it used to or the specs says it should.
Heating elements wear out and fail like any other component.The same goes for the hotend, but perhaps a more serious issue is having too much or too little heat.This shows up as errors in your print as over or under extrusion because the filament was too hot or not hot enough.
The actual heating components might be fine, but the temperature sensors (the thermistors) can also fail.Usually doing a PID calibration will fix this, but that's often just a stopgap as the sensors degrade further.If you see your hot-end temperature oscillating instead of staying steady, that can be a tell-tale sign that something's amiss.
Electrical issues start stacking up It doesn't run on magic A 3D printer is mechanical, it's electronic, but it's also electric.While most issues you run into will invariably have to do with calibration or mechanical issues, electrical faults happen and can be more serious and expensive to repair.How-To Geek Report: Subscribe and never miss what matters Unlock your tech-savvy potential and master the digital world with How-To Geek.
Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.You can unsubscribe anytime.If your printer freezes mid-print or resets, that could be an electrical issue if you've ruled out firmware bugs or other less serious issues.
If the screen on your printer flickers, that's a potential sign of an electrical fault.The power supply is almost always a key culprit here, though at least this is not a complicated component to replace.However, loose electrical connections can develop purely because a 3D printer moves, vibrates, heats up, and cools down repeatedly during operation.
Personally, I've had clips and other cable-retention systems become brittle and break in my printer, which can lead to kinked or otherwise damaged cable looms if you don't fix it as soon as you notice it.And, of course, some electronic components like capacitors degrade and fail just as they would in any device, whether a 3D printer or a computer.So if your printer's getting on in age or you suspect it might have experienced a power surge, it might be worth getting a technician to cast an eye over the components for sign of obvious damage.
I'm just a hobbyist, and not an expert in the nuts and bolts of 3D printer technology, but I don't think you need to be in order to realize something is seriously wrong before it becomes an even more expensive and difficult problem to fix.
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