I wanted to design a model to test how well my bed was leveled and to check if my bed was warped.

I needed a way to quickly print a model that I could measure the thickness of at key points on the bed.

My bed is 220mm by 220mm but the maximum size I use is 200mm by 200mm (to allow for the purge line) so I decided to make the test 180mm by 180mm with test points every 20mm.

The test is made up of 5 offset squares that are both 0.8mm wide and high. I choose 0.8mm because my nozzle is 0.4mm so this is two passes in the width and I made it 0.8mm high to make them square. The cross pieces are used to keep the model together for easy measuring.

The center square is 20mm wide and the other squares are offset by 20mm after that. This should leave enough space between the squares to use a calipers to measure the heights.

I printed the model on my printer. This model should only take between 20 and 30 minutes to print.

Next I measured the test model at several key points using a calipers (remember to remove any stray tape that may still be attached). The model should be 0.8mm at all points if it is not your bed is either warped or not level. NOTE: If you are doing any 3D printing I would highly recommend buying a digital calipers similar to the one below they are relatively cheap, are way quicker than a vernier calipers and way more accurate than a ruler. You’d be surprised how much you would use it be it during the design process or during printing and finishing prints.

My bed was actually not warped like I thought but was actually slightly misleveled. After doing some research I discovered that this is because I always level my bed with a cold extruder and bed for safety but due to the expansion caused by heat when the printer is hot this can knock out the leveling of the bed. So I might start leveling my bed when the printer is hot in the future.

This model can also be used to find where your printer thinks the center of your bed is. Mine was off to the left by 10mm I don’t think I will do anything about this it’s just something to be aware of. I had wondered why the purge line went off the bed in a particularly wide print I was doing but this explains why.

The files for this model can be found on Thingiverse at this link.

As always if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask,

Conor.

P.S. I have been publishing every Saturday on Conor.Engineer for 6 months today!