mrakuaku

I can think of 3 ways to calibrate your printer (4 if you have a self calibrating printer). Probably the easiest way is described in my tutorials. The next easiest way would be to do it in the Arduino IDE when you flash your marlin software to your printer (this will take awhile cause you have to flash your printer with every change you make). The most tedious way is to create a sliced file of a print and then manually enter lines of code to do whatever changes you need. I'm not exactly sure what you're asking and if what I just said made you more confused. What kind of printer are you using?

Sorry it took so long. I just looked again and found it. Printerbot closed up shop, but you can find them here. I'm sure there are instructions for more recent printer designs toohttp://www.mentor2.gatech.edu/wordpress/wp-content... And here are some setup instructionshttps://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/datasheets/CID2444_D...

Having the printer plugged in and connected to your computer via USB and inputting the commands in this tutorial will write to the EEPROM (internal memory of your printer control board). Making these changes dictates how many moves the motor needs to make in order to travel a certain distance.

I think you're right, I made a mistake... I'll update it now. Thanks!

What kind of printer are you using and what printing software did you try from your computer? On your computer go into your printing software settings.First with your printer unplugged see what COM ports are available to connect to. Then plug in your computer and there should be a new 'COM port' available to connect to. Make sure you select the one that appears only when the printer is plugged in and turned on.Next if you still can't connect to the printer, try changing the 'baud rate' (also in the printer software settings)... keep changing this and trying to connect to your printer until you find one that works.

Great to see you have it printing!

How do you navigate your LCD? Is there a spinny wheel thing that you can press in to click (digital encoder), or is it a touch screen? If it's a wheel thing, you should be able to start a print and on the first layer of the print select Z-offset and adjust until the nozzle is a good distance away from the print bed (that's how it is with Prusa i3 Mk2 at least). What do you mean they drifted.. like if you tried to make a square it would look like stairs? It could be that your Z-axis isn't moving up enough between layers, and you nozzel is hitting your printed part causing X/Y, motors to skip... or it could be your X/Y axis tension belts are loose.... This is a good reference for trying to trouble shoot various issues: https://www.simplify3d.com/support/print-quality-t...

Your probe should be about 1mm higher than your printers nozzle, that way your nozzle won't crash into your print as it's printing. If your printer has an adjust Z-offset option on the LCD, I would do it that way (I know Prusa i3Mk2 does). If it doesn't, then I'd recommend you connect your printer to your computer over USB then in the manual input tab of Repetier, change your M212 value as I outlined in the previous comment.Other reasons your print might not be sticking, make sure your printbed is flat... even with an autolevel probe, it still helps to have a level print bed. If you have your printer hooked up to your computer, when you send the G29 command to your printer you can see how much travel your Z axis is taking to trigger the auto probe.... you can compare these values and tr...

Your probe should be about 1mm higher than your printers nozzle, that way your nozzle won't crash into your print as it's printing. If your printer has an adjust Z-offset option on the LCD, I would do it that way (I know Prusa i3Mk2 does). If it doesn't, then I'd recommend you connect your printer to your computer over USB then in the manual input tab of Repetier, change your M212 value as I outlined in the previous comment.Other reasons your print might not be sticking, make sure your printbed is flat... even with an autolevel probe, it still helps to have a level print bed. If you have your printer hooked up to your computer, when you send the G29 command to your printer you can see how much travel your Z axis is taking to trigger the auto probe.... you can compare these values and try and make them close to being equal.What are you printing on, is your printbed heated? If so, is it getting too hot for the material your printing? If not, do you have blue painters tape down, and/or gluestick? Are you printing in PLA (I would suggest PLA as your first print material)? Are your temperature settings correct for the material your using? If the first layer sticks but nothing else, maybe you need to calibrate your Z axis or extruder... just somethings to consider

It's difficult to say what the issue is without more information. What printer and slicing programs are you using? Did you change your Z-axis offset?The command M212 deals with the Z offset. If you can connect your printer to your computer over USB, check what yours is currently set to by entering "M501" in the command line . If it's set to something like 15, then that's probably your issue, and you should start by setting it to 0. If it's set to 0, you can lower your offset by with -15 (although I'd lower it by small increments so you don't crash your printers nozzle into the print bed). you'll need to fine tune the number until you find the exact height for a good first layer.Follow these steps to change your Z-offset.. (the offset number you use will depend on what M212 is...

It's difficult to say what the issue is without more information. What printer and slicing programs are you using? Did you change your Z-axis offset?The command M212 deals with the Z offset. If you can connect your printer to your computer over USB, check what yours is currently set to by entering "M501" in the command line . If it's set to something like 15, then that's probably your issue, and you should start by setting it to 0. If it's set to 0, you can lower your offset by with -15 (although I'd lower it by small increments so you don't crash your printers nozzle into the print bed). you'll need to fine tune the number until you find the exact height for a good first layer.Follow these steps to change your Z-offset.. (the offset number you use will depend on what M212 is currently set to and how much you need it to move)1. enter the command "M212 Z-1" to lower your Z axis offset to -1mmYou can also raise your offset with a positive number "M212 Z0.5" this will raise the Z offset to 0.5mm... I would go with a smaller number first though and gradually bring it down. You'll need to save the command before you test it2. Save your changes by entering "M500" into your command line.3. Check to make sure your settings were saved with "M501"If that problem happens with multiple slicers, then it's probably your issue, as M212 is saved on the printers eeprom (internal memory). If it only happens with one slicer, I'd look at your g-code to see if there is a command that tells your printers Z-axis to raise 15mm (something like G1 Z15). You can save a g-code file to your desktop and then open it with notepad to check. Oh, and by moving xyz to limits, I assume you mean you have the printer home itself and that you're not physically moving them... right?

I would probably try and reflash/update the software for your printer. It might work after that... and if it doesn't, you can probably change the M92 values right in the arduino .ino file..... This might require you to upload the arduino sketch to your printer a few times to get the calibration dialed in.Here are a couple of videos that might help

I'm not really sure how you're confirming that the X-axis values have in fact changed without turning you printer off. If you change your Xaxis M92 value to say 10, does it reduce the travel of you x-axis significantly? If not, you're not changing the M92 value at all (forget about powering on and off being the issue). If there was something wrong with your eeprom, I would think you wouldn't be able to write to it at all. If somehow that is the problem, I would recommend going to slicer tab of Repetier, then going to slic3r configuration. Once the slic3r window opens up, go to the far right tab 'Printer settings', then in "start up G-code" write:M92 X(value);M92 Y(value);M92 Z(value);M92 E(value);M500; This will type in those settings every time you start a print job, so rese...

I'm not really sure how you're confirming that the X-axis values have in fact changed without turning you printer off. If you change your Xaxis M92 value to say 10, does it reduce the travel of you x-axis significantly? If not, you're not changing the M92 value at all (forget about powering on and off being the issue). If there was something wrong with your eeprom, I would think you wouldn't be able to write to it at all. If somehow that is the problem, I would recommend going to slicer tab of Repetier, then going to slic3r configuration. Once the slic3r window opens up, go to the far right tab 'Printer settings', then in "start up G-code" write:M92 X(value);M92 Y(value);M92 Z(value);M92 E(value);M500; This will type in those settings every time you start a print job, so resetting wouldn't be an issue.You need to save the custom g-code you just made, make sure it's selected in as your slicer settings in the slicer tab of Repetier (under "printer settings"), then you're actually going to have to start a print job to get those values to save to your printer.You should also be able to write it like this too:M92 X(value) Y(value) Z(value) E(value);M500;The main downside to this method is that your eeprom has a finite amount of times it can be written to..... but I think it's something like hundreds of thousands of times (or millions with good programming)... so it shouldn't be a real issue.Oh, are you modifying the values with the LCD or are you connected to a computer over USB and doing it how I've outlined in the tutorial?

Ok, ...... When you try and input the values in the manual control tab, are you doing it as 2 different entries? "M92 X80" .... enter .... "M500" ...enter .... wait for it to "echo:Settings Stored" then ""M501" ..... enter to confirm? ... maybe give it 5 seconds before entering any commands... entering things too quickly can mess stuff up.If that doesn't work, maybe download and try Cura (I have version 15.04.3... newer ones don't support printing over USB)? Load a 3D file, click on the "print over USB" icon, then once it's connected you can type your g-code (i.e. M92 values) on the bottom right of that window.

No, the name should be fine.... I strongly recommend calibrating one axis at a time.... and following the instructions carefully. Is it possible that you aren't inputting the commands properly, so when you try and save it, it doesn't do anything?Do you have the right motors plugged in to their corresponding motor controllers?I don't seem to be having any issues modifying values by going into config>firmware eeprom configuration (they didn't have that when I first wrote this tutorial). You're saving them after you modify them?Did you upload the Marlin software to your printer with the Arduino IDE? If so, another way to get it to change the amount of steps for each motor would be to alter the configuration.h file for Marlin. do a search for "#define DEFAULT_AXIS_STEPS_PER_UNIT&quo...

No, the name should be fine.... I strongly recommend calibrating one axis at a time.... and following the instructions carefully. Is it possible that you aren't inputting the commands properly, so when you try and save it, it doesn't do anything?Do you have the right motors plugged in to their corresponding motor controllers?I don't seem to be having any issues modifying values by going into config>firmware eeprom configuration (they didn't have that when I first wrote this tutorial). You're saving them after you modify them?Did you upload the Marlin software to your printer with the Arduino IDE? If so, another way to get it to change the amount of steps for each motor would be to alter the configuration.h file for Marlin. do a search for "#define DEFAULT_AXIS_STEPS_PER_UNIT"The first number in the brackets is for the X-axis, then Y, Z, and E.

What software are you using to make the changes to your printer?

Are you using Repetier? And what type of printer are you using?

Thanks SethR29, didn't see Valveman's question.There are somethings that are saved on the control board. M92 values are one of them. So, once you've calibrated your printer, you should be able to switch between printing software (like cura) if you like, without too much trouble. You can still alter them via SD which I had to do once because I couldn't connect my printer to my computer for some reason (I found it to be a bit of a pain though). To alter over SD (assuming you don't have an LCD screen that has some sort of calibration setup procedure), you can slice a file then go to the print preview tab, click on 'edit G-code,' then scroll down to the first line of code. Enter your M92 command, add a semi-collon to the end of it, then in your next line save it with M500; (i.e. M92 X83.5...

Thanks SethR29, didn't see Valveman's question.There are somethings that are saved on the control board. M92 values are one of them. So, once you've calibrated your printer, you should be able to switch between printing software (like cura) if you like, without too much trouble. You can still alter them via SD which I had to do once because I couldn't connect my printer to my computer for some reason (I found it to be a bit of a pain though). To alter over SD (assuming you don't have an LCD screen that has some sort of calibration setup procedure), you can slice a file then go to the print preview tab, click on 'edit G-code,' then scroll down to the first line of code. Enter your M92 command, add a semi-collon to the end of it, then in your next line save it with M500; (i.e. M92 X83.5 ; M500 ;)If you'd like to calibrate without printing anything (not really recommended), do the above then delete everything after the first G1 line of code. You can also get rid of some other things that take up too much time too, like auto probing or heating up your hot end if you're not testing your extrusion. Then in place of the first G1 line write "G1 X50 ;" without the quotes. This should move the Xaxis 50mm. change X to YZ and E to test these other axis. The part that's a pain about doing it this way is that you'll have to turn your printer on and off every time you want it to move.Things that are stored in Repetier can be found/altered by clicking 'printer settings.' These things include max printer area, how fast the printer should move when you click on the manual move icons (within Repieter), max extruder and print bed temperature, among other things.

Glad you got it worked out!

That sounds strange. What printer are you using? Are you always moving 10mm from the same spot? or are you trying to move it 10mm at a time from multiple coordinates. Does it sound like anything is grinding or interfering with the X-axis as it moves? Does it move smoothly or kind of chug along? Maybe you need to adjust the acceleration/speed of the stepper motor controlling your x-axis? Or maybe you need to adjust the potentiometer on the x-axis motor controller?

Thanks! That sounds like it could work well. Or tape something like a paper clip to the print head? maybe so it won't bend when the printer is moved like the tape might? Good luck!

maybe try cura instead of repetier. also, have tried printing anything? you might not notice in the end result...

I can't really tell what is happening in the video. are you trying to home your printer and it's counting up? or is it skipping when trying to move? what kind of printer do you have? is your printer moving to the end stop and then banging into itself without stopping, or is it going in the opposite direction when homing? your screen also says that your y min endstop is turned off. can you turn it on with gcode? if that's the case, then you should be able to find the code to turn it on here. http://reprap.org/wiki/G-code#M120:_Enable_endstop_detection

Oh, I see what you're talking about now. That's pretty weird. When you look at your computer, does that 0.01mm difference happen in the Repetier software, or just on that LCD screen? If you move the printer 0.1mm at a time, will the 0.01mm difference happen over the same distance or will it happen when you press it every 2-5 times like when you move it 10mm. It might just be your screen reporting back an improper value. To test, I would move the Y-axis by 1mm at a time (or 0.1mm if you're really patient) until you get to 20mm (or 100 if you can), then measure how far it actually went. Then do it again 2 more times. If all 3 values are very close then it's probably just your screen reporting back a messed up value. Maybe this is common with Repetier? I've never used an LCD screen with my...

Oh, I see what you're talking about now. That's pretty weird. When you look at your computer, does that 0.01mm difference happen in the Repetier software, or just on that LCD screen? If you move the printer 0.1mm at a time, will the 0.01mm difference happen over the same distance or will it happen when you press it every 2-5 times like when you move it 10mm. It might just be your screen reporting back an improper value. To test, I would move the Y-axis by 1mm at a time (or 0.1mm if you're really patient) until you get to 20mm (or 100 if you can), then measure how far it actually went. Then do it again 2 more times. If all 3 values are very close then it's probably just your screen reporting back a messed up value. Maybe this is common with Repetier? I've never used an LCD screen with my printer so I wouldn't know. If it is just the LCD, then you should be able calibrate it like you normally would.Stepper motors don't have any way of reporting back how far they've actually moved (if you hold the motor firmly so it can't spin, then send a command to spin it, your screen and Repetier will assume that it spun). If it were me, and it was just a faulty reading on the LCD, I'd be annoyed, but probably wouldn't do anything about it.

thanks!

It should work. But if it goes too far, just unplug it from the wall.

Once you change an M92 value, you need to save it with M500 before you check it with M501. I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "the changes took in Repetier, but ... not the firmware." ... When you calibrate your printer, I believe it writes that data onto the 3D printers microcontroller.... I've been able to jump from one software to another without re-calibrating it. I think it's just slicing profiles that aren't written to your machine (not 100% sure about that though). You could troubleshoot by taking a note of your X-axis M92 value (or any others). Then change it to something really small, like 10% of its recommended factory setting. For example, if your printer recommends starting with an M92 for X of 100, try 10. Try moving your X axis by 10, it should only move...

Once you change an M92 value, you need to save it with M500 before you check it with M501. I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "the changes took in Repetier, but ... not the firmware." ... When you calibrate your printer, I believe it writes that data onto the 3D printers microcontroller.... I've been able to jump from one software to another without re-calibrating it. I think it's just slicing profiles that aren't written to your machine (not 100% sure about that though). You could troubleshoot by taking a note of your X-axis M92 value (or any others). Then change it to something really small, like 10% of its recommended factory setting. For example, if your printer recommends starting with an M92 for X of 100, try 10. Try moving your X axis by 10, it should only move a very small amount. If that happens, your doing it right. If it keeps moving and you're afraid it's going to try and go beyond its limits, unplug it like you done before. Make sure you follow the process of saving it before checking it.

Did you save with M500 before typing in M501?

That's cool, be sure to share your design if you do make a mount. I got mine from a dollar store... not the best quality, but it seems to do the trick.

Glad to hear it was helpful! If you made a printed mount, you probably wouldn't need any magnets. I might make one sometime, but I wanted to make this a quick hack that was possible to do on as many printers/CNC machines as possible. One way to attach a mount for the Printrbot would be to make it flush against the outside of the Y-axis arm and have it held in place by at least 2 of the M3 screws that connect to the piece that holds the extruder, hotend, and level sensor. Another mount would have to be made for the Z-axis.

If you're looking for a higher level of precision, you can check out a follow-up Instructable I just made.https://www.instructables.com/id/Calibrate-3D-Printer-or-Other-CNC-Machine-With-Las/

It's not perfect, but by being careful and taking a average over a few measurements, I was able to get prints that (when tolerances were taken into account) fit together perfectly.I was recently thinking of making a mount (or maybe 2) to attach a laser pointer to my printer. That way you could make a dot where it starts and finishes and then measure that distance.. just haven't gotten around to it yet.You can also put something parallel next to an axis you want to measure (i.e. a book), make a mark on the book and axis, line them up, move the axis __mm and then measure the actual difference between the starting point and the finish point, then change the M92 value accordingly.

Are you using Repetier? Are you able to connect your printer and move it all with the manual control settings?