I have a Lulzbot Mini 1 and am working out some bugs, but I can’t get the Level X Axis option to work. It just stays grayed out all the time. Does anyone know what I should do?
That’s not an option since it uses leadscrews instead the belts that the Mini2, Pro and Workhorse use. The belts have a tendency to occasionally sag and cause the gantry to get out of alignment. The leadscrews do not have this issue. Generally they will not lose position unless a dirty nozzle is forced against one of the washers and the stepper misses some steps.
If you need to level the gantry on the Mini 1, put a business card on the bed, then lower the nozzle to just touch the business card. Click the “Disable Steppers” button in Cura. Now slowly push the toolhead to the left edge of the bed, while keeping the business card under the nozzle. Manually twist the left lead screw to keep the nozzle just barely touching the business card as needed as you move it the toolhead. Now, push the toolhead to the right edge of the bed, manually twisting the right lead screw to maintain that same distance with the business card. Go back and forth between the left and right sides, manually adjusting the leadscrews until you no longer have to make adjustments to keep the distance.
Okay, thank you. I wondered if that was the case, but I wasn’t sure.
What do you recommend as a good z offset for lulzbot mini 1? I’ve been having some trouble getting it right.
Having trouble with it is usually some contamination on the nozzle.
If it’s actually clean, it is about -1.25mm to -1.32mm (the thickness of the precision-machined spacers (commonly called “washers” here)
If it’s dirty, it’s never going to be consistent. .1mm of plastic on the nozzle preventing an electrical connection between the nozzle and washer generally ruins the first washer measurement by anywhere from .2 to .3mm by delaying the sensing. Once the plastic has been mostly pushed away touching the first washer, the second washer may only be off by .1mm, then the last two generally are not affected. So you might be able to get it to print in one small section of the bed by fudging the offset enough, but then measuring with a clean nozzle or dirtier nozzle will throw it off again.
Okay, I had kinda found that if I didn’t preheat the nozzle but just went straight to print it went a little smoother because there wouldn’t be that layer of plastic, but its also not moving up on the z as it should, especially after I played with the offset.