This guy knows what he is writing about.

3D Printing
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1

This guy knows what he is writing about. This was more informative then other tutorials i read. :slight_smile:

2

So is it actually measuring the actual bed height underneath the nozzle? Looks like the article talked about offset but what good is offset if the reading taken is not the actual spot? am I missing something?

3

Hi Step Cia.
The endstop should be under the nozzle to make the “home Z” and the probing points, this is why a servo motor is required. this process will find how high is the bed is in relation to the probe (endstop). and then compensate it, please see the video!, about the offsets, it just need to find where is your probe aproximated center to make the probing points and dont crash it somewhere. (X and Y don’t need to be too accurate, even 5mm variation are ok) but the Z offset must be as precise as possible, since this will define your first layer height

4

Hi @Adrian_Ciubotariu . most delta printers also should use this feature since the bed is not everytime perfectly leveled in relation to the three endstops

5

I assume when you say “endstop under the nozzle” you meant at the level below the tip of the nozzle but still separated by some x and y distance in relation to nozzle location.

6

awesome idea, i loved it. i’ll try to adapt something like it to a cartesian printer.

7

I thought about the idea of using hotend somehow as endstop trigger :slight_smile: just don’t know what it would look like yet

8

the idea itself is simple, but it gets complicated quickly. the hotend will need to be able to move just a litte (to trigger) but not to be loose. and also it need to be worked for direct-drives extruders

9

I think things are being missed here… The micro switch measures a plane under the hot end.
The offset tells the firmware where the switch is in relation to the hot end in X, Y and Z.
I am fitting this to my Prusa i3 and I’m sure it will make life a lot easier!..

10

Excellent article , thankls

11

Should just design/build printers that are level from the start with the bed locked down so they don’t have a chance to get unlevel. ABL is a solution to a problem that you shouldn’t have IMO

12

How does this setup meassure where your nozzle is, after switching to a different diameter?

13

Im doing this right now… :slight_smile:

14

@Mike_C yes, i agree that we should not have this problem, but since our structure are usually acrylic/plywood it tends to bend with time / heat / humidity. and for 3D printing, a milimetre is a huge thing.
anyway, since our printer are not high end, it needs to be recalibrated whenever is possible to get the best results.

@Marcus_Wolschon i dont think i understand it right, but, if you are talking about changing the nozzle size (ex: a 0.4mm to a 0.1mm) , well, it wont know, then you will need to measure the nozzle height and if it is different, compensate on the firmware.

15

Even on my i3, I secured the bed with nyloc nuts to prevent the bed being able to move. Re-leveling is a side effect of the bed being adjustable usually. None of my machines have an adjustable bed anymore and I couldn’t be happier with the utter lack of calibration required in maintaining them.

To each their own though, i can’t say I’ve used a wooden frame so I dunno about how much it warps. My i3 frame was alu. Just my 2 cents though! My more recent builds are much more rigid so the odds of going out of alignment are slim to none.