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A 3D Benchy is one of the most effective ways to identify 3D print failures and fine-tune the performance of your 3D printer. Troubleshooting has never been so adorable!
Sweden has given us many beautiful things, including ABBA, Ikea, GPS, and even the zipper, but none of them compare to the unique 3D Benchy. It’s not only the most downloaded and 3D-printed item in history, but it’s also one of the most useful benchmarking tools and has spawned a slew of spin-offs and side projects.
In 2015, Creative Tools Daniel Noree created this small tug boat as a model to test the consistency and accuracy of FDM 3D printers. It’s been downloaded over 3 million times since then, and it even has its website and Facebook fan page.
Benchy’s eccentric personality has earned it a cult following and cemented its status as a 3D printing icon. Overhangs, smooth curved surfaces, numerous other holes and shapes, and beautiful details abound in the model, all of which are printed at a measurable scale and in a reasonable amount of time. It’s a helpful test piece, but it also looks good when printed.
Let’s take a closer look at why it’s so helpful and why it’s become so popular.
3D Benchy Troubleshooting: 3D Print Failures And How To Fix
There was a ship that set sail
This small boat may appear to be a toy, but it was designed after many iterations. The goal was to create a recognizable design “with a variety of measurable geometric and organic shapes, to test the capabilities of 3D printers and reveal their limitations.” Another requirement was that printing takes about an hour. The following are the default slicer settings, but users are encouraged to experiment with different resolutions and settings to see what difference they make.
- 1:1 scale
- 0.2 mm layer height
- ten percent infill
- Extrusion print speed: up to 50 mm/s
- Up to 150 mm/s print speed (travel)
- 0.4 mm print nozzle diameter
As we’ll see, various projects have stretched and pulled these recommended settings in every direction. Nonetheless, most benchmark prints use them as their established baseline.
The designer had no intention of making something that could test or calibrate every aspect of 3D printing. Benchy does cover the majority of the most immediately valuable points for improving print performance. The 3DBenchy.com website has a handy PDF file that lists all of the design features it uses in detail. But how do we use this, along with a freshly printed tugboat, to troubleshoot problems and pinpoint areas for improvement? It’s a good idea to inspect the 3D Benchy in the same way that good sailors inspect their vessels to look for issues and problems.
3D Benchy Troubleshooting: 3D Print Failures And How To Fix
The ship’s name was the 3D Benchy
The first things we look for are general quality issues and obvious printing flaws. Your print should be in the shape of a boat!
Expect imperfection; for example, the cabin roof will show clear steps where layer changes occur (as seen above). (Many images of Benchys on the internet are renders of the underlying 3D model, not actual photos.) If the cabin roof is flat, that’s a dead giveaway!)
Stringing: Hair-like, thin filament lines between details, such as the deckhouse door and windows, could indicate nozzle temperature and/or retraction problems. It’s also linked to partial clogging and is highly material-specific. There are several simple solutions to this problem.
Layers that are uneven or shifted: Uneven layering is often a sign of mechanical problems. Belts and pulleys are most likely to blame if layers are slightly shifted out of line horizontally, and you should tweak them for a smooth and consistent run. Make sure the cooling fans aren’t too close to the print for more significant shifts. Depending on the type of printer, the underlying issues for vertically uneven layers (i.e., some fat, some thin) could be stepper motor couplings or problems with the Z-axis rods.
Minor layer differences can also be caused by filament being fed directly from above on direct drive printers; feeding on the side can sometimes help. We’ve put together a quick guide to locating and dealing with problems like these.
3D Benchy Troubleshooting: 3D Print Failures And How To Fix
Inspection of the hull
The hull should be round and smooth, with the layer lines not visible. Even with the same printer and settings, this varies greatly depending on the material and color.
Excessive blobs or dots on the hull and extra filament could indicate over-extrusion caused by a high flow rate. In this case, calibrating the extruder might be beneficial. Z-seam artifacts can also cause minor imperfections randomly distributed or in a line.
Layer lines have a noticeable thinning: Under-extrusion is indicated by consistent thinning of lines or uneven gaps along the length of lines. There are several possible causes for this, and you must all investigate all these to determine the root cause. It may be due to an incorrect filament temperature (check our best pla temperature guide), a partial block, slipping of the extruder (or Bowden tube if used), or other issues. To identify and correct any problems, start with our article on simple steps to fix under-extrusion.
Patterns that repeat themselves: A loose component in the frame, extruder, or drive belt will likely cause repeating patterns of subtle, wavy lines or “fish scales” on the hull. Ringing and ghosting are the collective terms for these issues. Typically, as print speed increases, such problems become worse. You can try some quick fixes, but advanced solutions like input shaping may require high-speed printing.
3D Benchy Troubleshooting: 3D Print Failures And How To Fix
Examine the Underside
This is a great way to see how good your first layer is. The letters “CT3D.xyz” should be embossed, with the remainder of the underside smooth (or reflecting the printer’s build plate).
Extrusion lines can be seen: If lines appear, especially if there are any gaps between them, it could indicate that the nozzle is too far away from the bed, the print temperature is too low, or the slicer settings are too narrow for the first layer. These effects differ depending on the material. Look at our guide if you’re having trouble getting a perfect first layer.
The letters appear to be thin and squiggly: This is the polar opposite of the previous points, and it can indicate that the nozzle is too close to the bed, the initial line width is too broad, or the bed or nozzle temperatures are too high.
Elephant’s foot: An elephant’s foot is caused by too high a bed or nozzle temperature and manifests itself as a first layer that feels larger than the one above or has a sharp rim around the base. If it’s only around a portion of the Benchy, it could indicate a problem with the bed’s level.
3D Benchy Troubleshooting: 3D Print Failures And How To Fix
Details on the Deck House and Deck
Next, look at how your printer handles detail, overhangs, bridging, and other fine details like Benchy’s writing on the back.
Examine the top of the front (square) deck-house window first. This window should be flat and straight.
The top of the deckhouse window is drooping, indicating insufficient part cooling or printing at too high a speed. Take a look at our article on perfect bridge tips and tricks to see how you can improve this aspect of your printer’s performance.
Deckhouse corners are rounded or bulge outwards: If everything else about the print is fine, slowing down the printing speed usually solves the problem. If this is not an option, firmware changes can improve corner accuracy. Look for instructions on setting linear or pressure advance and adjusting acceleration and jerk settings, depending on your firmware.
Next, take a look at the chimney, which demonstrates how your printer handles complex layers in a hurry.
The chimney isn’t spherical: This problem can be challenging to determine, mainly if the filament hasn’t been properly laid down. However, if the hole at the top is distinctly oval, dimensional issues are present. On this subject, see the section below.
The chimney is uneven vertically or of lower quality than the rest of the structure: Each chimney layer is almost immediately added to the one below as the model’s uppermost part. This situation draws attention to problems with part cooling or printing too quickly that may not be visible elsewhere, resulting in “slouched” or compressed features.
3D Benchy Troubleshooting: 3D Print Failures And How To Fix
Dimensions should be checked
You should print The 3D Benchy to the exact dimensions. A caliper is required because measuring this with a ruler or tape is difficult. The “measure and calibrate” chart contains detailed measurements.
A variety of factors could cause dimensional accuracy issues. The bow-to-stern measurement is not 60 mm, and the beam width is not 31 mm: This indicates that the Y- or X-axis calibration is incorrect (check our 3D printer calibration post), depending on the orientation used to print the Benchy. The holes chimney and flag post will appear oval rather than round if only one is out of calibration. If you’ve gotten this far with no other problems, the steps per unit (usually a “last-resort” fix) may need to be addressed.
The distance from the chimney’s base to its tip is not 48 mm: This one is a little trickier. If the difference is minor, make sure it isn’t due to first-layer issues or poor chimney printing; otherwise, follow the instructions for the X/Y-axis case above.
3D Benchy Troubleshooting: 3D Print Failures And How To Fix
Tales of Old Sailors
Our story isn’t over yet. The 3D Benchy, like old sea tales, has its myths.
There have been numerous reports that the original 3D Benchy STL files caused errors in some slicers. Today, 3DBenchy.com guarantees that the STL file topology is “100% water-tight” and “free of mesh errors like manifold areas, flipped normals, holes, and so on.” On the other hand, several STL repair tools report “degenerate faces” and change the STL file. These are insignificant and make no difference to the final benchmark. A 3MF version is now available, which is smaller and free of potential design ambiguity.
The mysterious “hull lines” that can appear are even more intriguing. These faint horizontal lines are usually only visible when the print quality is already outstanding, and they have been a source of contention for years. This Prusa article explains this strange phenomenon in detail and what you can do about it. This article also shows how small changes to slicer settings can significantly impact the final print in unexpected ways, so it’s worth experimenting.
3D Benchy Troubleshooting: 3D Print Failures And How To Fix
Continue Sailing
The 3D Benchy #Speedboatrace challenge has prompted enthusiastic 3D printers worldwide to push the limits of current printer technology by printing Benchys at breakneck speeds. As we mentioned earlier, the 3D Benchy was designed to take over an hour to print on a typical FDM printer. But how quickly can a Benchy be created that is acceptable? Is it an hour, 30 minutes, or ten minutes? This is the ultimate benchmark test, and it reveals what is most important in terms of print quality. Is anyone up for a time under 5 minutes?
You could, of course, alter the “proper” dimensions and print very small or very large. Physicists at Leiden University in the Netherlands used their Nanoscribe Photonic printer to create a 40-meter-long 3DBenchy (1/10th the size of a human hair) in 2020. Versions are nearly 200 times larger at the other end of the scale! Each presents its technical challenges and nuanced analysis of the final Benchy.
Even if speed isn’t your thing, you may find that you quickly accumulate a large number of Benchys (sometimes hundreds). These can be used to compare different materials slicer settings and even determine the impact of printer aging. There are a variety of 3D Benchy holders available, including this practical one designed by MasterNBC and other fun and artistic designs.
You can find Hundreds of Benchy-inspired designs on STL-sharing sites with a quick search. None of them improve on it as a benchmarking tool, but a lot of them are a lot of fun! “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” as the saying goes, so the 3D Benchy should be very flattered.
Let us know in the comments below or on our Facebook page to let us know your ideas, and we would appreciate seeing pictures of your works of art!
