Automatic bed levelling tips

Hi all,

When levelling your print bed there are two things to remember; keep everything squeaky clean, and preheat the nozzle.

The first is self explanatory -- if there is gack on print bed or on the nozzle, the distance will never be right (sub-tip: remove your material from the print head before cleaning and calibrating).

The second is due to the fact that metal, as we all know, expands when heated. If it calibrates in a cold state, the nozzle will be too close to the print bed surface after it heats. So make sure that before you configure the automatic bed levelling in MatterControl that you preheat the nozzle to the temperature you'll be printing at.

 

Good tips, though I'd need to calculate the thermal expansion in the brass and steel blocks for a delta of 200C. Not sure it would be significant, but might be good.

Some users might prefer running calibration cold to avoid damage to a bed liner like vinyl

 

Question Mike. My R1 print bed isn't smooth. It has a slight upward bulge in the middle, which is a royal pain. Who do I talk to to get a new one shipped?

 

What makes you think it has a bulge in it? Submit a tech support request at the link below

 

I've placed a light behind the printer and watched carefully as the print head traverses the bed (I learned this trick years ago from surfacing cylinder heads in my garage). Also, if I print an object which is as wide as the bed, the first layer is correct on either side in terms of thickness, but it's just a smear in the middle (this sometimes causes the gear to dig into the material and I have to stop the print and reload the material, then start the print all over). I have done the tech support thing by the way. No response yet.