Author Topic: Easiest and most accurate way to level the cube 3d printer printpad.  (Read 2753 times)

Dan

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Hi Folks,

Anyone who's ever tried to level their printpad on the cube 3D printer, knows what a pain in the arse the process can be.  The cube 3D printer consists of a poorly thought, difficult to adjust tripod leveling system.  Follow my instructions below to get your printpad more level than it's ever been. 

1) Download this part  http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:286387
2) Use the "Set Gap" function on your Cube 3D printer and set the gap to roughly the width of an 80GSM piece of paper.  For this exercise, make sure it's a tight fit but one that you can still move the paper between the extrude nozzle and printpad.  You really want the cube to squash the first print layer onto the printpad. 
3) Apply a very thin and very even layer of glue to the print pad.  Use your finger to smooth out any streaks.  This is important to maintain the accuracy.   
4) Start to print the part.  Allow the print head to heat up.  As it does, if any filament oozes out of the nozzle, pass a piece of paper under the nozzle to clean this before the extruder begins laying down the part.  This is VERY important.  Excess filament before the print starts may corrupt the auto leveler your are printing.
5) Let the print start.  IMPORTANT.  - Do NOT let the print finish.  Press the "STOP" button as soon as the print has started to bring up menu asking if you to confirm the abort but DONT confirm just yet.  You basically want to confirm the abort exactly once the first layer ONLY has finished printing and BEFORE the printer begins its second run on the outline.
6) Very carefully remove the single layer print and place it on top of the magnet which holds your printpad to the Cube. 
7) Your may need to repeat this process twice as did I.  Basically I have 2 autolevelers on top of each other. 
8 ) Check your work by returning to the "Level Printpad" menu.  Your gap should not change at all from corner to corner.  If not, repeat the above steps again.   
9) Once complete, go back and set your print gap as usual.  For me - I've never seen my printpad so accurate.  Before, it was out by about 2-3mm in from corner to corner. Now, after printing 2 of these auto levelers, it's perfect!  I hope this works for you too.

Any questions, feel free to ask.

TIP:  For me, I printed 2 of these wafers, each being printed without any other autolevelers under the printpad.  You could however try doing this once, placing the first autoleveler under the printpad then printing the second, third etc. with the stack of autoleveler(s) in place under the printpad before printing the next.  Play around with it. Im sure either method will work just fine, but realistically although not tested, the second method should be more accurate.

Dan

     
« Last Edit: April 06, 2014, 06:00:36 am by Dan »

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Leo_Aguiar

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Thanks for sharing this!

ssstraub

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So my understanding is that after printing this leveling pad you leave it in the space above the magnet from then on? And it does not interfere with the pull of the magnet?

Dan

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Yes, leave it in place.  With the thickness of mine, it doesnt interfere at all.