How long did it take you to calibrate your 3d printer?

[radicalrealign]

Curiousity has gotten the best of me here. I'm trying to get my reprap printing the best I possible can, and it seems like I've been spending over a month trying to calibrate it. Has everyone else had to take this long to get their 3d printers to print perfectly? I mean like <150 - 200 micron with perfected prints. How long did it take you people?

[Roxy]

It took me a while but I had multiple issues going wrong. Now, I just design stuff with the knowledge that holes always end up a little bit tighter than they are supposed to be. I wish I could print with 150 micron accuracy, but I'm not even going to try for that!

[ciutateivissa]

Only to get all the rods and threatend rod in the right angle costs me nearly 2 hours. Then I´ve tried to level the x-axis --> 1 hour. Finally I did the heated bed, that took me all in all 5 hours, but I had to interupt after 3 hours and continue on the next day...
Resolution on all 3 axis now constanly 150 micron.

[Roxy]

Finally I did the heated bed, that took me all in all 5 hours, but I had to interupt after 3 hours and continue on the next day...

Yeah... But unfortunately it isn't a one time deal. Some how it never stays level. It is probably because it is mounted on springs and depending on how much it gets pressed because of curling edges and such it shifts. Also, trying to peel a part off of the bed causes those stupid springs to shift and move.

So... I'm a big fan of Auto_Bed_Leveling !!!!

Resolution on all 3 axis now constanly 150 micron.

Hmmm... How do you measure this? Are you saying it holds .15 mm tolerance on a given axis? Maybe I don't know what this term means???

[ciutateivissa]

Yeah... But unfortunately it isn't a one time deal. Some how it never stays level. It is probably because it is mounted on springs and depending on how much it gets pressed because of curling edges and such it shifts. Also, trying to peel a part off of the bed causes those stupid springs to shift and move.

So... I'm a big fan of Auto_Bed_Leveling !!!!

Yes, we all know... Well, I use auto bed leveling for approx. 3 weeks now.

Btw., I would never use springs on my printer bed... that´s just another point of failure.

Hmmm... How do you measure this? Are you saying it holds .15 mm tolerance on a given axis? Maybe I don't know what this term means???

I´ve printed a custom made test cube (50 x 50x 50 mm) in ABS and used my caliper gauge... Everything has to be in right angle first, than you can measure the tolerance from the 3D model to the print.

[RogerD]

To my surprise - not long at all. I spent a couple of hours or so making sure my endstops were all in order and tuning in my stepper drivers. Then my 1st print was ok!

A handful of prints taught me how to manually wind down the head a fraction when the print starts until the spread of plastic is as to my preference, and that's it.

My bed is on adjustable spring screws and I only really have to level it when changing glass, or maybe once a week otherwise. I have auto bed levelling all set up on the hardware side but haven't found a need to actually activate it yet!

I don't obsess with the head height. I start a print which always gives the skirt a round filament - as it's printing the skirt I twist both threaded rods to drop the head until the plastic is squished a bit, and then that's it. I'm happier doing that than spending ages trying to get the endstop at the perfect place, or tune the z offset in the software. Can't see the point when the manual method is so simple, and you always have to be there at the start of a print anyway...

I guess I've been lucky with the rest. No blobbing, oozing, etc etc.

ABS was a pain to learn, but that's mostly down to print room temperature.

[brobinsonx]

I would estimate spending about 6 hours on the initial calibration and several more doing minor tweaks it since then. I started out with ABS and have had pretty good results so far. I can't complain at all, my very first print was a usable part.

I believe being extremely picky with your initial setup and alignment will save you a lot of headache in the end. Calling something "close enough" will only cause frustrations later. My best advice to someone new to the hobby would be: take your time, double\triple check everything. Patience is key!

[Kingoddball]

First printer (i2) - Technically?? A few months!! I rebuilt it twice to calibrate - In the end it was freaking brilliant!! (Quality was better than a consumer machine). Took so long because I wanted to learn everything I could (including firmware and how it works so I can tweak and calibrate the FW)

Second (i3) - Started it, tweaked a little - Scrapped it and made a complete rebuild.

Second Part Two (i3) - Built it, moved everything, extruded then around 2 hours to calibrate - By this time I was a seasoned veteran!

Built a few since, but they were the big three

[JohnA136]

When we build a Prusa i3 in class, it takes maybe an hour to level and calibrate it. My people take a Saturday for the build and maybe an hour to check it out Sunday Morning before doing test prints. By lunchtime on Sunday they are all printing very well.

[meka]

A Reprappro Tricolor Mendel.

And i tell you, it's a continuous process. Everytiime I try to print, there seems to be something going wrong. whether it's a human issue or a machine issue.
But i enjoy it and it's been a learning experience. It's a labour of LOVE.

I still have not got the printer printing perfectly with 3 colours/materials but i'm getting there.

Shafiq