Adjustable Feet for Makerbot Replicator 5G

thingiverse

Our floor isn't perfectly level, so our table isn't level, and that means our printer isn't perfectly level either. It's almost there, but even after using the build platform's assisted leveling feature, our prints kept curling and peeling off in a bad way - raft or no raft at all. I hacked up this design and made some custom nuts and bolts out of this one, then used them to make adjustable feet for my printer. Once I got the printer itself perfectly level, and did the assisted leveling thing again on the build platform, our prints started turning out beautifully - totally straight, no curling or peeling whatsoever. For each foot, print the following parts: 1. One bottom part 1. One top part 1. One bolt piece 2. Two nut pieces I'd recommend printing those nuts and bolts separate from the tops and bottoms - they're stronger since they bear the weight, so make them with a little extra substance. For the tops and bottoms, I did it at 0.2mm layer height, with two layers on each side, and just 10% filling. But for the load-bearing nuts and bolts, I cranked that infill up to 25% and that worked just fine. Now, assemble each foot like this: Slide a bolt through the bottom piece so the hex head sits flat in its receiver - the bottom part is shorter than the top one. Next, screw on one nut to keep it in place - that's not necessary but I felt better knowing it was securely attached for distributing loads evenly. Then screw on another nut down over the first one, just don't let this second nut touch the first one or else when you adjust the foot, both nuts might come loose. After that, slide the top part down over the bolt so the second nut fits inside its receptor - then make sure the bolt's tip is almost at the edge of the assembled foot. Repeat with all four feet, and once they're ready, gently put them under the corners of your printer. Place a level on the printer floor itself, not on the build platform - adjust the feet so the bubble sits right in the middle both from left to right and front to back without removing them from under the printer. You can (and should) make those adjustments while the feet are still holding down the corners of your printer. When you get that printer leveled, just keep going with the assisted leveling feature.