{"id":166012,"date":"2022-12-24T14:54:42","date_gmt":"2022-12-24T06:54:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/facfox.com\/docs\/?post_type=kb&p=166012"},"modified":"2023-01-06T15:40:12","modified_gmt":"2023-01-06T07:40:12","slug":"17-epic-3d-printing-fails-why-they-failed","status":"publish","type":"kb","link":"https:\/\/facfox.com\/docs\/kb\/17-epic-3d-printing-fails-why-they-failed","title":{"rendered":"17 Epic 3D Printing Fails & Why They Failed"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Need a confidence boost? Check out these epic 3D printing fails that’ll make you laugh, cry, and wish your printer could apologize.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

However, these simple, common problems don\u2019t qualify as an epic fail in our books. The prints we\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n

Read on to see some 3D printing horror stories that will make you laugh, cry, and really wish you\u2019d spent that extra $50 on the printer with thermal runaway protection already activated because, jeez, you didn\u2019t see that coming\u2026<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s dive right into the train wreck that is 3D printing epic fails.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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CATASTROPHIC PRINTER PROBLEMS<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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In this category, 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\u00a0their<\/em>\u00a0maker or that require a long sigh and additional money spent trying to fix the damage.<\/p>\n

When it comes to these examples, we hope to never see them happen to our own printers (or yours).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Heat Block Hazard<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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When a 3D printer nearly burns your house down, we’d call that an epic fail (Source: OpusMcn via Reddit)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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This is a 3D printing fail that every 3D printing enthusiast worries about. In this example, Reddit user\u00a0OpusMcn<\/a>\u00a0set his printer to work overnight. Halfway through, the\u00a0heating element worked its way out of the heater block<\/a>\u00a0and fell onto the PLA part.<\/p>\n

When this happens (and your printer doesn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

While the heating element probably wasn\u2019t secured into the block well enough, for modern printers, it\u2019s highly recommended that\u00a0thermal runaway protection<\/a>\u00a0be installed or enabled for printers to lessen the risk of this exact thing happening. This could potentially happen during any print when a printer doesn\u2019t have thermal runaway protection. Luckily, most current printers include this functionality to prevent these types of potential fires \u2013 just be sure to double check before starting your next print job.<\/p>\n