1 Topic by cptskippy

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Topic: Manual Bed Leveling

It was suggested in some other threads that to level an uneven bed you simply had to remove the glass and adjust the screws in each corner of the bed.  My glass was firmly glued in place by whatever was applied at the factory for their test print, after I managed to remove it I went about adjusting the screws.  What I found however was that the screws are simply used to clamp the bed down to the Z axis carriage.  Between the bed and carriage, what appear to be standoffs are just 4mm riser tubes, washers for lack of a better term.

Unfortunately the tolerances are so tight on my unit that stacking additional washers to adjust the bed height isn't an option, and I didn't have a stock pile of washers handy to make shorter risers.  I was thinking that replacing the washers with springs like I've seen on other printers is going to be the best option.  I was hoping that someone might know of a source for springs that are approximately 4mm tall and would be appropriate for this function.

Regarding checking the level,  I discovered that virtually no surface in my house was level so before I went about measure the bed on the Press, I had to construct a level platform.  I was fortunate to have a 2x2' piece of heavy tile laying around that I carefully leveled before placing the Press on top.  There isn't really a good place on the Press to check if it's true, all the flat surfaces are actually bulbous.  I ended up double checking myself by using a small circular bubble level and a cylindrical bubble level both balanced one at a time on the extruder.  Surprisingly the extruder was level.  Placing the levels on the bed, they concurred with the numbers returned by the Z Probe that my bed leaned forward and to the right.

The easiest way I found to see the numbers for the Z Probe is to open the SoliPrint Z-Offset Calibration screen, then start a print.  The Calibration screen displays the raw numbers from all 3 axis in columns to the left.  A nice thing I can say about SoliPrint is that none of the screens or popups are modal so you can open them and continue to interact with the screens underneath, and all of the open screens display current data.

2 Reply by wardjr

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Re: Manual Bed Leveling

The easiest way to get springs would be a trip to your local hardware store.  Buy the diameter you want and cut them to length.
A note on leveling your printer....
Although having a level printer is nice that is not exactly what people are referring to.
Level in relation to the nozzle is what is important not so much level to the earth.  Go get some good strong springs so you have a nice way to adjust it manually and you may never need the auto level feature again.

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3 Reply by cptskippy

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Re: Manual Bed Leveling

wardjr wrote:

Level in relation to the nozzle is what is important not so much level to the earth.

I understand that is the goal, is there a better way to go about it?

4 Reply by wardjr

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Re: Manual Bed Leveling

cptskippy wrote:
wardjr wrote:

Level in relation to the nozzle is what is important not so much level to the earth.

I understand that is the goal, is there a better way to go about it?

Yes, you can use a business card between the nozzle and the bed to adjust the bed but your biggest challenge is making an easy way to adjust it.  I don't use the business card personally.  I find it easier to print a single layer circle and adjust accordingly. 

There is nothing wrong with your method but we are dealing in microns here so even the best digital protractor or level isn't going to help you.  Some users use a dial indicator mounted to the extruder but that is overkill in my mind.

Printit Industries Model 8.10 fully enclosed CoreXY, Chamber heat
3-SD3's & a Workbench all fully enclosed, RH-Slic3r Win7pro, E3D V6, Volcano & Cyclops Hot End
SSR/500W AC Heated Glass Bed, Linear bearings on SS rods. Direct Drive Y-axis, BulldogXL
Thanks to all for your contributions

wardjr's Website

5 Reply by bot719

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Re: Manual Bed Leveling

Two items. First if the plate itself is not dead flat "leveling" from the corners may not get you an even height throughout the print. So it may come down to getting a good average height. Second, when the Press goes through the probing and at the end of the print (with Soliprint) the Z axis moves to a point about 5 inches down. With a mirror and light I can see there is a switch at this point. Is there a G code to position the Z axis to this switch?

6 Reply by cptskippy

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Re: Manual Bed Leveling

bot719 wrote:

Second, when the Press goes through the probing and at the end of the print (with Soliprint) the Z axis moves to a point about 5 inches down. With a mirror and light I can see there is a switch at this point. Is there a G code to position the Z axis to this switch?


What switch are you referring to?

MacGyverX posted in another thread the Slic3r code for performing bed set z-offset.

7 Reply by bot719

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Re: Manual Bed Leveling

I just looked again (with a larger mirror and better lighting) and I was mistaken, there is no switch. But I'm still not sure how it positions itself to about the midpoint in the Z axis during a homing move. I starts by moving down, stops about half way and then goes up. Same at the end of a print, it moves to a point half way down (SoliPrint). I have looked at the G code but see nothing.

8 Reply by cptskippy

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Re: Manual Bed Leveling

The purpose of it moving down is to make sure there's clearance for the extruder/probe to ensure they don't collide with the bed.  The movement always occurs regardless of the position of the bed.  You can verify this by moving the bed to the bottom of the Press and then doing a Z-Axis home.   Since there's no Z-Axis limit, the Press will try to drive the bed down and you'll get some god awful grinding sounds.

9 Reply by cptskippy

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Re: Manual Bed Leveling

I set about manually leveling the bed last night by replacing the washers under the bed with springs.  The tolerances between the bed and the clamps that hold the glass in place are so tight that there's very little room for adjustment.  I ended up removing the springs entirely from the rear of the bed so that it would pitch back as much as possible and that still wasn't enough to correctly level it.

I'm going to see about getting some longer screws so that I can remove the bed and place it above the clamps, which also means I'll have to resort to bulldog clips to hold the glass to the bed.  It also means I'll be losing a little height on the Z-Axis.

10 Reply by Joshuasmcc (edited by Joshuasmcc 2015-01-29 02:27:30)

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Re: Manual Bed Leveling

I am having issues with my press printing level (smashed in the back and off the bed in the front).
I took the spacers out and used springs and longer screws to follow cptskippy's theory.

I proceeded to lower the back of the bed in respect to the front of the bed by 5mm. I then went onto checking the bed with a dial indicator and measured from the carriage to the bed. I am perpendicular as possible.

After all the above is said and done I went and started a print and still ended up with the first layer smashed in the back and above off the bed in the front.

I'm leaning towards this is a software issue. Has anyone re flashed the Press?

EDIT: After some digging around the soliforum I read that the Marlin auto level does not work with backlash. Has anyone notice backlash on there Press?

11 Reply by Joshuasmcc

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Re: Manual Bed Leveling

As I've posted earlier I read that for the Marlin auto leveling to work properly there needs to be zero backlash.

I picked up an assortment of springs the other day so I decided to give it a shot... and it has worked.

<a href="http://imgur.com/a/xBISe">Here is an album.</a>

I can happily report that my first layer is now perfectly consistent.

12 Reply by cptskippy

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Re: Manual Bed Leveling

Joshuasmcc wrote:

As I've posted earlier I read that for the Marlin auto leveling to work properly there needs to be zero backlash.

I picked up an assortment of springs the other day so I decided to give it a shot... and it has worked.

<a href="http://imgur.com/a/xBISe">Here is an album.</a>

I can happily report that my first layer is now perfectly consistent.


That's great news.  I had come across this anti-backlash upgrade and was contemplating tearing my Press down to see if something similar could be fabricated.  I'm glad to hear you were able to fix it.

13 Reply by android78

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Re: Manual Bed Leveling

Just regarding working out GCodes that soliprint is using.  If you turn on the log, then you can see all of the gcodes that are being sent to the printer.  Probably won't help here, but just looking at the initial post... it's a way to work it out if you're really wanting to know.

14 Reply by android78

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Re: Manual Bed Leveling

One thing I've noticed is that my printer was initially smooth when lowering the bed, but seems to now clunk as it lowers.  I wonder if there could be a lack of lubricant on the z-axis rails.  Looks like hell to get to these though.

15 Reply by bot719

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Re: Manual Bed Leveling

Yes, lubricating the rails and the screw is a good idea. It removed the jittery movement (and noise) I was experiencing. I dropped the build platform to a very low point and then using a mirror and flux brush reached behind the plastic cover and lubricated them. Then when the table raises it should spread the grease around fairly evenly. You could do it in both extreme positions to ensure coverage.

16 Reply by Fredjikrang

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Re: Manual Bed Leveling

What kind of lubricant did you use?

17 Reply by cptskippy

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Re: Manual Bed Leveling

android78 wrote:

Looks like hell to get to these though.

It's actually pretty easy. 

First you Lower the bed to the bottom of the Z-Axis.  There are two Philips screws on either side of the Z-Axis motor between the rail nuts, remove those and then you can remove the plastic cover over the Z-Axis screw and rails.  You need to gently bow the cover towards you at it's mid point and the top will pop out.

The tricky part is when you're replacing the plastic cover, you need to ensure the wires for the heating element on the bed go in the notch on the plastic cover.  Once you have that you just bow the cover and tuck the top back under the lip of the ledge the Z-Axis motor rests on.