Extrusion Temperature
Nozzle temperature for a given filament — controls melt viscosity, layer adhesion, stringing, and surface finish.
Critical priority
Filament-Specific
What It Is
The temperature at which the hotend melts the filament. Every filament has an optimal range — too cold and it won’t flow properly, too hot and it oozes, strings, and may degrade. Even within the same material type, different brands and colors have different sweet spots.
What It Controls
- Melt viscosity (flow characteristics)
- Layer adhesion strength (hotter = better bonding)
- Stringing/oozing tendency (hotter = more ooze)
- Surface finish (too hot = glossy but blobby, too cold = matte but rough)
- Bridging performance (hotter = more sag)
- Material degradation risk
Why It Varies
- Different filament brands use different additives
- Colors affect thermal properties (pigments change flow behavior)
- Ambient temperature and enclosure affect heat loss
- Print speed affects required temperature (faster = needs hotter)
How to Calibrate (Manual)
- Print a temperature tower (single model with temp changes every few layers)
- Start at the high end of the filament’s range, decrease in 5°C steps
- Evaluate each section for: layer adhesion, stringing, surface quality, overhangs
- Pick the temperature with the best overall balance
How the Auto-Tuner Calibrates It
- Camera + CV on temperature tower — automatically evaluates each section
- Scores surface quality, stringing, and overhang performance per temperature
- Selects optimal temperature based on weighted criteria
Related Anomalies
- Stringing — temperature too high
- Under-extrusion — temperature too low
- Delamination — temperature too low for layer bonding
- Heat Creep — temperature contributes to thermal gradient issues