Just got a Creality Ender 3 V2, and I am interested in BL Touch

3d Printing / Slicers / Setup / Problems
1

I like this package:

https://www.amazon.com/Upgraded-Leve…MHSkot9gGf7v44

I found from this link:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=bltouch&language=en_US&linkCode=sl2&linkId=1f74b54d5b9840566662d2c4c1d66370&tag=drvax-20&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

but I don’t think It will work. Anyone know of an alternative?

Thanks

2

Did you check the video?

The notes below the video give links to any required resources to make the conversion

3

The second link is from the video. I’ve asked around, and was told the package (first link, from the second link) wouldn’t work.

Do you know of a package like the one I linked that has a compatible BL Touch?

Thanks

4

@Geit, I haven’t watched that video, and don’t have time ATM: does Irv specify exactly which BL Touch option he used in the video, cause his link just links to a general list of BL Touch options.

5

The Smith3d firmware supports the version 3.1 BLTouch from ANTCLABS.

Here is an affiliate link to one with a 1-meter extension cable. I found this cable long enough but some people think it would be better to have a longer cable:

6

Thank you very much, Mr. Shapiro. Do you have a package or list of links for your recommended upgrades?

7

The links are in the description of the YouTube video:

[video=youtube_share;jO4PAWvWdH8]Ender 3 V2 BLTouch Installation - YouTube

8

I meant upgrades in general, sorry.

9

I am leaving this Ender 3 V2 stock with the exception of the BLTouch and putting BuildTak on top of the glass bed.

10

Thanks for your time and this forum. I really enjoy your YouTube videos.

11

Update:

I just recieved the BL Touch, and installed it today. I had Mr. Shapiro’s installation video playing, and I i installed it easily.

Thank you, Mr. Shapiro!

12

For my edification what is the advantage of adding the BL touch? I am quite content to level my ender 3 pro manually.

13

It is only useful when you often change your print surface (and thickness) or when you have a bend print surface.

With a perfectly flat print surface there is no real reason for a BL touch. You still need to configure your z offset, anyway.

Beside that, it is just for lazy people not willing to level the bed by hand. I don´t have a z sensor on any of my printers. Just a static switch I can adjust in height to change the global z offset without the need of using the printers firmware.

14

Good I didn’t feel that it would be worth the time and the money to install.

15

Despite having a glass bed, I see the z-axis raising and lowering as it’s printing.

16

I have wondered about this. I have also wondered if this kind of action is an indication that the BL Touch is not as accurate as one would hope.

17

Sure you did not enable z-hopping? Recent cura seems to have it enabled by default. Sensor related compensation should be so tiny that you could not see it, as it is usually a fraction of a millimetre. You should see the motor turn 1/32 to 1/256 of a rotation or so, when adding a flag to a coupler, but not the bed itself.

The sensors also are not perfect and add tolerances and error margins depending on the quality. If you pick the same position 10 times without moving the head you probably get 10 different z values from the sensor. Now the printer software may add more error by moving between the measuring points while printing.

When using such sensor, I would clean by print bed, perform the scan of the print area and store the data inside the printers flash. The bed will not bend differently, so there is no need to get a “random” bed levelling on each print. It also takes far to much time in my opinion. Sometimes the sensors get filled with air spread filament dust, causing the sensors to fail more and more over time. I would rather go for a metal detecting sensor than a picking type one to avoid dust related sensor faults.

Also a tiny filament crumb or other stuff can trigger the sensor early.

I am using boro silicate glass sheets on two of my printers and a huge picture frame glass on my big printer and no issues at all.

18

@Geit: question for you: can a metal sensing ABL work with the aluminum printbed, even though there is a magnetic rubber layer on top of it, and a layer of glass on top of that? Is the distance too far for the sensor in your experience?

A 2nd question: I thought sensors like the EZABL worked of capacitance, rather than metal sensing. Yes, no?

19

Yes, magnetic sensors work with a aluminum bed, but it needs to be mounted closer to the bed. I had a 2mm picture frame glass on top of my Anet A8 aluminum bed and such sensor on it (when I was new to 3D printing and did not know any better, I ordered it along with the printer), which worked fine. After installing a 3mm boro silicate glass the sensor failed detecting anything.

I have no idea how EZABL sensors work internally.

20

I just found this article about ABLs: [U]https://toms3d.org/2017/03/02/autoleveling-3d-printers-9-myths-12-sensors-tested/[/U]. I think it’s interesting.