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3D printing troubleshooting

Warping (lifted corners)

Also known as: the part curls up and corners peel off the bed.

The symptom

The part's corners lift off the bed mid-print, the base curls upwards and, in bad cases, the whole part breaks free halfway through.

Sources for this page: Prusa Knowledge Base · Manufacturer Simplify3D · Technical guide

Causes and fixes, ranked by likelihood

  1. 1

    The material shrinks as it cools and the bed is cold (or the material asks for more than your bed can give). This is THE cause: ABS, ASA and nylon shrink a lot; PETG and even PLA do too on large parts.

    Fix: Bed at the material's temperature: PLA 50-60 °C, PETG 70-80 °C, ABS/ASA 95-110 °C. If your bed can't reach it, that material isn't for your printer (check the compatibility matrix below).

    Source: Prusa Knowledge Base — Warping ↗
  2. 2

    Draughts and cold ambient air around the part (open window, open-frame printer with ABS).

    Fix: Keep the printer away from draughts. For ABS/ASA/nylon: an enclosed printer or a DIY enclosure; still, warm air around the part is what prevents uneven shrinkage.

    Source: Simplify3D — Print Quality Guide: Warping ↗
  3. 3

    Poor first-layer adhesion: dirty plate (finger grease), Z-offset too high or a badly levelled bed.

    Fix: Wash the plate with soap and water (or IPA), re-level and tune the Z-offset until the first layer is slightly squished, not round.

    Source: Simplify3D — Print Quality Guide: Warping ↗
  4. 4

    Corners without extra grip on parts with a large footprint.

    Fix: Add a 5-10 line brim (or a raft for ABS with a small footprint). One click in the slicer, and it multiplies the gripped area right where warping pulls.

    Source: Prusa Knowledge Base — Warping ↗
  5. 5

    Part-cooling fan at 100% from the start with shrink-prone materials.

    Fix: With ABS/ASA run the fan at 0-20%; with PETG, 30-50%. The air blast cools corners too early and triggers shrinkage.

    Source: Simplify3D — Print Quality Guide: Warping ↗

The material factor

PLA barely warps on small parts; PETG a bit more; ABS/ASA and nylon ALWAYS warp without a hot bed and an enclosure. For big ABS parts, an enclosure is not optional.

hotend tools that help here

Material compatibility → Check whether your printer delivers the bed/enclosure each material demands — chronic warping is often the wrong material for your machine. Cut STL for your bed → Very large parts warp the most: cut them into pieces that fit better and build up less stress per corner.

Related

FAQ

Do glue stick or hairspray help against warping?
Yes, as an adhesion booster (and as a release layer on PEI beds with PETG). But if the cause is thermal — cold bed or draughts with ABS — glue only delays the lift-off: fix the temperature first.
Why does my PLA warp if PLA 'doesn't warp'?
On large flat parts PLA accumulates shrinkage too. A generous brim, 60 °C bed, clean plate and no fan on the first layer usually do it.

Sources & references

This page is cross-checked against public manufacturer documentation and reference technical guides:

Still stuck? Back to the quick diagnosis or check which materials your printer can handle.