Leveling or Tramming your Bed Using a Feeler Gauge on Ender 3 V2

[@FilamentFriday]

I forgot to say in the video: reset Z offset to zero after using the feeler gauge.

[@KLP99]

Connor beat the VGK. Sad for me. Happy for you and him.

[@willm389]

Can I do this with the bl touch?

[@abar7178]

thank you for your time. However, you also forgot to state, What size feeler guage blade you are using. A piece of paper is approximately 0.004 " thick ?

[@FilamentFriday]

NoI didn’t. I show in the video 0.202 feeler. Paper is typically 0.08 to 0.1 mm.

[@decomush]

Hi CHEP, I really recommend give some heads up about this comment on the title or something. Yesterday I lost 5 hours trying to make this work because I missed this comment.

[@bratwizard]

FEELER GAUGE SIZE: 0.203 mm (Just in case you missed it in the video)

[@bamboo9840]

Thank you, mate

[@JustCreateYou]

What feeler gauge for PETG idk what size to use 🥲

[@TheLazyEyebrow]

More accurately, it's whatever feeler gauge you set your Z height to. Personally (since you have to do it a few times anyway as heights can change for one if you move another) i start with 0.8, do all points, move the Z to 0.6 and use that gauge, move Z to 0.4 and use that guage and finish off with 0.2mm By the time I'm using 0.2mm i barely need to adjust anything

[@TheLazyEyebrow]

@@Vcynix4 layer size has little to do with tramming. all you're doing is making sure that the bed is as far away from the nozzle as the printer thinks it is

[@BrodiePhoenix]

@@TheLazyEyebrowthis was the best advice

[@FilamentFriday]

Make sure to reset Z offset after leveling. I forgot that step in the video.

[@Blodstucken]

I was just thinking about that! So to make it super clear; You should set the Z offset to the same height as the gauge you're using, tram the bed, reset Z offset to zero (or whatever you had before) and then do test prints? Thanks for a great vid, just ordered myself some gauges.

[@FilamentFriday]

Yes.

[@TOMA21207]

You are a great teacher, so calm and so clear with explanation. No big intros no annoying music, straight to the point. Love the channel.

[@markjohnson5137]

I was taught to use feeler gauges on the go/no go method. ie to set 0.04 mm use a 0.03 that should slip freely and then a 0.05 which should not fit. that way the gap is 0.03+ and 0.05-. It takes the subjective feel of how tight the gauge is and also stops compression of the gauge.

[@Bakamoichigei]

Taking anything subjective out of the equation is always good operating practice, yeah. 👍

[@broderp]

Unbelievable. I was searching for this exact topic yesterday, because I had a thought that a piece of paper is so vague as a gauge. I measured some paper at 0.01 mm and others at 0.18. I thought why not use a feeler gauge? And here is your video the next morning....👍

[@PaulDominguez]

Been using feeler gauge for years. Great to see a video showing this

[@Bakamoichigei]

Soon after I got my first 3D printer back in 2015, I started leveling it with a feeler gauge... Coming from the world of machinists, I couldn't wrap my head around the idea of people relying on _a piece of paper_ to do something so critical to the quality and precision of their prints. 😌 (It was also _super_ handy for setting the physical Z-offset of the second extruder, since it was one of those Chinese clones of the Makerbot dual-extruder.)

[@WhereNerdyisCool]

I never thought to change the offset when using the feeler gauge , great tip. I've been using the feeler gauge for a while since it seems paper can have varying levels of "give" (squish?) Thanks for making me a little bit smarter today!

[@henricoderre]

Hi Chuck. A while back I commented on one of your bed-levelling videos. I mentioned having tried everything to level the bed on my older E3V2 3D printer, but nothing I'd tried worked. Good news! I made a few helpful modifications. I changed the Bowden system for Creality's direct drive system, replaced the tan-colored springs with silicone mounts, and added a second lead screw to the right side of the printer. My newer printer was initially the only printer set up in this way, and it has been running nearly 24/7 for 2 weeks. I have not yet had to relevel it! That's right. I levelled it just once 2 weeks ago before using it for the first time. Mind you, it cost me just under $200 CAD to modify both of my printers. But once I'd confirmed that these modifications worked on the newer printer, I went ahead and made the changes on the older one as well. I had been using Jyers firmware until recently, but I went back to Creality's firmware. Jyers might offer more printing options, but I found it confusing. There are 2 or 3 different screen locations for setting the Z-offset in Jyers firmware, and I couldn't be bothered trying to determine which one to use. The only ick now is that I have to remember to tune the Z-offset before every print, because Creality's firmware does not seem to provide a permanent way of saving the Z-offset to either SD card or EEPROM, nor can I adjust this offset outside the Tune option when I go to print. I'd tried both the BLTouch and mesh pattern schemes to help me level the bed, but in my opinion both failed miserably. While the BLTouch is not a proper bed-levelling tool, it should help anyone who has irregular bed surface problems. Basically, that's all this device does, and I find the hype about this product misleading. Also, I now remove the build plate before attempting to remove a print to avoid throwing off the bed-levelling. For parts that are more stubborn to remove I wait for the stock build plate to cool, then stick it in the freezer for about ten minutes. The prints then come off the build plate quite easily. The mesh patterns do very little to help maintain a levelled bed. In the 7 months use of my older printer I had ample time to assess most every problem I'd had and determined the three afore-mentioned viable fixes. Two of these problems were bed-levelling and under-extrusion. The older printer used the Bowden tube system. I have since determined that the stock extruder is flawed in design or inefficient to the task. Attempting to either slow down print speed or raise the hot end temperature did nothing to solve the extrusion problems I'd been having. In any case, this is what led me to go to the direct drive. I wanted to reduce filament drag caused by friction and to shorten the travel length between extruder and hot end. So far, I have not been disappointed, and I'm glad I switched to direct drive. If the stock extruder had been up to the task I would have stayed with the Bowden setup to exploit the print speeds inherent in Bowden type printers. The stock springs are not up to par, but neither are the suggested stronger tan-colored springs. This led me to the more rigid silicone bed mounts. I believe these have enormously contributed to the fact that my bed now stays level after I adjust it. I could not get my X-axis gantry perfectly perpendicular to the frame side extrusion, nor could I get it to stay that way after having attempted to readjust it. The stock one-sided X-axis gantry support is barely adequate in maintaining a two-sided support gantry system. So, I added a second lead screw to the right side of my printer to help support the X-axis gantry to reduce or eliminate gantry sag caused by a lack of adequate support. Now the X-axis gantry is perfectly perpendicular to the frame side extrusion, and should not need further adjustment for a very long time. I give the brass nut about 7 months before its worn out enough to cause me problems again, but in the meantime, the sag is completely gone.

[@or3n_]

This just simplified the process. No unnecessary information and straight to the point. Thank you.

[@argusz]

I have eliminated the need to do this on my Ender 3 S1. I replaced the bed springs with metal spacers, I leveled the bed to the base of the printer and leveled the gantry to the bed. For setting the z offset I flipped the PE sheet upside-down so I can use the metal part. With my multimeter on Ohm position I put a lead on the metal sheet and the other on the hotend heatsink and in the printer menu under "Z Offset" I lowered the gantry gently until the multimeter showed me that the nozzle made contact. I backed it up 0.1mm, stored the configuration, and that's it. You need to input the value of the z offset you choose (in my instance here it is 0.1mm) in the slicing program you use.

[@sshhoott27]

Hi Chuck, Currently Im using the same method as your video. but here are some tips that I found out myself during My practise time. 1. The most important idea is you have to check for your felling gauge first, check for the edge of the sheet that you are using if it is smooth or not. because some time, edge become rough and that can impact alot to your feeling during measure the height. 2. the way you feel (measure) need follow single strategy. like if you swipe from side to side or you slide the sheet under nozzle back and forth. All of them should work but beter to keep it single strategy

[@xXKisskerXx]

yes! finally more coverage on filler gauges!. I love using mine, don't think I'll ever go back to paper tramming again. lol I bought a cheap set of feeler gauges (actually has 2 0.2mm ones, one is another color) and took one out to make a tool for just tramming (print a handle) and used it on my ender3, twice, to make sure i had it right -and haven't had to bed level for months.

[@DaQuellen]

Every day CHEP starts looking more and more like one of the Sopranos.

[@SengirIndustries]

This is perfect, I literally bought a feeler gauge for this a few days ago and I have a V2

[@jaapjoo2372]

I've been using a feeler gauge with my ender 3 pro for a while now. But I use your tuning profile and adjusted the gcode to 0.2 mm. Thank you for your many clear videos. 👍

[@jerxjac]

Chuck adjusts the z offset on his machine,. you in the gcode!? does this mean that for a ender 3 (pro) you need to change z-offset in every object(gcode) you print? It is not possible on de ender 3 itself?

[@enb3810]

YES!!. THANK YOU! I hate to be negative but SO many creators suggested leveling using paper and I wasn't even close and it was driving me nuts. I almost gave up 3d printing because of it. But I now use a .1mm feeler gauge and a -.08mm offset with great results.

[@dangerous8333]

I can level my bed with a Post-It note in 30 seconds. Been doing it that way for years.

[@57Murphy]

Using paper is definitely a "feel" operation. Fortunately for me I learned it years back when I was screen printing hybrid microcircuit substrates with gold or silver ink, glass, or a resistive material. Fond memories. Lately I will only use receipt paper as it is strong yet thin. (I'm going to hunt up some feeler gauges my dad had to have left me in the shed.)

[@neildarlow]

I've been doing this for years. I'm also an advocate for setting at the feeler-gauge thickness i.e. you home your printer, adjust to e.g. 0.2mm height (for a 0.2mm feeler-gauge) and then adjust the bed levelling screws. Another avant-garde method I have is to do all this with a cold bed and heater block. You then print a skirt and measure its thickness and use Z offset to correct the height.

[@jeroen9424]

I don't know how you do it, but this is the third time you come out with a video of stuff I was just about start with.

[@12x2richter]

One of the most useful things in this video was the statement that the printer expects 0 to be 0. It seems simple, but I always assumed it wanted 0 + a piece of paper or whatever, which I figured was just "within tolerance for diameter of the nozzle". Once I figured out it wanted true zero, and IT would step up before it started to print, that made it MUCH easier.

[@joeskis]

still don't understand what that means.

[@nialstewart8263]

@@joeskis The printer thinks that z0 is where the nozzle is _just_ touching the build surface, where we actually set it to 0.X mm off the surface, but the same value across the build plate. When you start a print one of the first things that happens is the nozzle is lifted 0.Ymm. the actual height your first layer prints at is then 0.X + 0.Y mm.

[@tctbiz]

Hey Chuck, I'm using a slightly modified Ender 5 Plus and I have some things to add that will make life really easy. First off...setting the z offset. Now on the E3v2 the nozzle is the probe. In my setup, I have a CR Touch. To set the offset, I place a sheet of paper in the center of the bed, then perform an auto home. This homes the head out on the paper. I can then adjust the offset up and down until the paper is just touching the nozzle. When done, I re home The nozzle is now always perfectly at zero...with no danger of harming the bed. I then tram the corners with a method similar to yours.

[@martinhub3737]

I have problem with the bed touching back side of the printer. It slide over little bit.

[@wesleyd.7433]

Great video as usual. One additional tip to add: use the plastic or at least brass feeler gages instead of the common stainless ones (meant for hardened steel/engine mechanics etc) as the stainless can and will slightly deform the soft brass nozzles tips/holes if too much pinch is accidentally applied during tramming adjustments. Both are available on amazon/ebay too. Disregard this statement if perfection is not your goal. Thanks and have a great day.

[@johnvodopija]

I have never fiddled with the z offset until recently. I did a manual mesh bed level using paper and the first layer was not sticking. Adjusted the z offset to 0.18mm and it’s now perfect. I need to get some feeler gauges to do this more precisely. Thank you for teaching me something today. Cheers 👍😎🇦🇺

[@brandonbrown3600]

Use this then run auto level to be spot on while using live Z to adjust 1st layer. ABL does not end the need for manual leveling.

[@MrMun33]

Hey there. You can use creality scraper. Its 0.7mm thick. Dont use Z offset. And over display raise Z axis for 0.7mm than level, and zero will be true zero.

[@mrpaytonsparks]

Are you saying to set the z offset to 0?

[@MrMun33]

@@mrpaytonsparks z-offset is just compensation for errors in tramming (bed leveling). If you have done it perfectly, than it should be 0. Prusa mk3s (and similar) use z-offset for traming because they have a fixed bed, therefore you cant adjust it mechanically

[@therising1]

+1 for feeler gauges. Way better than paper. And coupled with manual mesh, you can do a bed level and 3x3 mesh in about 5 minutes.

[@CaliMeatWagon]

Chuck, this is what I did with my Ender 3 V2. Loosen and lower the Z position sensor Tighten the bed as low it can go and still have clearance for full movement. Manually lower the nozzle, to the gap of your gauge, to either back corner. Align the front corners, with the gauge, to match the back corners. Once aligned, lower the nozzle until touching the bed. Reposition Z position sensor to match the new "Home" (I had to remove the bottom locating tab to do so). What this does is keep the springs tight, lessoning the chances that the bed will move out of alignment through continued use. I've printed out dozens of items since then. And all I do now is include a skirt with my prints, close to the beds edge, check the skirt while it's printing, and maybe, maybe, do a live alignment. I'm working on another idea I have of a cheap and easy replacement for the springs all together. I'll keep you informed if my results are good.

[@brandonbrown3600]

Silicone mounts. No springs to worry about.

[@ianbertenshaw4350]

I use a dial test indicator mounted to the extruder and can get the four corners to within 0.001 inch repeatedly and quickly , i then let the bed levelling routine take care of any low spots in the middle of the bed . I also got rid of the springs under the bed and use jacking screws to adjust the bed as I found for some reason it was twisting my bed . The BL touch is a must have item and makes life so much easier - once you use one of these you never want to go back ! The jeyers software upgrade is also a must have and it is so easy to install with the 32bit boards that you would be crazy not to install it even on a brand new printer -creality take note - stop putting your old out dated software on your machines !

[@brandonbrown3600]

I've been thinking of using a dial indicator. Care to share how you mounted it? Do you remove it during print or leave it on at all times? I assume also you don't have any particular off set you use just level the 4 corners, run ABL and live adjust first layer?

[@ianbertenshaw4350]

@@brandonbrown3600 I use a mag clamp to mount it to my extruder carriage and a parallel or toolmakers clamp on the extruder because it is magnetic , i use move axis to jog it to where i want and once i have levelled the bed i remove it . all i am doing is levelling the bed to the X &Y axis then when i print i use the BLtouch to create a mesh for it . Feeler gauges can lift the print head without you knowing and put your levelling off - it all comes down to feel and to add to that turn the bed and extruder on that clearance you had with a feeler gauge will change but a dial indicator will still show a true reading .

[@UnalTabak]

For your info: I saw another video using 0.08 as the feeler gauge -- which was said to be better.

[@57Murphy]

I hope this video is the opening salvo in the fight to end the term "bed leveling" in the 3D printer community.

[@THRobinson]

You only have to adjust once? I find if I do the front/left corner, then when I do the back/right corner it changes the front/left slightly.... I gotta do it 2-3x. Also... no mention of what to do if the centre is too close.

[@strictnonconformist7369]

@CHEP may have done leveling/tramming enough he doesn’t think about it too much, and just does it. As you’ve observed, yes, it’s sort of like tightening lug nuts on a car’s wheel, and when you tighten down one corner, it affects the far corner.

[@gordodefuego]

YES! ive had one of these for forever, didnt know which one to use. been using a 1mm shimmy tool for phone repairs. Heads up! this is for ender 3 v2 specifically. I tried with my ender3 pro and got black screen with the software. it was my fault for not reading the release titles. If you got stuck there just flash Creality official firmware!

[@DarrenPauli]

2:26 for the feeler gauge + z offset work

[@GreenAppelPie]

As a final tweak. I stop the print after the skirt has printed. I then carefully remove and measure the skirt around the 4 sides. I then average the highest and lowest measures and tweak my Z offset to match the average. For example, if my tallest measurement was .25 and my list was 21 The my average would be .23. Pretty close for .20 layers, but I’ll increased the offset another .03.

[@Lidocain777]

I've been doing this for years now :) Including probe z-offset. The only difference being that ... I do it with nozzle and bed at ambiant temperature, with a 0.10mm (0.004") feeler gauge. Perfect layer every time, whatever temperature is used later for nozzle/bed.

[@keebsnstuff3400]

What do you mean with probe z offset as well? like you use a gauge for it to probe?

[@larrycleeton]

I wish I better understood the "Z offset" setting when I first got my printer. It makes perfect sense that tramming with a specific gap between the nozzle and bed that you will need to compensate for that gap to get true Z axis zero. Conceptually it certainly made setting up my bltouch easier. I understood ahead of time that the bltouch zero wasn't going to be the same as the nozzle zero.

[@adammills6953]

For anyone in 2022, as of march 30th on my new stock ender 3 v2 I could not get the latest (E3V2-Default-v4.2.2-v2.0.1) 4.2.2 motherboard firmware to install correctly. I got a black screen and it just sat there doing nothing as far as I can tell. Just turn off your machine, take the card out and swap out 2.0.1 with with 1.3.5 (not 1.3.5b) and do the same process over again. This worked for me. and it booted to the new firmware in a few seconds. Later releases of 2.x.x may or may not work but 1.3.5 is a known, working version on my setup.

[@larsge]

Thanks man. I was about to write a pretty angry comment when my printer went black for ever and then I saw your comment. @CHEP please read this.

[@adammills6953]

@@larsge Glad I could help. @CHEP should really have added a version number that he used in the video but hindsight is 20/20, how could he have guessed the later releases wouldn't work?

[@tsiturbotsi]

I used this video as a reference to use a feeler gauge to level the bed on my Ender 3 S1 yesterday and it went well. The options are a lot different in the menu due to the S1 having the Auto Bed Leveling feature so I had to improvise but I managed and got it nice and level. I did this before doing my first big print. It went all the way out to the edges so I wanted to make sure I was good before starting that 13 hour print. I used the grid print you linked too. I did it before re-leveling and saw where I had issues. I fixed them and that big 13 hour print came out well. Thanks for the guide. Much appreciated.

[@cavinrauch]

Haven't even started the video, just came to agree. A feeler gauge has been the best thing I've ever bought for my printer. Learnt from the video Makers Muses made. Still going to watch and like yours as I always do :D

[@Rick-jr6qn]

I've been telling people this for a while on the ender 3 reddit forum. Most peoples leveling issues are because of this. You level with paper at.1 then the printer homes with a point one gap. So if your slicer is set to .2 your actually printing around .3. You have to offset it by the amount used to tram

[@albertosanchez7374]

If anyone's having problems with the Jyers firmware, I went straight for the "professional firmware" it's also based on marlin but it works with the same icons from the factory firmware

[@skyrider4789]

Chuck does mention the feeler gauge at 2:23

[@pb5216]

I got my feeler gauge set from Auto Zone today. They are etched with standard and metric measurements. Thanks for the video.

[@jayinmi3706]

I did too, but they didn't go down to .203mm

[@3888Orbost]

@@jayinmi3706 just dial the offset in the menu to match the feeler you have, do the process chep shows; then without changing the bed knobs readjust the offset in the menu to the amount of squish you want in the first layer.

[@MeuGtube]

Could you please provide a tutorial on how to update the Ender 3 S1 firmware? Congratulations on the channel and the excellent quality videos!

[@TheJdizzle325]

I only ever use a feeler gauge, works so much better than paper!!!

[@LathanM]

I have been doing this since day one. I hate the uncertainty of using paper. I have 10 different weights of paper within easy reach of me. With the feeler gage you know exactly what you are setting thr gap to.

[@pr0xZen]

If anyone is having a hard time getting to the nozzle in various positions, you can get longer feeler gauges, and ones with an angle/elbow on them. Be gentle around the nozzle with them, depending on your nozzle, the steel of those blades is a lot harder than a brass or copper nozzle, and it's easy to deform the nozzle opening if you jam the blades hard into them from the side. Also getting metric gauges is adviceable; everything else in 3d printing is metric so saves you dabbling with fractions, rounding and conversions.

[@fredwagner7952]

Thanks for this very helpful tip. I have a Geetech am20 for ever I could not get the bed leveled on it but as soon I tried the feeler gauges I got the bed leveled and it is making good prints.

[@chris-graham]

I use your bed leveling gcode, but with offsets changed to 0.1mm and use a 0.004" (0.102mm) feeler gauge. Works great. I use about 105% first layer flow for good abs squish

[@3dmedicvince449]

Great video. I've been doing that with my Ender 3 Pro for the past several months since I swapped the board with a BTT SKR mini E3. I do the leveling then Live Z -0.20 and the 1st layer always looks so good. Mainly I did it as a better way to make sure I have the same reference height to start with. Love your work!

[@Pikmeir]

Is there a reason we don't use an offset when leveling with paper, but we do when using a feeler gauge?

[@FilamentFriday]

Not as accurate but could work.

[@adaycj]

@@FilamentFriday My question is do I need to reset the offset to 0 when the feeler gauge work is done? If my gcode add my layer height to the first layer like shown in the video I would think yes.

[@wanders278]

You can, I do it. Just have to make sure you level while the nozzle/bed is heated so thermal expansion doesn't throw your offset off

[@FilamentFriday]

No you dont

[@DavidMulligan]

Chuck, did you remove the Z offset before starting your test print? If so the end result is the nozzle height should be actually 0 when the printer sets it to 0.

[@FilamentFriday]

No, the firmware knows that when it’s homed the nozzle is at the offset in the menu settings. So when the test print says start at 0.2mm, the firmware knows it’s already at 0.2mm so no Z movement required.

[@MarcoBarroca]

Why use z offset instead of just setting z to 0.2? Does it make a difference?

[@joshuap.7282]

Take this to the next level and use the continuity function on a multimeter. Attach a lead to your feeler Guage and probe the nozzle. I tried this the other day and got it to work.

[@wanders278]

Huh, wonder if this could be automated using the gpio pins on a raspberry pi running klipper

[@joshuap.7282]

@@wanders278 if you get that to work, let me know!

[@tifhorn3311]

Excellent idea! Too bad I left my multimeter at parents' home, but will try to do something similar with LED, battery and some simple circuit shorting through nozzle and gauge, thanks for reminding me of such solutions :)

[@joshuap.7282]

@@tifhorn3311 that would work well too. Any audio/visual indication would probably be better than doing it by feel. I can never tell how much the nozzle is supposed to grip the object used as a spacer

[@FilamentFriday]

I’m actually working on a design similar to that. Board layout almost done.

[@vesslades]

Hey CHEP, Could you please make a video about all the different bridging settings in Cura? Would love to see some testing and how to get the best bridge surface possible.

[@nathanmays7926]

I haven't used a piece of paper or feeler in months. I watch the skirt print and make adjustments on the fly before the actual part begins.

[@girrrrrrr2]

Someone should see how prices of feeler gauges go for the next few weeks. I bet they go up in price.

[@dananorth895]

Perfect just what I needed to know. Don't see how everyone seems to overcomplicate things. After checking digital micrmeters to paper and gauges I think its time to upgrade them, maybe pick up dial gauge as well.👍

[@MobileDecay]

I don't have the V2 but you sold me a feeler gauge on Amazon. 😂 I got my cr touch because my bed is a bumpy road. It works great.

[@THRobinson]

I had so many issues before getting the firmware to work, so I thought I'd pass this along... when you format to FAT32, make sure the allocation size is set to 4096 bytes. Mine defaulted to another number and the upgrade would not work.

[@FilamentFriday]

Great tip.

[@GastlyStrain]

It solved my problem thanks

[@TechieSewing]

So do you like it more than the sticker? I admit I wanted this tool for years to adjust my sewing machine shuttle when it comes out of sync, so you've given me another reason to get it :)

[@CaliMeatWagon]

Get a set, they are cheap.

[@R_Forde]

Spend a bit extra and make sure to get stainless steel feelers.

[@weeeds334]

why do i need to usw z-offset? cant you just use 0.12mm feelergauge (a normal paper has that thickness)? and level like you would with paper, without offset

[@FilamentFriday]

Sure. The live adjust method.

[@weeeds334]

@@FilamentFriday why live. i dont mean to adjuste it while printing. sorry maybe as a german i am confused with terminology. but if you say yes to my question, explain me why you would explain in the video the more diffikult way with setting a offset if you could do the same without the offset by useing slimmer feeler gauge

[@Atreta]

If i understood correctly, the machine thinks it is at at 0.0 when it starts printing, but if you use a feelee gauge of 0.12 or any other thickness it will at 0.12mm above the bed, that's why you set that offset to match your feeler gauge or any other calibration method to tram the bed.

[@FilamentFriday]

I set the offset to match the feeler gauge so the firmware knows where true zero is.

[@DarrenGerbrandt]

To add to Franklin's answer, if you use a 0.12 feeler gauge and don't offset then your nozzle will be at 0.12 above the bed but to compound this when you then go and print something at a 0.2 layer height, your first layer is then 0.32 above the bed as you didn't compensate for that by adjusting the z-offset. So in Chep's case of using the 0.2 feeler gauge, if he didn't use the offset and then did a print at 0.2 LH, his first layer would actually be a 0.4 layer height.

[@mcorrade]

Great video as always!!!. I've been using a feeler gauge on day one with my ender 3 pro. I like it much better than paper. I use a decimal 0.06 or a 0.08 depending on what I'm printing. It always works.

[@RicardoGonzalez-rd6sx]

El único video después de muchos que verdaderamente me ayudo a actualizar y a calibrar de manera correcta. Muchas Gracias!!!

[@kirkhsin123]

Wow, you always come with a great tool. You are my hero

[@birish21]

How did you adjust the middle?

[@23432]

why not just eliminate Z offset all together and lower the bed to fit the feeler gauge?

[@CrazyClinton]

I downloaded the firmware update and then I got the black screen and it won't go away I've tried changing the name by 1 character and still nothing. Any help would be nice

[@adammills6953]

Did you solve this? I'm going to try an older version

[@CrazyClinton]

@@adammills6953 yes I went to the manufacturers website and got a firmware update and it fixed it

[@0ddsby]

What's the difference between setting the z-offset and moving the z-axis to the thickness of the feeler gauge? Should I adjust my current z-offset after using a gauge?

[@FilamentFriday]

Moving z won’t save it so it homes offset

[@GilesWells]

Any thoughts on Klipper as an alternate firmware?

[@irishgaming1651]

Iv been using paper to level the bed ever since I got my printer and I can't quite get it right, should I adjust the screws until a can't feel the nozzle then readjust until I feel the slightest resistance?

[@jamesvandiver7193]

Can you do a video for the ender 3 v2 with solid bed mounts and jyers ubl? Specifically how to level the darn thing.

[@creepertc20]

Can't find that page ur talking about for that update

[@russvoege6735]

I have a silent board for my ender3 Pro will the V2 firmware work on it I still have the old 8 bit screen still

[@griffingirl5805]

Thank you so much!!! using the 0.203 measurement really worked!!

[@WaschyNumber1]

You can buy also Shim steel Feeler gauge shim rolls that go from 0.01mn up.

[@TimHakim-k7w]

Hello my Ender 3d printer stops printing at a certain hight, any help please.

[@OneUniti]

Great video! I have a question though. What’s the difference between using a paper with, assumed, .1mm and a .2mm feeler gauge? That’s a pretty big difference, but if it works with .1mm why would I move it away to .2mm? Legitimately curious!

[@FilamentFriday]

You erase it al with z offset so doesn’t matter.

[@nialstewart8263]

I have 3 bits of "standard copy paper" that measure from just over 0.1mm to just over 0.2mm. You don't know what you're setting the clearance to, you do with a feeler gauge. I've a creality cr10 and after a couple of years of sporadic use because of unreliable printing I dug my feeler gauges out of the garage and an getting solid prints every time. I set mine to 0.05mm clearance with a first layer of 0.28mm.

[@SkivaksXD]

just make your own bl touch with a servo and a optical end stop. cheap and effective. works a charm

[@nukedogger86]

I've seen more and more and more videos with feeler gauges, honestly seems most repeatable, as paper can easily gouge and cause inaccuracy and then changing to a new paper, it can vary a bit. Think I might need to get me some feelers, but I will likely try that z-offset thing on my e3pro too. Great tip!

[@bradykolodziejczyk8472]

I tried using this firmware and it just leaves me with a blank screen even after 10 minutes. Turned off and inserted original card and still just getting a black screen...

[@TriMeX1987]

Question. What is the best way to level the bed the first time when you have a bl touch. So the initial setup. To have a level bed before setting the z offset for the probe/nozzle. Also does this firmware have the 5 volt update in the firmware? I have had a lot of probe fails during probing because of the ender 3 v2 with a bl touch. Finally have a firmware that does not give errors so kinda scared to switch

[@bram_delaet]

Can you do manual mesh leveling with a feeler gauge

[@bblloobb1000]

several moths having problem adjusting the bed,probably its springs so i ordered new springs 8x20mm as sugested.meantime, what is size of feller gauge you used in this video.I,m using Ender 3v2 printer

[@FilamentFriday]

0.2mm

[@bblloobb1000]

@@FilamentFriday Thanks.i,m very greatfull.I,m viewing yuur viideos.

[@ljohnso16]

great info but show us how to modify that first layer in cura so we use the right feeler guage

[@brandonbrown3600]

How to modify it? What are you wanting to modify?

[@johnvodopija]

The z offset was set on the printer at to beginning to 0.2mm equal to the 0.2mm feeler gauge used. No change in slicer required.

[@elvarg99]

Am i doing something wrong? I followed the video 100% set the z offset to 0.20mm, Then level each corner. When i make the bedleveling test i print but the lines are rounded and not flat which they should. In order to the lines to merge have i been needing to set the offset to 0.10. Am i missing something to adjust in cura or ? Remove the Z offset from the printer after adjusting?

[@FilamentFriday]

You can lower the Z. Did you use a 0.2mm feeler gauge and make sure it’s flat when nozzle touched?

[@Thisismyhandle734]

What does this mean to Live adjust and to set Z offset to .20 mm?!?! Ive printed probably about 8 times so far, tramming bed with a .10mm feeler gauge and have had no problems until last night but I think it may have been an adhesion issue.

[@elvarg99]

​@@FilamentFriday I'll try again later in the weekend. But if i understand it correct then if i set z offset to 0.20, measure with a 0.20 feeler gaugue flat on the bed. Then when i print something, it should substract the 0.20 and would become zero and only lift the nozzle to the given layer height right?. Then if chaning the Z-offset to 0.10 and measure with 0.10 feeler gauge should give same resault and microstep it down during print would only affect the currect print.

[@FilamentFriday]

Correct.

[@elvarg99]

@@FilamentFriday Strange. Just tested. Set the z-offset to 0.20, leveled the bed and all that. Sliced my 0.2 layer height print and started to print it. There i noticed that Z-offset was 0.20 but the printer would start first layer at 0.40 layer height. Startede slicer again and this time set a -0,2 as software z-offset and then printer this time set it to the correct 0.2mm first layer height.

[@nopes1776]

Hey I got the 4.2.7 board and used a 32 gb card to update the firmware, not sure if that's different which it shouldn't be being 32 bit but it did work flawlessly.

[@tomasm87]

is there a firmware update with manual leveling for the ender 3 pro?

[@dniezby]

What if we're already using your leveler?

[@Liiva1]

My Ender 3 v2 initially didn't boot with the firmware loaded on the SD card, I tried again after formatting it but still no luck. Then I noticed I used the latest 2.01 version of the firmware while you use 1.35 in the video. Everything worked nicely after I downgraded to that version.

[@nativegingernewfiematchim3678]

Tried to update the firmware with the 4.2.2 same as in the video as thats what was on my printer. But the screen has stayed black and now it wont come on at all

[@nativegingernewfiematchim3678]

Forgot to add that its the exact same printer. E3D v2

[@FilamentFriday]

Change the filename by one character, use 8GB card or less and nothing else on SD card and try again.

[@nativegingernewfiematchim3678]

@@FilamentFriday Thank you kindly! That worked

[@tealtree4019]

I need help with my ender 3 s1 mine like to send the nozzel in to the bed after leaning and auto level I have seen any thing about g code for this printer

[@MCsCreations]

Fantastic, Chuck! Thanks a lot! 😃 Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@geauxracerx]

Things got way easier once I started using feeler gauges

[@jacobperkins865]

the Github link is a bin file do I just copy that straight on to the card or do i need to convert it

[@fate2022]

I would assume the 4.2.7 BLTouch firmware V2 is also good for the normal ender 3/ with a 4.2.7 and a BLTouch?

[@FilamentFriday]

Yeah, I believe it would. If you have the same LCD.

[@fate2022]

@@FilamentFriday Just the stock ender 3 lcd with click wheel, or the new touch screen, neither of which work. Thank you for the reply though.

[@FilamentFriday]

Interesting. I wonder why?

[@fate2022]

@@FilamentFriday No clue at this point I'm ready to toss it out the window, I;ve gone down a 4 week rabbit hole that started with the CRtouch suddenly not wanting to work as it should anymore after months of perfect printing, and now for the life of me I can't get a good bed leveling test print out of it if my life depended on it. I've upgraded my 2nd printer with the 4.2.7 and BLTouch with a touch screen, and apparently what I have found so far Creality doesn't even have a firmware for this combination. Currently emailing with Creality to find a solution if possible. All I wanted to do was print a single part 4 weeks ago and now this mess. 😣

[@jimjones8428]

So, updating firmware not withstanding, will this procedure work with an ender 3 pro and marlin firmware with able installed aftermarket???

[@carbide1968]

I use a dial indicator with a few magnets glued on the back that sticks to the earlier ender 3 hotend fan box. The new plastic version kinda ruins that idea but maybe there's a work around? Does the old metal box fit?

[@FilamentFriday]

Different mounting holes

[@javiernorambuena3291]

Hi. I had an issue. When loaded the new version on my printer and restarted it never came up from black screen 🥺 I checked twice the version at the bottom as you showed and followed every step. Any idea about what's going on? Thank you.

[@FilamentFriday]

Try again changing the name by one letter

[@javiernorambuena3291]

@@FilamentFriday thank you Mr. CHEP. You rock!! 🤟🏼