Bed levelling for beginners to achieve a perfect first layer
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 ส.ค. 2020
- Are you struggling to dial in a perfect first layer? Many beginners are, so you’re not alone. This video takes you through the aim and method of manually levelling your 3D printer bed, with a gcode test pattern generator and example diagrams of what to aim for and what to avoid.
It also answers the question of when you might need auto bed levelling, how it works and how to set the Z offset.
Thanks to the community for embracing my calibration website, and helping improve it greatly since launch.
First layer tab of calibration website: teachingtechyt.github.io/cali...
Previous video explaining the calibration website: • 3D printer calibration...
Bed levelling X: www.thingiverse.com/thing:407...
You can also compensate for an uneven bed with manual mesh bed levelling: • Manual Mesh Bed Levell...
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A clean bed is just as important. You can level all you want, if the bed is dirty it still won't stick.
Very true. I find a good quality glass cleaner is better than isopropyl alcohol too (obviously on a glass bed :-) I use Mr Muscle glass cleaner works brilliantly. Even better still, run a glue stick over the surface a few times, let it dry, then wipe the entire surface with glass cleaner, it leaves a small residue of glue and prints stick superbly well.
Im not going to say a clean bed isnt important, but I will say this, at least with build tack sheets and close to a years worth of use on the same one and I never washed it once. Until my build tack stated to get deformed I never had any problems with it at all, if anything it stuck too good.
Im not discouraging anyone from washing their beds, one thing I learned very early on with 3d printing is what works for one dosnt automatically work for everyone. I also just recently switched to a glass bed and I am guessing I am going to have to occasionally wash it, but I have still yet to wash my glass.
Just something to think about before you waste IPA.
PS my printer is in a location where collecting dust is next to impossible, and I only print pla with it. So I am no expert, and you shouldnt take my advice every anyway, but if you do your mileage may vary.
Oh man, thank you for posting what MILLIONS of people have already ever explained. Your words are a treasure of knowledge.
@@Yoursoul101 millions? wow, you must have spent a long time counting them...
@@Yoursoul101 Then are you mad about the video itself for going over what many others have explained?
God, I just love this community (3d printing). A lot of people are happy to help and share what they have learned, and just trying so that we all can have good experience with printing. Love you all
Thanks, that is why I spend so much time - the great community
ya same, so many good tips online, and the creativity seems to bring out the best in people.
Agreed. Best community in tech. This is a good tutorial. Even as an experience print operator I have moments where my brain forgets to apply ordered process to bed leveling. This video always helps.
Excellent, well detailed video as usual.
Just wanted to say thank you for all the effort you put into these videos. This gcode generator is a godsend for my different sized beds.
Michael this is awesome , As someone thats been 3d printing for a couple of years now I still find this stuff useful.
I'm starting in 3D printing, so I'm so happy to find your video. Thanks a lot! Your explanation is great and useful to learn more!
This system worked great. I’ve been struggling with first layer issues since I added the Bullseye shroud. So going back to the basic solved my Z-offset problem.
Thanks for the great work and keep it up.
Most useful and clearest bed leveling video I've yet seen. Thank you.
After going on your calibration site i have leveled the bed and calibrated the extruder and the slicer just one word to say AWESOME
I bought my first 3D Printer, an Ultimaker Original, in 2013. Tutorials like yours are great for newbies and even us users like me...who 'think we know it all'. You've reminded me of some great Best Practices (like heating the bed to do the leveling!)....great job!
Thank you for this video Michael, I followed your instructions last night and I got five perfect squares. My prints on my new Artillery Sidewinder X1 are now amazing😀👍
Super video. I've rarely had adhesion problems but when I did, this video sorted me out. I re-leveled, checked my heights, increased my first layer width from 0.4 to 0.6 and slowed my first layer speed to 25%. I've never had better prints.
This is definitely the most straightforward leveling tutorial Ive seen. I wish I'd had it when I first started!
I am struggling so bad with levelling
My printer runs fine , but after all your content ill try to squeeze more out of it , thank you for the great documentation. you explain everything really deatialed!
You sir are a legend. After adding a glass bed to my Ender 5 Pro I had all sorts of problems getting the first layer to stick, even after levelling super carefully. But your levelling Gcode file showed me that the printer head to bed distance was still too great, and how to fix it. Awesome, thank you.
I’d like to add that printing a raft can be a lifesaver for people not equipped with ABL to compensate for warping. Also, after struggling for months with bed adhesion, I bought a 1mm PEI sheet and never had an issue again with PLA.
Thank you so much for this guide.
I have a dip in the middle of the bed on my Ender 3 pro, which was causing slightly bad adhesion problems with almost no squish on the first layer.
After going through your first layer calibration guide on your website, downloading the G-Code and manually levelling the bed as it was printing the 5 point code I have managed to get a near perfect first layer in the middle of my bed, which is where I do most of my printing.
Thank you for taking the time to do this, it's helped me a lot, as I'm sure it has for many others : )
Finally someone actually explaining how to assess the correct amount of squish.😊
This is one of your better videos. Thanks so much for putting the work into the content and production value!!! This one is very helpful👍🏻👊🏻
I got my Ender 3 V2 today and I've started the steps on the site. Easy to follow instructions. My 1st printer.
Hands down best video and guide to leveling. Thank you.
I had a huge deformation in the middle of the glass sheet on my Artillery Sidewinder after a print got really stuck to the surface. No matter how I levelled the 4 corners nothing would stick in the middle.
An Artillery Facebook group I'm on suggested loosening tension on all 4 sides, then heating the bed to 80 degrees and re-applying tension to try and pop the deformation out. It took a fair bit of time and trial and error, but I did see significant improvement.
I'm not promising results or permanent fixes, but it's worth a shot if things get ridiculous. ABL really is a must when your bed is warped.
If I had to pick one video to share with people new to 3D printing, this would be the one! This one helped me so much when I was starting a month ago. I went from absolute frustration and failed prints to consistent and reliable prints I'm really happy with. Thank you!
Yes, definitely
When I was trying to figure out my Z Offset, I was having trouble measuring the distance between the BL Touch probe and the printer nozzle.
So I used a pack of cards! it worked great!
I found that a feeler gauge, spirit level and/or inclinometer do wonders in the bed levelling process.
Saves the stress of not knowing how close you are to a level bed.
This is great! I did however run into an issue, I would manually adjust during the print, and the final results were great, then I would re-run the print to verify and my auto level would re-adjust back to a bad print, I ended up turning off the auto bed level and selected no auto level for the print and it worked great!
Michael, I don't recall if you covered it in any of your previous videos but I compiled Marlin with Mesh bed leveling and Babystepping without ABL probe. It works like a charm and if you are not to ruff with your bed will last for quite some time before you need to redo it.
If you haven't done a video on it maybe you should for those that want to save a few more bucks and still get great prints.
The best bed levelling video! Thanks 🙏🏻
Dude thanks!!! This video truly saved me with the bed levelling issues I had!!!
I had almost given up until I stumbled on this video!
Great guide!!! Really comprehensive!!! Keep up the awesome work!
Great!!! Very good! We’re working in a Portuguese version for The Calibration site.
Thanks for the Micheal. I just got rid of my E5 magnetic bed and installed a spring steel bed. The challenge is now to get the prints to stick to the bed. I will get some glue sticks and try that. Thank you for the great helpful videos...
Excellent presentation, very helpful, especially with the leveling test gnode file. Many thanks
Timing couldn’t have been better! Got my first 3D printer yesterday and had no idea how to level the bed right. Really useful guide and gcode generator. Can you add some info on mesh bed leveling? It seems like a middle ground between manual and auto bed leveling
Yeay! I'm so happy that I installed inductive sensors on my machines and even a piezo on one.. UBL and ABL are so great. I completely forgot how hard it can be for new players to get the first layers right. Good luck to all the new 3D-printing enthusiasts!
An ABL is a small price to pay for consistency. I prefer the EZABL to the BL Touch, speed and less damage.
bruh i was so pissed trying tp level the bed after getting a ender 3 pro and only being able to print 2 small things successfully in 3 days finally caved and bought a bl touch
Excellent stuff Michael. Your site is getting better and better. Lots of good info here too. Cheers, JAYTEE
Nice Video as usual. I just want to add one thing. I had a huge Problem leveling my Ender 3 after a few weeks of using it. After long fiddeling I realized that the screws for the Z-stepper loosened over time and gave the Z-axis some wobble which made it impossible to get a good first layer. So definetly also check your frame, screws and belts if you get inconsistent first layers
Best video on this subject, thank you.
Great video. Only thing i'm missing is to level the x gantry before you level the bed. At least when your printer has a double z motor it is important to get the x gantry levelled before you level the bed.
Thank you for making that website. Thats all I wanted to say
Great info on tramming the bed! I ultimately broke down and bought an inexpensive set of feeler gauges (or a very expensive 0.10mm feeler gauge if we're going to be honest), and the test print came out so much better than any of my attempts using paper. I'm now printing an all in one test model, and the base is about 60cm square, but two diagonally opposing corners curl up slightly while the other two lay perfectly flat. The quality of the fill lines shows slight ridging on the initial layer, but nothing that makes me think the layer is printing too thin. Any ideas why this would be? The result is that those two corners end up rounded instead of sharp 90 degrees on each face.
Great video. I wish you would do one like this for a Delta (Kossel Mini), as you cannot keep the head at the same height after disabling the steppers. Also there are not any videos that really show this kind of setup for a Delta. Thanks again.
Cheers for this info. Set my geeetech a10 perfect
First layer adhesion and the different types of print beds and how to make your print stick onto the different surfaces just right, might be useful too. I'm doing 3D printing for almost 3 years now, and i still struggle with first layer adhesion, elephant footing and warping on some prints.
6:50 - One of the joys of a Hypercube style printer is that the bed only moves up and down, so you can live tune it with ease :-D
thank you bro
cheers from Canada
getting a square mirror as a bed works great. Since you can usually see warp areas in mirror if there are any. By spraying a bit of alchohol and water on the print after it finishes, the remaining print material comes off easily too. But yea, leveling bed is still another issue that's answered by the video :3
IMHO, manual mesh bed leveling works just as well as an ABL. It would have been nice if you covered that.
Thank you, this helped a ton.
I would also highly recommend SunShine's printed dial indicator compliant mechanism.
Great video, but was hoping to hear you speak about manual mesh bed leveling too....
Getting the bed level with the nozzle plane was the biggest hurdle for me and it was so frustrating and infuriating that I was almost ready to throw my new Ender 3 Pro out the window when I bought it. Luckily I found out about EZABL and ordered one. Set it all up and it works perfect every single print. Only time an adjustment is needed now is when I change print resolution, then I have to change the Z offset to compensate.
This video has solved so many damn headaches of mine.
Excellent! Thank you!
To level the bed, I believe Creality tells us to home the hot end, then disable the stepper motors to move from corner to corner and raise or lower these as needed. Problem is, when I follow this procedure I can never get the bed level the first time. It was infuriating. Then, I read an article someone wrote on the net. He said to stop using disable stepper motors. So, to move from corner to corner, I had to use the Move command. Doing it this way, I was able to level my bed the first time around! My print is perfect.
Thank you for this! Helped a lot!
Thank you so much, I just couldnt level my bed correctly for the life of me
6:47 As someone who's been bitten hard by his Anet A8 while doing precisely this, let me point out that you need to be damned sure of where the bed is going and/or damned sure you can't get bitten before you attempt this. Getting a thumb or finger pinched between the levelling screw and the frame really, really hurts.
6yjjk very true, those motors are powerful and can really pinch you hard.
Great explanation
Recieved my first printer today- ender 3- and this would’ve been super useful- but i figured out a pretty level bed :D
He's got lots of good advice here!
Could you use calipers to measure a single layer thickness and use that with the pitch of the leveling screws or the z offset with ABL to properly set your z height and first layer flow properly?
thank you very much, very useful video, nice structured and edited.
subbed
I just got a glass bed for my Ender 3 Pro. I was suprised how hard it was to get first layer adhesion! I missed the magnet bed. However, glue stick made it finally work!
At 13:48 We should all follow your Nstructions to the letter lol Sorry Michael, I couldn't resist it 😂 Fantastic guide as always 👍
Again, ANOTHER GREAT VIDEO!!!!
Really needs a section on Delta printer levelling. I really appreciate the explanation of terminology and going through the basics but Delta beds - especially ones fixed to the frame - need a different levelling process.
hi, I just got a Biqu B1 printer and this video helped me a lot! I think I got a woop in the midle of the bed, cause I level up the 4 cornes but in the center the papershit seems to be a little bit loose.... so I got a few failures cause the peaces just poped off the bed, do you use hair spray on the black bed the biqu b1 uses? and what do you think abotu replacing the magentic black peace with a glass for more flatness.. Thank u so much!
Thank you so much!
Really helpful video - thanks!
great video, I have been using bltouch and no issues so far
THIS VIDEO HELPED MUCH, THANK YOU 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
thank you for this
Cant help notice that the table has belt holder for the Lowrider2. Any chance we will be seeing any more videos for the Lowrider?
I started 3d printing about 3 months ago now. I started doing this exact procedure to get my bed leveled correctly every time it needs adjustment. I never liked the guess work that came along with using a bit of paper or something like that.
Genial amigo gracias por compartir , saludos desde Colombia
Awesome video and thank you a billion times. Ironically the mid of my bed has like a bump so I used Z offset plugin on Cura. But yeah I think now that a ABL would be benefical for accurate first layers in my case. But When I see the price tag then I just think I´ll wait ^^.
Can you make a video comparing some Auto Bed Leveling sensors ?? like a cheap, a mid tier and a high tier one ?
Didn't you do a video about manual mesh leveling? I've been using manual mesh for about a year and only occasionally think I should throw more money (buy/install abl) at the problem of my warpy bed.
Hi and thank you as always for sharing! i was wondering if there is there a way to add the auto bed leveling hardware to a newer tronxy IDEX 3d Printer. the Tronxy Gemini S..? not sure how i can update the firmware or rather what to use for updating the firmware for this feature to be used.. (if even possible?). i believe there is an option for updating firmware using Repetier host as that software is compatible and can connect with the Gemini S. i have not tried octo print yet.. any advice would be great. this printer is fabulous when i can get the first layer to stick. I think the way the stop sensors are read for "home" positions are the biggest downfall. as each print seems to be off a bit from one print to the next with regards to the starting z height. the gantry is solid and heavy and extends up a great deal from the bottom of the printer base that it is secured to and the 4 mounting screws on each side are not enough to hold the printer stable IMO. if i keep the speeds down though and as i said if and WHEN i can get the first layer to be stick and be consistent the prints turn out great. any help and or advice would be much appreciated!
I've got the lines right (thanks) but I'm still getting globs, randomly. assume extrusion and temp tests next?
Any info on adding ABL to the Ender 3 V2?
I’ve ordered 2 silent driver boards 1.1.5 for my 3 pro and 5 and received the V4.2.7 board that comes in the V2. After some digging it seams that Creality is no longer shipping the 8 bit silent driver boards anymore.
Marlin G35, I've never had such a freakishly perfect bed.
Can you throw some more light on this g35 technique?
@@ananthpadfoot G35 is a "Tramming Assistant" code for Marlin firmware that helps level the bed using a probe, such as the BLTouch. marlinfw.org/docs/gcode/G035.html
@@ananthpadfoot marlinfw.org/docs/gcode/G035.html
You type g35 into a terminal, like in octoprint or just pronterface. It taps each of the corners and the center with the z-probe, it then tells you to turn the threads clockwise or counterclockwise, rinse and repeat for a fully level bed to x gantry with zero effort or skill. This gets it level, but then you just babystep it to the correct nozzle height in the center and you're golden all over the bed.
would you agree with the statement that sometimes the type or brand of filmament makes a difference when it comes to how it extrudes on the first? I've also found it by adjusting my temperature I can change how the squish appears to show on the build plate which I think is something that people also need to be aware of. This is a great video and very educational but that's one thing I do believe you should add as sometimes you may have under extrusion or poor adhesion causing it to appear as an incorrect squish however it could be that the temperature of the nozzle isn't high enough and the filament is not hot enough to go through properly.
Question: I'm trying to go through your calibration site with my CR 6 SE and I don't know what to put on the "auto-bed leveling" section of the gcode generator because none of the options seem to be applicable. The CR 6 SE bed leveling is *exclusively* automatic and the starting gcode doesn't seem to have any of the calls that you have listed on that page. Maybe I'm not understanding something properly because I'm still so new to 3D printing, but I want to make sure I do this right. Please help.
Lol could have needed this like an hour ago. Did my own calibration code by using a big square with a skirt and the removed ever code except the skirt. This way I get 3 lines of extrusion all around and I can see what corner is incorrect and if the bed is uneven
Great video!!! Thank you!
Question for you, where did you get your x axis linear rail kit from?
What if your printbed is warped? I've got a heated glass printbed that is leveled as far he 4 corners, but has dips and crown in the surface such that there are spots where the nozzle is scraping the bed and spots where it is laying filament in midair.. I do manual mesh leveling because I don't have a level sensor (but even if I did, my bed has a severe warp right along one edge that a probe could not be reached due to the probe offsets) with a 6x6 grid which is time consuming and still needs to be redone regularly and with different bed temps etc..
Thanks for your video. I was waiting for you to mention mesh bed leveling. I think it as good as ABL only think that is manual. I know ABL is convenient but for us that have Ender 3 with 1. main board, from what i understand is a bit harder to add ABL unless you improvise or add adaptors.
There is a product that I'll probably be ordering this evening called EZABL, and they have a version that doesn't require playing with the main board at all, which is the one I'm going to get as my solitary attempt at soldering did not end well at all 😑. All you need to do is bridge the z axis plugs with it, and you're finished. Apologies if you are already aware of it...just trying to help. 😊
@@sternrulez Thanks for your response. I didn't know about EZABL, yes is plug and play but you still have to play with marlin firmware and is much more expensive than BLT. to be honest for the amount of printing i am doing MESH leveling is enough.Thanks again for your response.
Do the ABL corrections remain throughout all the layers? if so... that would mean a warped bed at the end of the day, or it just compensates during the first layer?
Once again, an incredibly important and helpful video...thanks so much!
I have just got an Ender 3 S1 printer in place of my V2 that I traded in recently. Since the S1 has auto bed leveling, it's been an experience to try and get that perfect 1st layer. Any tips for a newcomer for the auto bed leveling?
@12:40 "The Z-Offset is simply the vertical mesurement between the tip of the nozzle and where the probe triggers" Is this true also for capasitive-based sensors? How do we know where the probe triggers?
Hey so I have a Biqu b1 and I am not certain I have a warped bed, in fact I probably don't but I'll check anyway. My question to you is when you say warped bed, are you talking about the magnetic sheet, or the part the sheet is placed on?
Hello! 2 Questions: Newbie here! 1.Can you print multiple 3d projects at one time, is it wise, is it feasible? For instance, if I have a numbers set 0-9 and they are not connected, can I print them at one go? 2. Is it okay to have the Ender 3 Pro sitting in a cabinet right next to another Ender 3 Pro (within a few inches from the other) ? I didn't know if there would be any sort of friction that would harm the other printer. Many thanks!
The automatic bed leveling thing would definitely be nice to have as well, hopefully it doesn't set me back too much..6.6
What are the clips for on your bed? Are they holding your bed cover in place? I use those for glass, but it suddenly occurs maybe I should with the OEM mat too? Does it slip?
i noticed you still use a zstop switch in addition to the BLTouch (or equivalent) do you move this higher than its lowest position?
So the bed *should* be warm. Flsun Q5 has the autolevel/home/adjust z0 in one sub-menu by default and it doesn't heat. This explains why I have to make the head nearly crash into the bed for the prints to stick right!
I always have an issue with the centre of my bed being to close to my nozzle, how do I adjust this?
The other four corners are perfect
Hi Michael, any chance of you doing a review of the Troodon 400?
I've really been struggling with whether bl touch would be worthwhile, and I know for a fact my bed has a minor warp, so I'm sold. Now if I can just figure out how to utilize the full size of the bed in cura...
@Teaching Tech would you say that it is better to level the bed closer to the corners or closer to the center?
I have a question about when ABL data is stored. I compiled my own Marlin firmware. If I run the ABL command through the LCD screen (not through GCode), is this saved to EEPROM? Main reason I ask is because I have some GCode that are already sliced and locked for editing and so I cannot add to the code to run ABL prior to printing. If I were to manually run the ABL through the LCD then start my print, would the leveling data be used? Thanks.