Quote Originally Posted by Trakyan View Post
As for z offset adjustment, I think the ultimakers do a great job of this and have the best system for "calibrating" a probe that isn't the nozzle itself. They run the nozzle straight into the bed and monitor for the point where the readings stop changing, i.e. it's hit the bed and the bed is no longer getting closer. The compliance of the leveling springs dampens the impact but the print surface might get damaged. For the ultimakers that use glass the print surface wont suffer, but PEI might. Getting the starting z level correct is very important to making sure prints stay stuck, and can be hard to do with an offset probe like on the mk2.
That all is so true.

One of the "problems" with 3D printing is it looks easy, but there are so many variables for each bed material, printing material, and this can even vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. When I send a job to my laser printer, I walk over and pick it up, which is how 3D printers need to be. If my $50 laser printer runs out of paper it stops, and many very expensive 3D printers still don't have filament detection. Its crazy.

Detecting when an object breaks free is quite important because 3D printers are often unattended. They have cameras that can detect motion in a certain area, so it seems possible that a camera could also recognize an object breaking free.