Need a confidence boost? Check out these epic 3D printing fails that'll make you laugh, cry, and wish your printer could apologize.
Defining Epic
This fleet of Benchys exists to calibrate printers and reduce fails (Source: 3DBenchy)
Generally, when we think about printing failures, we think of common problems like an uneven print bed, incorrect settings, or bad luck contributing to a print that is, at worst, un-useable and, at best, somewhat useable.
However, these simple, common problems don’t qualify as an epic fail in our books. The prints we’ve found are epic in that they not only fail themselves but also end up either destroying things or altering the lives of the 3D printing enthusiast in a significant and confidence-shattering way.
Read on to see some 3D printing horror stories that will make you laugh, cry, and really wish you’d spent that extra $50 on the printer with the thermal runaway protection because, jeez, you didn’t see that coming…
Let’s dive right into the train wreck that is 3D printing epic fails.
Category #1: Catastrophic Printer Problems
In the category of “catastrophic printer problems”, we have examples that end in some form of significant destruction to the printer or the build plate. These are the types of epic 3D printing fails that nearly make makers meet their maker or that require a long sigh and additional money spent trying to fix the damage. When it comes to these examples, we hope to never see them happen to our own printers (or yours).
1. Heat Block Hazard
When a 3D printer nearly burns your house down, we'd call that an epic fail (Source: OpusMcn via Reddit)
This is a 3D printing fail that every 3D printing enthusiast worries about. In this example, Reddit user OpusMcn set his printer to work overnight. Halfway through, the heating element worked its way out of the heater block and fell onto the PLA part.
When this happens (and your printer doesn’t have thermal runaway protection), the printer will continue powering the heating element in an attempt to raise the read temperature of the thermocouple. This leads to a blazingly hot heating element sitting on flammable plastic for hours until it either burns your house down or wakes you up with the jarring smell of burning plastic.
What is it? While we aren’t exactly sure what was supposed to be printing, this epic fail led to a free heating element melting into a plastic part for hours while the user slept.
What happened? The heating element worked itself free from the heater block and fell onto the surface of the print.
Who failed? It could be mentioned that Reddit user OpusMcn failed by not securing the heating element into the block well enough. However, for modern printers, it’s highly recommended that thermal runaway protection be installed or enabled for printers to lessen the risk of this exact thing happening.
Where are the files? While we don’t have access to the files for this, it could potentially happen during any print when a printer doesn’t have thermal runaway protection. Luckily, most current printers include this functionality to prevent these types of potential fires.
2. Warping for the Fail
In this epic fail, not only has the part itself warped, but the warp was also so extreme that the PEI build surface warped almost the same distance that the aluminum bed screws are from the aluminum build plate.
Although these build surfaces are flexible, it’s likely that this part permanently deformed the build surface, rendering both the part defective and ruining the build surface. To help against this sort of issue, one might consider using a more rigid build surface, a heated chamber, and build plate adhesion solutions.
What is it? A box gone wrong.
What happened? Although there are a variety of filaments that have low warp characteristics, filament types like ABS significantly warp due to thermal stresses that build up during printing.
Who failed? We’re actually not sure who the poor soul was who printed this part, but all our feelings go out to them for the frustratingly large amount of warping they’ve endured.
Where are the files? The files aren’t available for this box, although this would likely happen with any large surface area print printed in a high warp plastic material.
3. Humpty Dumpty Had a Great Fall
When your print throws itself off a table to end its suffering, it might be time to rethink your 3D printing setup. This horrifying case of 3D printer suicide was brought to you by the end of the filament being stuck in the spool. In this case, we’d say that 3D printing enthusiast Chris Cecil clearly has a great spool setup – so good, in fact, that it’s capable of dragging a 3D printer to its death.
After the fall, the printer only had damage to the X-axis as well as some Z-axis components. Somehow, the borosilicate printer bed didn’t break, though we think that had more to do with luck than anything else.
After the accident, Chris decided to secure his printer with anything and everything that will keep this from happening again. He even considered adding a granite base to prevent movement in the future.
What is it? A printer that threw itself off the table.
What happened? Filament didn’t disengage from the end of a spool and, over time, dragged the printer off the table.
Who failed? Chris Cecil, we feel for you. This is something we would never personally want to deal with.
Where are the files? We’re not sure what Chris was trying to print, but clearly it wasn’t worth it.
4. In Case of Printing, Break Glass
One of the most annoying features of 3D printing for newbies is the inability to get filament to stick to the build plate. Without that, you can’t really print anything, and this can be a frustrating cycle of trying and failing. Not to worry – we’ve got you covered with 3D Printer Bed Adhesion – All You Need To Know.
But this epic fail isn’t as simple as sticky adhesion.
Here, programmer Sandy Noble printed something meant to hang using most likely PETG on a glass build plate with dilute PVA glue on it. This bond has been described as being so strong that when the part cools down the thermal stresses imparted during printing can literally rip chunks of glass out of the build plate itself.
What is it? A part meant to hang somewhere printed on a glass bed with PVA adhesive.
What happened? When using PETG and adhesives, it’s important to not print directly onto a glass build plate. The adhesive forces between the PETG and the glass interface are so strong that thermal stresses from the printing process can literally rip glass chunks right out of the build surface when the part cools down.
Who failed? Sandy Noble, we mourn your previously perfect glass build plate.
Where are the files? We don’t exactly know what this part was – perhaps some kind of mount. Nevertheless, it had a large flat surface area, which probably didn’t help when trying to remove it from the build plate.
Category #2: Filament Failures
These failures aren’t quite as catastrophic as the destruction of printer problems described above. However, one of the most important things about 3D printing is the filament. If the quality is poor or the spool isn’t hung correctly, the quality of your prints will suffer immensely. Check out our 2020 3D Printer Filament Buyer's Guide to save yourself any guessing.
The following 3D printing filament fails will really string you out.
5. Connector Catastrophe
This failed print unrolled eight hours’ worth of filament, which will be quite difficult to re-spool. When it comes to 3D printing, gently and consistently unrolling filament is the key to getting prints to turn out with few blemishes.
In this case, the boxy-looking print didn’t have many issues, however, for Bowden extruder setups, the push-fit connectors are important for feeding the filament into the hot end with low resistance. Once a push-fit connector fails in this way, the extruder motor won’t feed the filament into the PTFE tube correctly, instead bunching up.
What is it? The start of a beautiful spool-ey mess.
What happened? A push-fit connector in a Bowden-style setup popped off during printing, which caused the filament to stop feeding into the hot end correctly and then bunched up into a mess.
Who failed? We’re not sure who failed in this case, but whoever you are, we’d suggest you invest in a higher quality push-fit connector. Additionally, mounting the spool to spin more smoothly may help.
Where are the files? Unfortunately, we’re not sure what they wanted to print. It didn’t exactly get far…
6. Spool Explosion
According to YouTuber Russ Gries, this spool of black PLA became so brittle that the spool exploded into tiny fragmented shards of filament that were flung all over the room. This spool explosion is a wild example of what happens when you try to re-spool filament in a non-ideal environment for filament humidity.
PLA needs a humidity of less than 50%. (Although many sources state narrower ranges, there isn’t a set rule, as PLA additives and types vary widely.)
It’s likely that this happened due to a combination of extra stress on the re-spooled filament and inappropriate humidity in the storage room. There is even more evidence for this considering that the filament cracked near the printer.
What is it? A spool of exploded black filament.
What happened? After re-spooling some black filament and leaving it out, the material exploded into many pieces all over the floor and table.
Who failed? Russ, we applaud you for your efforts at trying to re-spool filament; it’s not an easy task. However, you may want to relocate your 3D printing equipment to another room that has better humidity conditions.
Where are the files? This wasn’t technically a print, so there are no files for this.
7. Rooster Malfunction
Chris Templeman, the artist behind the printed roosters, learned the hard way how a 3D printer can create epic fails. The rooster explosion pictured above was because 12 roosters’ worth of plastic was printed over and over until the printer was checked on.
This is an epic fail primarily because of the enormous waste of filament from so many roosters gone awry. That is an example of what can happen when you leave a 3D printer unattended for hours and hours.
What is it? 3D printed roosters gone wrong.
What happened? Technically, many different things failed in the duration of this project. In this case, roosters kept printing and printing after one of them detached from the build plate creating a 12-rooster filament explosion.
Who failed? Chris underestimated the nearly infinite number of ways in which 3D printers can fail. Additionally, he found out that leaving a 3D printer unattended for a long time wasn’t the best idea.
Where are the files? We don’t have access to the files, however, similar roosters can be found on Thingiverse.
Category #3: Common Calamities
While some of the epic fails on our list are certainly rare events, others are actually quite commonly experienced by 3D printers. These fails include everything from running out of filament at an inopportune moment to the creation of a sticky mess. Whatever the case, these are similarly frustrating to fix, clean, and reset.
8. A Sticky, Hard, Mess
Epic printing fails aren’t just limited to FDM printers. Even SLA printers fail at times, and one of the worst ways they can fail is when a print gets stuck to the delicate build surface. This might not at first seem like an epic fail because, for FDM printers, you can simply replace the bed with an inexpensive sheet of glass or better yet, some blue painter’s tape.
However, for SLA printing, the build surface is much more delicate and scraping the print off will almost certainly cause damage. In addition, working with an SLA printer is generally a very sticky and messy process, anyway, since resin is inherently quite viscous and hazardous to get on your skin.
Luckily, YouTuber Dylan Kowalski demonstrates a method of removing a stuck print using isopropyl alcohol that’s much gentler on the 3D printing build surface than just scraping would normally be. This doesn’t guarantee that the build plate won’t be damaged, but it may save you a few bucks in this situation.
What is it? An SLA print stuck to the FEP build surface.
What happened? For large surface area prints, particularly without supports, the resin part can permanently stick to the FEP build surface.
Who failed? While this is a common problem with SLA 3D printers, Dylan Kowalski shows us how to deal with this epic fail in a relatively simple way.
Where are the files? We aren’t sure what was being printed here, though it looks like a large coin. Nevertheless, this can happen with many large surface area prints in SLA.
9. Wiggle, Wiggle, Wiggle
Usually, when you 3D print a calibration cube, you want it to turn out like a cube that can be used for calibration. Alas, sometimes your hopes are left unfulfilled, like in this epic failure of a slanted and wiggly calibration cube that should never be used to measure anything.
This type of failure is common in 3D printers, particularly for new users, because it indicates some significant slack in the 3D printing belts that move in the X- and Y-axes. When belts are too tight or too loose, they can significantly alter the final appearance of the part and lose dimensional stability.
What is it? A calibration cube indirectly indicating poor printer calibration.
What happened? Due to loose belts, the calibration cube was printed slanted with visible vibrations.
Who failed? Reddit user R-U-My-Daddy has learned a very important lesson in 3D printing: Always tighten your belts. That being said, we think the print turned out looking pretty neat, and it looks like it had a good chance of finishing too.
Where are the files? Hard to say, as there are tons of calibration cubes out there.
10. To the Moon and Back... or Not
This gigantic “rocket” won’t be flying anywhere so fast but this is the largest 3D printing epic fail on our list. Joel Telling from 3D Printing Nerd acquired this from 3D printing company SeeMeCNC. It was supposed to be a very tall rocket with SeeMeCNC written on the side of it, however, partway through printing, the mechanism for feeding filament failed and the nozzle stopped printing.
What is it? A human-sized SeeMeCNC rocket that failed to finish thanks to a faulty material feed.
What happened? Partway through the print, the mechanism for feeding filament jammed and plastic was no longer being fed to the nozzle.
Who failed? Technically, it was the machine that failed, but we’re not certain about the exact circumstances surrounding this failure at SeeMeCNC.
Where are the files? You can get the files for this rocket at Repables.
11. A Powerful Print
Although many newer printers have power interruption correction as a standard feature, power interruptions can still happen and your print can fail even without any printer problems. This failure of printing FDR occurred due to a power outage that stopped the printer midway through printing.
It should be noted that newer printers tend to have power interruption tools that can restart a print after a temporary outage. For example, the Prusa printers have “Power Panic” mode to prevent the loss of a print once power is returned. This can be particularly helpful in areas with unreliable power or intense weather.
What is it? A half-printed FDR bust.
What happened? Halfway through the print, a power surge occurred that stopped the print because this printer didn’t have power recovery features.
Who failed? Reddit user Pickled-egs observed this failed print under no fault of their own. This fail shows why power recovery features are so popular on most current 3D printers.
Where are the files? The files for a complete FDR bust can be found on Thingiverse.
12. The Force Isn't Strong With This One...
Let’s be honest, Baby Yoda is one of the best things to come out of 2019. That being said, this epic fail 3D print breaks our hearts, as it started so well and looks like it printed almost perfectly before it stopped. This could have happened in a variety of ways, but the most likely culprit would be running out of filament or a clogged nozzle.
What is it? A half-finished version of Baby Yoda.
What happened? We’re not entirely sure, but given how good the rest of the print looks, we think there was either a clog or possibly a lack of filament.
Who failed? HentecTara tried to print this adorable Jedi, but sadly we’ll have to settle for less as this failed print isn’t going to re-materialize anytime soon.
Where are the files? We’re fairly certain the model in question was the one coming from MyMiniFactory user christopher frieze.
Category #4: Stranger Things
The final category of epic fail 3D prints are ones that really make you go, “Hmm, that’s odd.” Our list of stranger things that have failed includes printing results that make us think, that make us want to forget, and that seem impossible. Overall, these things are the most surprising epic fail prints on our list.
13. One Man's Failure...
This Captain America miniature puts the “epic” into “epic fail”. As you can see, the print failed about halfway through printing Captain America’s derrière. Most people would have just accepted the fail and moved on to try again, however, Reddit user nosestuckinabook had other plans.
This “failed” miniature was simply painted to look like Captain America and cut in half, complete with projectile entrails. We have to admit that, while this is definitely a failed print, it’s one of the most successful fails we’ve ever seen.
What is it? Captain America vs. a wood chipper.
What happened? The nozzle clogged, leading to a partially-printed Captain America figure. For future reference on unclogging nozzles, check out our article 3D Printer Clogged Nozzle: How to Perform a Cold Pull.
Who failed? Reddit user nosestuckinabook created this creative half Captain America.
Where are the files? We don’t have this exact model but several similar models are available through MyMiniFactory.
14. Can't Overhang, or Can It?
What makes this print a truly epic fail is how unbelievable it looks! Usually, when a 3D printer tries to print an overhang, it’s at most a few dozen millimeters or so. However, this overhang looks like it’s hundreds of millimeters, and yet, it still printed without much sagging. It probably wouldn’t happen again even if we tried.
What is it? A laughably-long unsupported overhang.
What happened? Our guess would be that there was an incredibly powerful fan or perhaps a very cold room during printing?
Who failed? Matthew LaBerge, whatever you did to get this result, please repeat it so we can get rid of overhang issues forever.
Where are the files? We don’t have access to the files, but this could potentially happen with a lot of different prints.
15. Don't Go Into the Light...
We saved the most disgusting for last. You’re welcome! Occasionally in 3D prints, you get small dark spots where the filament starts to burn from overheating. This is not one of those fails. This brown “spot” was actually a moth that flew into the printing area after likely being attracted by the printer lights.
By some accident, the moth was literally printed into a molten grave. Aside from being incredibly disgusting, this type of print fail is rather unsettling because the moth could have easily caused a printer fire. On the other hand, the print room now has one less bug.
What is it? A (dead) moth trapped inside a print.
What happened? The lights on the 3D printer attracted a moth that was then entrapped by a 3D print.
Who failed? Walter Hsiao managed to have this happen, although we can’t say it was anyone’s fault, other than the moth’s, of course.
Where are the files? We’re not actually sure what was being printed, but it seems like this could happen during any print.
(Lead image source: Trammell Hudson via Flickr)
Source:
https://all3dp.com/2/epic-3d-printing-fails-and-why-they-failed/
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