This past weekend I got and assembled my Printrbot Simple Maker edition, which comes with a auto-leveling feature. It uses an induction proximity sensor connected directly to the 3 pin end stop connectors of the Printrboard. I haven't yet looked through the configuration file to see what was enabled or not, but I works pretty well on the Printrbot. so I'm thinking it should be a fairly easy conversion for the Solidoodle, at least the newer ones with Printrboards.
The sensor is mounted right next to the hot end, and it installs so that it's only a few mm away from the bed. Once installed it can be adjusted with Gcode commands. It responds to a new command and parameters:
M212 X0 Y0 Z0
X and Y are the offset from the printhead, and Z is the offset from the bed. In the PB simple case, the Y offset is 0, but the X offset is 20. To adjust for the gap, you can give it a negative offset to move it up, or a positive offset to move it down. Then you save the parameter is to the EEPROM with M500. From that point on, it will continually adjust the height of the nozzle to maintain the required offset distance. Then once the first layer is printed the probe is turned off for the rest of the print.
Anyway, the sensors are dirt cheap (about $3.00 on eBay), and the implementation is pretty simple. As I said, I haven't yet gone through the configuration.h file, but this shouldn't be that complicated to setup in firmware, for some of our firmware gurus like Adrian or Ian.
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To print or, 3D print, that is the question...
SD3 printer w/too many mods, Printrbot Simple Maker Ed., FormLabs Form 1+
AnyCubic Photon, Shining 3D EinScan-S & Atlas 3D scanners...
...and too much time on my hands.