100mm extrusion guide

thingiverse

I was dialing in my printer, so I watched YouTube videos and read some pages about extrusion. While trying to mark my filament, I fussed with rulers and tape measures, but as a human, I found myself short on hands or dexterity. The premise is straightforward: use a target line at a known distance and another line a bit further on to gauge the overshoot. Printing precision isn't crucial here; knowing the distances is what matters most. I prefer easy math, so I dialed my printer until the markers came out at 100mm, 120mm, and object length of 130mm - roughly. This helps boost one's ego, but having repeatable marks and distances is truly essential. The numbers on the print are for aesthetics, not practical purposes; not being able to read them doesn't constitute a failed print. So, I prepared my nozzle for the preferred heat setting, rested the gauge on a fixed point - like the top of the feeder or PTFE guide - slotted the gauge along the filament, and marked a pen line across the guides. My pen strokes have variance and wobble, so don't stress over a couple of millimeters. Next, I had my printer (not PC software) extrude the same distance I measured to the first notch - approximately 100mm. Now, I can follow the standard guidelines for adjusting the steppers, as well as adjust the Excel sheet values to match my guide measurements and the extruded lengths.