MakerFarm 8" i3v Prusa build by Printbus

[usarmyaircav]

If you have the endstop connectors where Colin shows them, and the mins work OK, maybe the right answer is to not worry about the maxs. configuration.h as the #defines for the pullups on the input pins for the max endstops commented out; this likely prevents the internal pullup being activated for those pins on the MEGA2560 processor. That would lead to the input being randomly read in as high or low. With the #defines for the max inputs commented out, firmware likely doesn't do anything with the inputs for the max switches. Your soldering is likely fine, since the min and max endstop switches would be on separate connectors on the RAMPS board.

I prefer the four springs approach. It allows me just get the Z endstop anywhere close, and then all fine adjustments are done in the four corners of the bed. Of course, I have thumbwheels on the corners now too. Leveling the bed takes me about two or three minutes. The stock makerfarm approach can easily take 20-30 minutes because of the complexity caused by the fixed corner and the multitude of tools required to adjust the other corners.

Trying to remember all your changes, did you print those thumb wheels out?

[printbus]

Trying to remember all your changes, did you print those thumb wheels out?

Yes. The ones I have now are http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:29782. On the 8-inch printer, I did have to file the diameter down a bit for the one at the left rear to clear the frame. Other thumbwheels may not have that problem.

The BED LEVELING post describes how the screws are locked to the heat bed, leading to a tool-less approach to the bed leveling. Note that I did replace the corner bolts with longer ones too, mainly since the silicone trivet I use for bed insulator is pretty thick. The thumbwheels originally used in that post didn't have much knurl, so they were later replaced.

EDIT: Of course, if you plan to implement ABL pretty quickly on your printer, the concerns on how hard it is to level the bed won't be as important to you.