During the operation of a 3-D printer, a technician notices that the first few layers of the print are well-formed, but subsequent layers are misaligned and the print quality deteriorates as height increases. What is most likely causing this degradation in print quality?
Insufficient cooling or improper fan operation
Z-axis stepper motor issues or a dirty/damaged lead screw
Blocked nozzle affecting the filament extrusion process
This issue is indicative of a problem with the printer's Z-axis movement, which controls the vertical positioning of the print head or print bed. If the Z-axis stepper motor is malfunctioning or the lead screw is dirty or damaged, it can cause layer misalignment as the print job progresses in height. Calibration issues would affect the print from the beginning and not partway through, and insufficient cooling usually results in warping or print defects that are not specific to layer misalignment. A blocked nozzle would typically result in no extrusion or inconsistent extrusion right from the bottom layers.
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