OpenDACT(Delta Automatic Calibration Tool) - For Repetier

[RollieRowland]

TLDR: I have figured out a possible procedure to correct for any change this program creates in the XY dimension. I have plotted an excessive amount of graphs in excel with 6+ data points per (checking for linearity or a curve in the graph).

After determining what my printer radius, effector offset, carriage offset was to find what the theoretical delta radius is, I have checked the XY scaling for each tower (each reacting equivalently to the change) with each change I make to the EEProm in the calculation algorithm in the program. Finding the scaling after each test, I have determined that it IS possible to keep the XY scaling the same as it was BEFORE the calibration. This will NOT correct your XY scaling, this will ONLY keep it consistent. My XY scaling was exactly as it should have been, I moved to 130.14mm from the center of the plate, and I measured the distance to be in the range of 130.1 to 130.2mm for each tower. As it stands, I need to find an accurate way to measure the offset in the XY dimension to get accurate results when offsetting each towers Delta Radii to correct for this offset. I am currently putting graphite on the tip of the nozzle and probing the z onto a piece of paper. It gives a perfect ring, however, it is not precise enough for my liking. The only issue I may see with adding the correction for the XY dimension will be the time factor. It will require more iterations, as the printers bed will be calibrated messing up the XY scaling to a lesser extent, then the XY will be calibrated - messing up the bed calibration to a lesser extent. Theoretically, this is still possible, it will just require more iterations and/or changes to the calculation algorithm. I am predicting that it may take 15+ iterations to correctly scale the XY dimensions AND level the bed. So, most likely the program will get an expert calibration button and a lot more control over calculation variables - more than 20... If these variables are needed to be changed, the user will have to manually compute them, as there are no XY probes to measure against towers (yet).

Of course this testing was done instead of getting the current version to a stabile state, sorry... Which is what I am going to work on now. And I will not implement XY correction in the algorithm yet, this will firstly be implemented in the HTML version of the program for my sanity. Otherwise testing may take weeks.

One thing I will mention; if your printers towers are not square, the XY dimension correction will be pointless. As it will only be able to correct the XY scaling at the single layer of the plate, everything after will slowly change. This happens due to the actual delta radius being manipulated by the towers angle. For instance, if the angle against the bed to the tower is 89.75 degrees, then your Delta Radius will shrink by almost 3mm ((673.1*sin(0.25)/sin(89.75) = 2.94mm). This doesn't just affect the XY scaling however, it will also affect the scaling in the Z dimension. As the printer approaches higher prints, it will exponentially shrink/grow in certain areas of the build-plate. This of course may not be a significant change over the length of a 250mm high print. But, for instance, if a single tower is angled inward with a difference of 3mm from the top to the bottom of the printer, your object will be up to 1.06mm (|sqrt(269^2-126.85^2)- sqrt(269^2-124.85^2)| = 1.059mm) taller in some parts of the print. This may cause delaminating or inversely can cause your extruder to slip. I am sure this sounds absurd, but a square frame is very important for tall prints.

If anyone is confused as to how they initially calibrate their Delta Radius, then I will go into more details as to how I corrected mine.

Anyway, enough rambling, I am going to test the current program. Tomorrow I will work on the next update, and begin implementing the XY scaling correction into the HTML version.

[stonewater]

so at what point in time do you guys think a complete noob could actually run this and be successful? that noob being me! I can follow instructions to a tee, but figuring out exactly what is going on here is giving me fits.....

Tom C

[RollieRowland]

so at what point in time do you guys think a complete noob could actually run this and be successful? that noob being me! I can follow instructions to a tee, but figuring out exactly what is going on here is giving me fits.....

Tom C

Speaking of which...

You can most likely run it, but keep your finger on the kill-switch if you don't manually change any variables - like probing speed or height.

I have tested everything included in this version and everything works - however if you run advanced calibration, reset your EEProm to default first. Otherwise you will be waiting a while. The only other issues that this version has is in how it logs information, it has no effect on usability, but the height-maps/other program modified textboxes act odd. Also, with XY dimensional accuracy - not much unless your frame is very distorted. Will be fixed soon.

I managed a tolerance of +/- 0.01 at 5mm/s - lower the z-probe start height to 10 with FSRs - but cannot tell if any higher accuracy is achieved due to the significant figures returned from the printer.

Version 2.0.1Beta - Advanced Calibration - Now slightly more confusing - where it needs to be

New Features:
-support for FSR and Z-Probe
-control over z-probe speed
-less lag/thread sleeping, now depends on how long your printer takes to communicate
-live height-map
-accuracy control
-advanced calibration to learn specifics about Your printer - similar to expert mode in V1.0.3
-maximum iterations
-control over time pausing for printer communication (sends script and waits designated time)
-FSR plate offset control (raises the print height slightly so you have a first layer)
-determine z-probe height, this requires you to set your z-height first
-fixed printer commands
-improved parser
-faster/less lag/connects/sends-receives reliably - thank you mhackney

How To:
Basic Calibration:
-Enter build diameter
-Enter Baud Rate
-Select COM port
-Click connect
-Click Calibrate
-Wait for console to read Calibration Completed
-Disconnect
-Close application

Advanced calibration mode:
-Enter build diameter
-Enter Baud Rate
-Select COM port
-Click connect
-Click the advanced button
-Click advanced calibration
-Acquire patience
-Once finished, you can open the "More..." tab and write down the changed values to save your self time in following calibrations.
-Disconnect
-Close application

Download:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B06WCA ... sp=sharing

The download includes the source file/designer file and a how-to.

[stonewater]

alright, printing out the dial indicator holder from thingiverse. I have a grizzly dial indicator set, with enough gadgets to get it in the ball park of where it needs to be. questions -

my dial indicator is English, do I need a metric one or does the calibration work with English and metric? can I just do the conversion from/to with my calculator to get metric size ?

if I am not running advanced I can use my current EEprom settings correct?

Rollie thanks for your help, this is a significant advance in delta world!!

Tom C

[mhackney]

Yes, you will need to convert to metric from the imperial measurement. That should be fine.

And correct, you do not need to reset eeprom if you run simple Calibrate.

I just built the sources for this release on the Mac and am in the middle of a calibration run from Mac OS X right now. It will be interesting to see if it converges. I think I'm at about 11 iterations at this point.

[HumanLiberty]

my V1 is calibrated retty good, but still having problems with the last 1/2 inch of reach, it really looks like it is a delta arm length problem. anyway has anyone designed a mount that can use the digital caliper like the one rollie used in his Vid? if we could leave the stock hotend on and just pass the end of the caliper thru the holes in the top plate of the extruder mount I would be good to go since I already have the grizzly version of that particular digital caliper. I realy do not want to take my hot end apart... again. since I just put in a cartridge heater and new thermistor and its printing nice right now.

Tom C

I started a thread about this issue here:
http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php ... ilit=325mm

Today I received Tricklaser's 325mm Carbon Fiber arms
http://www.tricklaser.com/325-MM-Carbon ... FTX325.htm

I should finish the install and calibration using Rollie's .html tomorrow and will update on results..
I've been having promising results with this gauge, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OAC ... ge_o04_s01
which is inexpensive and a lot easier to mount than the caliper rig
(though I did take apart my hot end.
Ideally, I'd like to get another melamine hot end plate, or print one, to keep the gauged attached to long term.
Or I may spring the $40 for the FSR kit.
More ASAP.

[Jrjones]

So how did you guys square your towers? I used a framing square and it seems to me to be square.
I suppose I could get a digital angle gauge if that might produce better results.

[stonewater]

digital angle gauge and a Velcro strap to hold it on

http://www.harborfreight.com/digital-an ... 95998.html

I am less than .5 degrees off all towers but still having perimeter problems, I am hoping this software will cure the last degree )


Tom C

[RollieRowland]

V2.0.1 Update:
I have an update that learns the alpha rotation offset from your printer, as it did with XYZ offset/horizontal radius/diagonal rod. This is just a fix, not V2.0.2.

With this being done, if you do the advanced calibration, the program will take 8 iterations to learn your machine. Then however many to calibrate. Mine ended up taking only 2 iterations to get to a +/- 0.01mm tolerance.

Download - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B06WCA ... sp=sharing
Edit: Had a section commented out, link is fixed.

Sorry, I'm not replying to posts at the moment, I will in a bit.

[RollieRowland]

So how did you guys square your towers? I used a framing square and it seems to me to be square.
I suppose I could get a digital angle gauge if that might produce better results.

I actually have not squared my towers yet. They are off, really off, last I measured the X tower was off by at least 1.7 degrees. I want to create another frame for the printer - almost convert it into a Kossel with 1 inch extrusions. I have already made the frame connectors/ plate connectors. But haven't printed them due to the XY scaling issue. Due to how the connectors were designed, it is possible to keep the exact size of the printer. So I do not have to offset any settings in the firmware except for inverting motor direction.

The error I have in the towers does not affect the build plate heights with the calibration - however, it will progressively cause more issues as the print gets higher. There is no fix for this firmware/software-wise either, which is why I have to rebuild the frame. If your towers are perfectly( square and your delta radii are set properly, the next version of the software will not modify XY scaling, it will keep the scaling as it was before the calibration.

[HumanLiberty]

my V1 is calibrated retty good, but still having problems with the last 1/2 inch of reach, it really looks like it is a delta arm length problem. anyway has anyone designed a mount that can use the digital caliper like the one rollie used in his Vid? if we could leave the stock hotend on and just pass the end of the caliper thru the holes in the top plate of the extruder mount I would be good to go since I already have the grizzly version of that particular digital caliper. I realy do not want to take my hot end apart... again. since I just put in a cartridge heater and new thermistor and its printing nice right now.

Tom C

I started a thread about this issue here:
http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php ... ilit=325mm

Today I received Tricklaser's 325mm Carbon Fiber arms
http://www.tricklaser.com/325-MM-Carbon ... FTX325.htm

I should finish the install and calibration using Rollie's .html tomorrow and will update on results..
I've been having promising results with this gauge, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OAC ... ge_o04_s01
which is inexpensive and a lot easier to mount than the caliper rig
(though I did take apart my hot end.
Ideally, I'd like to get another melamine hot end plate, or print one, to keep the gauged attached to long term.
Or I may spring the $40 for the FSR kit.
More ASAP.

Results:
HTML calibration helped a lot (thanks again Rollie!) Not perfect, maybe due to having to remove the gauge and put in the nozzle.
Nozzle was to close to bed around the X axis, but a 1/8-1/4 turn of the end-stop screw seems to have fixed it.

And, I got all the way out to 279mm and the printer wasn't even sweating!

IMG_1464.JPG (36.4 KiB) Viewed 15851 times

(Unfortunately, when heating up for the next print, my printer let out a loud electrical "Crackle" and died in a cloud of invisible smoke.
No idea why yet, or what to do about it - it seems totally dead. It's off topic, but if anyone has words of wisdom to offer, I'd much appreciate it!)

Anyway long story short: 325 arms + html calibration + a tiny tweak = a successful test print at the Plate's far outer edge.
I'll probably get the FSRs soon and try to improve results further - if I can get the machine to live again...

[RollieRowland]

my V1 is calibrated retty good, but still having problems with the last 1/2 inch of reach, it really looks like it is a delta arm length problem. anyway has anyone designed a mount that can use the digital caliper like the one rollie used in his Vid? if we could leave the stock hotend on and just pass the end of the caliper thru the holes in the top plate of the extruder mount I would be good to go since I already have the grizzly version of that particular digital caliper. I realy do not want to take my hot end apart... again. since I just put in a cartridge heater and new thermistor and its printing nice right now.

Tom C

I started a thread about this issue here:
http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php ... ilit=325mm

Today I received Tricklaser's 325mm Carbon Fiber arms
http://www.tricklaser.com/325-MM-Carbon ... FTX325.htm

I should finish the install and calibration using Rollie's .html tomorrow and will update on results..
I've been having promising results with this gauge, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OAC ... ge_o04_s01
which is inexpensive and a lot easier to mount than the caliper rig
(though I did take apart my hot end.
Ideally, I'd like to get another melamine hot end plate, or print one, to keep the gauged attached to long term.
Or I may spring the $40 for the FSR kit.
More ASAP.

Results:
HTML calibration helped a lot (thanks again Rollie!) Not perfect, maybe due to having to remove the gauge and put in the nozzle.
Nozzle was to close to bed around the X axis, but a 1/8-1/4 turn of the end-stop screw seems to have fixed it.

And, I got all the way out to 279mm and the printer wasn't even sweating!

IMG_1464.JPG

(Unfortunately, when heating up for the next print, my printer let out a loud electrical "Crackle" and died in a cloud of invisible smoke.
No idea why yet, or what to do about it - it seems totally dead. It's off topic, but if anyone has words of wisdom to offer, I'd much appreciate it!)

Anyway long story short: 325 arms + html calibration + a tiny tweak = a successful test print at the Plate's far outer edge.
I'll probably get the FSRs soon and try to improve results further - if I can get the machine to live again...

It's good to hear that the calibration helped! And the fsrs were definitely worth getting, they are fantastic.

It is dissappointing that your printer may have died though. I would suggest testing the power supply, if that works, then assuming you are still using the stock Rambo, check the fuses on the board. But since you are saying white smoke, I'm assuming it is caustic smoke from your controller or psu. Which would mean something has overheated, not good...

[stonewater]

thanks for the heads up on keeping my hand on the killswitch..... hp laptop win7pro 8 gigs ram. i5 processor, rostock max V1. downloaded last night, it installed fully after installing the latest .net framework. inserted com port, build plate diameter, and baud rate. connected to printer. I did not have my dial indicator installed yet I just wanted to see it run the program. it zero'ed the carriages came down about 260 mm and began sideways movement. it stopped where it was supposed too although too hi, the next move actually sent the x tower carriage down to the bed. killswitch engaged and I am done.

will wait for more instruction as to how I should move forward and then run it "dry" again.

Tom C

[RollieRowland]

thanks for the heads up on keeping my hand on the killswitch..... hp laptop win7pro 8 gigs ram. i5 processor, rostock max V1. downloaded last night, it installed fully after installing the latest .net framework. inserted com port, build plate diameter, and baud rate. connected to printer. I did not have my dial indicator installed yet I just wanted to see it run the program. it zero'ed the carriages came down about 260 mm and began sideways movement. it stopped where it was supposed too although too hi, the next move actually sent the x tower carriage down to the bed. killswitch engaged and I am done.

will wait for more instruction as to how I should move forward and then run it "dry" again.

Tom C

The automatic calibration is still having problems on different machines. Mhackney and I are working on getting it to be stabile, for now I would recommend using the manual calibration until the automatic is safe to use.

But do you have a zProbe installed? If not, that might cause an issue in the firmware as the g30 would be skipped, depending on if you did modify the firmware or not. However the code should have stopped there. There would have had to been a return from the zProbe for the program to send follow up gcode.

[stonewater]

no Zprobe, I will be using a dial indicator once I get it mounted so I will use manual calibration. I figured if I started it manually the first place it would go is Z zero to verify. it did go Z 160 or so.... I may have not used the manual cal button. I will try again tonight. I have a cherry switch and plenty of wire and connectors, and using Rambo. not sure what to do to enable a Z probe in EEprom. or if its enabled by default,and what set of pins to attach to on the Rambo.

Tom C

[RollieRowland]

no Zprobe, I will be using a dial indicator once I get it mounted so I will use manual calibration. I figured if I started it manually the first place it would go is Z zero to verify. it did go Z 160 or so.... I may have not used the manual cal button. I will try again tonight. I have a cherry switch and plenty of wire and connectors, and using Rambo. not sure what to do to enable a Z probe in EEprom. or if its enabled by default,and what set of pins to attach to on the Rambo.

Tom C

Oh you will have to use version 1.0.3 for manual calibration, there isn't a manual calibration mode for the program that has support for automatic calibration. And if you're using a Rambo the pin mapping can be found in the pins.h file in the firmware, then you can just enter the pin number you want to use into the zProbe pin. Mine wasn't enabled by default, so you will more than likely have to make changes to the firmware.

[stonewater]

thanks rollie!!

[Mesigua]

Hi all,

First, thanks. Second, I'm from Spain and I guess .Net reads language settings from OS.
I have a rostock style printer I've built with multiple sources and I can't tell how accurrate they are, particulary printed parts.
I have also one little laptop I've used to test this calibration software.
1st iteration seemed to work, but second one hammered the jhead on the heatbed. What happened? Easy to say: Decimals.
Eeprom values were multiplied by 1000. Eeprom value for printer height was showing 197482.000 (every decimal number was changed). Also enstop offsets were multiplied (one offset was about 28000 steps or so).

Interesting. I've changed decimal and thousand separators in Windows language configuration and solved.

But I've found some weird issues with calibration. I must say my heatbed is not perpendicular to towers, its unleveled just now.
Anyway I decided to run 2.0.0 version again. That time my hand was over power swich every second.

My mechanical z-probe (mecanical switch) is far away the nozzle (-29mm,-10.15mm) and my buildplate is about 200mm diameter, so I've decided to setup a 100mm build diameter on this tool to avoid to block effector on opposit X position.

Third iteration started to hammer Z tower endstop. I guess you should consider to move down the effector before to move it on X axis. Anyway this could be a particular issue since, after calibration, Z height changed to 15 cms! and it told something about zprobe and 88 mm... confusing.
I've used the standard calibration method.
I'd like to give a try to Advanded one, but I dont know what values to write at Previous Heightmap text boxes (same for current heightmap textboxes).

Ah... It changed Delta radius near 95 (the real value shold be pretty near 101). Anyway I will keep tower rotations and Diagonal rod length as good values an to try bed leveling with paper. The heightmap obtained with repetier host shows bed is tilt on X axis so, maybe I just need to move one only screw to finally calibrate this headache.

Tellme, please if you want me to do some kind of tests.

[RollieRowland]

Hi all,

First, thanks. Second, I'm from Spain and I guess .Net reads language settings from OS.
I have a rostock style printer I've built with multiple sources and I can't tell how accurrate they are, particulary printed parts.
I have also one little laptop I've used to test this calibration software.
1st iteration seemed to work, but second one hammered the jhead on the heatbed. What happened? Easy to say: Decimals.
Eeprom values were multiplied by 1000. Eeprom value for printer height was showing 197482.000 (every decimal number was changed). Also enstop offsets were multiplied (one offset was about 28000 steps or so).

Interesting. I've changed decimal and thousand separators in Windows language configuration and solved.

But I've found some weird issues with calibration. I must say my heatbed is not perpendicular to towers, its unleveled just now.
Anyway I decided to run 2.0.0 version again. That time my hand was over power swich every second.

My mechanical z-probe (mecanical switch) is far away the nozzle (-29mm,-10.15mm) and my buildplate is about 200mm diameter, so I've decided to setup a 100mm build diameter on this tool to avoid to block effector on opposit X position.

Third iteration started to hammer Z tower endstop. I guess you should consider to move down the effector before to move it on X axis. Anyway this could be a particular issue since, after calibration, Z height changed to 15 cms! and it told something about zprobe and 88 mm... confusing.
I've used the standard calibration method.
I'd like to give a try to Advanded one, but I dont know what values to write at Previous Heightmap text boxes (same for current heightmap textboxes).

Ah... It changed Delta radius near 95 (the real value shold be pretty near 101). Anyway I will keep tower rotations and Diagonal rod length as good values an to try bed leveling with paper. The heightmap obtained with repetier host shows bed is tilt on X axis so, maybe I just need to move one only screw to finally calibrate this headache.

Tellme, please if you want me to do some kind of tests.

I would not have even thought to add a check for the system language.. But the 15 centimeter zheight might have something to do with the options in the "More" panel, as it sets Z-Probe height, and has a choice selector between probe and FSR. This could be causing the majority of that issue. Also, the heightmap boxes at the moment are broken. They are used to show the user what the heightmaps are and were the before the calibration, however, they do not work because the boxes are inside of a different thread than the parser. It is slowly getting closer to be on my to-do list, once the calibration is solid then I will fix this.

Are you sure it changed the delta radii? Would you be able export your EEProm or capture the log from your printer when you send M205?

Do take note though, there is not currently a stable version of the automatic calibration uploaded. The previous versions may or may not calibrate machines, it is really a shot in the dark at the moment. I am currently working on the calculation and it will entirely learn the printer from scratch. If values are inverted from what the program expects, then the program inverts values (also the percentage of change, and so on). It should be a more stable approach for working properly on more machines (thanks again mhackney).

Also, I just set the default language for the publication to be in us-english. Hopefully it will use the us format, however, I am not sure - I have never set preferences for other language formats before. I will look into it further.

[stonewater]

just wanted to say thanks Rollie!! you are doing amazing work....

Tom C

[Jrjones]

So how did you guys square your towers? I used a framing square and it seems to me to be square.
I suppose I could get a digital angle gauge if that might produce better results.

I actually have not squared my towers yet. They are off, really off, last I measured the X tower was off by at least 1.7 degrees. I want to create another frame for the printer - almost convert it into a Kossel with 1 inch extrusions. I have already made the frame connectors/ plate connectors. But haven't printed them due to the XY scaling issue. Due to how the connectors were designed, it is possible to keep the exact size of the printer. So I do not have to offset any settings in the firmware except for inverting motor direction.

The error I have in the towers does not affect the build plate heights with the calibration - however, it will progressively cause more issues as the print gets higher. There is no fix for this firmware/software-wise either, which is why I have to rebuild the frame. If your towers are perfectly( square and your delta radii are set properly, the next version of the software will not modify XY scaling, it will keep the scaling as it was before the calibration.

I ordered a digital angle gauge to check mine, but rechecked with a square (after checking the squareness, which it seems to be a good 90° square) and my "Z" tower may be leaning in slightly, but not by much, and the other towers seem pretty dead on.

I also checked how convex my build plate is with a straight edge and feeler gauges, and holding down on one end of the straight edge I could slide a 0.152 mm feeler, but not a 0.178mm gauge, so that means the center of my bed is about 0.06 mm higher than the edges. (I checked in 6 places).

Reading HumanLiberty's post about the longer arms may be the way to go.

[RollieRowland]

So how did you guys square your towers? I used a framing square and it seems to me to be square.
I suppose I could get a digital angle gauge if that might produce better results.

I actually have not squared my towers yet. They are off, really off, last I measured the X tower was off by at least 1.7 degrees. I want to create another frame for the printer - almost convert it into a Kossel with 1 inch extrusions. I have already made the frame connectors/ plate connectors. But haven't printed them due to the XY scaling issue. Due to how the connectors were designed, it is possible to keep the exact size of the printer. So I do not have to offset any settings in the firmware except for inverting motor direction.

The error I have in the towers does not affect the build plate heights with the calibration - however, it will progressively cause more issues as the print gets higher. There is no fix for this firmware/software-wise either, which is why I have to rebuild the frame. If your towers are perfectly( square and your delta radii are set properly, the next version of the software will not modify XY scaling, it will keep the scaling as it was before the calibration.

I ordered a digital angle gauge to check mine, but rechecked with a square (after checking the squareness, which it seems to be a good 90° square) and my "Z" tower may be leaning in slightly, but not by much, and the other towers seem pretty dead on.

I also checked how convex my build plate is with a straight edge and feeler gauges, and holding down on one end of the straight edge I could slide a 0.152 mm feeler, but not a 0.178mm gauge, so that means the center of my bed is about 0.06 mm higher than the edges. (I checked in 6 places).

Reading HumanLiberty's post about the longer arms may be the way to go.

As long as the convexity is mostly consistent and starts from a generally central point, it shouldn't cause too many problems for you. But even at that, 0.06mm is not awful.

I actually just took a measurement of my towers. Results for each tower: X:88.9 Y:88.2 Z:88.4. This is rather disappointing to say the least, however, I have already drawn up files to replace the melamine with aluminum extrusions. It will be similar to a kossel, except with 1x1x12" extrusions. May have to tweak a few firmware settings to get everything perfect, but oh well. I want my machine to print perfectly at all heights.

Also, I've almost finished what I need to do to get the calculation consistent. After that, it will be tweaks to get the program operating with a better user interaction. I should also mention that mhackney is updating the parser so it will work with other firmware, then we just need to tweak the rest of the code a bit.

just wanted to say thanks Rollie!! you are doing amazing work....

Tom C

No need to say thanks, just want to help the community!

[stonewater]

so a z zero can be a cherry switch or any other contact closure..... what if you put one wire on the hotend and then suspended a feeler gauge steel, say an .002 one so that it was under the hotend but not touching with the other wire. that way it would be taking the measurement right from the tip of the hotend. you can set z zero with the hotend and feeler gauge in place, and when done you can just tie the wires out of the way.

Tom C

[RollieRowland]

so a z zero can be a cherry switch or any other contact closure..... what if you put one wire on the hotend and then suspended a feeler gauge steel, say an .002 one so that it was under the hotend but not touching with the other wire. that way it would be taking the measurement right from the tip of the hotend. you can set z zero with the hotend and feeler gauge in place, and when done you can just tie the wires out of the way.

Tom C

Yes, this method is entirely possible! I am fairly sure this has been mentioned on this post, don't have the time to dig at the moment though.

Also, just figured I would mention that I just had a successful calibration when the program only knew enough about delta printers to not smash the bed. One thing I will mention is that the XYZ offset, at the moment, over-corrected on the first try. It did not hit the plate, however, it did come very close.

Tolerance changes: +1.36/-2.23 to +0.01/+0.01 (0.01 all around the plate, except center which is 0)

Below are the results after each calibration (rounded to the nearest 1/100th decimal);

Initial: Center:345.55, X:0.95, XOpp:-0.37, Y:1.11, YOpp:-0.4, Z:-2.23, and ZOpp:1.36
After Horizontal Radius: Center:345.6, X:0.81, XOpp:-0.49, Y:1, YOpp:-0.51, Z:-2.34, and ZOpp:1.24
After XYZ Offset: Center:340.81, X:-0.1, XOpp:0.19, Y:-0.1, YOpp:0.29, Z:-0.1, and ZOpp:-0.01
After Alpha Rotation: Center:340.81, X:-0.11, XOpp:0.15, Y:-0.11, YOpp:0.16, Z:-0.09, and ZOpp:0.16
After Diagonal Rod: Center:340.83, X:0.01, XOpp:0.01, Y:0.01, YOpp:0.01, Z:0.01, and ZOpp:0.01

I figured I would export the log so everyone can see what happened (I did remove the EEProm readout from the printer, but kept the parsed values)

Code: Select all

EEProm:  Steps:80, X Max:398, Y Max:398, Z Max:343.25, Z-Probe Offset:0, Diagonal Rod:269, Horizontal Radius:130, X Offset:0, Y Offset:0, Z Offset:0, Alpha A:210, Alpha B:330, and Alpha C:90
EEProm captured, beginning calibration.

Center:345.55, X:0.949999999999989, XOpp:-0.370000000000005, Y:1.11000000000001, YOpp:-0.400000000000034, Z:-2.23000000000002, and ZOpp:1.36000000000001

Setting Z Max Length

HRad:129.86

HRad Correction:0

HRad Average before calibration:0.0699999999999932

HRad Average:0.0699999999999932

Setting Horizontal Radius

Checking height-map

Center:345.58, X:0.810000000000002, XOpp:-0.489999999999952, Y:0.980000000000018, YOpp:-0.519999999999982, Z:-2.34999999999997, and ZOpp:1.23000000000002

Setting Z Max Length

HRad:129.922631578947

HRad Correction:0.552631578947445

HRad Average before calibration:0.0699999999999932

HRad Average:-0.0566666666666436

Setting Horizontal Radius

Checking height-map

Center:345.56, X:0.859999999999957, XOpp:-0.450000000000045, Y:1.04999999999995, YOpp:-0.490000000000009, Z:-2.30000000000001, and ZOpp:1.27999999999997

Setting Z Max Length

HRad:129.922631578947

HRad Correction:0.893617021276241

HRad Average before calibration:0.0699999999999932

HRad Average:-0.00833333333336365

Horizontal Radius Calibration Success; Checking height-map.

Center:345.6, X:0.810000000000002, XOpp:-0.490000000000009, Y:1, YOpp:-0.510000000000048, Z:-2.34000000000003, and ZOpp:1.23999999999995

Setting Z Max Length

XYZ Offset Correction: 0
XYZ Offset Average Before Calibration: -0.176666666666677
XYZ Offset Average Afer Calibration: -0.176666666666677
Calculation XYZ:512.428571428579 557.285714285722 0

Calculation XYZ:597.47544642858 682.167410714295 0

Calculation XYZ:625.443743024563 758.267194475457 0

Calculation XYZ:642.48692376274 804.640500204916 0

Calculation XYZ:652.872612025066 832.899233383804 0

Calculation XYZ:659.201390809921 850.119398914689 0

Calculation XYZ:663.057990381943 860.612937285073 0

Calculation XYZ:665.408105746143 867.007437229525 0

Calculation XYZ:666.840207296203 870.904085633175 0

Calculation XYZ:667.71289417827 873.27860575415 0

Calculation XYZ:668.24468774703 874.725578952869 0

Calculation XYZ:668.568749452993 875.607328245838 0

Calculation XYZ:668.766224555064 876.144644221241 0

Calculation XYZ:668.606708874867 876.304159901439 0

Calculation XYZ:668.559352657308 876.351516118998 0

Virtual eights: X:0, XOpp:2.07920190325328, Y:0, YOpp:0.820715181157455, Z:0, and ZOpp:0.462630269364911

XYZ:669 876 0

Checking height-map

Center:339.21, X:-1.16000000000003, XOpp:0.740000000000009, Y:-3.61000000000001, YOpp:2.22999999999996, Z:4, and ZOpp:-2.85000000000002

Setting Z Max Length

XYZ Offset Correction: -2.20833333333337
XYZ Offset: 1.42857142857143
XYZ Offset Average Before Calibration: -0.176666666666677
XYZ Offset Average Afer Calibration: -0.25666666666668
Calculation XYZ:536.428571428569 430.285714285712 312.571428571427

Calculation XYZ:503.142857142853 500.10714285714 321.705357142856

Calculation XYZ:522.881696428567 507.325334821426 328.444614955355

Calculation XYZ:526.371058872764 509.8824898856 329.956244332448

Calculation XYZ:527.388254983081 510.514696257452 330.36859495299

Calculation XYZ:527.649394231179 510.579981069477 330.450200968021

Calculation XYZ:527.649394231179 510.579981069477 330.450200968021

Calculation XYZ:527.649394231179 510.579981069477 330.450200968021

Calculation XYZ:527.649394231179 510.579981069477 330.450200968021

Calculation XYZ:527.649394231179 510.579981069477 330.450200968021

Calculation XYZ:527.649394231179 510.579981069477 330.450200968021

Calculation XYZ:527.649394231179 510.579981069477 330.450200968021

Calculation XYZ:527.649394231179 510.579981069477 330.450200968021

Calculation XYZ:527.649394231179 510.579981069477 330.450200968021

Calculation XYZ:527.649394231179 510.579981069477 330.450200968021

Virtual eights: X:0, XOpp:0.198087576554392, Y:0, YOpp:0.217632052680671, Z:0, and ZOpp:-0.295719629235115

XYZ:528 511 330

Checking height-map

Center:339.85, X:-0.0299999999999727, XOpp:0.100000000000023, Y:0.360000000000014, YOpp:-0.0699999999999932, Z:-0.75, and ZOpp:0.350000000000023

Setting Z Max Length

XYZ Offset Correction: 4.818181818179
XYZ Offset: 1.42857142857143
XYZ Offset Average Before Calibration: -0.176666666666677
XYZ Offset Average Afer Calibration: -0.139999999999986
Calculation XYZ:524.571428571432 551.285714285717 253.500000000001

Calculation XYZ:515.517857142861 529.897321428574 245.889508928573

Calculation XYZ:508.268136160719 526.182268415182 243.148315429689

Calculation XYZ:506.654074532649 525.093454633443 242.472596577238

Calculation XYZ:506.212941374102 524.814241630693 242.292510036913

Calculation XYZ:506.098116488333 524.785535409251 242.25662726011

Calculation XYZ:506.098116488333 524.785535409251 242.25662726011

Calculation XYZ:506.098116488333 524.785535409251 242.25662726011

Calculation XYZ:506.098116488333 524.785535409251 242.25662726011

Calculation XYZ:506.098116488333 524.785535409251 242.25662726011

Calculation XYZ:506.098116488333 524.785535409251 242.25662726011

Calculation XYZ:506.098116488333 524.785535409251 242.25662726011

Calculation XYZ:506.098116488333 524.785535409251 242.25662726011

Calculation XYZ:506.098116488333 524.785535409251 242.25662726011

Calculation XYZ:506.098116488333 524.785535409251 242.25662726011

Virtual eights: X:0, XOpp:0.165962028797252, Y:0, YOpp:0.230160715465761, Z:0, and ZOpp:-0.0161227442629606

XYZ:506 525 242

Checking height-map

Center:340.21, X:-0.120000000000005, XOpp:0.199999999999989, Y:-0.170000000000016, YOpp:0.329999999999984, Z:-0.0200000000000387, and ZOpp:-0.0500000000000114

Setting Z Max Length

XYZ Offset Correction: 2.40909090909137
XYZ Offset: 1.42857142857143
XYZ Offset Average Before Calibration: -0.176666666666677
XYZ Offset Average Afer Calibration: -0.103333333333353
Calculation XYZ:492.285714285714 502.142857142855 230.571428571424

Calculation XYZ:483.714285714283 497.142857142853 227.178571428566

Calculation XYZ:481.616071428569 495.77008928571 226.310825892851

Calculation XYZ:481.055943080354 495.413120814728 226.081551688052

Calculation XYZ:480.909382411409 495.376480647492 226.035751479006

Calculation XYZ:480.909382411409 495.376480647492 226.035751479006

Calculation XYZ:480.909382411409 495.376480647492 226.035751479006

Calculation XYZ:480.909382411409 495.376480647492 226.035751479006

Calculation XYZ:480.909382411409 495.376480647492 226.035751479006

Calculation XYZ:480.909382411409 495.376480647492 226.035751479006

Calculation XYZ:480.909382411409 495.376480647492 226.035751479006

Calculation XYZ:480.909382411409 495.376480647492 226.035751479006

Calculation XYZ:480.909382411409 495.376480647492 226.035751479006

Calculation XYZ:480.909382411409 495.376480647492 226.035751479006

Calculation XYZ:480.909382411409 495.376480647492 226.035751479006

Virtual eights: X:0, XOpp:0.189951790273187, Y:0, YOpp:0.290204622447477, Z:0, and ZOpp:0

XYZ:481 495 226

Checking height-map

Center:340.51, X:-0.0900000000000318, XOpp:0.180000000000007, Y:-0.0900000000000318, YOpp:0.259999999999991, Z:-0.139999999999986, and ZOpp:-0.00999999999999091

Setting Z Max Length

XYZ Offset Correction: 2.52380952380991
XYZ Offset: 1.42857142857143
XYZ Offset Average Before Calibration: -0.176666666666677
XYZ Offset Average Afer Calibration: -0.106666666666683
Calculation XYZ:470.714285714282 482.142857142853 204.214285714285

Calculation XYZ:462.053571428567 474.531249999995 200.146205357142

Calculation XYZ:459.133649553566 472.784249441959 198.979474748883

Calculation XYZ:458.405216761993 472.310458592001 198.6789188385

Calculation XYZ:458.211630071907 472.26206191948 198.618422997848

Calculation XYZ:458.211630071907 472.26206191948 198.618422997848

Calculation XYZ:458.211630071907 472.26206191948 198.618422997848

Calculation XYZ:458.211630071907 472.26206191948 198.618422997848

Calculation XYZ:458.211630071907 472.26206191948 198.618422997848

Calculation XYZ:458.211630071907 472.26206191948 198.618422997848

Calculation XYZ:458.211630071907 472.26206191948 198.618422997848

Calculation XYZ:458.211630071907 472.26206191948 198.618422997848

Calculation XYZ:458.211630071907 472.26206191948 198.618422997848

Calculation XYZ:458.211630071907 472.26206191948 198.618422997848

Calculation XYZ:458.211630071907 472.26206191948 198.618422997848

Virtual eights: X:0, XOpp:0.189937320807946, Y:0, YOpp:0.270268279807624, Z:0, and ZOpp:-0.0302056006155635

XYZ:458 472 199

Checking height-map

Center:340.81, X:-0.100000000000023, XOpp:0.189999999999998, Y:-0.100000000000023, YOpp:0.289999999999964, Z:-0.100000000000023, and ZOpp:-0.00999999999999091

Setting Z Max Length

XYZ Offset Correction: 2.52380952380991
XYZ Offset Average Before Calibration: -0.176666666666677
XYZ Offset Average Afer Calibration: -0.100000000000023
XYZ Offset Calibration Success; checking height-map

Center:340.81, X:-0.100000000000023, XOpp:0.189999999999998, Y:-0.110000000000014, YOpp:0.29000000000002, Z:-0.0699999999999932, and ZOpp:-0.00999999999999091

Setting Z Max Length

ABC:210.24931640625 329.961591796875 90.0192041015625

Heights: X:-0.100000000000023, XOpp:0.156601562500009, Y:-0.110000000000014, YOpp:0.156601562500009, Z:-0.0699999999999932, and ZOpp:0.156796875000009

Setting A Rotation

Setting B Rotation

Setting C Rotation

Checking height-map

Center:340.82, X:-0.0999999999999659, XOpp:0.189999999999998, Y:-0.0999999999999659, YOpp:0.150000000000034, Z:-0.0999999999999659, and ZOpp:0.150000000000034

Setting Z Max Length

ABC:210.24176953125 329.930865234375 90.0345673828125

Heights: X:-0.0999999999999659, XOpp:0.163281250000022, Y:-0.0999999999999659, YOpp:0.163281250000022, Z:-0.0999999999999659, and ZOpp:0.163437500000022

Setting A Rotation

Setting B Rotation

Setting C Rotation

Checking height-map

Center:340.83, X:-0.120000000000005, XOpp:0.120000000000005, Y:-0.110000000000014, YOpp:0.139999999999986, Z:-0.0999999999999659, and ZOpp:0.170000000000016

Setting Z Max Length

ABC:210.222498046875 329.957750976563 90.0211245117187

Heights: X:-0.120000000000005, XOpp:0.143378906250002, Y:-0.110000000000014, YOpp:0.143378906250002, Z:-0.0999999999999659, and ZOpp:0.143242187500002

Setting A Rotation

Setting B Rotation

Setting C Rotation

Checking height-map

Center:340.83, X:-0.120000000000005, XOpp:0.139999999999986, Y:-0.110000000000014, YOpp:0.139999999999986, Z:-0.100000000000023, and ZOpp:0.110000000000014

Setting Z Max Length

ABC:210.245138671875 329.946430664063 90.0267846679687

Heights: X:-0.120000000000005, XOpp:0.130156249999995, Y:-0.110000000000014, YOpp:0.130156249999995, Z:-0.100000000000023, and ZOpp:0.129687499999996

Setting A Rotation

Setting B Rotation

Setting C Rotation

Checking height-map

Center:340.81, X:-0.100000000000023, XOpp:0.159999999999968, Y:-0.100000000000023, YOpp:0.159999999999968, Z:-0.0800000000000409, and ZOpp:0.159999999999968

Setting Z Max Length

Alpha Rotation Calibration Success; checking height-map

Center:340.81, X:-0.110000000000014, XOpp:0.149999999999977, Y:-0.110000000000014, YOpp:0.160000000000025, Z:-0.089999999999975, and ZOpp:0.160000000000025

Setting Z Max Length

Diagonal Rod:272.240162156842

Heights: X:-0.00666666666667955, XOpp:-0.00631941813101389, Y:-0.00666666666667955, YOpp:0.00412036078599137, Z:0.0133333333333591, and ZOpp:0.00412036078599137

Setting diagonal rod

Setting Horizontal Radius

Checking height-map

Center:340.84, X:-0.0199999999999818, XOpp:0.0200000000000387, Y:-0.0199999999999818, YOpp:0.0200000000000387, Z:0.0100000000000477, and ZOpp:0.0300000000000296

Setting Z Max Length

Diagonal Rod:272.644104987737

Heights: X:-0.0100000000000099, XOpp:-0.00261204763394227, Y:-0.0100000000000099, YOpp:-0.00261204763394227, Z:0.0200000000000197, and ZOpp:0.00768457352842473

Setting diagonal rod

Setting Horizontal Radius

Checking height-map

Center:340.83, X:0.00999999999999091, XOpp:0.00999999999999091, Y:0.00999999999999091, YOpp:0.00999999999999091, Z:0.00999999999999091, and ZOpp:0.00999999999999091

Setting Z Max Length

Setting Z Max Length with adjustment for FSR

Calibration Complete

I am going to print something now...

[RollieRowland]

I figured I would upload a picture of the results.

-Default mattercontrol settings (except nozzle size, which is 0.4mm - I have an e3d installed at the moment)
-Pressed print right after calibration, no z-height or any other modification. (Same calibration as the log from the previous post.)
-No bed heat or any form of adhesion - the true test.

Also, sorry I forgot to oversize it to fit the 11 inches, I just used the default size. There is an area in the center where the plastic didn't stick to the bed, I am assuming it is mostly due to the cumulative dust/dirt of 2 weeks - very bad, else just because of no form of adhesion.

Edit:
Thickness measurements of the print
XTower: inner 0.3 outer 0.31
YTower: inner 0.29 outer 0.3
ZTower: inner 0.3 outer 0.32

One more thing, I may need data from different printers for setting correct XY scaling. It is a very tedious task, and requires a lot of patience. However, it will help improve the programs accuracy in the XY dimensions. If you want to help, then let me know. You will need some things: calipers(accurate to 1/100th of a mm), FSRs, several sheets of paper, graphite, and maybe an hour of your time. If anyone is interested, I will write a reply describing how to properly get the data that I need.