Elephant foot occurs as the result of the nozzle and the bed being too close, or too much filament is extruded that make each part stick together and not move.

Bad Example : Parts are stuck together in the first layer. (See photo below)

Good Example : Parts are spaced out in the first layer. (See photo below)

Solution 1) To prevent Elephant foot, increase the nozzle height slightly away from the bed. But, be careful not to set the offset too high.
Solution 2) Lower Extrusion Multiplier. If you decrease the filament in the slicer software, you can prevent this from Elephant foot.
Solution 3) Use Raft. Raft is used to separate the parts better after printing is complete. Because of less extrusion of filament, parts do not adhere from the first layer of 3D printed objects.

Stringing occurs when the temperature is too high or retraction is low. Additional filament drips out while the nozzle is moving, resulting in excessive hairy looking annoying threads. These threads make the parts stick together and they become not moveable anymore.

Solution 1) Increase the retraction

The retraction is an action to backspin the motor to retract the filament to prevent from web-like strings dripping out.

To decrease the amount of strings, you have to increase the amount of retraction from the slicer. There is a difference in each printers’ method, (ex: Bowden, direct, etc.) so you need to find the right settings for your printer and model.

If the surface is not smooth and irregular, the gap between each part becomes irregular that parts adhere and cause not to move.

Solution 1) Check your 3D Printer settings

There are so many reasons to cause the rough surface that It is better to go over your printer’s setting and adjust your steps per millimeter. Main causes can be low belt tension, stiffness of the movement of the nozzle, or loose screw. You might have to adjust the first layer height, temperature, the speed, and also keep the surface clean.