Elephant's foot on the first layer: Z offset, bed heat and slicer compensation
Short answer
Elephant's foot is a first layer that spreads wider than the walls above it. Bambu Lab attributes it to a base still softened by bed heat and pressed down by the layers above [1]; OrcaSlicer adds an overly hot bed and inaccurate bed height or leveling [3]. Fix the nozzle height and bed temperature first, then shrink the first layer with Elephant foot compensation, which Prusa suggests starting around 0.2 mm for a 0.4 mm nozzle [2].
Bambu Lab describes the mechanism in two parts: the first layer sits on the heated bed and stays soft, and every later layer adds weight to a base that has not fully set, so larger parts with wide bases tend to show more flare [1]. OrcaSlicer’s list of causes adds thermal expansion of the material, a bed that is too hot, and inaccurate bed height or leveling [3]. Two of those four causes are printer settings, and they are worth fixing before the slicer is asked to hide the result.
Measure it before changing anything
Bambu Lab publishes a measurement routine for Bambu Studio users; nothing in the measuring steps depends on Bambu hardware [1]:
- Print a 25 × 25 × 10 mm cube with Elephant foot compensation set to 0 and no brim.
- Let the bed cool to room temperature before removing the part, because pulling it off hot can deform it.
- With calipers that read to 0.01 mm, measure X and Y near the top of the cube, away from the base. These are the reference sizes.
- Measure X and Y at the bottom edge that touched the plate. Measure at the middle of each side, not the corners, and close the jaws lightly so they do not crush the flare.
- Subtract reference from bottom for each axis and average the two. Bambu Lab’s example: (25.07 − 24.98) and (25.11 − 25.00) give 0.09 and 0.11 mm, so the compensation value is 0.10 mm.
If the top dimensions themselves are off, that is a scaling or flow question for dimensional accuracy, not elephant’s foot.
Symptom, likely cause, what to check
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Flared base on every part, first layer looks squashed thin | Nozzle too close to the plate | First layer calibration or Live adjust Z [6, 5] |
| Flare grows over the first several layers on tall or heavy parts | Lower layers overheated and soft | Bed temperature against the filament’s data sheet range [4] |
| Flare after raising first-layer bed or nozzle temperature for adhesion | Hotter first layer deforms | Initial layer temperatures [4] |
| Flare worse on one side or corner | Bed height or leveling error | Bed mesh and leveling [3] |
| Flare changed after swapping build plates | Plate type changed nozzle height or squish | Plate type in the slicer; re-measure the compensation [7, 1] |
| Brim does not attach to the printed part | Compensation set too high | Lower Elephant foot compensation [2] |
Fix the cause first: Z offset and bed temperature
Nozzle height. Prusa’s Live adjust Z sets the distance between nozzle and sheet, and a nozzle that is too close leaves the plastic no room to flow out [6]. Prusa also warns against lowering Live adjust Z to cure poor adhesion, since a nozzle set too low can damage the steel sheet [5]. Prusa’s own explanation of elephant’s foot starts from that squish: the first layer is pressed against the heated bed and comes out wider than it should [2]. The first layer and Z offset guide covers the calibration itself.
Plate type. On Bambu Lab printers the selected plate type matters for nozzle height: after leveling on a Textured PEI Plate the printer lowers the nozzle by 0.04 mm, so slicing for a different plate than the one installed changes the first-layer gap [7].
Bed temperature. OrcaSlicer’s temperature guide says a bed that is too hot lets the lower layers overheat and soften, which produces deformation such as elephant’s foot, and it gives a rule of thumb for an upper limit: the material’s glass transition temperature minus 5–10 °C [4]. The same page warns that raising first-layer nozzle or bed temperature for adhesion can cause elephant’s foot. The manufacturer’s range is the place to start; the filament temperature chart collects published bed ranges by brand.
Slicer compensation in PrusaSlicer, OrcaSlicer and Bambu Studio
All three slicers shrink the first-layer outline by a set distance so the flare ends up flush with the wall.
| Slicer | Setting and location | Notes from the documentation |
|---|---|---|
| PrusaSlicer | Print Settings → Advanced → Elephant foot compensation (Advanced or Expert mode) | Around 0.2 mm usually works for a 0.4 mm nozzle; on by default in official Prusa profiles; thin first-layer lines are protected from over-shrinking since PrusaSlicer 2.2 [2] |
| OrcaSlicer | Quality → Precision → elefant_foot_compensation and elefant_foot_compensation_layers |
Full value on layer 1, then a linear taper to zero across the set number of layers [3] |
| Bambu Studio | Process → Quality → Precision → Elephant foot compensation | Default is fine for general models; measure for tight-tolerance parts; re-measure after changing plates [1] |
OrcaSlicer’s taper is worth understanding before using more than one layer. With 0.25 mm over 5 layers, layer 1 shrinks by 0.25 mm, layer 2 by 0.2 mm, layer 3 by 0.15 mm, layer 4 by 0.1 mm, layer 5 by 0.05 mm, and layer 6 onward is not compensated [3]. OrcaSlicer also has an Expert-mode elefant_foot_layers_density (50–100%, default 100%, meaning off) that thins internal solid infill on the compensated layers above the first to reduce material buildup and nozzle scraping; the wiki suggests 80–90% with 1–2 compensation layers as a start [3].
Brims and compensation
Because the compensation is not paired with a simulated squish, the preview shows a gap between brim and part. Prusa notes the brim will have a weaker connection with compensation on, and that a printed brim that does not touch the part means the value is too high [2]. In PrusaSlicer the brim separation gap is applied after the compensation [8]. For large compensation values, OrcaSlicer suggests enabling Brim use EFC outline to keep the brim attached [3].
Thin features
Prusa notes the adaptive compensation can distort spots where thin features join larger areas, mainly in the preview and only on the first layer; setting the value to 0 turns it off [2].
Design the part to hide it
When a part must sit flush or slide into a mating part, a chamfer on the bottom edge sets the first-layer outline back from the wall, so any remaining flare has somewhere to go. Prusa’s modeling guide recommends chamfers instead of fillets on edges that face the print bed, because a fillet turns into a steep overhang, and notes that chamfers on parts that slot together save effort during assembly [9].
Order of operations
- Run the measurement routine above with compensation at 0.
- If the first layer looks overly squished, recalibrate Z offset and re-measure.
- Check that bed and first-layer temperatures sit inside the filament maker’s range, and that the slicer’s plate type matches the installed plate.
- Re-level or re-mesh if the flare is uneven around the part.
- Enter the measured value as Elephant foot compensation and print the test cube again.
- If brims stop attaching, step the value down. For parts that still need a sharp base, add a bottom chamfer in CAD.
If the base lifts or curls instead of spreading, the problem is bed adhesion or warping, and compensation will not help.
Questions
Why does the brim look detached from the part in the slicer preview?
Elephant foot compensation shrinks the first-layer outline, and the preview does not simulate the squish that fills the gap during printing. Prusa, Bambu Lab and OrcaSlicer all describe this as expected [2, 1, 3]. If the printed brim does not connect, Prusa says the compensation is probably set too high.
Do I need a new compensation value for a different build plate?
Bambu Lab says the value can differ between build plate types and should be measured again after changing plates [1].
Sources
- Elephant foot compensation. Bambu Lab Wiki. Slicer documentation. Causes, Bambu Studio setting path, measurement and calculation method, plate dependence. Accessed October 12, 2026.
- Elephant foot compensation. Prusa Knowledge Base. Slicer documentation. PrusaSlicer setting location, 0.2 mm starting value, brim side effects. Accessed October 12, 2026.
- Precision. OrcaSlicer Wiki. Slicer documentation. elefant_foot_compensation, compensation layers and taper, density option, causes. Accessed October 12, 2026.
- Material Temperatures. OrcaSlicer Wiki. Slicer documentation. Hot bed and hot first layer as elephant foot causes; Tg-based bed limit. Accessed October 12, 2026.
- First layer issues. Prusa Knowledge Base. Manufacturer documentation. Do not lower Live Adjust Z to compensate for adhesion. Accessed October 12, 2026.
- Live adjust Z. Prusa Knowledge Base. Manufacturer documentation. What Live adjust Z changes and what too-close looks like. Accessed October 12, 2026.
- Printed Model Warping: Causes and Solutions. Bambu Lab Wiki. Manufacturer documentation. Nozzle offset applied for the Textured PEI plate type. Accessed October 12, 2026.
- Skirt and Brim. Prusa Knowledge Base. Slicer documentation. Brim offset is applied after Elephant foot compensation. Accessed October 12, 2026.
- Modeling with 3D printing in mind. Prusa Knowledge Base. Manufacturer documentation. Chamfer instead of fillet on bed-facing edges. Accessed October 12, 2026.