Dial Indicator Bracket for Ender 3 Pro w/3DMoe E3D V6 Mount

thingiverse

I originally used this very capable mount (www.thingiverse.com/thing:2746787) to hold my Dial Indicator for bed level tweaking on my Ender 3 Pro. But when I switched from the stock hotend to an E3D V6, that mount would no longer work, so I needed something else. I mounted my V6 using moezart's excellent remix (www.thingiverse.com/thing:2531391) of a mount from Lukes_Laboratory (www.thingiverse.com/thing:2182924). It's very simple, fits like a glove, and works great. I don't use a BLTouch, nor an EZABL sensor like he does, so the screws on the X carriage next to the hot end mount were available. So, I designed this bracket to hold the ubiquitous Harbor Freight Pittsburgh Chinesium Dial Indicator, which is also sold rebranded by many other companies. It's cheap, easy to use, and accurate enough for bed levelling. I had already removed the mounting "eye" on the back of the indicator for use in the prior mount, but I think this bracket would work fine without removing it. It attaches just by friction, and should work with any indicator that has a 9.5mm stem. If your printer is calibrated reasonably well, it should just slide in, and requires no hardware to secure and remove the indicator. The height is set so that at full extension, the indicator's point sits just below the nozzle, which allows it to be used to probe the height of the bed at almost any position. (It will not reach the far right edge of the bed, because of the X stop on that end.) The mount clears the X stop switch, and the indicator doesn't interfere with any moving parts. It sits right against the mount for the V6, but that just keeps it from wanting to turn. To use this bracket, you first need to be somewhere in the ballpark of the height you want the bed to be leveled to. Do your normal leveling procedure first. (If you don't have one you like, check out CHEP's video on YouTube.) This bracket will help you actually LEVEL the bed, it doesn't tell you whether it needs to be higher or lower in general. It's just going to help you get the entire bed at the same distance from the gantry. And of course, it doesn't fix any warped beds, though it will certainly help you find a warp if there is one, and where it is. I use it by first homing the printer, to set everything to the zero position. This leaves the carriage to the far left end of the X gantry on my Ender 3 Pro. I then insert the dial indicator into the bracket, making sure it's straight, and sits right against the hot end mount fitting. Then, using the LCD controls, I move the Z axis UP 10mm, which makes sure the pointer clears the bed. (Check your own, in case some other changes have altered the stock design.) Now, you have two options: Manual or Electronic positioning of the carriage. To measure manually, with the LCD, you select "Disable Steppers". This frees the carriage and bed so that all you have to do is carefully move the carriage whatever point on the bed you wish to use as a reference. (I use the front left corner, but it really doesn't matter.) Then go back to the LCD and Move the Z axis DOWN, one millimeter at a time, until it contacts the bed, and the dial moves. Then zero the indicator, since this is now your reference position. You will now have to "Disable Steppers" using the LCD again, to allow you to move things around by hand. Now, you can move the carriage in X and the bed carefully to wherever you want to level your bed to your own tolerances. Personally, what I find works well is to put the pointer just over each of the adjusting wheels, because that way each adjustment has a minimal effect on the other points on the bed. The indicator will tell you how much higher or lower the point you're over is relative to the reference point where you zeroed it. Obviously, you're then going to adjust the wheels just like you always would to get the number as close to zero as you can. It may take a couple of laps around the bed to get everything close enough, but this gets it level. Then you can use "Babystep Z" on the LCD to move the printhead up or down to give you the proper actual height. This will move everything all together, but it all should remain level. If you choose to move the carriage and bed electronically, you leave the steppers engaged, and use the LCD and select Motion/Move Axis, and move the pointer to wherever you want. It's probably more accurate to use the LCD to move the carriage and bed, but for the purposes of what we're doing, it probably doesn't matter enough to worry about, and moving things by hand is a lot quicker and less "fiddly" as the Brits say.