Perimeter Separation

:dizzy: This page is compatible with all printers.

Table of contents

Adapted from :page_facing_up: bythorsthunder’s Discord pin. Thanks!

If It Happens Primarily on Lower Layers

  • Ensure you have enough first layer squish. See :page_facing_up: here.

  • Check your elephant’s foot / first layer compensation settings.

    • Reduce the amount, disable it, or fade it (SS only).

    • Having this set too high (especially when combined with bottom chamfers) can cause perimeters to print over nothing.

      • Too high:
      • Off:
    • SuperSlicer: “XY first layer compensation” (first_layer_size_compensation)
      • You can also increase first_layer_size_compensation_layers, which gradually fades the compensation out over X number of layers.

    • Prusa Slicer: “Elephant foot compensation” (elefant_foot_compensation - yes it’s misspelled)

    • Cura: “Initial layer horizontal expansion”

If It Happens Everywhere

  • Make sure your external perimeter line width is wide enough.

    • See :page_facing_up: Stepover for a link to a great visualization by Maker’s Muse. A good stepover can greatly help with giving your perimeters more surface area to grab onto each other.

    • Especially if you are using a layer height greater than 50% of your nozzle diameter. 100% line widths do not work well when exceeding 50% layer height.

      • For example (with a 0.4m nozzle), imagine an extrusion line of 0.3mm height and 0.4mm width. You’re basically printing sausages! (Again, see the stepover link above)

  • Verify your extrusion multiplier. There should be no gaps or holes in top solid surfaces. See :page_facing_up: here.

  • Try decreasing your perimeter speed.

    • If it only affects holes, you can slow them down in PS/SS by lowering small_perimeter_speed.

      • In SS, you can configure small perimeter size thresholds using small_perimeter_min_length/small_perimeter_max_length.

    • Use the speed preview to ensure that it’s activating where you want it to.

  • Try increasing your hotend temperature. This helps with layer bonding strength.

    • High speed printing often needs a temperature bump. ABS is usually in the 240-255 range.