Creality Dial Indicator Leveling tool

thingiverse

This is a mount for a dial indicator [like this one](https://www.harborfreight.com/1-in-travel-machinists-dial-indicator-63521.html "cheap one from harbor freight"), to be used to level the bed on a 3d printer. I have seen several designs for different holders, but they mostly use friction to hold the indicator and bracket. This design uses two screws to hold the indicator to the bracket and the bracket to the printer, resulting in a more precise measurement. I designed this for my CR10s, but I think the extruder shroud on most ender and CR series printers are the same height and it should fit on most creality printers. I printed it in PLA, but petg would also work. It should be printed solid (100% infill), and with support but no raft. I included the cad files in case you have an indicator with slightly different dimensions, or want to modify it for another printer. Hardware needed: * m6x16mm pan-head screw (you could also use a regular head screw and a second washer, but you would need a slightly longer screw then.) * m6 washer * m6 nut * m3x8mm screw * m3 nut I took design inspiration from [this mount for a CR10](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2412647) and [this one for an Anet A4](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4632675), but I did the file from scratch. How to use this to level the bed: Print the skirt from something on the bed and cancel the print before the main object starts (or print something and leave the skirt on after you take it off). Home the printer, then raise the z-axis until the tip of the indicator clears the bed. Move the extruder to bring the indicator tip over the skirt lines, and lower the extruder 1mm at a time until the needle touches the skirt. Write down the z-height that the printer reads off (17mm on my stock CR10s). Note the reading on the indicator. If your indicator has markers like mine, clip one on to mark the height of the top of the skirt. Move the indicator over 1-2mm to measure the height of the bed. Note the reading, or mark it with the second marker. This is the height that all the corners will be leveled to. Keeping the z-axis at the same height, move the tip of the dial to the corner of the bed. Move the leveling screw until the indicator is at the same height. Move the extruder to all 4 corners of the bed and repeat the process. I find that it works best to go around all the corners twice, as they may shift somewhat when you are working on the opposite end of the bed. Move the needle back to the middle of the bed, and check that the height is correct. If it is, the bed is levelled correctly. If not, first try leveling the corners again. If that does not work, check the bed for warping. This method takes the same or less time as doing the paper leveling method, and also produces a much more accurate result.