Auto-leveling

[KDog]

Hi All,

Am trying to implement this on my printrbot and came across these videos. If I had a Makerfarm i3 I would definitely do this mod. Wow!


part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awsI9bMndJA
part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6msLOR_EfKc
part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpiOsetkIRg

Let me know if any of you try this.

Cheers,

KDog

[old man emu]

That will be the next job after I have installed a relay to control the power to my heated bed. Luckily I decided to scrap out an RC plane that I bought some time ago and which has micro servos!

Old Man Emu

[DrLuigi]

Well i thought about it,
But i wont do this simple because i would need to remove my Fan mount for my 2 40mm fans, And its just not worth it imo, It wont always be perfect on level and will need tinkering as you have to do now,

If i didnt have the fan mount/have another design that would work, i would have bought the parts already.

[Kingoddball]

(I have a RepRap i3 not MK) I plan on installing one of these in my i3 soon. Probably in the next few weeks.
Got my 9G servos yesterday.
If it works OK on my printer, I will be adding to all of my printers.

I have 2 and a half printers so far (i2/i3 and three quarters a SmartRap).

[old man emu]

Hook the servo gets hooked up to the three pins adjacent to those that are jumped. The ground wire of the servo goes on the pin closest to the edge of the board.

OME

[JohnA136]

I am a little perplexed? Do you guys have a problem with your build platform or extruder changing positions all the time? I set the gap on my machines and forget it? Seriously, I set the platform at Christmas when my son brought it up and have not touched it and probably have a hundred hours on it since then? Maybe I am missing something here?

[old man emu]

Do you guys have a problem with your build platform or extruder changing positions all the time?

Yes. I'd say that you are lucky in that the distance between your extruder and bed at Z= 0 has remained constant after all those heating cycles. With the constant heating and cooling of the bed, there is the possibility of warping of either the bed, the heater plate, or the glass. This simple device allows the controller to confirm the location of the surface of the bed before each print job, and adjust things to the true Z = 0 by adding a bit of Z if the bed is low, or by taking off a bit of Z if it is high. having watched the video, I am impressed by the speed this process can take place, and much more accurately than I could do it by physically trying to set the endstop position or bed height.

OME

[old man emu]

On that diagram ...

See the three pins above the letter "U" in AUX 1? That's where the servo gets plugged in. The earth (ground) wire of the servo goes on the pin that is the lowest in the diagram (closest to the "U")

OME

[RobH2]

I am a little perplexed? Do you guys have a problem with your build platform or extruder changing positions all the time? I set the gap on my machines and forget it? Seriously, I set the platform at Christmas when my son brought it up and have not touched it and probably have a hundred hours on it since then? Maybe I am missing something here?

Hi John, where I find auto leveling invaluable is when I have different substrates to print on. My Garolite is thicker than my glass and the poplar I use for Nylon is 3/8" thick. It makes it so easy to let the servo find the surfaces of those different thicknesses and set the gap.

[KDog]

Yeah, sometimes I can get several prints without adjusting the bed but then it will move around a bit. Could be natural warping occurring, different pieces of glass? I like the idea of not worrying about it.

Also, you get a centimeter+ extra z-build height with auto leveling because you can remove the springs, knobs, etc. and mount the heated bed directly to the movement platform.