Auto-leveling using an Inductive Sensor

[ejcruz]

Just wondering if anyone has or tried to implement Auto-leveling (tramming) using an Inductive Sensor with FF Creator series. From what I have read so far you will need:
- Sailfish 7.7/4.7 Release (this firmware supports Auto-leveling)
- Control board with ATmega 2560 processor

Here is a link http://www.instructables.com/id/Enab...ter-Marlin-Fi/ which gives you a good idea, but please note the link is based on Marlin Firmware.

I would be very interested to hear from anyone of their experiences.

Thank you

[curious aardvark]

Given how infrequently you need to calibrate a ff creator. Not sure anyone's added auto levelling to one.

Be interesting to see how hard it is though

so how does it work ? do you still have to mess with the levelling screws ? or somehow motorise them ?

[ejcruz]

Given how infrequently you need to calibrate a ff creator. Not sure anyone's added auto levelling to one.

Be interesting to see how hard it is though

so how does it work ? do you still have to mess with the levelling screws ? or somehow motorise them ?

Thank you for posting, my understanding so far on Auto-leveling (tramming) saves you from messing around with the leveling screws, you only level the bed one time using the leveling screws there after the Sailfish Firmware will use the inductive sensor to compensate the Z-Axis Min for any part of the bed which has gone out of alignment, which means you don't have to touch the leveling screws again. It looks straight forward implementing this with the Marlin Firmware because of easy access to it's configuration file (configuration.h) where you can enable the necessary parameters for Auto-leveling, and simply connecting the inductive sensor to the Z-Axis Min connector - this connector is also available on FFCP. Sailfish 7.7/4.7 say's Auto-leveling is available but does not say how to enable or access this function, note there is no configuration file for Sailfish 7.7/4.7, so maybe there is some G-Code available ?

[jfkansas]

Really a waste of time. Some people make "messing" around with the leveling screws seem so difficult. Any time spent "messing" with auto leveling is better spent thinking about adding lead screws to the system so the platform isn't cantilevered. Generally after that is done very little adjustment is ever needed. There will be times the system needs trammed due to different substrates and nozzle heights, but that is different than leveling.

[ejcruz]

Maybe considering on an average I level my FFCP 2 times per month, further investigation shows Scottbee is having good results with his design - here is the link https://groups.google.com/forum/#!ms...4/0A1unBHWeyYJ . I'll wait and see if Scottbee will sell/release his design.

[Ama-fessional Molder]

Tramming is kind of by default NOT using software compensation, as it implies physically leveling the bed plate.

[originalt80]

does anybody have an knowledge on the BL Touch auto leveling sensor and the FFCP?

[ejcruz]

does anybody have an knowledge on the BL Touch auto leveling sensor and the FFCP?

This is another auto-leveling system I'm looking at, I like the compact build and size which gives you better options to mount near the extruder compared to the Inductive sensor, the sensor pin head is retractable at about 3mm (nice clearance distance), and the body length is 36mm (good size to locate near the extruder. It has 5 wires, +5V, GND, and 3 wires which use the same connectors to a servo, this means you should be able to connect these wires to the Z-Axis Min socket on the FFCP board. For me the only down side is the price USD$33 + postage compared to Inductive sensor $4.

[originalt80]

This is another auto-leveling system I'm looking at, I like the compact build and size which gives you better options to mount near the extruder compared to the Inductive sensor, the sensor pin head is retractable at about 3mm (nice clearance distance), and the body length is 36mm (good size to locate near the extruder. It has 5 wires, +5V, GND, and 3 wires which use the same connectors to a servo, this means you should be able to connect these wires to the Z-Axis Min socket on the FFCP board. For me the only down side is the price USD$33 + postage compared to Inductive sensor $4.

yes it seems like a good option but i cannot find any setup info for how to set this sensor up on the ffcp... the creators of the bl touch verified that it can work with the ffcp. so the 5 wires (set of 3 & set of 2) the 3 are for the Z-axis Min Socket and the 2 are just +5V & GND??

[ejcruz]

Had another look at the BLTouch specification here's the details:
3 wires: Brown = GND, Red = +5V, Orange = control signal
2 wires: Black = GND, white = Z-Min Axis

FFCP Z-Min Axis connection on the board is as follows:
pin 1 = +5V
pin 2 = GND
pin 3 = GND
pin 4 = signal

First I want to make it clear I have not tried/tested connecting the BLTouch to the FFCP, I hope someone else with more electronic experience will help, the BLTouch has 5 wires whereas the FFCP Z-Min Axis only has 4, so I would first try the following:
BLTouch =========== FFCP
Brown wire (GND) ====>> Pin 2 (GND)
Black wire (GND) ====>> Pin 2 (GND)
Red wire (+5V) ====>> Pin 1 (+5V)
Orange wire (signal) ===>> pin 4 (signal)
White wire (Z-Min) ====>> pin 3 (GND)
The Orange and the white wires I'm not sure they may need to be swapped around.

To test use the following G-Code:
M280 P0 S90 ; to push the pin down
M280 P0 S10 ; to pull the pin up

You need to read the sailfish manual to understand the G-Codes:
- go to section Little Details, then go to Firmware Auto-Leveling
- go to section Special G-Code Commands

Hope this helps