Calibrations Overview¶
After installing FreeDi, you need to calibrate your printer to ensure high-quality prints. This page explains what each step does and why there is a critical order you should follow.
Understanding Key Terms¶
Bed Leveling vs. Bed Meshing¶
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"Bed Leveling": Physical adjustment of the bed screws to make the bed parallel to the nozzle's movement plane. This is a mechanical adjustment. This is the base of everything for nice prints.
Some printers (Q1 and later) claim to have auto leveling, but they actually don't:
-> They only have 2 leadscrews to move the bed on the Z plane, which is not enough for a full parallel adjustment. -
"Bed Meshing" : Software compensation that measures the bed surface and adjusts the Z height to compensate. This does NOT replace manual bed leveling.
Warning
You must manually level the bed first. Bed meshing cannot fix a severely tilted bed!
Z-Offset¶
"Z-Offset" represents the actual distance between your nozzle tip and the bed surface at Z=0. Critical for first layer adhesion and quality.
Input Shaping¶
"Input Shaping" is measured with an ADXL device. Reduces ringing/ghosting artifacts by compensating for mechanical resonances.
PID Tuning¶
"PID" optimizes the heating rates of the nozzle and the bed so their temperatures stay stable and don't fluctuate too much.
Calibration Order¶
| Step | Procedure | Time | Why This Order? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manual Bed Leveling | ~30 min | Tilted beds can cause several issues. This is the first important step |
| 2 | Z-Offset (Coarse) | 1 min | Gets you "close enough" to start printing |
| 3 | Z-Offset (Fine) | 4-10 min | Perfects first layer adhesion |
| 4 | Input Shaping | 10 min | Can be done at any time |
| 5 | PID Tuning | 20-30 min | Can be done at any time |
Warning
Performing steps out of order can invalidate previous calibrations steps!
Please do them in the right order, as they are in this guide, to get the best results!
Critical Informations¶
Things you must know
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ALWAYS re-level the bed when you hit the bed or did something it may not be aligned!
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ALWAYS re-calibrate the z-offset if you re-leveled the bed, changed the nozzle, hotend or toolhead!
Quick Checklist¶
- Manual bed leveling
- Coarse Z-offset (paper test)
- Fine Z-offset (test print)
- Input shaping
- PID tuning