Easy 3D Printer Bed Leveling with Cheap Dial Test Indicator. CR-10 

As a machinist This Is EXACLY how i planned to do my cr10 s 5. And YOUr design to hook up the dial IS perfect. THANK YOU and gredtings from finland

Awesome! no bla bla! Genius! THE BEST VIDEO ON THE SUBJECT AROUND! I've watched so much more or less interesting, more or less "scientific approach", YOUR VIDEO IS THE MOST HELPFUL and easily instructive. Thanks a lot!

That is just perfect. Got my CR-10 last week and are struggling with the leveling. Will test this :) Thanks TR Norway.

Brilliantly simple and elegant at the same time!

So it takes a machinist to show the 3D printer community how to level a print bed. Great work. I bought this printer after I saw how well it worked for you. Just got it this week, hope to have it running soon. I'm sure this will be one of my first prints. Can't wait to see what you do next!

you are the smartest person on youtube. thanks for this!

Such a great idea! Had never thought of that despite having one!

In my Eyes the best solution, needs no power, no wires. Genius!

Thank you for linking the bracket you used/made. My printer has the same head and I found your video trying to come up with Ideas to mount my own indicator.

Nice. I'll definitely do this at some point. Thanks for sharing.

Fantastic alternative to the glitchy electronic bed levelling systems. Thanks .

Old school and I love it. Subscribed now

Look into using the M0 command between leveling steps, that's what I've been using to level my bed. M0 is basically a wait for user command, you'll have to click your knob to continue but this way you're not racing to make adjustments. I also run my version around twice since adjustments affect opposing corners.

Quick and nice indeed. I found a nicely quick way for leveling the heat bed of my Anet A8: I have a water level with two perpendicular gages in it here. I first put it on the top frame of the machine, and checked what the positions of the bubbles were. Then I took the level, laid it onto the heat bed and adjusted the screws so that the positions of the bubbles were exactly as I saw them before. Then I sorted the rest of the leveling in the usual piece of paper as a feeler gag.method. All screws were within a full turn of the correct position. The entire job was done in some 5 minutes. Anyway, I need an indicator now. That method is too elegant to ignore.

Good solution!!! And you can also see the terrible amount of altitude variation from the glass tray itself. When the meter is dragged only on the glass, the oscillations indicated on the pointer are enormous.

I have just completed my auto leveling sensor on a very modified AnetA8, the manual adjustments after months of printing drove me crazy. Some screw threads are even damaged already. But this here....looks absolutely great! Because of the just installed additional sensor to my light weight E3D v6 extruder, the printer now has to carry more weight again. I could have avoided that by using this manual technique. However... to be honest, I don't want to adjust the leveling manually at all anymore. The printer is sitting somewhere in a dark corner on the floor. And every now and then it's printing out something. Even when it's sitting around for 4 weeks I had to re adjust the bed.. no thanks to manual leveling. Auto leveling actually works absolutely brilliant if done right.

Since adding a sheet of 3 mm glass and some sprint centring posts from thingiverse I rarely have to level my Ender 3 bed. From experience you get more consistent results if you always approach the level point from the spring loose side. IE the adjustment compresses the spring.

this has been a great help thanks!

muy buena la idea....!!! congratulations....

your printer lays a thick fat line, mine does only a thin line same printer. Are you using a thicker nozzle on this video?

So obvious. Great idea.

Great vid. I have a CR-10 s4 & it does not show auto bed leveling. I wonder why. Thank you very much.

This is fantastic!

LMAO well played again this coming from you is well liked but really no surprise .thank's for all you do sir .

Yes this is what i need! Thanks man :-)

One word, genius

Thank you for your time.

Simple, clever, efficient ... What else ? thanks a lot

Awesome design.

I need this so simple yet so effective

Bloody awesome. Cheers

Brillant!

You are a genius, thanks a lot.

Here is code for the Creality CR-10 Mini. It's better as it raises/lowers the head height vs. dragging it side to side. The dial indicator values can change if not raised/lowered. G21 ;metric values G90 ;absolute positioning M82 ;set extruder to absolute mode M107 ;set fan off G28 X0 Y0 ;move X/Y to min endstops G28 Z0 ;move Z to min endstops ;move to starting corner for paper ;--------------------------------- G0 F3500 X25 Y20 Z0 ;move to paper setting corner G4 P15000 :wait 15 seconds to set first corner with paper slip ;move extruder head up to clear indicator ;---------------------------------------- G1 Z30 ;move indicator vertical to clear bed G4 P2000 ;wait 2 seconds G92 E0 ;zero the extruded length G1 F5000 ;dial indicator setup ;-------------------- G0 F3500 X25 Y60 ;Move dial indicator to each corner in turn G0 Z21 ;lower dial indicator G4 P15000 ;wait 15 seconds to set indicator to zero G0 Z30 ;lift indicator prior to move ;move to corners ;----------------- G1 X276 Y228 ;back right corner G0 Z21 ;lower indicator G4 P10000 ;wait 10 seconds to adjust bed G0 Z30 ;lift indicator prior to move G1 X276 Y60 ;front right corner G0 Z21 ;lower indicator G4 P10000 ;wait 10 seconds to adjust bed G0 Z30 ;lift indicator prior to move G1 X25 Y228 ;front left corner G0 Z21 ;lower indicator G4 P10000 ;wait 10 seconds to adjust bed G0 Z30 ;lift indicator prior to move G1 X276 Y60 ;front right corner G0 Z21 ;lower indicator G4 P5000 ;wait 5 seconds to adjust bed G0 Z30 ;lift indicator prior to move G1 X276 Y228 ;back right corner G0 Z21 ;lower indicator G4 P5000 ;wait 5 seconds to adjust bed G0 Z30 ;lift indicator prior to move G1 X25 Y60 ;front left corner G0 Z21 ;lower indicator G4 P50000 ;wait 10 seconds to adjust bed G0 Z30 ;lift indicator prior to move ;recheck home position ;--------------------- G4 P5000 ;wait 5 seconds to adjust bed G1 Z21 ;lower indicator and recheck zero G4 P2000 ;wait 5 seconds G0 F9000 Z30 ;lift indicator ;End GCode M104 S0 ; set extruder temperature off M140 S0 ; set bed temperature off M84 ;disable steppers

I thought of doing this! I even. Considered remaking the bed and machining a flat piece of aluminum or stainless. And get rid.of the springs.

This is genius!

Awesome! Thank you.

Thank you very much nice job you read my mind.

That's awesome. Thanks! :D

I also did this but then I found a better way. I do it like this: Drive the head on top of each adjustment knob, at each knob i set head to Z = 0 mm (gcode command) and adjust the knob so the head just touches the surface. Ready to print.

Wowww nice 👍 👌👌👌👏

Thats feeekin awesome

goodwork.

Genious 👌

Hey!! this is an awesome idea! I have a ender 3 which uses the same hotend and everything but just a smaller bed size. how can i make it so i can input my bed size so i can make my bed level? Thanks!

Great and simple solution! Your bed may be level now, but at 0:12 you can clearly see that the belt driving the carriage is not parallel to the x-axis. This will generate non linear errors in the x axis dimensions near to the ends... You should correct that. I've seen that on a lot CR-10 videos now, guess it's a design flaw of the printer...

How can the code be modified to accommodate the Ender 5 bed size?

Only problem is that you need to be able to print this tool with an already leveled bed? If not then the 3d printer will print the tool wrong and won't hold the dti properly? I have a cr10s pro v2 :/ Don't think that dti bracket will fit for me.

Nice video. When you adjust one corner, another corner can go up or down. You should have a code that test each side like 3 times and also have middle check to.

Please let me know when you get a design for the CR-10s Pro! Awesome love it!

Awesome!!!

Thanks!

Will this code work for the Tevo Tornado? Thanks. Such a great idea. I seem to be forever having to level the bed UGH! Also, how did you set the level for the first one? Looks like the paper was below the bed.

Give new technology to somebody with creativity and good things will happen

So how once you level the bed do you get the nozzle perfect height from the bed? For example I can screw my print bed all the way down and level it from there or screw it all the way out and level it from there, I can still level it although it will be way off in height?

thanks men i going to print and show you working thanks and can you give us Cura profiles o set up to PLA in CR 10 ?

could you do this without using the g code on an ender 5? Basically, setting z stop screw so z trips with nozzle off bed higher than printing height, tightening bed screws 2/3-3/4 way with print head off bed like 10mm, put dial indicator on the hot en, prehat bed, disable steppers and tramming bed all around until bed level. Then reset z stop screw so that nozzle is back to correct height for printing?

Thank you very much for your effort! I've ender 3 3D printer, how to run the G-code? how to create G-code file? Thank yo very much!

Excellent!

Something to note with this method is Dial Gauge Weight deflection aka the X axis bars deflect or bend in Z- and when you take off the dial you are out of measurement, in my case 0.12 from the weight of the indicator alone.

Hi I have been searching your channel for a "start" video on the Creality printer you have??? Cant find one??? Rgds Laurie

perfectly not, but near perfection yes, great work

Hi there,I found your video very interesting,however when it came to leveling the bad I could not understand how you got a measurement when the print head and paper was off and below the bed?

Very fair

The Damn dti I got in the mill doesn't fit into the original bracket :( another print to the scrap bin. Is there a way I can edit the original stl to open up just a bit bigger? I snapped the one i just printed on accident trying to sand and force fit haha

Great !

Great idea, did it with a mitutoyo dial indicator. The basic idea is really cool, but in the end it didnt work for me. The problem was the program. After setting up the initial nozzle height (one sheet of paper thick) the z axis goes up to make room for the indicator. And stays in z +25 mm or so. You then level the bed in that "virtual plane". While that idea is genious and should work in theory, it didnt in reality. I achieved a perfect level of +-0,05 mm across the entire bed. Ran the program multiple times, then I started a print afterwards. The nozzle was too high everytime, the molten filament didnt even stick to the bed. Any suggestions how to make it better?

what bed leveling program are you using ? my autolevel on my cr-10s does not level like yours at all; it goes from front left to back left and then to right back, and then to right front and then finally to center.

I understand how this approach will level the bed relative to the nozzle. However, because you initially set the distance between the lower left corner of the bed and the nozzle using the paper, and then later go back and change the hight of the same corner, how can the distance between the bed and the nozzle remain correct? If the paper fit perfectly before you started the leveling, I don't see how it could remain like this after this procedure (unless you set a z offset in the firmware afterwards).

How did you get your dti to turn so smoothly. I have the same one, but turning the front number is impossible without force

What were you doing with the paper in the very beginning? Does the home corner need to be already leveled for this to work?

Slick, use the tool to calibrate the tool. So simple an MP can figure it out.

What program can i use to copy the gcode that will work? I'm on a mac, i tried text edit and the file didnt work. any advice would be appreciated

As a machinist, I wondered why bed leveling is such a big deal? Just get a dial indicator... Well, your video answered the question. "Paper" method relies in 0.05" paper which means dial indicator is easily 10-20 times more accurate. Questions: What is the accepted height variation of the glass between corners (in thousands)? And doesn't the printer have some way to lock the height adjustment knobs? Thanks!

might be a cheap but its an standard tool in machinery. i used that daily.

Heya maybe this is a stupid question, but on that tool as I can see you can reach zero leveling by raising or lowering the bed. so how do you know what direction you need to adjust to make the bed leveled?

Amazing video! How Can I do the same in the Anycubic i3 mega?

Do you often find that you are the best machinist in the room. I bet you do.

so i have to 3d print the part to make my 3d printer work?

This is great and all but you can be level but too high or too low from the bed, are we looking for that squish and that's it?

Bed is level but how does this mean that the nozzle is the correct distance from the bed? What if you have a shorter or longer nozzle?

Do you have a remix for the file for a cr10v3 and a ender 3v2? This is genius.

Отлично

I dont understand the step when you were putting the paper under your nozzle. Are we supposed to adjust the distance between the nozzle and the bed after removing the paper?

That gauge is out of stock on Banggood. Can you make a holder for the digital gauge that they have in stock?

Will the printed dial indicator holder fit a Ender 3

Woww! That is a good idea. Btw about the bed plate. Is that a masking tape?

This is definitely a lot better than guessing lol

Great video. Im new to 3d printing. How would i use you gocde for a ender 5?

OMG! Music from Myfordboy? Next thing you know, MrPete222 will have some . . . from his brother in Cody, Wyoming.

any machinist would automatically think of this from tramming mills.. for some reason , it never caught on with the 3d printing crowd.. Seems like its hard for most people to bed level because they really don't understand what theyre doing..they know what theyre doing , but don't understand it , and there is an important difference.. ( like tramming a mill table versus tramming just the vice )

I need this ...this is awesome😎... What do I have to run this on my ender 3 v2?

So if I level the bed once and get it all correct and proper, then I can dial in that guage and mess with the bed level for the sheer hell of it and i can get it back accurately is what I'm getting from this. Looks like I'm buying one of those dials.

Hello, what diameter should the DTI axis be? because on ur site, it's out of stock (sorry for my english)

Would this be a segment of code for an ender 3? that has a 220x220 xy bed "G0 F3500 X10.000 Y60.00 Z10.000 M117 ;zero DTI G4 P10000 ;wait 10 seconds to set DTI to zero G1 X200.000 Y200.000 G4 P10000 ;wait 10 seconds to adjust bed G1 X200.000 Y60.000 G4 P10000 ;wait 10 seconds to adjust bed G1 X10.000 Y200.000"

Do those el-cheapo $7.00 gages work?

im tryig to print this with my cr-10 i have the heating bead at 80 and the nossle at 230 and thre print keeps breaking off the build plate i also have elmers glue on the bottom so it sticks whats wrong with my printer?

Will your code work with a Creality 10 V2?

what tape do you use

will this gcode and mount bracket work on the ender 3