4 Methods for Bed Leveling with the HE280; A Retrospective?

[SethGrace]

Hello Everyone,

This is my first post!

I wanted to provide a list of the four different methods I've read to perform bed leveling using an HE280 in conjunction with the RAMBo. I've ordered them in increasing complexity and, I believe, accuracy. It would be good to hear if anyone knows a better method that's slipped by me. I came across these methods after I upgraded the Hot End on my Rostock MAX V2 to an HE280. I sort of stumbled onto them by googling around and I thought it might be useful to provide a list of all the methods I have found. I've summarized my printer modifications in greater detail at the bottom of this post.

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The first method is to enter "G29" in GCode. I first read this method in a guide titled "Calibrating Your Printer (Non Duet)":
https://seemecnc.dozuki.com/Guide/Calib ... n+Duet)/51.

I believe this one is mostly trusted to provide a good Z height correction and to get the printer in a state where it can be further calibrated.
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The second method is to run the auto-calibration script for the Rostock MAX V3, which can be obtained from github here:
https://github.com/seemecnc/Rostock-MAX ... de%20Files

I heard about this method from the following youtube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jZLMeR ... e=youtu.be

Once run, the Hot End performs more probes of the bed as compared to the "G29" command and applies corrections to provide for a more consistent first layer thickness. Note that I ran this script with a Rostock MAX V2 but it still worked fine for me.
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The third method is to use the SeeMeCNC bed leveling wizard, which I believe performs a sequence of calculations that is impossible for the RAMBo on account of its limited computational power. The wizard was recommended in the aforementioned "Calibrating Your Printer (Non Duet)" guide. A link to the wizard is provided here:
https://www.seemecnc.com/pages/delta-calibration-wizard

The wizard provides 9 values that can be updated in the EEPROM:

3 Tower Endstop Offsets
Diagonal Rod Length
Horizontal Rod Radius
Z Max Length
3 Tower Alpha Angles

I never got around to performing this bed leveling exercise since I discovered the fourth method, which had the advantage of being automated. Additionally, I had read some comments on the SeeMeCNC forum that seemed to indicate it was equivalent to the delta-calibration-wizard.
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The fourth method of bed leveling using a RAMBo is the Octoprint bed leveling plugin. I had read about this method on the forums here:
http://download.seemecnc.com/forum/view ... 817eb15d0e

This method uses a least-squares method that is explained in greater detail by a gentleman named David Crocker on his blog here: http://www.escher3d.com/pages/wizards/wizarddelta.php

The latest version of this plugin appears to use 16, rather than 10, calibration points and may be downloaded here:
https://github.com/geneb/OctoPrint-Delt ... master.zip

I'm not sure if this script modifies the same 9 values listed above as outputs of the delta-calibration-wizard or if it modifies a subset of these parameters. On account of its ease of use, this is the bed leveling method that I've chosen to adopt.
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I've attached a picture of my Rostock MAX V2. From bottom to top I've made the following additions:

It sits on a pizza stone atop 2 inches of memory foam. There's a camera that watches the action and is connected to a Rasberry Pi 3 that runs octoprint. The hotend is an HE280 with a 3D printed whip clip and the arms are carbon fiber and connect to the carriages with aluminum ball joints. The cold end (extruder) is the EZR Struder. At the top I've used a system of zip-ties that are connected to 3D printed levers to provide what I believe is an appropriate level of tension to the belts.

My next modifications include a 5mm aluminum heat spreader which I should have by the end of this week and a newly-arrived Dual 2 into 1 Filament Add-On Kit from SeeMeCNC.

I've read about the advantages of using a DUET board in conjunction with FSRs to obtain superior print performance while also being able to take advantage of automatic bed leveling. This is a modification I would very much like to implement in the near future. It is something I am still researching.

[geneb]

Welcome to the zoo!

g.

[SethGrace]

Haha, thanks Gene. I look forward to picking some brains on the forums to see how I can improve my printer!

[t3chkommie]

I recently updated my octoprint to the lastest version, I installed Gene's delta rostockmax calibtration plugin and keeps getting disabled when octoprint restarts..

is anyone having issues with this plugin on the latest version of octoprint?

Gene's work has been fantastic and the only reason i still have my RMv2.5. Bed leveling is a problem for me.

thanks!

[geneb]

The plugin may need to be updated for the latest Octoprint. I don't have the time to do it, sorry.

g.