6 Ways How to Fix Elephant’s Foot – Bottom of 3D Print That Looks Bad
Reading Time: 6 minutes When you 3D print an object you can’t see the bottom layer until the print is finished, where you might run into an issue of the bottom of the 3D print looking bad.
This can be pretty frustrating, especially for large prints but luckily there is a solution to this problem. Whether you have an Ender 3 that gives squished or wider layers, you can get this solved.
The best way to fix the bottom of a 3D print that looks bad is to manage it through bed leveling, adding a raft with your model, by lowering down the print bed temperature, or by using chamfers for your print.
What is Elephant’s Foot in 3D Printing?
Elephant’s Foot is a 3D printing imperfection that squashes the bottom layers of your model. The layers are widened at the bottom, creating a dimensionally inaccurate model. It usually happens due to filament being too hot, along with the pressure of the nozzle and further layers moving the material.
If you have 3D prints that need to be fitted together, or you want better looking models, you’ll want to take care of the Elephant’s Foot on your 3D prints. It’s a lot more noticeable if you 3D print something like an XYZ Calibration Cube since the layers are supposed to be smooth and in line.
You can see an example of it below on this user’s Ender 3. The bottom of the 3D print has squashed layers that are rough.
Some people choose to just 3D print and ignore it, but it’s better to solve the underlying issue.
How to Fix Elephant’s Foot in 3D Printing
- Decrease your build plate temperature
- Level the print bed
- Loosen your eccentric nut
- Print with a raft
- Set an initial layer horizontal expansion
- Use a better bed surface
1. Decrease Your Build Plate Temperature
The most common fix for Elephant’s Foot is to simply decrease your build plate temperature. Since Elephant’s Foot happens due to your filament being too melted on the build plate, having a lower bed temperature is a simple and effective fix for this issue.
I’d recommend decreasing your bed temperature anywhere from 5-20°C. You should ideally be following your filament’s recommended temperatures that you can find on the filament spool or packaging.
Many people who experienced this issue decreased their bed temperature and it solved the problem. The weight of your 3D print can start to build up pressure on those bottom layers, causing them to bulge out.
Do keep in mind that you don’t usually have cooling fans running for the first layers so they can adhere better, so a lower temperature combats that.
2. Level the Print Bed
Leveling the print bed is another important aspect to fixing your Elephant’s Foot issue. When your nozzle is too close to the print bed, it can cause the extruded filament to squish and not come out nicely. If you have that in combination with a high bed temperature, Elephant’s Foot is common.
I’d make sure you are leveling your bed accurately, either using the manual paper leveling technique, or doing a live-leveling which is leveling while your 3D printer is in motion.
You can follow the video below to properly level your 3D printer’s bed.
3. Loosen Your Eccentric Nut on the Z-Axis
Another unique fix that has worked for some users is to loosen the Z-axis eccentric nut. When this eccentric nut is too tight, it can cause movement issues that result in Elephant’s Foot on your 3D prints.
One user managed to fix his issue by simply loosening this eccentric nut, specifically the eccentric nut that is opposite the Z-axis motor.
This works because when the gantry lifts up, the tight nut keeps one side slightly stuck (also known as binding) for a few layers until it catches up, resulting in over extrusion at the bottom layers.
They had Elephant’s Foot issues for a while and they tried many fixes, but this is the one that worked for them.
Another user also agreed as they tried this fix and it worked for them to 3D print a great looking calibration cube.
You can see how this works in the video below.
4. Print with a Raft
Printing with a raft is more of a compensation rather than a fix because it 3D prints bottom layers that your model isn’t a part of. I wouldn’t recommend simply printing with a raft as a fix, unless you actually want to use a raft, but it does work to not have Elephant’s Foot ruin your models.
5. Set an Initial Layer Horizontal Expansion
Some users figured out that setting a negative value for Initial Layer Horizontal Expansion helped to fix Elephant’s Foot. One user said he uses a value of -0.04mm and it works for him to fix his Elephant’s Foot issue.
He didn’t try other values or to dial it in, and another thing to know is that it only works for the first layer.
6. Use a Better Bed Surface
The previous fixes should work for you, but you can also get good results by printing on a better bed surface. A bed surface I always recommend for 3D printing is the HICTOP Flexible Steel PEI Surface with Magnetic Sheet from Amazon.
I personally use this on my 3D printers and it provides amazing adhesion, as well as 3D prints popping off after the bed cools down. Compared to some bed surfaces where you have issues removing the print, this gives you a much simpler 3D printing experience.
It has an advantage over glass surfaces since they are lighter in weight, and still gives a nice smooth bottom surface to your models.
Check out the video below by CHEP who shows you how to fix Elephant’s Foot and get a smooth top surface on your 3D prints.
Why is the Bottom of My 3D Print Not Smooth?
This is because your nozzle might be too close to the print bed or too far from the print bed. You want to get a properly leveled print bed so that the first layer extrudes smoothly. You also want to have a bed surface that has a smooth surface like PEI or glass.
Conclusion
Issues like an elephant foot can be handled easily by taking proper account of a suitable solution for the problem. There are some approaches that can help in getting the best possible outcomes.
I would advise trying out the simpler solutions which don’t take too much time, then move on to the more complex solutions. If you have the cause in mind, then you can directly try the solution that attends to the cause.
With a little patience and proactivity, you should be able to fix imperfections in the bottom of your prints in no time.
