Covering your build plate with regular glue stick may seem odd at first, but it actually works wonders for getting tricky parts and filament to stick better to the build surface. Use a thin layer, globs of glue will hurt, rather than help. Once the print is finished, wash the glue off of the parts and build plate using warm water.

A thin misting of hair spray can also help parts stick to the bed.

Some companies manufacture specific adhesion-helpers for 3D prints:

• Magigoo
• Vision Miner Nano Polymer Adhesive

If you're like me, you may have several “almost finished” spools of ancient PLA. These old/waterlogged rolls may cause failures by failing to adhere to the print bed. Don't throw out the roll just yet, toss it in a filament dehydrator for at least four hours, then try it again.

Dehydrating a roll of filament can sometimes be enough to bring it back to life.

Some tips from other Whistle Crew volunteers:

• Increasing wall count to “3”
• For PLA, set/reduce initial lay print speeds to 30mm/s and 70mm/s for the first layer infill
• Increasing the first layer bed temp 5c to 10c, for example increase to 60-65c (from 55c) for PLA on a textured PEI plate
• For Silk PLA, set Initial Layer Speed to 20mm/s, bump first layer bed temp to 75c and the rest at 70c
• Use nitrile-coated gloves when handling the build plate to keep it free from finger oils