Quick and Simple Way to Level Your Creality K1 or K1 Max Bed

[@lcalbero]

I am laughing out loud here. You deserve an oscar. After trying everything, with the most annoying thing to put the machine upside down, etc, I just printed your small pieces, did the calibration in fluidd, made the math (left and right had a minor difference of 0.1, but to the back 1 mm), put the 1mm piece back there with 2 simple screws (no turning upside down, etc)... and MAGIC, my total difference now is less than 0.2 mm. THANK YOU !!!!!!!!

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Oh, I am with you. I think before making the video I had 4 attempts at using the Creality method and, it just was not working for me.. apparently other people who use some special technique have had better results, but turning the printer upside down and all of that business is not fun especially when you need to do it over and over again. Best to just do it from the top. I'm happy it worked well for you... out by only 0.2 is really good, nice work!

[@crsiqueira85]

It worked to mee too. Was 2,3mm and now 0.092mm. I dont dissasembled the laterals panels... Thanks

[@Reds3DPrinting]

@@NeedItMakeItThankful I seen this before getting my k1c, This thing is so off :/

[@MWolfe]

@@Reds3DPrintingI have had mine for a couple of days and of course here I am printing spacers. I do have 12 more days to do a return if necessary.

[@Cowboy7704]

you and @Needitmakeit talk about 'doing the math' to figure out which size shim you need. What is the math? How do I figure that out?

[@jamesfsmithco]

Wow - your spacer solution made a huge difference. To start, my maximum bed deviation was 0.709mm. Left front was the high side. Used a 0.2mm spacer sanded down to about 0.1mm for the right front. Used a 0.7mm spacer sanded down to about 0.65mm for the back. Maximum deviation was reduced to 0.084mm or about 12% of the original deviation. Per your other video, I heated the bed to 55 C for 10 minutes before each bed check. Will be leaving a donation. Please keep up the great work!

[@rodboorman4989]

Hi what program are you using to get the levelling programme to run as I can't find any bed mesh on my K1 program creality print thank you

[@jamesfsmithco]

Hi Rod! It is not in Creality Print. Instead, go to your K1 display panel - click on the tools icon (second from bottom on left side) - click on the network tab at the top - and copy the IP address (will look like 192.168.xxx.xxx) listed at the top. Then enter the IP address into your browser. The bed mesh will be shown at the bottom right. Good luck!@@rodboorman4989

[@boitmecklyn4995]

I am not a big fan of having to take off the belt at the bottom if it's not going to produce a noticeable affect. I am willing to make the shims and give it a try though.

[@GospodinJean]

You need to open the browser and type your printer id on the address bar. There you will have the option to see ​the topography of your print bed as well as saving it and /or loading it @rodboorman4989

[@ZachRE88]

Stopping in to comment and say thank you. Your shims plus a remix sloped shim from Printables fixed my leveling. I went from a variance of 1.6 to a variance of .16. Great stuff, simple and elegant solution. Easy to implement solutions like this help rookies like me enjoy 3d printing a whole lot more.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Hey! Thanks for taking the time to write a comment. Finding problems and looking for simple solutions is what I enjoy doing, it's really my pleasure to help people out and share my experiences. Even through we can print with a bed that's not parallel to the gantry, it's better to fix the problem and we'll have better success with the accuracy of our parts in their height and for me, as silly as it sounds, I really don't like seeing that RED and so much variance. Your numbers are really good, nice job getting better results than I was able to get!

[@m3chanist]

I used this method with a little extra sauce. I loaded up the model of the K1 from creality in Cad, tipped the cad bed till it matched my probed offsets then extruded a set of custom shims at the mount points, printed them, installed them and hit 0.12 range at working temp of 100c. Well pleased with the result, didn't take long either.

[@Khakzoy]

This worked perfectly! Calibrated, calculated the differences, printed the spacers, calibrated again and easily got it down from 1384mm max to 0.633mm and minimum from 0.351mm to 0.083mm. Range gone from 1.033 to 0.550! I will leave it at that for now! :) Thanks for your excellent video.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Awesome! I'm glad it helped you out, sounds like really good results for your printer.

[@wmstram1]

Worked great for me. Far more precision than blindly turning shafts and messing with belts. Thanks!

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Great to hear, it seems that most people are pretty happy with this option, I just received the K1 Max, and I have a bed out by 1.5mm+, I think I'll try to adjust using just the shims and see how close I can get. I notice that the max has a slightly thicker bed and it has machined edges as compared to the K1, maybe this was necessary due to the size.

[@dylanwiley1921]

yep im chucking my neptune 4 plus out the window and getting the k1 max when i get my biden money

[@NeedItMakeIt]

@@dylanwiley1921 So you'd said you're Biden-your-time? I have a K1 Max finally and there are some nice features, but the bed is still out by quite a bit even though it is a newer release of the printer, It's easy enough to fix the overall level-ness issue, but the bed is warped by quite a bit, so that'll have to be a follow up to to the video to see how we can address it. The beds are so big that I understand it's not easy to get it completely flat, but if not flat, maybe they should have a process of pressing it flatter, or some type of filler material prior to the magnet being added. Ideas are welcome!

[@pahaha70]

This worked great. After doing the Creality method with no change x 2, I cut my difference from 1.3 to 0.4 with just a single 1.0mm. Good enough for now i.e. the gridfinity beds I printed work, as opposed to not working. Thanks for the very practical fix, and thrilled to discover your channel.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Hey, thanks for taking the time to write a note, I'm glad it was able to help out a bit. I had the same experience as you, the z-screw method only seems to get is a little better, and doesn't for for fine-tuning. I have a K1 Max now as well, and the bed was Waaayyy out on it, this method works really well on it at well, though the bed is still warped by 0.5mm unfortunately, but it is a big bed.

[@20Viper05]

Just wanted to say thank you for sharing this. My K1 Max came from the factory with a 1.45 range, it was awful. After putting a shim under the rear bed support, The range is now 0.62. That's a BIG improvement. I've always said it's best to get the bed as close to level as possible before the mesh is applied. Just because the printer CAN adapt to a way out of spec bed, doesn't mean it will print ideally that way.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Hey, my pleasure, I'm glad it could help you. I have a Max now as well, and I've had to use this process also, I was able to go from 1.7 to 0.6mm out, the bed has some warp in it, and looking closely, I think it's because they cut it from a coiled aluminum piece, the warp is in only one direction. I have plans on seeing if this can also be corrected, but for now, I'm pretty happy with the number like yours is now. I don't think people realize that if the bed is warped, the warp is also in your parts; for big parts it can be a problem when you try to bring 2 parts together or if you want them to sit flat. We still have the issues of the parts cooling and warping of course, nothing is perfect, but we don't want to be adding the problems together.

[@20Viper05]

@@NeedItMakeIt yeah the beds definitely are far from flat themselves. I've seen on a reddit post that there were two companies that were selling super flat beds that appeared to be machined. I just don't have the disposable money to throw at one right now, and even if I did they were sold out on both sites. I don't often print large items, but like you said the could times I did print some parts for my car, the bed imperfections do transfer to the printer part and I had to do some block sanding.

[@yitspaerl7255]

A very useful video! Coincidentally, I tackled the same problem this morning. Your method works faster. First up: The official Creality calibration method, with the bed all the way downstairs, didn't work for me either. The printer is manufactured too inaccurately for this. In addition, I don't think anyone has kept the deviating transport screws. What I did was to lock the belt under the printer in the right place and thus shift two of the three gears relative to the belt. The result was reasonable. Approximately 0.3mm deviation across the entire bed. I was working on this for a long time. Adjust, heat 25pts measurement and set it up again. Over and over again. Your method is faster. You might get an even better result if you place shims in addition to your method in the right place under the 4 support points. Although I won't bother. The bed itself is also not 100% flat. The 25 point equalization also does a lot. Thank you very much for your good video.

[@monosero9657]

Great way! My Creality k1 Max was quite uneven, actually had to scale one of this pads up to 2mm in order to make the back screw leveling up withing 0,5mm total

[@MauricioNunes92]

I just wanted to share here that I was able to go from a 1.3 mm difference down to 0.21 mm thanks to this method! It took me 4 different times to unscrew the whole thing, try a combination, measure again, and then keep improving, about 1hr dedicated to this. Thank you!

[@timcox3856]

Great suggestion! For ultra-fine tuning, I use various widths of thin heat tape directly on the magnetic bed (under the build plate) to fill in low spots. I have found that over time, the bed geometry changes slightly, and I occasionally need to pull the heat tape off and reapply in slightly different locations. I find this method preferable to making permanent changes to the bed. Using this method, I keep my Ender 3 bed at around 0.05 to 0.1 mm variance. The heat tape I use doesn't prevent heat transfer to the build surface, and is rated to withstand extreme temps - more than double the bed's max temp.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

That's really clever, nice tip. I'm going to have to try this but I think you maybe be onto something there.

[@slartibartfass5729]

​@@NeedItMakeItwith my ender 3v2 I place aluminum foil below the lower spots. It has a defined thickness and you can easily double by folding it.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

@@slartibartfass5729 That's a neat trick as well, do you find that you lose any attraction between magnets or do you think it's okay as-is.

[@michaelheth2940]

The adding the tape to the bed is a years old technique and it works well. Kapton tape was the preferred type as it withstands the heat well. I was going to suggest it and I was glad to see that it had been mentioned.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

@@michaelheth2940 Adding tape to the magnet would be the best way correct or would this be to the bottom of the spring steel?

[@TheTychus]

Did not planned buying K1, so came to watch it as an entertainment. As a result - enjoyed your meticulous engineering approach to the problem solving.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Hey, no worries, I think there are a total of three issues with this printer, they are luckily all small problems, overall the printer performs well, and it's fast, so I'm still pretty happy with it. For those of us who don't want to tinker at all, I don't blame anyone for choosing something else, or waiting for a new version. They have the K1C coming out soon, I think the bed design is different from the looks of it, the height is also a little different, hopefully they've addressed the other issues. Thanks for taking the time my friend!

[@Raddekopp]

@@NeedItMakeItohh you should make a combined video an all these three points and how to solve them.

[@n8sgr8]

Awesome and simple fix! I was able to halve the difference across my K1 Max bed w/your method. Thanks Mike!

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Nice, super glad it helped! There is another method that may work, but I have to do a bit more research, this one works well and it's super easy. Why it took so long for me to think of it... I don't know...

[@DjN3cr0]

Oh my god man, just bought a K1C and I have had a few minor issues due to the calibration, and don't get me wrong, the printer is great, even with how it came it prints great, but this small change made a lot of difference, can't thank you enough Mike!

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Good stuff, I've been wondering how the K1C was doing, I've seen a few reviews, it seemed like mostly a few small changes, the motors are a good change though. I guess they did the cable chain raising as well. Were there any leveling knobs on the K1C?

[@DjN3cr0]

@@NeedItMakeIt Yeah, there is the cable chain riser but there are no leveling knobs unfortunately, most of the K1C community is still a bit confused on how to calibrate their printer, but your method works like charm. It is a great printer when it works well, and I say this because there is one major issue with the hotend, the screws are very short, they can barely be tightened when you have an issue with it, I have seen 6-7 owners (including myself) so far in Reddit and some other groups with these screws already sweep and damaging their beds because the nozzle runs that low that actually damages the bed when they sweep during a print, we ended up installing new screws, using Loctite with the stock ones, or even changing the stock hotend for the microswiss, but still a good printer 😂

[@NeedItMakeIt]

@@DjN3cr0 I haven't heard of that issue, I'd like to think that Creality can find a way to address these issues, sometimes there is so much info out there that it's hard to know the true source of the problem. In the case of the bed though, it needs to be closer to parallel from stock, parallel with the gantry, not screwed to the bottom of the printer instead. I'd like to do some upgrades to the printer, I like their extruder and hotend setup but you're right it does seem to be poking out quite a bit. Not as much as the KE printer which has the entire extruder hotend attached to one corner bracket attached to one lin-rail carriage. That one needs an overrhaul.

[@X12Diablo]

@@NeedItMakeIt I bought one and now I am struggling with this issue due to 0.7 mm discrepancy between opposite corners of the bed. Unlike in K1 models, there are no screws to manually adjust the bed in K1C. By following this video I am not sure how to remove the belt either since the tensioners are also different in K1C. The official technical support suggested this video after trying the built-in auto-leveling calibration that does not seem to be working. In the reality, Creality's auto-leveling feature is configured with such a tolerance for the Z axis, that should be seriously looked at. They are now sending a new hot bed to me under warranty. Although, I will probably need those spacers to come to be able to use my printer, thank you so much for them and this video. This is probably the only way for K1C owners. If you have any other suggestion for a K1C, please share it.

[@undertaker6fd]

Holy crap thats GENIUS! My bed is off by 1.6mm but thankfully its flat, it just dips down in the back. Its like the rear screw is 1 rotation low. Your spacers should fix it, I can't wait until I get home tomorrow!!

[@NeedItMakeIt]

It's pretty simple, and if you haven't rooted your Printer already, I have a video on that, I also have a video on the "Soaking" of the bed, and I should mention too that you can access your UI for Creality if you haven't rooted yet by typing in the printer's IP address in your search bar, Creality Print does not show the mesh by default for some reason. Good luck!

[@spotlightsm]

Thanks!

[@leickenberg]

I used this and it improved the bed level greatly, thanks! The simplezt fix however was if Creality would perform some basic QC.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

That's great. I agree, for something like bed level, they could have done quite a bit better, it's especially important for the larger bed on the K1 Max, most people with the Max seem to be out by quite a bit more. The bed warps more during heating also which is partially to blame.

[@ritcheycretien9875]

This worked well, thanks. The only change I made was to cut from the flat end of the shim twice to each mounting holes, to make a kind of funnel. Then I did not have to remove the very difficult to remove back support screws (wait 'til you're 72...). So loosen the screws two turns, slide the shim in, tighten 'em. I put a 0.8mm in the front right and a 0.4mm in the rear. It went from a starting point of 0.97mm spread and standard deviation of 0.29, to a spread of 0.33mm and a S.D of 0.08. Delighted. I used PLA though, and I'm not enamoured with the thought of any plastic shim in a warm environment, so they'll be changed for stainless shim stock when time permits.

[@Jamesn-js1zp]

I leveled my bed months ago when I first received my K1 Max. I used your method, however rather then printing shims I made mine from proper shimming materials

[@NeedItMakeIt]

I'm not sure how I missed your comment, in any case, yeah proper shims would be ideal, or machine down the standoffs, but that's not going to be so easy. Nice going. What is the shim material you used, is a paper-base or metal?

[@Jamesn-js1zp]

@@NeedItMakeIt I have various metric and imperial shim kits ranging from 0.02mm through to 2mm in plastic, brass & stainless. I ended up using plastic shims only because it's quick and easy to cut. For anybody not having access to such shims your 3D printed shims would be just as good, just time consuming, but fun to print 🙂

[@AvocadoAtrocity]

QUALITY 👏 CONTENT 👏

[@NeedItMakeIt]

This one was for you! Thanks so much for the support and the great ideas. I will go a bit further, I want to show how to get the bed itself closer to being flat, maybe within 0.15mm would be a good goal, but we can do a little better I think.

[@AvocadoAtrocity]

@@NeedItMakeIt please do that. This video is already pretty popular. NeedItMakeIt "tuneups" don't really see it out there.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

@@AvocadoAtrocity Oooo I like that. 'Tuneups'

[@barrypearce9170]

For those that do not already know, thread-lockers such as Loctite, will severely degrade (damage) most plastics, such as ABS. I would never use it near plastic, even with threaded nut insert in a plastic part as even the smallest amount of thread-locker on the plastic will mean the nut insert becoming loose in time. It is likened to the nerve agent of plastic. Yes, I learnt the hard way and then I did my own research. Loved the video.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Okay good to know thanks for that info. That's something I did not know and may have been the reason that the screws were so loose and did not have a locker on them. There is an alternative, I've seen it on occasion, a type of rubber/silicone on the threads, it's usually blue, have you seen this option and do you recommend this? Thanks for the informative comment!

[@rynait]

i was told threadlockers are good for metal materials In fact I don't use loctite on bolts securing wood materials as well. is there research Document regarding loctite degrading plastics?

[@Maleboligia]

I am expecting my K1 Max in the next few days so this is awesome timing for me. Thank you very much for the video, I am happy to spend the dime to get it precise

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Nice, that's going to be good to have that kind of build volume on a fast printer. I don't know if they've truly solved the problem from the factory yet, it seems that the problem lies in the design and the method they use to adjust the bed. In any case, we have a good simple solution that works for anyone. I'd be curious to know from you when you get it how the bed looks if you don't mind sharing when you get it.

[@barrygregg3476]

The reason it drops a bit is the backlash between the gears and the belt teeth. You are applying tension only to one side of the belt. You could possibly compensate using adjustable gears or compensating with a tooth jump, but I like your solution. Quick and easy. If you have ever replaced a dual cam or more timing belt on a car you know the struggle. Same same. But, you sir did a great job at figuring out a permanent solution.

[@CostlyFiddle]

Thanks for showing us how you "take some measurements" to find out which spacers to print. 👌

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Sounds good, I'm glad I could help!

[@Schermit]

Consider this another endorsement of the tooth skipping method! Managed to get the mesh down to .5 at one point. It feels scary to do, lol, but once you get the hang of it it’s a really quick way to make adjustments. That paired with KAMP improved things a lot.

[@YAPS3D]

could you explain this further or direct me to an explanation page/video about tooth skipping? Thanks

[@MrDustinreeves]

i couldn’t get kamp to work reliably, but the tooth skip method works great

[@papainfo.]

Your method is excellent. Congratulations on the tip. My K1 was very well aligned after this procedure. THANK YOU!! 👏👏👏

[@Oddman1980]

I just learned something trying to do this that I need to share - if you're having trouble with the nozzle dragging the build plate, before you take the bottom of the machine apart, try to wiggle the nozzle. If the nozzle has any play in it, the hot end is probably loose!! There are two long M2 screws holding the hot end on. Pull the silicone sock off the hot end, being careful of the wires, and make sure the screws are tightened at the top. If the hot end is loose, there's a good chance one or both screws will fall out when you remove the silicone sock.

[@PaddyFromPaddistan]

Of course I'll have to check to see if youve already made the video on machining a flatter aluminium bed, but in case you haven't I'd love to see how you go about it. I purchased a Warco WM16B mill some time ago and have yet to set it up as my workshop remains half built, but you can bet this is a project ill be trying!

[@GameArtsCafe]

Printed up your spacers, tried two on a side that was on the low side, but I had to recalculate. I decided to go with a single spacer, the second smallest just for one lowest dipping corner, the result was almost pure white & mostly level, then I decided to tighten the existing screws, more on the highest end and it actually helped a bit better. I did not use the long securing screws for transport. I think because I only used one thin spacer, the mesh resulted in being closer to the board in the diagnostic window. Thanks for your help.

[@BranchusCreations]

I applaud you for such an ingenious way of tramming the K1 bed. Thank you.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Thanks, a shame they didn't include the shims with the printer, it would probably have been quite easy for them to do from the factory. I'm not sure if this is something they've fixed on the K1C, do you?

[@RoofusKit]

@@NeedItMakeIt I have a recently purchased k1 max with the k1c fixes from factory (smaller pulleys and the unicorn nozzle) and the bed is still off.

[@tahaaltanib8540]

Went From 1.84 to 0.82! Thanks for the design

[@InvokingTheFlames]

Thank you for sharing these spacers! Finally fixed my bed

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Beautiful!

[@wuwu70]

A great idea and execution, especially for people who are afraid to disassemble a new printer. I recommend the first method, which involves moving the timing belt and skiping teeth on pulley wheel. This way you can level the bed within -0.2mm to 0.2mm. Then, using 0.1mm thick M3 washers, precisely level heated bed.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Do you have any reference for the tooth skipping method, it seems that this is a good solution, but I haven't been able to find much info on it. The washer idea definitely works well, this is how I leveled my bed prior to designing these spacers. The issues with the washers that I had was fiddling with getting them in position and stacked up without falling off, it was a bit of a pain, but still doable.

[@wuwu70]

Place printer on its left side (secure glass door). Remove lower cover. Release belt tension (two tensioner screws). Turn lead screw (one of three) CCW to raise or CW to lower the bed, skipping one tooth at a time. Tighten the belt. Perform calibration (Auto leveling only). Check bad mesh chart and repeat previous steps until you are satisfied with result.

[@Metalhead66691]

Thank you for this video. I had some problems with my K1 Max for the first time in about 1 year. Nozzle change and bed leveling. I follow the guides of Creality but that doesn't work for the Bed Leveling. With these, spacer, it works great.

[@marathonrunner715]

i don't recommend adding loctite as it can potentially create a scenario where the force required to remove the screw is higher than the force necessary for the tightening tolerance, aka it might only be spec'd to 2nm but the force to remove loctite blue may exceed this greatly in situations where too much is applied causing damage to the plastic mount where these secure. some have had success re-seating these after overtightening with a solder press as i've read. i am using your spacers so thank you vastly. ive been able to share your printables link to help others too. fantastic video thank you again

[@emilio.z3]

does the spacers method work for stock/creality firmware? or do I need to root the machine? I mean, I know how to access the web interface via IP, I just want to be 100% sure I won't mess anything up

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Hey thank you very much! I really appreciate that. You don't need to root it, you can run the stock, if you need to access the UI to see your mesh, you can type in your printer's IP address in your search bar, and you should see it. It won't be as detailed as the one I showed, but it should still work for you.

[@ThomasS17]

I'd definitely be interested in getting the aluminum plate itself more level! Also, it would be nice to have the spacer file on Printables, too. But I appreciate you sharing it anyways!

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Okay, that's a few people that are interested in a flatter plate! I will add it on Printables as well, I have a video coming about about what happens when you redeem your points on Printables, so I apologies, I was not too impressed with the 'Free Stuff' but I don't hold a grudge so I shall post it there right now.

[@ThomasS17]

@NeedItMakeIt Thanks, I appreciate it! I don't use Printables because of the rewards, either (shipping and import is too expansive to Canada, even when the filament is free). But it's what I'm using for quite a while now, and I have all my collections and models on there. And with not having a Bambu printer (yet), I'm not in their ecosystem and have no reason to use their service.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

@@ThomasS17 I have a video on that very subject to be released tomorrow morning, total cost for free filament as well as shipping time wasn't really worth it for me. I would like it if there were some kind of option to pickup the filament from a local supplier, except there are none here. I checked the hats, the shirts, everything and no matter which product, the shipping is far too much. I went through the process anyway to see what the true cost would be. Yet, nice! I have to wonder what they'll come out with next. I would imagine it's going to be big and capable, maybe something to Rival the Prusa XL?

[@ThomasS17]

@@NeedItMakeIt Apparently the A1 was the last printer of the first generation Bambu Lab printers. So maybe the next one is a X1C successor (X2C, or just X2?) since it's the oldest printer now. From the interview Stefan did with Dr. Tao it sounded like an XL would come later next year.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

@@ThomasS17 I think now that the blueprint is out for what people are looking for, we're going to start to see lots of other big names follow, the competition should be getting hot! I am interested to see what Bambu comes out with though. Should be good!

[@hootcompute]

Keep it coming with these K1 solutions! It was a great help.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Will do, I have a lot of ideas for upgrades and fixes. One coming soon that's pretty wild as well.

[@seedmoreuser]

Brilliant fix. I will try this out when i can. Mines out by about 1.6 in the right corner. So itll be good to have the machine not work so hard to compensate.

[@betterbprepared]

Great video on leveling the bed! Thanks for sharing.

[@arva1kes]

The problem with the adjusting z pulleys creality way quite probably exactly what you said - the belt tension will throw it off. Same thing applies then putting on engine belt. On some cars you need to set the pulley back half a teeth and after putting all together this is the slack that will end up being dead on after installation. I think that this should be something that could be done in here too. Especially since you got repeatable (altho wrong) results . I would not mess around with the one on back - it should be correct itself as this is the zero point on 3 point bed leveling afaik. Atleast on bambu it is. I would put shims only on front and redo bed probing to see if back is already correct after that. I would also print spacers out of something that has abrasives in (like cf) which will make the part much more heat resistand (even pla) and makes it stronger to resist compressive forces under temp. And ofcource ironing. It's then real easy to make few passes with sandpaper and it almost looks like injection molded part. After all this "I would" I will get right on working on it and see if there is any truth behind my ideas :) thanks.

[@jonathanluce9130]

I did the same as you for the initial adjustments, but I turned the front lead screws slightly each way so they would be equal once pulled in tight by the belt. Clamping the rods in place before fitting the belt also helps.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

I also have to wonder whether the stop positions are incorrect on the printer and that might be causing some of this. The very slight rotation of the screw after tightening the belt doesn't seem like it could cause the bed to be thrown off so much. In any case, it is best to try and adjust as much of the problem at the leadscrew. Having something that is easy to see from the top while adjusting would help. It really needs a regular system for bed leveling like most other 3d printers. Too late for that I guess.

[@jonathanluce9130]

@@NeedItMakeIt agreed, it could benefit from fine manual adjusters above.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

@@jonathanluce9130 They have a new model coming out K1C I believe. I wonder whether it has something done about the bed.

[@charocco6]

Thank you Mike. The bed mesh diagram has made all the difference! Much appreciated. No longer looks like a roller coaster. Managed to place the four corners within a 0.02 - 0.07 range. But I took your suggestion to manually modify each corner. I heard you caution against tampering with the sensors under each corner, but I used 4 M4 screws (25mm) and the original springs from a 3v2 to control each corner fairly accurately now. So many thanks again for your help and knowledge. Have a great holiday season.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

You had a roller coaster, and mine was a slip-n-slide.... I'm glad it helped. It's hard with the way those plates warp to get much closer without building up below the spring steel, or sanding down the magnet, or alum. plate. I'd like to see a picture of your solution. If the spring method works, more power to you! I wanted to go that route, but not knowing enough about the sensors and how they might be impacted I thought I'd better not. Good to know that you've had success with it. Thank you and to you as well, tis the season to level your bed :)

[@scotty2salty327]

Nice! I thought of replacing the metal grommets under each corner of the build plate with springs too. So this worked out well for you?

[@TonyAllen1988]

So simple, and such a good result... I'm drying my ASA right now. Thank you so much!

[@JoroFIN]

THANK YOU!! I have done everything and havent got mesh below 1.0mm. With this method I got it from 1.3mm to 0.5mm.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Very nice, I was hoping it would help some people out. I'll work on a different approach as well, some people want to see the tooth skipping method used, but I don't have a clear understanding of it yet, more research is needed for that one.

[@nathanmountain6653]

really cool idea also to answer your question at the end don't worry about making videos for people's interest make the videos you enjoy making my guy

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Thanks for that! Anything with a problem and needs solution is down my alley. I have a few coming up which I'm interested in and I think it might be at least entertaining for others as well. I need to start getting more into designing and building 3D printers, not just for speed, but for automation and precision.

[@cidrjbr]

Interesting way to fix de bed levelling. But i've put some silicone levelling piece from bed slinger's printer and some screws to have the ability to adjust the level of corner's. Good video! Congrats from Brazil. Happy printing.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Nice, hey there are lots of ways to fix a problem. I was kind of thinking about why they don't employ the same strategy, but I believe it's because of the sensors, if you're tweaking it just a little bit, I think that could work well, that's a nice solution.

[@Rcschim]

I like the 2nd approach. Looks like genius idea!

[@Rcschim]

Now I've done this leveling method (with the spacers). GREAT! got me down from 1.6mm range to 0.5mm - still not great, but I don't think it will get better with those 3 anchor points we're somewhat limited :) I've taken 2 of your spacers and scaled them in the slicer to the difference to the highest of my 3 pillars. worked easy! thanks and greets from austria, Mario

[@ThomasEngle-e7r]

I bought a K1 Max today and it is off almost 2 mm. I will be printing some shims. I think the reason the bed can't be fixed totally by adjusting the belts is because the way the pulleys were fixed to the shaft and the number of belt teeth from the left and right lead screw. It could maybe fixed if the set screws were loosened and re-tightened, but I don't want to mess thing up to much at this point.

[@danyjadot]

Got a Max a week ago, I wrongly thought I could just autolevel and print but nope, I've been having a few adhesion issues anyway, bed's off by 1.4 mm. Thanks for the awesome video and the spacer models, this printer is undergoing minor surgery first thing tomorrow lol.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

I have two more videos on the subject, as well, for the best bang-for-the-buck, you might want to check out the Let It Soak video. You'll be able to get pretty close to perfect first layers with some info from that video. No worries, glad I could help!

[@gladiuswuw]

Just got to say thank you 1:11 so much for putting this info and fix out there . Was having a big issue with this . Printed your spacers did a few measurements bingo . Not 100%but 100%better again thank you

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Hey, my pleasure, I enjoy fixing things and coming up with ideas, it's great to be able to help anyone having the same troubles as I have. This bed style unfortunately won't be perfect, but it can be within 0.2mm, and for us, that's probably close enough. Better than 1.4mm!

[@TheSonnyGo]

Thank you very much for this. Used the spacers for my K1C and it worked a treat.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Beautiful! I'm a little surprised that they didn't fix it from factory, I assume there are no leveling knobs?

[@GospodinJean]

1:15 How can I adjust the amount of probing points? must eh printer be rooted?

[@ledzpg]

Creality sent me a link to this video when I told them my bed is warped 😂

[@DavidButcher-r7q]

Hi you could also use engineers shim sheet comes packs of 0.05-0.25

[@NeedItMakeIt]

For sure, and even tin-foil would work. The shape was non-standard and the screws pass through it as well as there is an alignment pin too, so a 3D printed shim made sense, but if you wanted to get it really dialed in, the metal shims are the way to go. Good tip, thanks!

[@DavidButcher-r7q]

@@NeedItMakeIt Also wonder if you could loosen pulley grub screws add z belt then re tighten grub screws they may sit better and not pull on the z shafts ? Also funny question as I'm fixing my works machine, what is the length of the lockdown screws for the bed ?

[@420jessw]

These worked great brought my range from 1.52 down to .3032, debating if I should perform one more shim swap to try and reduce the range even more.

[@dustinbrad142]

THANK YOU I'm so happy I was able to fix this issue it was driving me nuts

[@redheelerdog]

Hi Mike, thanks a ton for your helpful video. I was able to get my K1 dialed in to 0.175mm 🙂

[@SAVOOF]

Очень круто! Я написал в поддержку они скинули мне первый вариант, но разница уменьшилась на 0.1 мм. А потом я нашел ваш ролик и сейчас буду исправлять вашим способом. спасибо)))

[@borisgraell]

Awesome, i got 0.25 range on my k1c, im very happy how it turned out

[@ihordenysiuk2179]

I loosened the belt several times and turned the screw separately from all the other screws and angles, I adjusted it with copper foil, made washers out of it and put a 0.1 difference under the table mount without plastic spacers

[@meisterham23]

On my K1 Max I cannot find the menus you are accessing, neither are they in Creality Print. Please tell me where I can find the menus and the level profile.

[@ClarenceMcCrayII]

This is a great video. I am attempting to understand how the bed shims plot works, is there anyway that you can do a more in depth video on this would be bendifical. Great Job on the information, and I love seeing this type of information.

[@prytosan]

I did from 1.2 to 0,4mm with 40 min. THNX !!

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Nice. I'm glad it helped. I have to believe they'll fix this in an upcoming version of the printer. I wonder if that's why they didn't have a mesh showing in Creality print.

[@outatime77]

Thank you very much for this Video and Fix. I had no clue my Stock K1C was low on the back end 1mm stock.

[@philwood5856]

Genius. Fantastic video and solution

[@francored4166]

Hi, I also have the K1 and I still have to check the position of the bed, in my opinion these differences are due to the imperfect synchronism of the threads of the threaded bars, the three threaded bars have a different position compared to each other.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Yes, I'd agree. The problem seems to be the difficulty to get them into the correct position, or 'correct enough' within 0.25mm would be fine, mine was out when I first received it by 1.4mm, which is far too much for anything to be accurate.

[@francored4166]

@@NeedItMakeIt but as you see the graph, I can't see the graph

[@DWIT3D]

Great tip for getting the bed much closer. I am going to be updating my K1 soon now, with the kit they sent me. I haven't actually used the printer other than a few test prints since I got it, so this is good to know if I do in fact have a bed that is not completely level. Thanks~

[@NeedItMakeIt]

For sure, I guess there are a few techniques out there to level it, I've found this to be the fastest and easiest. Some others seem good also, but require some skill which we may not possess. I hope it goes well and good luck!

[@mogators]

I used the teeth skipping method. Was very quick and easy. I think a video of that process would be good to add. Also, could you do a video showing how to remove the connections from the hotend into the board. I tried to replace my hotend and could not get those things out. They have some kind of glue on them and then not sure what kind of release mechanism or where to pull on them.

[@mogators]

Also, the back of my bed is maybe .25mm higher than the front which is almost dead on zero on the level graph. I'm not sure you can teeth skip on the back Z axis. Should I just raise the front two up to match and have the whole bed a little high but level?

[@NeedItMakeIt]

That's good info, yeah the tool skip method if you can get it to work for you is probably great, I was going to dig a bit into that, it could probably be made into a YT short video, or a few minute long vid. Yup, I can add the other to the list of videos, I think I have 10 videos on the go right now, but I can try to fit some quick ones in-between for sure. Thanks a lot for the video ideas and the great comments. You guys are awesome!

[@Schermit]

@@mogatorsI never messed with the back lead screw, there’s not really an easy way to rotate it without holding the threads with pliers or something. I’d be afraid to damage the teeth. From what I’ve read if you can get the mesh under 1.0 variance you’re generally good to go.

[@rgarriga93]

This is gold content, subscribed directly

[@impossiblewhopper1691]

for the first step can u just undo the grub screw in the lead screw coupler instead of unmounting the belt?

[@ferelyou]

Sometimes you can, sometimes you can't. They use a threadlocker on those tiny screws in the couplers.

[@RobertGoldsworthy]

Thank you for this video and files, I was able to get my K1 Max to 0.4007 originally it was 1.2893.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Perfect, that's great. That's pretty good tolerance on a Max with that big print bed.

[@Edward3DFX]

Great Fix, I might, Perhaps, Maybe...go for a K1 Max after watching this video.

[@rnamma]

I know is tempting to reduce the (corrected while printing) height error, but in the way micro steps works I believe that is better to leave z correction to float over 1mm instead of challenge the microstep to correct narrower error down to a range that microstep has not strength to move. It's my doubt, but I prefer to leave as it is until it fails a print (I have k1 max with about bed plane z= 1mm x + 0y too)

[@LUN5HTIME]

what slicer or calibration software is that?

[@SteveWyatt]

thats the default creality interface for the printer.

[@sblack48]

where did you access the config file to change the mesh grid size? actually come to think of it at 0:30 I see an interface that is totally different from mine - is this Creality Print? I don't have the table of numbers for the mesh. I don't have the dashboard. I'm feeling a bit lost!

[@NeedItMakeIt]

To get that interface, you'll need to Root your printer, I just released a short how-to video on that subject this past weekend if you'd like to do that. Without that you'll not be able to access any of the files on your printer. If you just want to see your bed mesh, you can type your printer's IP into your search bar and at least you'll have access to Creality's UI. I hope that helps.

[@sblack48]

@@NeedItMakeIt Ill check it out thank you

[@NeedItMakeIt]

@@sblack48 It's worth the time to root, it opens up a lot more options with these printers and you can learn more about what's going on behind the scenes as well.

[@mejias4682]

HI, THANK YOU FOR THE VIDEO, WOULD IT BE EASIER JUST TO FIND A MACHINE SHOP TO MAKE A REPLACEMENT PLATE , AND HOW THICK SHOULD IT BE. WOULD THAT TOTALLY FIX THE LEVELING ISSUES

[@marcelldoszpoly6704]

I used your shim design as a template, and I made the final shims from my old feeler gauge set, it just feels better that it's metal...😅

[@shirk15]

Will have to look at my K1 and see how the mesh looks.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Mine was out a lot when I first received it, I reached out to Creality and they thought the issue had been resolved. I made 4 attempts using their method before I decided to make this video. Hopefully yours is better than mine was and rather than looking at RED we can look at the nice soothing peaceful blue... or just turn it off and forget the problem exists.

[@lornelorne5727]

Thanks for this! I'd be interested in the follow up video about flattening it more.

[@averagemyke2843]

My prints have been ok so far but my locking bolts that you said hopefully we kept. All 3 of mine were bent and were a pain to remove when I got my k1max.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Bent, that's no good. I don't think you need to use those specifically, you can use a finer threaded bolt, those holes are only used on occasion and if you can get it to stay down, that's all you need.

[@_G_R_]

6:58 You know. There are gauges for measuring spark plug gaps. They cost pennies and are much more accurate than prints... Well, you get the hint

[@NeedItMakeIt]

The purpose of the solution here is to make something that is accessible and simple for everyone at any skill level regardless of the tools they have on-hand. If you're looking for more accuracy sure, you could use a feeler gauge, or alum. foil and build-up as-needed. Those work well also.

[@_G_R_]

@@NeedItMakeIt This "everyone" already has a printer. Which means they are at least not at the Arctic station) The easiest way is to go to the nearest store and buy what you can buy

[@NeedItMakeIt]

​@@_G_R_ It's all good, if you want to solve it in your way, nobody is stopping you. However the easiest way with a 3d printer is to simply print the parts you need. The process you suggest is how I began and it is in part why I ended up with this solution. Shim stock does not stay in position, and although I was successful in the end by using that method while holding them in place with tweezers, it is not a good solution for 'everyone', and I take quite a lot of time to TRY to make the solutions I provide successful for as many people as possible. Anywho, have a good life and have a great New Year.

[@JRB007FREEDOM]

I've found with cog belts you sometimes have to have partial tension on them to keep it in time when letting the tensioner take over. Say like when putting a timming belt in a V6 engine. A lot of times you might use a cam lock or holder and stretch the belt between two pulleys then the third and apply full tension. I kinda wonder if you couldn't turn the nuts on the Z screw at the frame to get it more square. I surface all my magnetic beds with 80g sandpaper and a long piece of 2020 extrusion while heated to get them as flat as possible. Then do any leveling of the bed. I'd like to see a video of how you flatten the plate though. Thanks for the video 👍

[@zynlycl]

Thats great I will try and I have a question I use k1 max and yesterday I rooted can you make little video for orca slicer

[@spazosanidas]

The reason you cannot adjust properly just by taking out the belt is that the belt tension and the angle of the preinstalled belt hubs hasnt changed after that procedure. You could just simply loosen the bolts that tigh the hubs to the rods. Limit down the table and tight them back at the same torque. This might work better if we are sure that the printing head also moves level all he way through x and y .

[@RC-Flight]

Ok great info,but what was that software you were using at the beginning to see if it was level? Souldn’t you have explained what you were doing to check for level!?!?!?

[@larry527az3]

Nice video, don't own a K1 but it is interesting to see alternative ways to level a bed. I do have a question, I have an X1C and use Bambu Studio. If I download a .3mf file from wherever, it typically loads the filament settings based on the creator or the .3mf. When I do a re-sync of the AMS it loads the currently loaded filaments within my AMS which makes sense. The issue or question I have is that I use custom filament settings in Studio and save them using the name of the filament mfg, material type, etc. The re-sync just loads Generic xyz. Is there anyway to have load my custom filament choices? It's a pain in the rear having to manually change them every time. Guessing there's no choice since I'm saving my custom filament types only in studio and not able to do so via the printer screen...

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Interesting, okay, I think there must be a way to do this. Let me have a peek and see, the filament setups are likely saved within a config type file, it'd imagine it would be possible to select your own within the printer menu. In the same way that you can select a Generic from the menu which has lower flow rates etc. Let me see what I can dig up and get back to you.

[@DSPrints_]

Might give the spacers a try

[@NeedItMakeIt]

If you can avoid taking the bottom off, it's a 10 minute job, I wasn't that lucky since it was out so far.

[@DSPrints_]

@@NeedItMakeIt the shims looks great idea can’t wait to try at weekend 😄 I’ve had the bottom off. Loosen the screws for the tensioner and I couldn’t budge it. Didn’t want to break it. I’m 1.13.mm out. Back higher than the front. I’ve had to make an account to download your file which is bit annoying. Could you use more generic sites in the future? (Printables/thingiverse)

[@NeedItMakeIt]

@@DSPrints_ Awesome, I hope it works out. You'll probably need to take the screws out completely or at least one of the two to allow the full travel you need. If you're out by 1.2 you may be able to get away with shims only. I'll do a follow up video showing the tooth skipping method if anyone wants to see that, apparently it works well, but requires some technique. I'll post to Printables as well, no problem I wanted to try Maker World mainly because I was not impressed with the 'Free Filament' which ended up costing me 67$ for Three spools in shipping and taxes. I would have been better to purchase the filament locally.

[@DSPrints_]

@@NeedItMakeIt thank you for uploading elsewhere. im sure others will appreciate that too! I've gone from 1.89mm different too 0.7 which is as close as I can get it as the surface isn't perfectly flat as most beds aren't. Thank you. superb video & files!

[@NeedItMakeIt]

@@DSPrints_ That's not bad at all. I'll make a follow up video about the issue with the bed warpage as well, there are a few good ideas out there to help with that, and I have a couple of ideas as well, not sure yet which is the best way to go. I should have done Printables from the start, I wasn't thinking about having to setup an account, that is annoying for people if they don't use a Bambu printer.. which may be the case since the video is for a Creality printer... 🤦🏽 I'm glad you found it helpful and lookout for more coming a couple of times each week!

[@RogueStatusFishing]

I've been running 9x9 with bicubic tension 0.2 and getting over 100 probes per mesh really thorough calibration

[@TheMasterRF]

Excellent video! I have a question: How did you access the Heightmap? I have to root the printer ?

[@NeedItMakeIt]

I believe that I was able to access the map prior to rooting, I had to access the printer through the Creality web UI. You should be able to type in the IP address alone into your search bar and voila! I just tried it, it does work. Let me know, and if not we can dig a bit more.

[@TheMasterRF]

@@NeedItMakeIt I was abble to acces via IP Adress. Any way I will give it a try to the root and levelling spacers this week. Your video is a BIG help! :)

[@NeedItMakeIt]

@@TheMasterRF Okay, nice. I hope it works well for you. Everyone seems pretty positive about this solution. After doing the recommended method 5 times total without great success, it was time to do something different. Let me know how it goes!

[@tomrudd4168]

I'm having the same problem I cant access the heightmap. Did you mange in the end and how thanks?

[@TheMasterRF]

@@tomrudd4168 Yeah! You can find it by typing the IP address of the machine in your browser.

[@ThisisDD]

Have a Max showing up tomorrow. Gonna keep this in mind! Thank you! Also, I typically use an FR4 bed. If I get a thicker one I wonder how well I can get it set? I'll report back!

[@steveharmancambridge]

Hi Mike. Great video. I'd love to experiment with the spacers so thanks for making those. The missing nugget of information for me though, is around 7:03 into the video you note that your front corner bed mount was out by 1mm. And also mention another corner being a high point. But I couldn't see anywhere in the video that explained how you came to those measurements? What & how did you measure to arrive at "being out by 1mm"? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Hi! Yup, I didn't go over that part, if you have rooted your printers and you're using Mainsail or Fluidd then you should see the mesh already, of you haven't you can use your printers IP address found on the network tab at your printer and plug that address into your browser's search bar and then you'll see the mesh near the bottom of that UI. For some reason Creality doesn't show it on the Creality Print screen, maybe to hide the issue? Let me know if that helps!

[@steveharmancambridge]

@NeedItMakeIt Aha! Got it, thanks. So you're using the bed-levelling graph in Fluidd to ascertain which corner is lower/higher - not using some complicated series of tape-measures & spirit-levels like I had going round in my head. lol! :-)

[@NeedItMakeIt]

@@steveharmancambridge Well I suppose that would work, actually it would probably work pretty well, but the machine needs to level first, which could be a pain to get it exact, the mesh should get you really close, that's what I used and it's pretty good, the bed itself is warped, and so it won't ever be completely flat, and heating will cause it to change shape as well. Good luck, and let me know how it goes!

[@steveharmancambridge]

@@NeedItMakeIt Looking at the bed mesh graph now that I have Fluidd installed, I'm somewhat shocked to find that the bed mesh "range" of my brand new K1 Max is 2.3mm! Not 0.23 - 2.3mm! I'm sure doing a hot probe would improve that slightly, but not by say 2mm. Is there anything physical I can check or adjust on the printer to make sure the basics are ok? Appreciate your help Mike, thanks.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

@@steveharmancambridge Do you think you can wait a day or two, I have a max as well, but it is still in the box. If you can't wait, I would re-run the bed leveling process I showed in the first part of the video, an alternative is to use the tooth-skipping method, there should be some information on how to do this now, I have not personally do it. Doing these should get you much closer, and then you can add spacers as needed. Let me know!

[@WelshKingCharles]

Started having big problems with flat models curling, chat with creality they said official way to fix that was to make sure the lid it taken off when using pla, hyper pla, also leave door open. So i said id give it a try, printed an animal with raft, soon as raft printed it started to lift st one end. So i replied in that chat window, saying no difference. So waiting for next reply. While waiting fid a search, others sll have same problem, most are daying change bed temperature from 45cbto 60c so i did that, and the animal printed great. So wonder what you think, it all started when i downloaded a toolbox for all the tools that come with the printer. Started printing the lid, took up most of the room kn the bed, suppose to be 13mm thick😅 but when it reached about 3mm it started to curl upwards each corner, so stopped the print. Whats going on, textured pei build plate, double sided, the model now has the new extruder and quick change nozzel. What you think?

[@KRush-zj3rv]

Hi, Thanks for the video I found it very interesting having just purchased my new K1C. However I do have a 'newbie' question....does it really matter if the bed is out some because the printer clearly is compensation quite well out of the box even though I have a 1.0mm range? My last printer was a CR10 mini and I am amazed at how well the K1C is printing in comparison. So, do I need to be concerned about the mesh being spot on?

[@0O0-dm3tk]

Sad to see the K1 series were supposed to be maintenance free. Glad you made the video so.I can avoid it :)

[@NeedItMakeIt]

It's not something I expected, and I wonder whether this is why they don't have the mesh visible on their UI interface on Creality Print. In any case, it's a pretty easy fix to get something within 0.2mm which is plenty good for most of what we do.

[@krisknowlton5935]

I have a K1 and have had no problems with it. It is a very good piece of hardware and electronics. I don't understand what the fuss is about the bed not being perfectly parallel to the movement of the head. That is why the machine goes through the calibration cycle so it knows how much to raise and lower the z axis as it prints. And it does it very well. It looks to me like someone is creating a problem where there isn't one. The K1 is absolutely a great machine and I would buy it again.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

@@krisknowlton5935 It really depends on what you print, if you're okay with your large prints being off by 1.4mm from highest to lowest, that's cool. The difference is made up over a pre-determined height and you can change the value if you so choose, however it is better just to not have the problem or at least it is minimized. Believe what you choose, the option is available to those who want it, if they don't... don't. Have a good one!

[@MrSivkar]

I guess there is no option to loosen connection between lead screw & sprocket and stepper motor & sprocket to simply turn the lead screw individually to get bed tramed?

[@matthijsklepper1171]

Nice and clearly explained. Afterwards I wondered why it is useful to adjust the print bed so neatly. In the beginning of the video you convincingly demonstrate that the printer actively compensates for a skewed print bed. I have a K1-max and the print bed is skewed but my first layers are very good. Can you help me to understand the benefit of adjusting the bed leveling?

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Hi and thanks! When the bed is non-parallel with the gantry it will begin to compensate for the difference over a specified distance (In the printer config file) usually it is 5mm-50mm in height. If your bed is off by 1mm, and you have a large print, your overall part height will not be correct. In other words, at the start, it is printing and compensating for the difference, at the end it is no longer compensating and will be printing parallel to the gantry. These are values you can change and play around with, but I think this is not a problem we should have and for most of my prints, the height is important. It also will cause more wear on the Z nuts (Minor) but it's still better to avoid. I hope that explains it well enough.

[@gunrunnerjohn]

Where did you get the neat scraper you removed the shims with. That looked like a very useful tool. :)