Tag: mesh

In 3D printing, achieving a level print bed is crucial for quality prints. However, there’s often confusion between ‘bed leveling’ and ‘mesh bed leveling.’ Although they sound similar, they have distinct roles. This post will clarify these terms and their significance in the 3D printing process.

What is Bed Leveling?

Bed leveling, or manual leveling, involves physically adjusting the print bed to ensure levelness relative to the extruder’s movement. This process includes adjusting bed screws or knobs at each corner of the print bed and using a leveling tool or paper to gauge the distance between the nozzle and the bed. It requires checking and adjusting at various points across the bed to ensure overall levelness.

What is Mesh Bed Leveling?

Mesh bed leveling is an advanced technique that often involves software and additional hardware like sensors. It compensates for bed surface imperfections by creating a ‘mesh’ map. The printer probes various points on the bed to map the bed’s surface and uses this data to dynamically adjust the Z-axis height during printing, compensating for irregularities. This method can achieve greater accuracy, especially for larger print beds.

Comparing the Two:

In terms of ease of use, manual bed leveling is straightforward but can be less precise and time-consuming. Mesh bed leveling requires initial setup but then automates much of the process. Equipment-wise, mesh bed leveling may need additional hardware like a BLTouch sensor.

Regarding suitability, manual leveling may suffice for smaller printers or less detailed prints, while mesh leveling is beneficial for larger beds and precision prints. In terms of maintenance, manual leveling might need more frequent adjustments compared to mesh leveling, which typically holds calibration longer.

Both bed leveling and mesh bed leveling are essential for successful 3D printing, catering to different needs. Manual bed leveling involves physical bed adjustment, while mesh bed leveling uses software to compensate for bed irregularities. Depending on your printer and printing requirements, one may be more suitable than the other.

Have you ever wondered why your 3D prints sometimes don’t stick to the bed or have warped edges? One possible reason is that your bed is not properly warmed up before you start printing. Sometimes, you need to let your bed “soak” for a little while before you begin printing.

The bed of a 3D printer is usually made of metal, glass, or plastic, and it is heated by a heating element underneath. The purpose of heating the bed is to provide a stable and smooth surface for the first layer of the print to adhere to, and to prevent thermal contraction of the material as it cools down. However, heating the bed also causes it to expand and contract slightly, which can affect its shape and flatness.

Depending on the material and thickness of the bed, it can take some time for the bed to reach a uniform temperature and stabilize its shape. If you start printing too soon, the bed may still be flexing and adjusting its shape as it warms up, which can cause uneven adhesion, gaps, or curling of the first layer. This can ruin the quality of your print or even make it fail completely.

To avoid this problem, you should always preheat your bed before you start printing. You can do this by setting the bed temperature in your slicer software or on your printer’s LCD screen, and waiting for a few minutes until the temperature is reached and stable. I’ve found it very helpful to set my hotend and bed temperatures, and then go get a cup of coffee. I’ve found that the time it takes me to do this is good enough for the bed to be thoroughly heated, not just heated where the sensor itself is. If you want a more technical answer you can use a thermometer or an infrared camera to check the temperature distribution on the bed surface and make sure it is consistent.

By preheating your bed properly, you can ensure that your first layer sticks well and that your print has a solid foundation. This will improve the quality and reliability of your 3D prints and save you time and frustration. So next time you are ready to print something, don’t forget to get a cup of coffee!

When working with a bed level, sometimes you find that your bed is level but it is not flat. Mine, for example, is raised in the center. Because of this, it is impossible to use a standard bed level procedure. You need to use a mesh bed level. This feature doesn’t come enabled on all printers, I had to update my firmware to be able to do a mesh bed level. How a mesh bed level works is it breaks the bed down into smaller “tiles.” On mine, the tiles are approximately 60mm x 60mm. This allows the compensation to follow the contour of the bed instead of assuming that the bed is perfectly flat. As I always say, don’t try to solve a mechanical problem with software. Level your bed first, as best as you can. Then incorporate the mesh bed level. Make sure that you heat up your bed for 15-30 minutes before you do the mesh bed level so that your bed will take the shape it will be in while printing. Store your bed level profile and make sure that you activate it before you start printing. I typically do a new mesh bed level in the summer, in the winter, and anytime that something significant changes on my printer.

So, what’s a good amount of deviation for a mesh bed level? A good general rule of thumb is 0.1mm. If you can get your deviation at 0.1mm or better, then (for hobby purposes) you are doing pretty good.

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Mesh Fade

I recently saw a question on a forum about a warped bed. The question had to do with whether or not the top of the part would also be warped because it follows the bed shape. You can avoid this in Klipper by implementing mesh fade in your bed mesh block. Below is a complete bed mesh block, the last 2 lines are the significant ones to implement mesh fade. Fade_start tells Klipper to start expanding or contracting layers, starting at 1mm height to start to normalize everything. Fade_end tells Klipper that the fade should be complete by a height of 10mm. So, at 10mm and upwards, the top of the part should be flat even though the bottom of the part will follow the bed’s contour.

[bed_mesh]
speed: 120
horizontal_move_z: 5
mesh_min: 35, 6 
mesh_max: 240, 198 
probe_count: 5, 3 
fade_start: 1 
fade_end: 10