So the hot thing that all the cool kids are doing is auto-levelling…
Do you do it before every print? Do you find that the bed changes over time? Leveling is pretty far down the road for me, but I also have a Lathe Bed level…it’s an order of magnitude more precise than anything you can get at the local big box store.
Might as well do it before every print while the hot end is heating up.
Have you compared the results from print to print? (are the found measurements stored anywhere in the printing/calibrating process…) I’m just curious if a printer that’s not moved, stays in calibration, or if environmental conditions cause drift?
I work for a kickstarter company down here in Orlando, FL called DeltaMaker. We actually modified Marlin to store the auto leveling data in eeprom, and we’ve found that nothing changes over time unless you’ve moved the machine, removed/replaced the bed, etc. There’s no need to redo the auto leveling every time, but it can’t hurt.
Would be nice to contribute your code to Marlin repository.
@Richard_Marko I believe our repo is public. We don’t decide what’s merged back upstream. Ours is also not a branch from vanilla, it’s a branch from jrocholl’s marlin. We’re not keeping any code closed, because Marlin is GPL. I believe in the future (when KS orders are done and shipped), our custom aluminum bracket and all parts for the deltamaker will be released as well.
As long as the process is not a hassle then leveling before each print makes a whole lot of sense from the perspective that it removes a major unknown for the most likely cause of a failed print.
Depends on the machine my simple need calibrating everyday my Huxley doesn’t. It just depends on the materials and mountings.
It really depends on the printer,
I levelled my CartesioLDMP in October 2012 and never touched it again. and that printer works 24/7.
I got a Makerbot at work and I knew that after pulling off a dozen or so prints from the bed, the plastic arms holding up the print need are partially deformed a bit and we generally need to relevel, but this is just due to poor design.