How To Level Your 3D Printer Bed
December 3, 2021|3BA printing Tips, 3D printing Advice, 3D Printing Tips
Levelling the 3D printer bed is one of the essential skills that are necessary for FDM 3D printing. Some printers, such as the Zortrax Inventure, M200 plus, M300 plus, and M300 dual have assisted bed level functions. However, most FDM 3D printers require manual bed levelling. There are a few key tips to successfully level your 3D printer bed. This method will work on many popular 3D printers, such as the Creality ender 3, Anycubic I3 mega, and many more.
1. Tighten the 3D printer knobs
It is important to tighten the knobs under your 3D printers before starting the build plate levelling process. This is because if your bed knobs are loose, the build plate will be closer to the hot end. If it is accidentally too close, you can risk ramming your print head into your bed, scratching both your nozzle and hot end, as well as risking breaking the heat-break within the hot-end.
2. Heat up printer bed and nozzle to first layer temperature
It is important to level your printer to the same temperature as your first layer. This is because different nozzle and bed temperatures will result in different amounts of thermal expansion. If you level your printer at 205/55 for PLA, printing PETG at 240/80 will result in your nozzle being too close to the bed, due to thermal expansion. It is important to ensure that you do not accidentally touch the nozzle during levelling, as it can result in serious injuries.
3. Loosen one of the knobs nearly all the way
After checking that your nozzle will not hit the print bed, loosen on of the knobs on your printer all the way. This is a little trick that will make levelling a bit easier.
4. Use a piece of paper.
Drag the print head around the four corners, and centre of the bed. Slide the piece of A4 paper underneath the nozzle. Tighten or loosen the knobs as required to achieve the desired tightness.
A. For PLA and ABS: You should have medium amounts of resistance.
B. For PETG and TPU: You should have low amounts of resistance. This is because PETG and TPU are prone to sticking to the nozzle if they are squished too much during the first layer.
5. Repeat this process multiple times
Adjusting one knob will affect the tightness over another knob. Thus, it is important to repeat step 4 multiple times.
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