Z Axis Offset Question

Greetings,

I have a Mini 2 and recently have come the conclusion that I need to adjust the Z axis offset. Noticing “elephant feet” on some models and also can not get the word Benchy to print on the bottom of that model. My question is: is there any difference/advantage to making the adjustment with the printer tethered or just doing it through the GLCD controller? Currently set at 1.25 and also wondering what sort of increments I should use. Any advice greatly appreciated.

Cheers, Kire

The only benefit(ish) to completing the steps through the GLCD vs your computer is that most people find the process a bit more simple and intuitive through the LCD. I generally adjust my Z-Offset in .05 increments, large enough to be noticeable but small enough that your risk of over shooting and accidentally running the nozzle into the build plate are pretty low. Regardless of which method you use be sure to save your settings once the adjustment has been made otherwise they will just revert back to the previous value.

Adjusting the Z-Offset should help with the elephant foot you are seeing but I wanted to let you know that most likely the reason why the lettering won’t print on the bottom of your model won’t be a matter of the Z-Offset so much as the way the model is being sliced and the settings being used. Cura is basically ignoring those lines in the model because the first layer is too thick to print that fine of detailing. You can resolve this by scaling up the model, or changing your initial layer thickness. One way you can check to see if your Benchy will print with the lettering along the bottom is to switch to layer view in Cura and look at the bottom of your model, if the lettering should be printed based on your settings you will be able to see it being shown on the bottom of your model. Here is screenshot of the bottom of a Benchy in Layer view to show what I mean:

Thank you, very helpful reply. Hadn’t considered any of the things you suggested about the Benchy, makes sense. Will let you know how I make out.

Cheers, Kire