Stringing — those hair-thin wisps between parts — is the most common print quality complaint. It's almost always one of five causes. Fix them in this order.
1. Wet filament (most common)
Moisture turns to steam at the nozzle, causing ooze and strings. Dry PETG 4 h at 65 °C, PA/PC 6–8 h at 80–100 °C, TPU 4 h at 70 °C. If drying fixes it, the spool was wet — store it sealed.
2. Temperature too high
Hotter filament flows more. Print a temperature tower and drop to the lowest temp that still gives good layer adhesion — often 5–10 °C below the top of the range.
3. Retraction too low
Increase retraction in 0.5 mm steps (direct drive: 0.5–1.5 mm; bowden: 3–6 mm) and add 20–40 mm/s retraction speed. Watch for under-extrusion as a sign you've gone too far.
4. Travel speed & cooling
Faster travel moves = less ooze time. Raise travel speed to 150+ mm/s. Ensure the cooling fan ramps to 100% for PLA/PETG between layers.
5. Nozzle wear
A worn nozzle (especially after abrasive filaments like PA-CF) produces inconsistent extrusion and strings. Replace it.
If you still see strings after all five, the profile needs a finer tune — VOXFIL materials ship with starting profiles so you begin from a proven baseline, not from scratch.