The procedure of leveling the bed can be aided by and tested using leveling G-code. Keep reading for fantastic Ender 3 (V2/Pro) bed leveling G-code!
We’ve all experienced the annoying sense of having to level the bed again after doing it several times. By manually leveling your print bed, you can ensure that the nozzle is always the same distance away from it, regardless of where you are in the XY plane.
You will need to level your bed manually if you don’t want to invest the money ($30-$50) or effort in installing an auto-bed leveling (ABL) device like the BLTouch. In the long term, this manual method takes time, and you frequently have to level your bed again if you make too tremendous or too minor adjustments.
The Ender 3 Pro and Ender 3 V2 are excellent for their costs, and the Creality Ender 3 is a fantastic consumer and entry-level 3D printer. However, even though these devices are loved by 3D printing enthusiasts everywhere, they all lack ABL technology, necessitating manual leveling. Thankfully, there is a quicker and more accurate method for manually leveling your bed than moving the printhead around.
A type of assisted bed leveling called leveling G-code uses automated mechanical motion to aid and verify the leveling process. It might appear as either a leveling script or a test print. This article will discuss a few possibilities for leveling scripts and test prints for Ender 3. But first, let’s examine leveling scripts and test prints in more detail.
Bed Leveling G-code Types
As previously indicated, there are fundamentally two types of leveling G-code: leveling scripts and 3D printed tests.
Scripts for 3D Printer Bed Leveling
A G-code script is a set of commands that your 3D printer uses to move, heat up, extrude, and do other things. When it comes to bed leveling, scripts use the printer’s capacity to travel an exact distance to give you a somewhat autonomous technique to level your bed.
The printer will mechanically move the printhead to a specific location on the bed when you run the script. The bed leveling knobs and a piece of paper can then manually adjust how high or low the bed is about the nozzle.
When you’re done, you can tell the printer to shift the printhead to the following leveling point by clicking on the device’s interface (scroll wheel). This is achievable because many leveling scripts take advantage of a pause feature in the printer’s firmware. And allows you to continue to the next leveling point only once you’re through with the current one.
Downloadable 3D Printer Bed Leveling Tests
A 3D printable test is a modest, typically single-layer design that covers various regions of the bed in the context of leveling G-code so you can see the levelness. A thin, faded print will appear where the bed is too high, and broad or floating (separated) lines will appear when the bed is too low. You may use this knowledge to adjust the leveling screws on your printer once you understand the model’s various components.
Before reviewing some instances, let’s first go through the qualities to seek for in bed leveling G-code.
What to Check Out
You would want to consider a few things while looking at bed leveling G-code alternatives.
Scripts for 3D Printer Bed Leveling
Ensure a script is compatible with the Ender 3 (Pro and V2) and will fit the printer’s build space before continuing. You can always utilize a script designed for an Ender 3 model other than the one you have because all three versions of the Ender 3 have the same bed size.
The script should ideally move your printhead to four spots in total—one at each corner of the bed—next. The levelness improves with increasing point totals. It is advisable to have a script with five to ten points since, preferably, this will cover at least the middle and the four corners of the bed and may even have two passes at each end. Naturally, earning more points takes longer.
Lastly, confirm that the script heats the print bed. Because heated materials, especially the glass in the Ender 3 V2, expand, you should level your bed with a temperature close to the one you’ll use for printing.
Downloadable 3D Printer Bed Leveling Tests
Like a leveling script, your test print must be compatible with the Ender 3. Ensure the model is not offset and will fit in the printer’s 235 × 235 mm build area. The model might print outside the bed area if this is not done.
Next, ensure the model has adequate covering, ideally going all the way to the edges of the bed. If the model reaches the bed’s edges, hitting the center isn’t necessary because, if the bed is level there, the center should also be level (unless your build plate is warped or deformed).
Next, a test print should use as little material and time as possible. Leveling should be swift, and you should spare no effort or resources if you have to do it more than once.
Lastly, check to see whether your test print is too straightforward. You need the model to feature corners, curves, and direction changes for the test to be accurate because this will show you whether or not your bed is precisely level.
Let’s start choosing the leveling G-code now!
Circle in Square (Script & Print)
First off, this leveling script and print test choices aim to verify that your bed is level and, as the writer notes, that the bed is calibrated by inspecting its center and corners.
Very responsive in the comments section, the creator also informs that the G-code can be changed to speed up travel between the various spots if the procedure is too sluggish by changing the settings for the linear motions.
The YouTube tutorial demonstrates how both procedures operate, and the test print doesn’t use much filament. It should be simple if the printer is set up correctly.
Website: Thingiverse
Leveling points: Nine leveling points (four corners, then center, then follows the order as stated on the project page)
Speed: Slow
Designer: Ingenioso3D
Concentric Squares (Script & Print)
The 3D printing YouTuber CHEP, well-known for his video series Filament Friday, is the source of this choice. The project is a remix of the earlier G-code leveling script, as seen at Thingiverse. It includes a leveling script and a test print of concentric squares to assist you in leveling your bed.
When you turn the knob, the script only moves to the corner closest to your starting point. It strikes the corners first, then the center, before returning to the corners.
A few concentric squares are printed throughout the test, allowing you to physically see and test the bed adherence. As your Ender 3 prints the test, CHEP advises lightly running your finger over the edges. You must raise the bed if you rub the lines and they get loose. You must lower it if the lines are faded.
The middle of your print bed, where the majority of 3D prints are likely to be made, is ensured to be high level by this test, even though it may not reach the corners of your print bed. The exam uses very little paper and should print out quite quickly.
Website: Thingiverse
Leveling points: 10 leveling points (four corners, then center, then repeat)
Speed: average
Designer: Elproducts
“DR VAX” (Script & Print)
This project includes a script and a print created by Make With Tech, a well-known 3D printing YouTuber (MakeWithTech).
The script will initially heat your print bed to 40 °C, but if you have a specific temperature in mind, you may adjust this using the LCD on your printer. As soon as the bed is heated, the printer will move to its initial leveling position and beep, indicating that it is time for you to manually level the bed.
After covering four spots at the bed leveling screws, the printer will proceed with its leveling routine before moving to the center for the final point. This leveling process should go quite quickly, but as you can see in the video, the printer travels to each spot rather slowly, so it might take longer than you anticipate.
The phrase “DR VAX” (the channel’s last name), a perimeter, four inside squares, and the test are all printed. Fine detail printing is tested, and all relevant aspects are addressed. However, the test print does require additional time.
Website: Thingiverse
Leveling points: Five rating points (four corners then center)
Speed: Slow to medium-fast
Designer: irvshapiro
Perimeter (Script & Print)
This next pair is the fastest of all the possibilities on the list.
To proceed to the next leveling point, just like with the other scripts, you must click the LCD knob. The demo film, which emphasizes Ender 2 but explains that the idea is the same, served as the basis for the script, which visits each point twice.
The test print is rapid and has a build plate perimeter that is just one square. You can check if the perimeter line is securely fastened to the mattress by lightly stroking your finger.
The printhead will need to print the design in more than one pass because the perimeter is broader than the 0.4-mm diameter of the default nozzle on the Ender 3. Significantly, the boundary extends past the print bed’s edges. This can be advantageous because it allows you to confirm any alterations you make.
Website: Thingiverse
Leveling points: Six rating points (three points with two cycles)
Speed: Quick
Designer: Jfearnside
Five Circles (Script & Print)
Last but not least, we have a project that includes a leveling script and a test print, with five circles with a curved perimeter surrounding them.
The script, the writer claims, will relocate your printhead to its default position. From that point, you can level the bed using a piece of paper and the leveling knobs. The print will then relocate to a different bed corner once you click the LCD knob. The script sends the printhead to each of the bed’s four corners three times in total. There are 12 different leveling points, which could take some time.
Because of the test print’s form and layout, you may verify your bed’s level around the four corners and in the center, where most prints will likely be placed. This test has a nice balance of printing time, material usage, and leveling areas.
Because there are no corners in the test, you can be taken aback if your design contains any abrupt direction changes. The five filled circles will take longer to print, even if they illustrate how ideal the spacing between the nozzle and the bed is.
Website: Thingiverse
Leveling points: 12 leveling points (four corners with three cycles)
Speed: Slow
Designer: Adamsiem
