The first layer decides everything

The first layer is the one pressed directly onto the build plate. Everything else is stacked on top of it, so a first layer that is too thin, too thick or unevenly squashed dooms the whole print before it is a tenth of the way up.

What we look for in the first thirty seconds

• Slightly flattened lines with no gaps between them. Round lines mean the nozzle is too high.
• No ridges pushed up at the edges. That means the nozzle is too low and the plastic has nowhere to go.
• Even adhesion across the whole footprint, not just the middle.

Why the plate gets cleaned before every job

A fingerprint is a layer of oil, and plastic will not stick to oil. We wash the plate with warm water and dish soap before each run. It is a thirty-second habit that prevents the single most annoying failure mode there is: a print that detaches eleven hours in.

You cannot fix a print from above. You can only start it again.

When a print does fail, it is almost always in the first minute. That is why we watch the first layer of every job and then walk away for the rest.