# 3D Printing > General 3D Printing Discussion >  HELP PLEASE-Poor print quality-stringy not solid

## Colin

Hi Thanks for looking.
I have a reprap 3d printer which I have just finished building.
The bed has been calibrated and using the stock standard software settings of slicer.

I have attempted to print the gears for an extruder and also a gopro part as a test print.
The parts as you can see are not solid but stringy. I have changed the speed of the x-y from 3000mm/min to 900mm/min and the print is a bit better but far from what could be considered acceptable.

Has anyone any suggestions as to which settings I should change.

material PLA
heat 185c
extruding at 5 mm
nozzle 0.4 mm

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## JohnA136

Raise Temps to 205 and slow it down a little more.

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## Colin

John,
 Thank you. I will give that a try.
cheers

Colin

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## RobH2

I think that will help also. I print PLA at 210C. Every printer is different in that there are variations in how accurately the thermistor reports the temp but I think the temperature is your main problem. You should be able to make clean prints at 30mm/s (1800mm/m) so I think your speed is fine. For really detailed prints I'll use 20mm/s second but rarely go under that. If I want the print to not take so long then I still get great prints at 35-40mm/s.

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## DrLuigi

Well i would say that your Z endstop isnt set correctly, that it begins a few 0.05s to high.

That or your Filament diameter isnt set correctly, wich it would output to less plastic for what you want for your layer,


Well basicly set your temp at 180, and twist your extruder by hand, and simple up 5c every time when you think it doesnt go through the nozzle that well,
I always let the machine feed 10mm with the MAX speed i would feed in a print, if its okay i simple found the right temp.


Me personaly, almost always 180-190c, also with Colorfabbs or China branded filaments.

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## Colin

> Well i would say that your Z endstop isnt set correctly, that it begins a few 0.05s to high.
> 
> That or your Filament diameter isnt set correctly, wich it would output to less plastic for what you want for your layer,
> 
> 
> Well basicly set your temp at 180, 
> 
> ```
> and twist your extruder by hand,
> ...


What do you mean by twist your extruder?

cheers colin

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## JohnA136

Feed filament by hand, just turn the large gear clockwise when you reach the desired temp. You should be able to turn it fairly easily if the motor is not engaged.

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## DrLuigi

> What do you mean by twist your extruder?
> 
> cheers colin


Ye sorry, I just typed it in a hurry and didnt realy make it very clear, But i guess it is a bit obvious as its the only thing you can turn by hand ^^

Oh well,
I do kinda doubt it would be your temprature, As 185 for pla isnt that low realy.
Also atleast for me that is, When its to low my extruder (The metal screw with teeth) would just dig into my plastic as it has to much resistance.
In this case it didnt happen, it looks like it extruded fine, but you can always try to just find your sweet spot. I always get it on the spot as it goes very smoothly or just a little bit of resisitance to prevent oozing. to get it as low as possible.


I guess its probably your Z endstop or your bed isnt lvl towards your X axis, or your filament diameter isnt put correctly into the software.
Or perhaps that your Z axis isnt put correctly into your Arduino, basicly you tell the machine to go 1mm up and it goes in reality 2mm upwards in the Z direction.

But i doubt it kinda as you probably bought a kit or a ready to go printer, 
so i would say to first try to get the good temp, and level the Z endstop, level the bed, measure your plastic to atleast 0.1mm accurate, i hope you have a caliper.

With the looks of it you would just have to lower your Z endstop a little and just test it afterwards again.
I always just get it about right, and then just test 1 layer and look if its alright.
When looking at your print it looks like its first layer isnt even smooth, so i would bet its rather your Z endstop, But there is nothing bad to check the other things aswell that i've sad  :Wink:  ()

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