Beacon Probe Review and tutorial

[@Vez3D]

IMPORTANT NOTE: Noticed that accuracy test and probing had issue on my probe. Beacon dev spotted the issue and the temp sensor on the probe is broken. You can see the reading of the themp going nuts on the mainsail screen. I must have broken it when I did the de-soldering and re-soldering. Since it does temp compensation, I get weird accuracy and reading in this video. He also thinks that it explains the wave you seen in the bed mesh. Accuracy is coming out in the range of 10-50 micron instead of 0.4 micron. So even with a broken probe it was awesome, I can't wait to try again with a perfectly working unit :)

[@Nordern]

I need to get one of these, that's absolutely sick how well and easy it works!

[@grasstreefarmer]

I only just finished getting the Voron TAP probe running well on my V2.4 but I ordered one of these to try because it think it might suit me better. The TAP is great but it seems like a lot of people have trouble with it. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

[@REDxFROG]

You know is only causing trouble when the user messes up. The advantage for TAP is... it's measured from the nozzle. Can't get any better than that. I'd love to use this beacon sensor but I have strong magnets in my voron bed. However TAP didn't disappoint a single moment. It's just that...beacon is faster. 😅 5 seconds vs 1 minute adaptive meshing. I always do a mesh before every print now using adaptive meshing. If it's just a small keychain thingy then it's just a few points right where it prints. Prusas do a full bed mesh before every print. But actually printing without a mesh would be best because the z axis won't move all the time

[@keenzkustoms2408]

Wouldn't let me post a link. But video is on my channel I made a mount to use tap and beacon so you can use tap for z endstop for perfect z offset not affected by nozzle and bed changes

[@nunovicente34]

@@keenzkustoms2408that’s very clever!

[@stevehanwright481]

Great video very clear. I can see why vendors happy send out free sample to KZbinrs you guys sell heaps for them . So am I right in understanding this can be used to the quad gantry level as it just replaces the function of the current probe (voron 2.4)

[@justinwalker8364]

@@REDxFROG TAP introduces more moving parts than necessary. thats the only problem with it.

[@whynotbuildit]

awesome review and tut! Staying on top

[@WestonWill]

Setup my new RatRig VCore 500 with one of these with the VZ printhead setup. Its been working great! Hopefully they get the Beacon3D page completed with instructions, there is enough there to get started but it's not all clear for a new user.

[@MirageDU]

Oh man I love things like this. Innovative inventions that makes existing things that works really well even better. I like my clicky probe but the speed and precision of this probe is crazy. To bad it needs a conductive surface because my Core-XY has a glass bed. But maybe i will put this on my Delta. Not because i need it as the bed doesn't move and i only need to probe it once, but just... because! XD

[@thejoetandy]

I wonder if a front faced mirror would be conductive....

[@bridget_clinch]

I ran my Anycubic Mega X with just the 2 mechanical endstops and no probe on klipper for about a year and hardly touched the bed, whacked a spare inductive probe and added a mesh which is nice, but really doesn't make a huge difference TBH. Discovered that I don't like neodymium (prusa) beds and inductive probes the hard way, even after defining where the magnets are. My next big corexy won't have neodymium in the bed, will be next year and will be taking info from you, voron & ratrig for the build.

[@donuthole7236]

This appears to be a good option for an enclosed and heated chamber. The BL Touch "signs-off" at ~ 50 C. the specs on Beacan's web site says this probe is good for 120 C.

[@maplobats]

I'm excited to probe my bed with bacon!

[@DailyFrankPeter]

Make sure to use non-stick heatbed coating.

[@Mehecanogeesir]

Looks like a great sensor. Could you let us know how you can use a bed mesh to tell if the x axis rail needs to be replaced like you mentioned? Personally, not going to be upgrading my printers from klicky until necessary, which I don't see happening for a while. But for those looking to upgrade from an inductive sensor or BL touch, I definitely see great benefits. Thanks for allowing us to see more of this sensor btw!

[@angrydragonslayer]

I feel like this as well Should i need a new sensor, this is what i'll get.

[@Mehecanogeesir]

@@angrydragonslayer Then again - replace an endstop on klicky vs rewiring for this, firmware changes, toolhead changes, new parts, getting used to it, etc... maybe I'll stick with klicky - that works quite well 🤣

[@AdamStranberg]

Thanks man - you're the best!

[@ABentPaperclip]

for canbus users I wonder if you can plug the beacon's USB into the USB port of a canbus board like the EBB36. I really don't want to run another wire through my loom, that was the whole reason I switched to canbus.

[@CartaIV]

It’s usb a not c so unless you change the plug it might work but not worth the hassle in my opinion just run it along side the canbus cable it’s still very tidy

[@sanderveenman599]

i never thought i ever say this, but this is one sexy printer!

[@Plumpkatt1]

I noticed you're using a magnetic bed however you have the four holes punched out of the magnet for your bed screws I'm curious how the lack of magnetism in those four points affect the readouts

[@MisterkeTube]

I guess this has the same problem as most other "non-physical" probes in that it measures where the metal below the nozzle is, not the PEI or other non-metalic surface that actually forms the build-surface, right?

[@flamepygmy]

That is correct. If you print on steel sheet with PEI, it can't take the PEI into account. I personally print on bare steel with glue. No PEI involved so no need to worry about it peeling off, also beacon is reading the print surface (minus maybe any contaminants that might be present). Assuming that your PEI is sitting super flat on the sheet, then that's just a fixed offset. Beacon can get everything else measured (twists in bed, motion system, uneven mag sheet, bumps in the spring steel sheet, ...) because it affects the metal part of the print surface. For me Beacon is a no-brainer because it doesn't require diving to get the readings so it's ultra fast. Shaves minutes of bed probing, very high accuracy, and very dense grid that is impractical (time) to get with other probes. Also, since I print with glues (Vision Miner, NorthPrint.ca strong glue, Dimafix), it's nice that the probe actually doesn't touch the bed and so doesn't over time get glue buildup on it.

[@HReality]

Your y offset is nozzle to center of the coil yes? Also, the documentation on the site is a bit vague.. what are the operating temps for the board?

[@skydayang]

Got one on the way to me now!

[@twanskys]

Hi vez. Good job my friend.

[@doctrainsmodifications5201]

Very well done indeed, Just a thought, does this probe support Adaptive Bed Mesh in Klipper as all of my printers are configured for it? Thanks again for a very well done review and tutorial. Thanks for the read. Doc'

[@Vez3D]

Yep

This is fantastic! Is it possible to use this sensor for a super precise "bed screws adjust" routine, where you would park the printhead at the screw location and just look at the Beacon readout while adjusting the screws? Also, can you plug the Beacon into a CAN board or do you need to plug directly into the Pi ?

[@eclypse3d]

Its, its own MCU so no it uses the usb interface. So unless your can board has usb pins then no.

@@eclypse3d Thanks!

[@jamesm3268]

Connects to can just fine.

[@Wiikendzgoodmix]

Wonder how this would do with a loadcell in the bed to touch the nozzle for auto Z-offset

[@DailyFrankPeter]

BTW, does anyone know what printer model this bed (3:04) is from?

[@imst4722]

Looks like a v2.4 bed. Maybe mandala rose works

[@Vez3D]

F3d-racing-fdm.myshopify.com bed

[@DailyFrankPeter]

Nononono... I mean the one with cylindrical magnets, that you show as counter-example. I was looking for something like it the other day. The magnetic adhesive layer... I get the impression that it's thermal expansion is way out of control in hot chambers. And the prints look like mushroom stems before it stabilises. Thanks for the link to the shop, Vez. ;) That hotend is something I might buy at some point.

[@karellen00]

@@DailyFrankPeter China magnetic sheets can be pretty bad, if you can invest on a sheet of Graviflex it is well worth it! Unfortunately it's common in Europe only

[@DailyFrankPeter]

@@karellen00 That's fine, I'm in Europe. Which shop sells it?

[@travelling_hobbit]

I have just ordered the version h of this waiting on it to arrive but in the meantime should i remove klicky probe as i want this to also do the homing. Can i install the Clone beacon_klipper in readiness or best to just wait

[@Vez3D]

No idea about the clone sorry

[@X11-35-2]

Just one question for me: for some filaments like pccf i love 0.5 fr4, does the scanner works with that (obviously the fr4 is glued to springsteel)

[@michelcote]

Eddy current sensors are ok with glassfiber, but not carbonfiber. Since printing is done after mesh, you are ok printing carbonfiber polycarbonate.

[@airheadbit1984]

Does the grid density have an impact on the printing speed: 15X15 or 2000X2000 when printing?

[@jasonriddle4298]

I'm getting an error after homing x and y. It says no beacon model loaded.

[@GuysShop]

totally insane my freind!

[@michail1963]

is it possible to integrate Eddy from BigTreeTech?

[@Tedlasman]

First beacon tut, well done

[@PattysLab]

I don't think that this probe will account vor different PEI layer thickness unless the spring steel of the bed is of a different thickness. This is as the website states an inductive probe. So it can only detect conductive materials. I also think that if you have different types of spring steel you need to rerun that initial nozzle touching the bed calibration. So the probe can get a proper baseline zero reading. TLDR: I don't think this system is suitable for quick different bed swaps

[@jonny7fly]

Thats because Bed Mesh is not used for the Z-Offset. Its jsut used to confirm whether or not your Bed is flat.

[@PattysLab]

@@jonny7fly Yes I understand that, but I was refering to what he said in the video. He said that he was ajusting the z by changeing the mechanical z-stop and that he wanted to use this for quick plate changing and I dont think this type of probe will speed that up.

[@Vez3D]

Yeah it will . Tested it. The steel sheet is different thickness. The pei coating is roughly the same

[@PattysLab]

@@Vez3D Aaah alright then it makes a lot of sense!

[@3Dsinyourender]

I love my beacon! I noticed on yours the Y axis is snappy mine when it moves the Y axis doing a bed mess it’s kind of slow. Do you know what I need to change to fix that?

[@RickyWood1981]

I really need to build one of these printers lol

[@floodo1]

Thanks d00d So inspirational

[@crnalajna]

But hey, that is inductive probe, right? So not actually measuring the surface? I have two side PEI sheet, smooth and textured. When I flip the sheet I'm getting almost inverted bed mesh, and in one case when I dial in the Z offset and then flip the sheet it will dig into the PEI. So not happy with it. Tap is waiting.

[@94Discovery]

I was looking at the bom to find the fan duct beacon mod but could not find it did you upload the stl ? Thx 🙏 ❤

[@Vez3D]

Yes. For both printed and cnc version

[@ericchul]

I have a question. I bought a low profile. I did all the settings according to the manual, and the id of the beacon came out. However, there is no response to the endstop check (m119). Is this normal?

[@Envinite]

Probe and endstop are treated differently, so if yo uwant the probe to also act as endstop you need to add this on your [stepper_z]: endstop_pin: probe:z_virtual_endstop It basically make the probe act as endstop z

[@dudedud238]

Could this probe technically be used to calibrate pressure advance kind of like the lidar on the Bamboo labs x1c or is it not accurate enough?

[@Vez3D]

Its very accurate but its not for pressure advance

[@kennybeaudoin]

at 16min 36 ... is the nozzle touching the bed ? or its just close ? my other question is do we need a sex bolt for nozzle swap or any kind of other probes with beacon ?

[@Vez3D]

No other probe needed

[@sambojones8681]

Addressing the four big spikes on the bedmesh, could that be where the bed screws are where you have removed some of the magnet material for those screws?

[@Vez3D]

It was the temp sensor that was broken and it was trying to compensate for it

[@mattlott1113]

Awesome stuff as always, but did you notice your temperature reading on the beacon coil? Something isn't right there. It was showing -73C. Maybe it needs a firmware update or something. The thermistor on mine seems to read accurately.

[@Vez3D]

Yeah just noticed..and that explajns some of the deviation. I must have damaged it when resoldering 😢

[@aviatoFPV]

Any reason to upgrade to this from the superpinda I have on my VCore?

[@simonl7784]

SuperPinda is a digital On/off switch triggered by induction when it's physically moved. This one is analog, reads a distance and calculates the offset; so does not need to be moved (on z) to take measurements. A reason to upgrade would be for it's speed mostly

[@94Discovery]

Is it possible to separate the 2 boards to make it lighter and remove electronics from the chamber ?

[@Vez3D]

i dont think so. The temp sensor is on the second board

[@timmallard5360]

Very cool! I just ordered one. So is it still worth doing adaptive bed mesh with this new probe. I've been using that with my Cr6 machines and it's been a big improvement

[@tjlqk3]

Do you have the files for the mount available?

[@cristianopersi7953]

is there an adapter for the stealthburner?

[@seanequisenberry6699]

Great Video!

[@bob_mosavo]

Thanks, Vez 😁

[@michael80126]

Hey @Vez3D ✌🏿 I'm currently into printing with higher speeds and I'm facing issues with stringing. I found out that retraction speed is may more important than Retraction Length. What retraction length and speed are you using on your big machine?

[@Vez3D]

0.3 and 30mms retract with 80mm/s unretract

[@jeffreyepiscopo]

20:45 wow the probing is faster than my printers can even go

[@ManjaroBlack]

I'd love to see a comparison to the AUS3D IR Probe. I've had one of those laying around for a long time and never got around to setting it up. I might never set it up if I can use the Beacon on a Delta. Haha.

[@DailyFrankPeter]

Does it tolerate heated chambers?

[@keenzkustoms2408]

Yea it does it has temp compensation even graphs the probe coil temp on the mainsail graph

[@marckart66]

This might sound stupid but, could resonance compensation affect the bed mesh?

[@Shinobubu]

I use Nylon screws for the Beacon.

[@ChrisHarmon1]

I'm stopping video at 15 mins because I see you setting the z offset with a piece of paper in 1 spot but if someone has an uneven bed I imagine this risks dragging nozzle across?

[@AndrewAHayes]

I love this and hope it becomes compatible with Rep Rap and Marlin as I have some printers that run those firmware, I would also like to see how it compares to the BL Touch and the Pinda probe in terms of accuracy but I am sure this comparison will turn up somewhere

[@图灵-r6x]

upper computer is necessary,8 bit motherboard can't deal with this

[@karlspena]

Simon, you should check your webcam configuration. It's not supposed to run between 0 and 2 fps.

[@Vez3D]

Its set at 2fps ..it cant take more. So yes its supposed to run at 2 hehe. Its set to 1080p ..and when at 1080p it runs in still mode. Google it :)

[@karlspena]

@@Vez3D i see, so it's on purpose. I had an issue with mine that limited it to about 2fps. When corrected it shows the feed at about 20.

[@Vez3D]

@@karlspena what cam ? the official rapsi v2 cam with sony sensor auto turns into still mode when using 1080p..

[@karlspena]

@@Vez3D that was precisely the problem. I wasn't using the raspi cam, but a noname chinese usb webcam. Had to adjust some details on the config files to make it work.

[@mikelittlejohn3743]

Price is 70 bucks alittle to high for me but it is fast and easy would love to try but 70 buck is crazy!!! thanks for the review seems very nice.

[@jc84com]

you know its good when its VZ approved!

[@jacksoni349]

Needs implementation for Duet3D

[@ivyr336]

Guessing there will soon be aliexpress versions of this type of scanner. Doesn't seem like anything really revolutionary, just in a practical format for 3D printing.

[@zviper]

Fuck me, Just got tap installed. Take my money!! :P

[@sasca854]

Tap is great though.

[@REDxFROG]

If it helps: Use TAP with adaptive bed mesh 😅 that's pretty fast..with only 1 probing per point.

[@stevekeen123]

Use both like me!

[@keenzkustoms2408]

Wouldn't let me post a link. But video is on my channel I made a mount to use tap and beacon so you can use tap for z endstop for perfect z offset not affected by nozzle and bed changes

[@palomo3d]

this probe is awesome but a bit expensive at the momento, not for one printer but if you want update 7 printers is about $500, but awesome

[@AndrewBoraas]

posted 5 minutes ago... hot

[@shanemeyer9224]

Wait you’ve been running all this time without any bed probe or mesh? How are you level in everything without it

[@Vez3D]

Mic6 8mm bed plates..single z motor. That always worked fine

[@GoranMilici]

Yeah i found out about that probe less than a week ago and ive thought about it daily. I just need to let a few more days a pass before o can order it so my wife doesn't kill me.

[@pavelkolar9543]

I can't wait when it will be on EU stores...

[@rothlive]

Not works with a Duet Board bad.

[@AdamStranberg]

Any reason you can't probe 235x235 points? Maybe it's overkill, maybe klipper couldn't handle it 😆

[@airheadbit1984]

Do an update! Show the version 2 Beacon H!

[@dibonko]

Using CAN with EBB36 I see no point in this due to the separate USB cable 😢 also BLtouch gave me deviation of about 0,003 as best result and it weight about 10g? 🤔

[@artemnikitin2806]

omg, create a canbus version, it will sell like a hotcake!

[@karellen00]

The devs said can doesn't have enough bandwidth

[@artemnikitin2806]

@@karellen00 at 1mhz??? They say it's a 1khz sensor.

[@karellen00]

@@artemnikitin2806 This stuff flies over my head, I just know that this is the answer that they always give to that question. In any case this beacon is for the most part an interface to make the coil talk to USB, making it CAN would mean a complete redesign, and this stuff has been pretty complex to make

[@Zplizor]

seems like you need to add an avg filter on the measurements! You are reading the values like they are without noise, thats not smart..

[@Vez3D]

Sorry what?😂

[@Zplizor]

@@Vez3D To get a more stable result, it would be better, if it could sample each spot, like 5 times, and then move on It could be the reason, why you get those extreme low spots

[@Vez3D]

@@Zplizor beacon spotted the issue.. i got a broken temp sensor on thr probe. I must have damaged it while resoldering it

[@Zplizor]

@@Vez3D awesome, but still, never thrust a non filtered signal, thats atleast how its done in the automation industry

[@Vez3D]

​@@Zplizor do you mean probing many times ? and average it ?

[@alexanderscholz8855]

Cool!!! I like it. Are you know Mark Yu KZbin aka PandaPi, he make some simelar. Enjoy and stay safe!!

[@adampiotrmalejewski695]

So even with a broken brobe it was :D

[@Vez3D]

Corrected sorry

[@adampiotrmalejewski695]

@@Vez3D Thanks for sharing. Thanks to your vid I found what was missing in my config :D

[@lazerusmfh]

I want to buy your exact machine im jealous take my money

[@M1America]

Absolutely proprietary....

[@AdamKlein77]

❤

[@hongtse6723]

with shipping for me is 104 dollars xD

[@Leviathan3DPrinting]

You should be able to directly ssh from the windows terminal no extra software needed(in windows 11) finally they’ve caught up to the entire test of the world lol 😂.

[@Vez3D]

Oh really i work in IT and I didn't even know haha thanks

[@digitalmaker3d]

Беспонтовая громоздкая конструкция

[@nauseouscustody1440]

Range 0.085mm 😳 and the deviation 8mkm! And still using a peace of paper!!! WTF! Dude, 3dtouch has much better and u can move it as fast as ur printer can, and yes u still need the peace of paper at first, but it can work with magnets.

[@torxfighter]

I think his probe is comprimised. You can see the temperature from the coil is broken and this probe uses temperature compensation. Usuallly the range is less than 0.0006 and deviation of ~0.00008. Maybe electrical noise is affecting the results too

[@nunovicente34]

@@torxfighteri was thinking about that, the accuracy will depend on much microsteps you have on the Z but maybe it got some damage when he resoldered the connector?

[@torxfighter]

@@nunovicente34 I think that since the probe is connected to the raspberry pi directly to report that the accuracy isn't dependant on the z microstep. On normal probes it reports depending on what the stepper drivers tell but not beacon. it will report what it senses. Thats what i'm thinking atleast but i don't know for sure.

[@Vez3D]

Yeah its temp sensor is broken.. just noticed

[@adampiotrmalejewski695]

After BEACON_CALIBRATE I have Move out of range: 150.000 150.000 351.500 [0.000]

[@adampiotrmalejewski695]

I didnt have position_minimum: -2 ( for some reason need to be -2) but i have still beta testers LOL