3D Printer Basics – Bed Leveling

This week will continue the topic of 3D printers and common issues. Starting at the basic, we will go for bed leveling. A bed that is not level can cause many of the issues that were present in last week’s guides. While there are many guides available online and YouTube videos, I selected this one as it had a more in-depth explanation of the issues while providing a simple visual representation of what you will be doing.

While the printers we have at the Sandbox all have an auto bed leveling function done through sensors, many printers today still come with screws on the bed to adjust them manually. In a lot of cases, you can upgrade them to an auto bed leveling with devices such as a BL Touch but this is outside of the scope of this week’s topic and not related to basics.

https://drmrehorst.blogspot.com/2017/07/3-point-print-bed-leveling-vs-4-point.html

Manual bed leveling is usually done with a regular sheet of paper which will more or less be the distance you want your nozzle to be from the bed. You do not want your nozzle to grind into the paper or leave marks – just feel a little bit of friction. Once you do it a couple times and do test prints, you will quickly pick it up.