I am having issues keeping my bed in level. I replaced the springs with the heaver ones. Tightened them all the way up. turned them each 2 turns, set the limit switch. I then leveled the bed using the paper method, then a dial indicator to get all the corners the same. This works well for a few prints but as I continuse printing it seems that the bed looses it’s level, at which point prints start to not stick well until the point they fail. I level with bed at printing temperature. I clean the bed between each print with 90% rubbing alcohol. I also have a PowerSpec Duplicator I3+ and it does not show the same issue. Is this an issue with the Ender 3 or possibly am I doing something wrong?
This seems to be a problem with the Ender series as i have heard this from others. I to have a ender 3 v2 and had the exact same problem you had. Then decided to get a BLTouch auto bed leveling sensor and all my bed leveling problems went away.
I just installed a BLTouch, so I may not need to do this anymore, but for the past few weeks I’ve been printing 20mm X 20mm squares, 1 in each corner of the bed. If the diagonal infill lines aren’t joined, the nozzle is too high; if there are bumps & ridges on the infill, the nozzle is too low; if the surface is smooth & the lines are joined, it’s just right. Here are a couple of videos:
Before each print, I would print the squares, to ensure proper nozzle height. I’m still going to do that for a bit, to find out if different filaments need different Z Offsets to get exactly the right nozzle height.
Both videos were the same. Excellent video, I’m going to make a set of those square to use.
I read an article where they put a 4mm nut to hold the adjustment screw straight. They claimed it help to keep the bet level, looked like they were using stock springs. On the PowerSpec I printed some collars to help hold the springs upright. Would be interested in hearing how you like the BLTouch after you have used it for a while.
I also found that my Ender 3 v2 did not hold a bed-leveling for very long and got the BL-Touch, which has been working great for me.
Picked up some 4mm nuts & washers at the local F&H. I printed some spring supports from Thingiverse but decided not to use them. I have aftermarket springs with a flat top and the inter diameter is just bigger than the size of the bolt. Put a washer between the nut and one between the spring and nut. Tightened it all down and reinstalled the bed, leveled and now we’ll see how long it last. Keeping track of the number of prints and the time.
Think the next step will be the BLtouch. Where’s a good place to get one for the Ender 3 v2 in the USA?
I bought mine from Aliexpress.com: the same Creality unit I would have gotten from Amazon, but about half the price.
Printed a total of about 14 hours, printed the 1st layer test print. It was not the same as when it was printed right after the initial level. Wasn’t bad enough to re-level so I continued printing. However I did order a Bltouch hopefully this will help with the issue.
Michael Laws @ Teaching Tech on YouTube has a video wherein he installs a BLTouch & proceeds to print on 3 different thicknesses of printbed, without releveling inbetween.
The Bltouch arrived early was suppose to be here tomorrow. Printed a bracket and a spacer for it. Then installed it this afternoon and evening. Other than 2 small hiccups it’s now working perfectly following the excellent instructions in Dr Vax’s video. Was going to try the firmware from Creality but it wouldn’t install correctly. After booting it would just beep. Tried shorting the name, cleared the SDcard, nothing so I used the latest Smith3d version and it installed fine. The 2nd hiccup was the Bltouch would just flash red & homing didn’t work correctly either. With the power off I pulled the little probe down. Turned it back on and it did it’s test and all was good. Printed some 1 layer test squares and they all looked the same.
Thanks to everyone for the advice and suggestions.
I’m really glad it’s working for you. Today, I learned the dangers involved with installing BLTouch wiring if the wires in the 3-wire connector are not in the correct order. The Creality 4.2.7 control board actually started to smoke. I very quickly cut the power and, fortunately, it still functions after tracking down the wiring issue (swap blue & red wire positions in the connector). I’m going to make a separate warning post about it.
Sorry to hear about your problem. When researching the install of the BLtouch it was mentioned on several places to make sure the wiring was correct. Mine came with 2 cables one matched the colors and looked like the one on Antslabs so that it the one I used. Happy to hear that you didn’t fry your mb, smoke is scary for sure.
Had never heard of the silicone mounts for the bed but after reading the reviews I decided to give them a try as they are not very expensive. Was mostly done with the Christmas printing so today I installed them. The have a recess in the top which fit over the nut & washer which I had installed previously. Length wish they are the same length as the original springs.
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Tightened them down just like would be done with springs backed off a little and leveled the bed. Now if these work better than the yellow springs only time will tell.
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While I was installing them I also noticed that the bed was a little loose side to side so I adjusted that while I was at it.
I was watching the BLT do it’s thing when it got to the center of the bed I saw the hot end touch the bed. At this time I also noticed the X gantry move on the right side. I checked and I could spin the wheels and it was loose on that side. Tightened it all up, I’m sure that was part of the problem wiih the bed leveling.