Pulse D-211 with BL-touch, should it run the Auto Bed Leveling before each print



  • Hi I have the D-211 with a BL-touch. I can run the Bed Leveling from the config menu but was wondering if it should run automatically before each print and if so how do I set that up?

    Thanks



  • I got a C-232 and I run the printer almost 24/7 and Bed level about 2x a week. I bed level manually cause the BL touch thing got too expensive. Every time a print dislodges or curls up it rips the leg off the BL touch and I am out 45 bucks. Granted that happens rarely about 1-2x a month at the rate we are printing but I'd rather buy some more filament then shell out another 40some bucks for a BL touch. I bought 3 and that is enough. If they'd sell the legs cheaply enough it might be a different story or make something that protects the leg from a print that curls up. But to your question. The bed is pretty good stability wise so I don't think you need to re level every print unless you did something mechanicly to it or raise/lower the bed temp by 20 deg or more (for example you were printing ABS at 100 and then go print PETG at 70 or something like that, Keep an eye on the first layer and if you see it coming loose in some places or getting ripped off as its too close then re-level



  • Thanks for the reply. That works for me. I've been trying to print delicate prints like this and this
    https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3576952
    and
    https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:257911
    most of the prints are fine but in both cases after the fist layer the tail on the cat and the trunk on the elephant come off the bed.



  • Depends what material you use. There is a couple of things you can do,
    1.) you can use a brim which requires some cleanup
    2.) IDK what bed you have but adding gluestick and upping the temp helps.

    We mostly print Mechanical parts and mostly Nylon and HIPS and some PETG and ABS and very little PLA but here are some settings that keep the stuff down with gluestick on my garolite bed printed with a .8 nozzle using slic3r to slice to get full advantage of volumetric printing
    B=Bed N=Nozzle F=Flowrate in mm3/sec
    Layer heights are always between 25% and 50% nozzle width Layer width 120% nozzle width HK-Hobbyking MHB - Matterhackers Build

    Taulman 910 N275 B85(90 on large parts) F10
    Taulman Bridge N270 B80 F10.5
    HKCX12 Nylon N275 B95 F10
    HK HIPS N270 B100 F18.5
    HK ABS N265 B100 F15.5
    MHB ABS (given up on always peals off and always splits on large prints
    HKPETG N255 B65 F13.5
    MHBPETG N275 B79 F13.5 (Strings at that temp but needs that temp for acceptable layer adhesion
    HKPLA N215-235 (215 real nice prints 235 some stringing but about 2x as strong) B85 F11.5
    MHBPLA N225 (crappy layer adhesion below that and splits on large parts plus warps off) B85 F11.5

    What might also help is a MH inspired enclosure built out of 5 poster frames my daughter was going to throw out when she graduated college.

    On PETG I either use blue tape or tons of glue and back off on the Z when I don;t use tape to keep it from permanently sticking to the bed and doing damage.
    Make sure you get the Z offset right. Print the 1st layer of the test cube. You want the layer to be fused together solid if you can pull the strings apart decrease the Z offset (squish it more into the build plate) or increase The extrusion multiplier

    HIPS, ABS PETG have an extrusion multiplier of 93% measured, Nylon between 98 and 100 and PLA between 105 and 110.

    I can get all of the above to stay down except the MH Build ABS I wasted 2 kg of that trying to print an aprox 9in x 7in x5 in part. It will do small parts but we don't do those in ABS.


  • MatterHackers

    As an aside to setting up printers, I am finding that the purple glue applied to the bed while cold and then started up after works better. I have been playing with the setup of my new custom printer for a week or so and have had quite a bit of success with applying the glue cold. I get about 3 prints between each application of glue like this.



  • @mpirringer Thank you again, I use PLA, PETG and TPU. But the two STL files I was trying to print were in PLA. The bed is a PEI Sheet. I tried a glue stick slushy but It still didn't stick at the nose of the elephant. Brim might be worth a try. I think I'm running N210 B60. I'll also try to increase these to see if that helps.


  • MatterHackers

    Run the bed temp up to 80c, when using PEI, it is recommended to be about +20c on the bed from whatever is recommended to get the material to stick. Keep in mind how hot the bed is compared to the Glass transition temp and let the bed cool before removing the print. Otherwise, you risk deforming the print.



  • Good to know I won't get a PEI sheet then on any printer. Most the stuff I print Like ABS,HIPS, Nylon wants 90-100 (some nylons 80) I got a tough time reaching and holding 100 so no way I get to 120 on PEI to print ABS and HIPS. I guess Garolite it stays and also for all future printers. Have not found a material that does not stick to garolit - some too good...



  • @michael-petitclerc thank you for the suggestion. I give the increased bed temp a try.


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