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15. Scars on Top Surface
One of the benefits of 3D printing is that each part is constructed one layer
at a time. This means that for each individual layer, the nozzle can freely move
to any portion of your print bed, since the part is still being constructed down
below. While this provides for very fast printing times, you may notice that the
nozzle leaves a mark when it travels on top of a previously printed layer. This is
typically most visible on the top solid layers of your part. These scars and marks
occur when the nozzle tries to move to a new location, but ends up dragging
across previously printed plastic. The section below will explore several possible
causes for this and provide recommendations for what settings can be adjusted
to prevent it from happening.
15.1 Extruding too much plastic
One of the first things you should verify is that you are not extruding too much
plastic. If you extrude too much plastic, each layer will tend to be slightly thicker
than intended. This means that when the nozzle tries to move across each layer,
it may drag through some of the excess plastic. Before you look at any other
settings, you should make sure that you are not extruding too much plastic.
Please read the
Extruding Too Much Plastic
section for more details.