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Bed not staying level

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by adikted2astro, Dec 17, 2017.

  1. adikted2astro

    adikted2astro Active Member

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    Ok, so now I'm having some trouble with the bed. I level it with a bubble level first to make sure it's close. Then I use UBL to map the mesh. Everything seems fine until I start a print. I'm getting way too many high and low points. So I cancel the print, then put the bubble level back on the bed and it's completely off in both X and Y axis. I never touched it after the UBL code and when I level the bed, I always do so at temperature so I can account for thermal expansion/contraction. Has anyone else had problems like this? I'm getting fed up with having to level this bed all the time.
     
  2. Kilrah

    Kilrah Well-Known Member

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    Make sure it's well seated in the magnetic contacts.
     
  3. adikted2astro

    adikted2astro Active Member

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    That's the first thing I did
     
  4. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    Vibrations will loosen the thumbscrews, that is why I put a bit of mild thread lock on them. Red and Blue are too strong, try purple thread lock compound.
     
    #4 WheresWaldo, Dec 17, 2017
    Last edited: Dec 17, 2017
  5. adikted2astro

    adikted2astro Active Member

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    I was afraid of that. The table my printer is on right now is very top heavy and too much vibration really messes with the prints. I've ordered a heavy duty steel cabinet to put it on but it won't be here for a while. I will try thread locker on the leveling screws for now. Thanks, I never would've thought of that.
     
  6. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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  7. Kilrah

    Kilrah Well-Known Member

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    Also make sure you adjust the bed with the screws being as tight (bed down) as possible. The longer the screws the less tight the springs are and the more wobbly / unstable the whole thing will be. Makes a big difference.
     
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  8. adikted2astro

    adikted2astro Active Member

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    There's a big problem with tightening them down all the way like that. The corners bend quite a bit. You know that plastic X-looking thing under the bed that has the screws in it? The corners bend down and the sides start bulging up, along with the center. So I don't feel comfortable doing that. I don't want to break anything.
     
  9. Kilrah

    Kilrah Well-Known Member

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    I didn't say "tighten it like crazy", I said "don't put it higher than needed".
     
  10. adikted2astro

    adikted2astro Active Member

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    Ok I messed up some how. I bought some purple loctite and used it sparingly on the bed leveling screws. I'm familiar with how to use loctite and I'm telling you, I barely put any on. After about 10 minutes, I put the bed back on and started manual leveling. The problem was the purple loctite worked too well. The entire screw-and-nut assembly on all four corners spun at the same time. So much so that even when I removed the loctite, the screw would just spin in the recessed housing (it stripped). I didn't have a choice; I had to either epoxy the heads of the screws into that plastic housing, or call Robo and get a replacement. So, I epoxied them all in and thankfully, everything works perfectly. All the screws are aligned with the holes in the base and I can level my life away.

    But, I still don't want to take a chance. I have some M3 x 0.5 nuts on the way, so after I'm done leveling, I'll lock all 4 screws down with an extra nut. It'll be a pain in the ass to adjust, but it will work.
     
  11. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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  12. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    I added a nut to each of the bed screws to hold them in place in the plastic frame. An M3 nut was smaller than the inside diameter of the springs. It was a perfect fit.

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
     
  13. adikted2astro

    adikted2astro Active Member

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    That's actually a really good idea. If I need a replacement, I'll do that instead. The epoxy I used is extremely strong; I use it in the lab all the time. It's actually a high-temp epoxy, capable of withstanding temps up to 400 F.
    https://www.aremco.com/news-item/aremco-bond™-820-high-temp-flexible-adhesive-now-available/

    I use it to secure optical windows in housings for high temperature and pressure measurements. It's semi-flexible once cured, but like I said, very strong.
     
  14. adikted2astro

    adikted2astro Active Member

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    I used Loctite 222 Purple.
     
  15. adikted2astro

    adikted2astro Active Member

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    Well, for the first time since I bought this printer, my bed is staying level and my z-offset is near perfect and staying perfect. I haven't had to adjust anything on the last 5 prints, which is amazing really. As far as the bed goes, I bought these from McMaster: https://www.mcmaster.com/#96115a420/=1as6dfz, along with regular M3 nuts and some M3 wing nuts. All three work very well, but the thumbscrews are the best in my opinion. They are keeping the bed leveling screws locked in place.

    Also, I have been able to use UBL successfully, so I am happy for now.

    IMG_0631.jpg
     
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  16. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    Always like it when users come up with their own solutions.
     
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  17. adikted2astro

    adikted2astro Active Member

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    Ok, I'm still having a leveling problem, even though I have basically locked the leveling screws in place. It's ALWAYS along the y-axis, never the x-axis. The only other improvement I can think of is to replace the table the printer is sitting on. I have another one, but I'm waiting on some leg levelers for it. If it still keeps happening, I don't know what I'm going to do.

    The problem isn't bad, it maybe shifts the y-axis by 0.100mm, but it does affect the first layer of the prints.
     
  18. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    The table the printer is sitting on should have no effect since "leveling" cares not about gravity level, but the spacing between the bed and the nozzle (which wouldn't change even if you mounted the printer at a 45 degree angle).

    Leveling is a term 3D printing "borrowed" and repurposed.
     
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  19. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    The actual term that is more correct is TRAMMING the gantry, making accurate mechanical adjustments to align two planes, the plane the hotend travels on and the plane that is the actual build platform.
     
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  20. adikted2astro

    adikted2astro Active Member

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    Ok, so I didn't phrase it properly. The table it is sitting on has leveling feet, but I think they are moving during really fast printing. They spin really easily and I can't lock them down. That's why I bought a new table. Also, it's one of those cantilever-type tables.
     
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