The state of auto-leveling in 3D printers

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posted in Community by double_dutch

I just spent the morning twisting knobs back and forth, using different thicknesses of paper, pulling my hair out in an attempt to get my d*mn bed leveled.

Is auto-leveling hard?

Am I crazy to think that all printers should come with auto-leveling as a feature?

9 years, 5 months ago

vinnie90 - 3D Printing is still very new. Im sure the first 2D Paper printers were tough to work with at first.

I have some makerbots and I find that a "post it" note fold once works well. You got to get a rough kinda of feel between the nozzle and bed.But just not tight enough that you cant put the paper right between then if you pulled out.

It took me a long time to get the "feel" just right. Pay attention to your first layer it will tell you everything!!!

the lines of each pass need to be touching. (You can still level a build plate while it is still printing as well....check on thingiverse. they have a file that is just a thin big square, circle, etc. that you use to level you plate. While it is extruding the first layer you tweak the knobs to the perfect spacing.

9 years, 5 months ago

nyl0cke - What sort of printer do you have? Some have hit or miss z axes, poorly designed bed carriages, etc.

9 years, 5 months ago

midgett.tech - You want to get a set of feeler gauges from your local hardware or automotive store. That is the professional way to tell exactly how many 10ths of a millimeter away from the bed you are.

You want to the same distance between your nozzle and bed that you set your layer height to in your slicer. You set it at .4 layer height, there should be a .40 gap between the nozzle and bed.

A feeler gauge will tell you exactly where you are, no guessing, no folded papers that may work, no problems.

As far as auto bed leveling, it's easy. Extra servo, enable a feature in your firmware, set some off-set distances and your good. All you need to do is look up your printer style and firmware type on Google. There are many forums, reprap wiki, and the like to help you fifigure it out.

With that said, if you do not have a solid machine, if your axis are off or not level, you still experience problems.

9 years, 5 months ago

nyl0cke - Z=0 should be set at your machines 0 point, not at your layer thickness. Your slicing software will adjust the first layer position to be the appropriate height off the bed. You should set the nozzle to be about the thickness of a piece of paper (.004" or so) off the bed. Generally people say "so the nozzle just barely grips the paper"

9 years, 5 months ago

midgett.tech - He's correct

9 years, 5 months ago

double_dutch - very helpful. i knew you guys would have the right info.

but doesn't this all kinda prove my point? @vinnie has discovered that a post-it note folded just right works, @midgett says i should go get something from my hardware store, @nyl0cke has other tips.

all great points.... but pretty complex stuff for the average joe!

considering that a level bed is so so important for quality, consistent prints.... built-in auto-leveling should be a thing!!

9 years, 5 months ago

vinnie90 - It will be. give it time

9 years, 5 months ago

nyl0cke - It's pretty easy to implement for RepRap Cartesian printers. As midget said a servo and extra end stop works pretty well. Depending on your printer, a design may already be available (even with a setup guide).

9 years, 5 months ago

sd3dprinting - Feeler guages work perfectly but it can be tedious to calibrate manually this way. Also, if your assembly is off at all, you will still run into problems with this technique as midgett.tech has pointed out. Additionally, we have run into serious issues with printers that advertise "auto-calibration" using software off-sets. The slicing process went awry at a significantly higher frequency than acceptable in our production facility. We eventually flashed the firmware to disable their auto-calibration process.

This is precisely why we are not auto-leveling our beds using software offsets. The printers we are developing mechanically auto-calibrate to within 20 microns and can take into account the materials being used for the print when auto-calibrating (ideal starting gaps can differ between materials and filament manufacturers). This level of precision leads not only to stronger and higher quality parts, but also to an ultra-low failure rate near 1% (with proper environmental control systems implemented). Check out more about our upcoming printers here if interested: https://inventalator.com/project/evaluation/546154151548150200478f04

9 years, 5 months ago

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n23d - I do not use feeler gauges any more. I found them to be to inconsistent. I created a quick print file for calibration that works great. I print a single layer 10mm open circle four loops wide in each corner of the bed and one in the center. I then peel them off and measure them with a micrometer. Then based on the thickness differences I adjust the screws in the four corners using the threads per inch to determine how much of a turn is needed to bring them in. I also set my z stop high so the head hits zero about .25 mm above the bed. I then use the z offset setting in my slicer program to do the final z axis adjustment for printing. The calibration print takes about 5 minutes and the adjustment about the same. When I get all the circles within a few thou of each other i'm done. I have one machine with auto leveling and It just does not work well at all. I used my technique and shimmed the base to get it right.

9 years, 5 months ago

sd3dprinting - That's exactly how we do it manually as well; great write up on that technique, very consistent and precise.

9 years, 5 months ago

toybuilder - I use the middle portion of a long palette knife like a feeler gauge. Its size makes it easier to reach the back of the printer, and the wooden handle means I don't touch the heated bed. This makes it easy to set the nozzle-to-bed gap consistently. I then give each adjustment screw an equal turn to simultaneously raise or lower the bed as a fine adjustment to get the desired level of bed adhesion. With my main slicer settings, I have first-layer thickness and Z-offset dialed in so that's not necessary.

Shameless plug of our palette knife: http://www.toybuilderlabs.com/products/toybuilder-labs-palette-knife?variant=773455905 -- you can find similar at your nearby art supply store.

9 years, 5 months ago