If you plug in a Raspberry Pi running Octoprint there's a plugin that lets you visualise the BL Touch's mesh of the bed including the degs rotation you'd need to get level. OctoPrint is pretty much a necessity for Ender's.
@@Level2JeffYou should explore Klipper. It's a whole new game for 3D printers and feeds into your raspberry Pi and software experience. It's pretty easy to setup even though it seems intimidating and can really improve speeds and quality.
Got the same printer, just a head up Jeff, the ribbon cable is prone to kinking near the extruder (common issue). Had to request a new cable for mine. Best to print a cable holder/guide. Has been working great every since.
Something I recently learned after living in a high humidity environment for quite some time - vacuum bags and reusable desiccant are underrated for filament storage. Just picked up some bags and a cheap manual pump for ~$30 and I'm optimistic for less spoilage in my future
And don't forget to regenerate them by heating them regularly - I have a couple of 550g industrial desiccant bags in my filament storage box and they pick up up 10-15% of their weight in humidity within a month.
@@Fabri91 Yeah I've tried using random desiccant in a cabinet with little luck, it gets moist too fast. That's what I'm hoping the resealable vacuum bags will do - keep moisture to a minimum after all the air has been sucked out. The desiccant is mostly just a precaution.
If you are having trouble with the first layers make sure you preheat the bed for at least 5 mins. Poor bed heating leads to more problems than anything.
Awesome! Once you've got it set up and able to print a 3DBenchy, it opens a whole world of stuff you can do, especially when you combine it with even a simple CAD software like the free browser-based TinkerCAD one.
@@KenPiper I hope there's a better option. If one has to rely on an Autodesk app/service for 3d printing, a company right there with Adobe in how terrible and anti-consumer they are, I guess that's a hobby not to invest in.
@@aromaticsnailIt's by far not the only option. OpenSCad and Blender are popular options, but there exist other free parametric modeling packages (such as FreeCAD).
I invested in a Bambu P1S Combo, having had no experience of 3D printers, but from an electronics background. Setup took 15 minutes and I was running my first print with 30 minutes of opening the box. Super pleased with the printer and it has hardly been switched off in the last month. Worth looking at if you are getting another printer.
I live within 15 minutes of 2 Micro Centers (ty NYC) and these Enders are by far the most tempting thing about the entire store. They go on sale for $100-$150 pretty often and there’s tons of shelf support for 3D printers, parts, accessories, etc.
As an Ender 3 graduate. Buying Ender 3 at a cheap price is tempting. But please save your sanity by buying a Bambulab A1 mini. These things are just press print and go
@@PanduPujoWicaksono you’re the second person to tell me to go with Bambu, I’ll def look into it. Still not sure if 3D printing is something I’ll end up sticking with though, and $120 is a reaaaal low barrier to entry in case it ends up collecting dust after a few months.
@@Level2Jeff yes you still need to level the bed, before relying on the bltouch. the bltouch just helps to provide a "more" accurate leveling, after the user leveling.
@@Level2Jeff Steps for the Z-offset. (Grab a piece of paper) Make sure your Probe Z-Offset is set to 0.00 Also, even though the BL-Touch levels the bed, ensure that your bed is actually level to begin with. Perform a Bed level (should probe 9 points) Perform an Auto-Home Once complete, your nozzle should be floating off the bed. Go to Prepare - Move Axis - Move Z It should be ~ 10 or so (which makes sense as it's floating above the bed) Move the Z access down in 1mm increments (or .25mm increments if needed) Slide the paper under the nozzle. You're looking to have the nozzle grab the paper and almost not let it pass underneath. Once you've gotten the paper to that point, record the value. (This is your Z-Offset) Now, move the Z Axis UP by 10 (just so it's off the bed completely) Now head over to Prepare - Bed Leveling - Probe Z-Offset Set the offset to the value you retrieved above.
its good to check the manual levelling first, the usual piece of paper under the nozzle, and adjust the manual underneath levelling knobs, then any general zaxis adjustment. after that, the autolevelling allows for variations of flatness of the bed. the printer looks very similar to my elegoo neptune4, (albeit that has touch screen), and initial manual levelling took me a while as well, as the documentation wasn't as clear as I would like. You can also compensate for a slightly bulging first layer using slicer settings. On Ultimaker Cura it's called "initial layer horizontal expansion" (i've also seen it called elephants feet)
To answer you question about bed leveling.. in my experience for best results you want to have it as level as possible before using BL touch.. since that only does it's best to compensate for inperfections I use klipper with my Ender3v2.. with "screws tilt calculate" it will tell me exactly how to turn screws to level my bed.. and it can do sooo many other things as well
Love it, i bought a ender 3 s1 plus yesterday and can‘t wait to start tinkering with 3d printing. Already considering flashing it with klipper and using fluidd for monitoring
I have been using a membrane switch under the head to set the z axis. Cheap and easy, battery, membrane switch, & a LED. LED lights up, position is set . :)
keeping in mind the spirit of open source. it would be awesoem to see you build a voron 2.4. Please take a look. I am sure LDO motors would be happy to send you a kit as well.
A lot of the question of the manually leveling the bed has to do with how it's attached to the printer. If it has leveling knobs, then yes, I'll do manual leveling in addition to working with the ABL. If it doesn't I'm kind of stuck with whatever the ABL can work out.
If you haven't run into it yet, my experience with Creality spring steel beds has been that the pei sheet all too often hangs onto the print a lot more than you would like. Mostly that means it starts peeling off the spring steel. Microcenter carries a BIQI textured springsteel plate that works great in place of the Creality one, and seems (to me anyway) to be a more durable surface, and it does release the print once it's cooled down. The bed seems to be pretty much the same one that Bambu Labs printers are using, and I've had pretty good luck with those as well.
(~) 1:45 with your wife taking over the basement area for sewing since you've got this new studio, might want to get one anyway just for her fabric at least lol.
They don't show how to attach the Z and Gantry to the base well, but most people I know of simply set them on their side, and make an effort to not put a lot of pressure on the gantry.
I have the Ender 5 and was very impressed with everything except the auto leveling. It didn't work at all as per the instructions and after patterning all over the board it was happy, only to completely melt and gouge the board on the first print. Watching you go through the leveling was a little triggering :) I found a YT video that helped a lot more than the manual but did have to get some replacement boards from AliExpress. It's all fine now and is an amazing printer. Just the auto leveling... there's nothing 'auto' about it.
This is one of the big reasons I wanted to work on this channel-I like watching these kinds of videos, and learning tidbits or just seeing how someone else goes through a process like it!
How is the manual on the S1? I bought a Ender 3 V2 for my first printer in 2021 and it's manual was so awful that I ended up watching a few videos on how to put it together.
It's not *too* bad, but I admit, a few months ago I had watched a video to prepare, so I had a little idea of what was coming. It was a lot easier than the V2.
lol, Jeff. This is literally me but without the time constraint. I have the exact same printer sitting for the last year unopened waiting for the right time. maybe now is that time. Cheers.
Yep! Three generations ago my family migrated from Holland-I don't know Dutch but we still cheer for the Netherlands every four years during the world cup!
Honestly, the Ender line from Creality are some of the cheapest that you can use for productive work and tune pretty well if you want over time. They're a little slower (at least all the older models that are around $100-150 USD), but they get the job done okay.
If you're at Open Sauce, come see what I printed on here! I'll have a main channel video on that project... soon. Hopefully by Monday :)
Won't give it away, but I will say it was cool!
"I'm not going to talk much" Proceeds to talk the entire video. (Not complaining) 👍
The best laid plans lol
If you plug in a Raspberry Pi running Octoprint there's a plugin that lets you visualise the BL Touch's mesh of the bed including the degs rotation you'd need to get level.
OctoPrint is pretty much a necessity for Ender's.
True that! I have a Pi 5 sitting by it, haven't gotten everything going on it yet as there's currently a little work to get the camera going.
@@Level2JeffYou should explore Klipper. It's a whole new game for 3D printers and feeds into your raspberry Pi and software experience. It's pretty easy to setup even though it seems intimidating and can really improve speeds and quality.
Level 2 Jeff needs a head mounted GoPro ala Kenji Lopez Alts cooking channel
Got the same printer, just a head up Jeff, the ribbon cable is prone to kinking near the extruder (common issue). Had to request a new cable for mine. Best to print a cable holder/guide. Has been working great every since.
Ah good idea! Someone had mentioned that in a YT video review I watched. Will mark that on the list of things to print!
Something I recently learned after living in a high humidity environment for quite some time - vacuum bags and reusable desiccant are underrated for filament storage. Just picked up some bags and a cheap manual pump for ~$30 and I'm optimistic for less spoilage in my future
Good idea! I've had a couple spools go to waste at home after I forgot to box them up with some desiccant.
And don't forget to regenerate them by heating them regularly - I have a couple of 550g industrial desiccant bags in my filament storage box and they pick up up 10-15% of their weight in humidity within a month.
@@Fabri91 Yeah I've tried using random desiccant in a cabinet with little luck, it gets moist too fast. That's what I'm hoping the resealable vacuum bags will do - keep moisture to a minimum after all the air has been sucked out. The desiccant is mostly just a precaution.
ive upgraded my v2 its pretty much a s1 with a different hot end and running an aftermarket firmware (better then stock)
I've heard a bunch of people do that too-the dual z-axis is nice too, that's a harder but not impossible upgrade.
It's called Procrastiworking, where you work on another project instead of the one you are supposed to do.
It's a great way to be productive! On some things at least.
Very nice job, just let each side show over the table edge and put the screw form underneath in.
If you are having trouble with the first layers make sure you preheat the bed for at least 5 mins. Poor bed heating leads to more problems than anything.
I was gifted a 3d printer last Christmas and never turned it on. This video has motivated me to give it a try. Thanks your videos really are helpfull
Awesome! Once you've got it set up and able to print a 3DBenchy, it opens a whole world of stuff you can do, especially when you combine it with even a simple CAD software like the free browser-based TinkerCAD one.
@@KenPiper I hope there's a better option. If one has to rely on an Autodesk app/service for 3d printing, a company right there with Adobe in how terrible and anti-consumer they are, I guess that's a hobby not to invest in.
@@aromaticsnailIt's by far not the only option. OpenSCad and Blender are popular options, but there exist other free parametric modeling packages (such as FreeCAD).
I use OpenSCAD for a lot of simpler things, it's nice to 'code' 3D objects.
@@Level2Jeff and it's available on linux and macos, besides windows. Thanks for the tip!
I invested in a Bambu P1S Combo, having had no experience of 3D printers, but from an electronics background. Setup took 15 minutes and I was running my first print with 30 minutes of opening the box. Super pleased with the printer and it has hardly been switched off in the last month. Worth looking at if you are getting another printer.
Hehe... guess what I bought last week soon after setting up the Ender 3 S1? :)
Is it just me or these videos are more and more ASMR💆
I live within 15 minutes of 2 Micro Centers (ty NYC) and these Enders are by far the most tempting thing about the entire store. They go on sale for $100-$150 pretty often and there’s tons of shelf support for 3D printers, parts, accessories, etc.
Ha! Last week I was buying some filament, and I saw two different people grab the Ender 3 on sale, it was like $119 or something.
As an Ender 3 graduate. Buying Ender 3 at a cheap price is tempting. But please save your sanity by buying a Bambulab A1 mini. These things are just press print and go
@@PanduPujoWicaksono you’re the second person to tell me to go with Bambu, I’ll def look into it. Still not sure if 3D printing is something I’ll end up sticking with though, and $120 is a reaaaal low barrier to entry in case it ends up collecting dust after a few months.
oh boy, welcome to the 3d printers club! you in for a fun time!
Heh, much spaghetti, many hours twiddling with models.
@@Level2Jeff do you use octoprint on your printer at home?
@@Level2Jeff yes you still need to level the bed, before relying on the bltouch.
the bltouch just helps to provide a "more" accurate leveling, after the user leveling.
@@Level2Jeff Steps for the Z-offset. (Grab a piece of paper)
Make sure your Probe Z-Offset is set to 0.00
Also, even though the BL-Touch levels the bed, ensure that your bed is actually level to begin with.
Perform a Bed level (should probe 9 points)
Perform an Auto-Home
Once complete, your nozzle should be floating off the bed.
Go to Prepare - Move Axis - Move Z
It should be ~ 10 or so (which makes sense as it's floating above the bed)
Move the Z access down in 1mm increments (or .25mm increments if needed)
Slide the paper under the nozzle.
You're looking to have the nozzle grab the paper and almost not let it pass underneath.
Once you've gotten the paper to that point, record the value. (This is your Z-Offset)
Now, move the Z Axis UP by 10 (just so it's off the bed completely)
Now head over to Prepare - Bed Leveling - Probe Z-Offset
Set the offset to the value you retrieved above.
@@netsspam Why couldn't the manual be this clear and cohrent? 10/10.
If you're not building the positron... I'll be happy to remove you from that burden.
Haha I know, right? I just had to put that on pause right now to finish a project for Open Sauce. It is coming soon.
its good to check the manual levelling first, the usual piece of paper under the nozzle, and adjust the manual underneath levelling knobs, then any general zaxis adjustment. after that, the autolevelling allows for variations of flatness of the bed. the printer looks very similar to my elegoo neptune4, (albeit that has touch screen), and initial manual levelling took me a while as well, as the documentation wasn't as clear as I would like. You can also compensate for a slightly bulging first layer using slicer settings. On Ultimaker Cura it's called "initial layer horizontal expansion" (i've also seen it called elephants feet)
The documentation was definitely a little lacking in that regard.
To answer you question about bed leveling.. in my experience for best results you want to have it as level as possible before using BL touch.. since that only does it's best to compensate for inperfections
I use klipper with my Ender3v2.. with "screws tilt calculate" it will tell me exactly how to turn screws to level my bed.. and it can do sooo many other things as well
Love it, i bought a ender 3 s1 plus yesterday and can‘t wait to start tinkering with 3d printing. Already considering flashing it with klipper and using fluidd for monitoring
Jeff. Get a cable chain printed for the bed cable. The stupid solid molding and inflexibility have a tendency to snap the heater wire internally.
So I've heard! I will put that on my list.
@@Level2Jeff … or just stick to the Bambu that I see you’ve now got. Nice. The difference in speed is quite astounding though.
I have been using a membrane switch under the head to set the z axis. Cheap and easy, battery, membrane switch, & a LED. LED lights up, position is set . :)
Yes, you want the bed to be as level as you can, with the bltouch just basically noting what differences it needs to make to compensate.
keeping in mind the spirit of open source. it would be awesoem to see you build a voron 2.4. Please take a look. I am sure LDO motors would be happy to send you a kit as well.
It's a possibility, but I can't turn into a 3D printing channel... I just can't! :D
@@Level2Jeff hahaha ofcourse. In which i hope they send you a partially built one :)
A lot of the question of the manually leveling the bed has to do with how it's attached to the printer. If it has leveling knobs, then yes, I'll do manual leveling in addition to working with the ABL. If it doesn't I'm kind of stuck with whatever the ABL can work out.
If you haven't run into it yet, my experience with Creality spring steel beds has been that the pei sheet all too often hangs onto the print a lot more than you would like. Mostly that means it starts peeling off the spring steel. Microcenter carries a BIQI textured springsteel plate that works great in place of the Creality one, and seems (to me anyway) to be a more durable surface, and it does release the print once it's cooled down. The bed seems to be pretty much the same one that Bambu Labs printers are using, and I've had pretty good luck with those as well.
(~) 1:45 with your wife taking over the basement area for sewing since you've got this new studio, might want to get one anyway just for her fabric at least lol.
Excellent example what not to buy if you are in the market for a 3D printer that just works out of the box, or on the other hand a tinkers wet dream.
12:30 dang I didn't know Enders were shipping with confobulators now, they are stepping up their game.
I like my Ender 3 S1 Pro. I’ve had it a few years and it had worked pretty flawlessly out of box.
You should use your finger on the printed lines, to feel how tight they are to the bed and how flat/smooth. Then yeah dial in the first layer height.
Man, looking at all that stuff you had to do… I am very happy about my Bambu Lab.
They don't show how to attach the Z and Gantry to the base well, but most people I know of simply set them on their side, and make an effort to not put a lot of pressure on the gantry.
Watching you build right now!
Magnetic build plate, just pop the plate off! ;)
I have the Ender 5 and was very impressed with everything except the auto leveling. It didn't work at all as per the instructions and after patterning all over the board it was happy, only to completely melt and gouge the board on the first print. Watching you go through the leveling was a little triggering :)
I found a YT video that helped a lot more than the manual but did have to get some replacement boards from AliExpress.
It's all fine now and is an amazing printer. Just the auto leveling... there's nothing 'auto' about it.
That's the crazy thing-you'd think the auto leveling would be better, but it took a good bit of tweaking (even after that first print) to get 'good'.
In the box for six months? My Ender 3 is still in the box; two years (and counting). It was an impulse buy; $99 with a YT code at Micro Center.
Haha this one was an impulse buy from Amazon, I knew I wanted a 3D printer for the office... but didn't *need* one until this past week!
Happy Father's Day.
Thank you!
you have opened a very addictive can of goodies.😂
No RUclips tribute! Whare are you a caveman?
Thanks for posting this. I love videos like this because they're super relaxing and easy to watch!
This is one of the big reasons I wanted to work on this channel-I like watching these kinds of videos, and learning tidbits or just seeing how someone else goes through a process like it!
How is the manual on the S1? I bought a Ender 3 V2 for my first printer in 2021 and it's manual was so awful that I ended up watching a few videos on how to put it together.
It's not *too* bad, but I admit, a few months ago I had watched a video to prepare, so I had a little idea of what was coming. It was a lot easier than the V2.
lol, Jeff. This is literally me but without the time constraint. I have the exact same printer sitting for the last year unopened waiting for the right time. maybe now is that time. Cheers.
Haha a hobby of having a boxed up printer sitting on the shelf.
I'd love to see you take on a Voron or other open-source printer design!
I just met some folks from Voron at Open Sauce today!
Was gifted an Ender3 V2 NEO last month and was pleasantly surprise to find how easy it was to set up and use compared to my CNC setup.
I had Ender 3 S1 Pro for a year. It is excellent printer for my use case.
I just ordered a Bambu Lab A1, what good timing :p
On the ender 3v2 you are also running mriscoc firmware? That is really amazing firmware. Hup Holland
Not at this time, but Hup Holland Hup!
Are you Dutch? Or do you have Dutch ancestors?
It's because of the orange t-shirt that I thought this.
Yep! Three generations ago my family migrated from Holland-I don't know Dutch but we still cheer for the Netherlands every four years during the world cup!
A real man uses the instructions.
i want i 3d printer but cant afford it you know a good cheap 3d printer (I can only pay in yen)
Honestly, the Ender line from Creality are some of the cheapest that you can use for productive work and tune pretty well if you want over time. They're a little slower (at least all the older models that are around $100-150 USD), but they get the job done okay.
@@Level2Jeff thanks for leting me know
I can recommend Sovol SV06.
Love to see older printers given some attention.