<p>I have experienced this problem.  This picture is one that I could have taken. </p>

<p>It has always been because I was putting too much plastic into the available space.</p>

<p>This has been caused two things: overextrusion -- squirting out too much plastic for the intended layer height, and the bed being too "high" so that the gap between the nozzle and the bed is too thin.</p>

<p>In both cases, too much plastic is trying to be placed in too small a volume.  The plastic has to go somewhere, and ripples follow.  Because the nozzle rubs against the adjacent lines which have already been deposited, an up-bump pushes up the nozzle on the line beside the bump, and a coherent pattern of ripples can form.</p>

<p>The "bump up" is a real effect from the elasticity of the Z-axis, including all the resulting strains of twisting and lifting the nozzle.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-11T12:50:41.857Z
@Oscar's thought about belts could be part of the problem.  Measure the X-Y size of the object you printed and compare that with the design.  Adjust the steps/mm for X and Y until that is right.  If the object is printing too small, that would also create the "too much plastic in the volume" problem.
cmm
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-30T09:59:48.407Z
Thanks for the thorough explanation! I was looking for an explanation as I was having the same issues on my Ender 3. I lowered the bed just a little bit (thus increasing the distance between nozzle and bed) and the first test print comes out waaays better.
Andy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-10T20:13:21.093Z
2019-07-10T20:13:21.093Z
cmm
<p>This could be a number of things, I personally think it could be either over extrusion or an issue with one of the belts. Depending on the printer, you may need to manually go in and adjust your steps per millimeter, which you should be able to find a guide on. If that doesn't work, then look into belt tension adjustment. Hope this is able to help! I like to use the <a href="https://www.simplify3d.com/support/print-quality-troubleshooting/over-extrusion/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Simplify3D Print Quality Guide</a> for situations like this, it tends to be very useful.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-10T23:13:10.820Z
2019-07-11T01:24:28.517Z
2019-07-11T01:24:28.517Z
dracotdragon
<p>Is there a specific name for that problem? What causes this, and is there a way how to solve it? </p>

<p>Printed with PLA, 2&nbsp;mm nozzle diameter, 0.2&nbsp;mm layer height, 20-60&nbsp;mm/s, 200&nbsp;°C extruder, 60&nbsp;°C bed.</p>

<p></p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/aSzrJ.jpg" rel="noreferrer" title="Top"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/aSzrJ.jpg" alt="Top" title="Top"></a></p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/nCgam.jpg" rel="noreferrer" title="Bottom"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/nCgam.jpg" alt="Bottom" title="Bottom"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-06T15:08:35.287Z
Welcome to 3dPrinting.SE! What does the bed side look like? Is it as you'd expect? You state the print speed is 20-60mm/s ... It looks like to my untrained eye the travel speed is too fast. If the base is printing at 20mm/s and looks fine, then goes to 60mm/s after the base layer, you may need to slow the other-than-base-layer down to 40mm/s and see if it helps.
Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-06T15:15:33.040Z
Bottom looks nice, pretty smooth (img attached). Will try to print non-first layers with slower speed. thx
user236012
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-06T16:21:54.777Z
Looks like poor bed adhesion in your first layer.  Try printing first layer with the bed at 70C, then setting the bed to 60C after first layer.
Perry Webb
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-06T18:24:51.850Z
@PerryWebb - I'm not seeing that at all. The first layer is flat and smooth. How did you come to that conclusion?
Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-06T19:12:59.003Z
That looks to me like overextrusion
Trish
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-06T20:45:30.277Z
A 2 mm nozzle diameter is quite large, what filament diameter are you using 1.75 mm or 2.85 mm filament? I expect this is a typo.
0scar
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-07T01:53:12.187Z
Overextrusion or bed too high.
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-09T06:59:58.467Z
What printer/slicer are you using? FWIW, I thought I'd have a quick google last night, and presumably you've seen these threads: [Rough surface-bad quality](https://community.ultimaker.com/topic/8099-rough-surface-bad-quality/), [Rough surface with PLA/PVA](https://community.ultimaker.com/topic/21915-rough-surface-with-plapva-print/) and [Why do my prints have rough surface patches?](https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/9ibjvm/why_do_my_prints_have_rough_surface_patches/) which points to [shell](https://ultimaker.com/en/resources/20415-shell). Maybe it's a Cura pattern setting?
Greenonline
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-09T12:01:03.857Z
Hello user236012. Please fill in the [placeholders] in the template I added and then remove the leading < afterward. This will turn it visible and help us help you find the actual problem.
Trish
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-09T20:13:11.893Z
Looks to me like the hot end is too cold. Try turning your cooling fan down. I've encountered this problem many times myself with PETG. Turning down the cooling helped. So did turning up the heat.
user77232
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-10T22:57:32.613Z
I've gotten 1st layer prints like when the bed wasn't level enough causing the extruder to be too high in the rough area.
Perry Webb
<surface>
Rough surface when printing
user236012
# Rough surface when printing

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-07-06)

Is there a specific name for that problem? What causes this, and is there a way how to solve it?

Printed with PLA, 2 mm nozzle diameter, 0.2 mm layer height, 20-60 mm/s, 200 °C extruder, 60 °C bed.

[![Top](https://i.sstatic.net/aSzrJ.jpg "Top")](https://i.sstatic.net/aSzrJ.jpg "Top")

[![Bottom](https://i.sstatic.net/nCgam.jpg "Bottom")](https://i.sstatic.net/nCgam.jpg "Bottom")

**Tags:** surface

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Welcome to 3dPrinting.SE! What does the bed side look like? Is it as you'd expect? You state the print speed is 20-60mm/s ... It looks like to my untrained eye the travel speed is too fast. If the base is printing at 20mm/s and looks fine, then goes to 60mm/s after the base layer, you may need to slow the other-than-base-layer down to 40mm/s and see if it helps.  
> **username_0**: Bottom looks nice, pretty smooth (img attached). Will try to print non-first layers with slower speed. thx  
> **username_2**: Looks like poor bed adhesion in your first layer.  Try printing first layer with the bed at 70C, then setting the bed to 60C after first layer.  
> **username_1**: @username_2 - I'm not seeing that at all. The first layer is flat and smooth. How did you come to that conclusion?  
> **username_3**: That looks to me like overextrusion  
> **username_4**: A 2 mm nozzle diameter is quite large, what filament diameter are you using 1.75 mm or 2.85 mm filament? I expect this is a typo.  
> **username_5**: Overextrusion or bed too high.  
> **username_6**: What printer/slicer are you using? FWIW, I thought I'd have a quick google last night, and presumably you've seen these threads: [Rough surface-bad quality](https://community.ultimaker.com/topic/8099-rough-surface-bad-quality/), [Rough surface with PLA/PVA](https://community.ultimaker.com/topic/21915-rough-surface-with-plapva-print/) and [Why do my prints have rough surface patches?](https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/9ibjvm/why_do_my_prints_have_rough_surface_patches/) which points to [shell](https://ultimaker.com/en/resources/20415-shell). Maybe it's a Cura pattern setting?  
> **username_3**: Hello username_0. Please fill in the [placeholders] in the template I added and then remove the leading < afterward. This will turn it visible and help us help you find the actual problem.  
> **username_7**: Looks to me like the hot end is too cold. Try turning your cooling fan down. I've encountered this problem many times myself with PETG. Turning down the cooling helped. So did turning up the heat.  
> **username_2**: I've gotten 1st layer prints like when the bed wasn't level enough causing the extruder to be too high in the rough area.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_8 on 2019-07-10. Score: 5

I have experienced this problem. This picture is one that I could have taken.

It has always been because I was putting too much plastic into the available space.

This has been caused two things: overextrusion -- squirting out too much plastic for the intended layer height, and the bed being too "high" so that the gap between the nozzle and the bed is too thin.

In both cases, too much plastic is trying to be placed in too small a volume. The plastic has to go somewhere, and ripples follow. Because the nozzle rubs against the adjacent lines which have already been deposited, an up-bump pushes up the nozzle on the line beside the bump, and a coherent pattern of ripples can form.

The "bump up" is a real effect from the elasticity of the Z-axis, including all the resulting strains of twisting and lifting the nozzle.

> **Comments:**
> **username_8**: @Oscar's thought about belts could be part of the problem.  Measure the X-Y size of the object you printed and compare that with the design.  Adjust the steps/mm for X and Y until that is right.  If the object is printing too small, that would also create the "too much plastic in the volume" problem.  
> **username_9**: Thanks for the thorough explanation! I was looking for an explanation as I was having the same issues on my Ender 3. I lowered the bed just a little bit (thus increasing the distance between nozzle and bed) and the first test print comes out waaays better.  

---

### Answer by username_10 on 2019-07-10. Score: 1

This could be a number of things, I personally think it could be either over extrusion or an issue with one of the belts. Depending on the printer, you may need to manually go in and adjust your steps per millimeter, which you should be able to find a guide on. If that doesn't work, then look into belt tension adjustment. Hope this is able to help! I like to use the [Simplify3D Print Quality Guide](https://www.simplify3d.com/support/print-quality-troubleshooting/over-extrusion/) for situations like this, it tends to be very useful.


---

