Align Bed

thingiverse

I lost my base settings for my 3D printer, and I urgently needed a quick way to find the correct origin offset for my print bed. I created a SCAD app to create different sized measuring blocks to align my printer. Steps to Align: 1) Print a set of blocks 2) Measure from one block to the nearest edge 3) Measure from the opposite block to the nearest edge 4) Subtract the two measurements and divide by 2. That number is the amount needed to correct the origin for your printer software. 5) Print blocks again, recheck, and repeat if still a little off Now do the other direction. Warning: You may have to make multiple passes. For me, my software and print bed are 90 degrees out of alignment. My origin is actually at the left rear of the printer but left front for the software. So when I was adjusting, I kept mixing up whether I was adjusting left-right alignment or front-back alignment. I've also included my parts list, which includes the model of micrometer that I used. A standard tape measure with metric markings will work, but it won't be as exact. Update note 2020-04-16: I found a second use for these blocks - leveling the bed. I was having trouble starting a new roll of PLA and everything was going wrong. My printer uses two stepper motors to raise the cross bar (z axis). One got jammed and out of square. Printing the four corner blocks at 75mm from center lines, then measuring their height at the tallest point helped me level the bed. My micrometer has a plunge option that made it easy to get accurate measurements. Once I found the right side was 1mm lower than the left, I manually turned my right side motor five clicks (counter-clockwise) to raise the cross bar on just the right side. Then I printed four more corners and found the bed was within 0.1mm from left to right. The number of clicks will depend on your equipment. I guessed that one click equals 0.2mm in height, which turned out to be close. If five clicks only raised it 0.5mm, I would have turned another five clicks. Since the math showed 0.1mm is equal to one click, I was able to get the bed level with a few adjustments.