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Imdinnogo BCZAMD Heatbed Silicone Leveling Column, 3D Printer Hot Bed Mounts Column Stable Tool Heat-Resistant Silicone Buffer for Prusa i3 Plus A8 Wanhao D9 Mega, 4 Pack Brown?
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No different sizes, they work just like the bed springs only they stay put much better and don't allow for as much movement.
I mostly run prints on the Creality textured glass bed.
I have these on mine https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RZKF8MB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_D5ZCEFSGRM0JC489AMYH
So I actually just swapped out my yellow springs for some silicone leveling inserts.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RZKF8MB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabt1_XvTVFb8RMXEJE?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
They actually have been working really well! 3 7+ hour prints so far and I’ve had amazing adhesion and perfect first layers. The silicone doesn’t expand or contract from the heat of the bed!
BCZAMD Heatbed Silicone Leveling Column, 3D Printer Hot Bed Mounts Column Stable Tool Heat-Resistant Silicone Buffer for Prusa i3 Plus A8 Wanhao D9 Mega, 4 Pack Brown https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RZKF8MB/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_GZB8EZ2GQSBNTJV9B60A?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
These hold a lot better than springs. I've got them on my other printer. I rarely have to level. Only if it's been off for a long time and I forgot to shunt the Z-axis before removing power
Do this, since you have the CR Touch - get a set of these or equivalent. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RZKF8MB?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Slice a bed level file... Tons are out there but if you use cura you can download the Calibration Shapes plugin from the Cura Marketplace.
After installing the extension restart Cura
In Cura at the top Click Extensions - Part for calibration - Add a bed Level Calibration.
Slice it
While printing this you can adjust your z offset. If you have to print a few of these as you make your adjustments.
You bet! So a little while back another Redditor recommended a good periodic cleaning with acetone. I tried it a few times before adding my PEI bed, seemed to get a little more gunk off, but I wasn't a huge fan of using it due to the fumes. My standard cleaning is a few passes with IPA, certainly attacks any finger oils and gets them off. I was having extreme adhesion issues as well, but my issue was a combo of original bed just not working well for me (i think it was mostly me) and i was in a really cold basement. Added PEI sheet, 99% better. Built a sweet, if ugly, enclosure, and that's made life amazing while printing...now that i built the ugly enclosure though it convinced the wife that i should modify a closet in the basement just for housing printers so she doesn't have to see my rediculous enclosure.
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Mission success.
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When i installed the PEI sheet, i gave it two passes with acetone then about 6 (might've been a bit obsessive) with IPA, and all went down great, no issues.
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For nubs: i bought these off amazon. worked well with the magnetic sticker and PEI sheet's added thickness (they're shorter than the OE springs)
Hi guys, I can't find the silicone tube in my country, but I'm able to find this. Would it work? Thanks
I ordered the rubber ones, though my mistake was that I didn't order the one where 1/4 is shorter (for ender3 v2) so the bed tilts a little, so had to order a new one, with one shorter.
But I had to level the bed fewer times after gettings these so I recommend them.
Ordered something similar to these rubber "springs"
A BLTouch is almost necessary if using stock bed springs since it's impossible to keep level for longer than a single print. I bought these silicone spring replacements for my Ender 5 and I only need to level the bed like once a month now.
I have 3 Enders 3D printers and I’ve gone through this too. First, I switch to glass and I kept the surface clean from oils. This does make a difference. Also increasing the temp up to 70-78 and level it as close to the surface without squeezing the filament too much. I also took the springs away from the leveler and replaced them with silicone columns so I don’t have to readjust anymore. Below is the link.
BCZAMD Heatbed Silicone Leveling Column, 3D Printer Hot Bed Mounts Column Stable Tool Heat-Resistant Silicone Buffer for Prusa i3 Plus Anet A8 Wanhao D9 Mega, 4 Pack Brown https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RZKF8MB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_80VZFbSJZ5BSX?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RZKF8MB?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
It's on the bottom of the second image too, but it put white text on white which doesn't help lol.
These are the exact ones I bought: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RZKF8MB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This was for an Ender 3 Pro.
Get a set of these: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RZKF8MB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
With those you only need a tiny adjustment every 30 to 40 hours of printing.
The bullets below are what I'd strongly recommend to improve print quality and reliability. What I have below the bullets are optional, but greatly help improve "quality of life" in dealing with the printer. ;)
- These bed struts will help stabilize the hotbed when you've got a heavy print going.
- This mount will re-locate the extruder and its stepper to the top of your printer. This will allow you to considerably shorten your bowden tube, which will substantially reduce stringing. This allowed me to reduce my retraction from somewhere in the 5-6mm range down to 3.4mm.
- This replacement hotend shroud will allow for use of a 40x20 fan (stock fan is just 40x10, and a lot of these are quite loud) to cool the hotend, and has a much better part cooling nozzle setup (which uses the stock 40x10 blower).
- These silicone spring replacements are far better than the springs on the hotbed. I usually end up having to re-level my hotbed about once or twice a year instead of after every print. With these on the printer, I've never felt the need to have auto bed leveling.
- Ditch the glass and the crappy 'flexible print surface' your Ender 5 might have come with and purchase this PEI coated spring steel sheet. It'll prevent you from having to use glues, hair products, or tapes just to keep your prints adhered to your print surface. It's also not as heavy as glass, and will contribute far less to the vibration of the hotbed.
- My Ender 5 is somewhere around two years old now, and I'm still using the stock plastic extruder / single brass gear, and I've had zero issues with it. I have no idea what the gorillas in this sub are doing to their extruders to break them so quickly, but I've never had to change mine, and unless yours physically breaks, I wouldn't worry about changing it out either. I've got over 200 hours on the printer just since swapping to Klipper / Mainsail last month, and I couldn't even tell you how many hundreds of hours while it was on Octoprint, or before that using just the SD card to print...
If you end up printing a lot, you might invest in a BTT CB1+PI4B carrier. This will allow you to install and run Octoprint (or switch your printer to Klipper, as I did with my Ender 5). Octoprint or Klipper (with the Mainsail or Fluidd UI) will provide a nice web interface for you to upload .gcode your files, start/stop prints, and generally keep an eye on your printer without having to physically visit the printer (handy if you're not always in the same room with it).
In swapping to Klipper, I've also added BTT's Raspberry Pad 5 with a CM4 module, printed a nice mount for it, and completely removed the LCD the printer came with. All the functionality I needed from the original display (bed tramming, loading / unloading filament, pre-heating before I send a print to it, manually starting a print that's already stored on the Pi, etc) is all available in the KlipperScreen UI on the Raspberry Pad, so the original LCD became redundant. KlipperScreen is also a lot more performant / easier to navigate than the original LCD.
I've also replaced the control board my printer came with (a Creality v1.1.4) to an SKR Mini e3 v3. This board has TMC 2209 stepper motor drivers, which significantly reduced the noise the steppers made out of the box. With that, and installing a 40x20 hotend fan, this printer is now nearly silent while it's printing.
Just get these instead of springs. Much better. Its what I got on my Mega Pro and I think they're great.
I got really fed up with constantly leveling the bed on my Ender 5, so I replaced the springs that were installed by Creality with silicone spring replacements. Then, I got tired of nothing sticking to the glass bed (along with the garbage flexible plate) it shipped with and purchased a 235x235mm PEI coated spring steel sheet (I'd link the one I purchased, but it's apparently no longer available). After I did these two things, I've had far better luck with this printer.
I also recently replaced it's control board, but only because I wanted silent stepper drivers. it's far more quiet now that I've done this. I've also printed two modifications for the printer -- bed support struts and a extruder relocation bracket.
The former significantly reduces the flex on the hotbed (really only needed for tall / heavy prints), the latter lets you cut down the bowden tube significantly, which helps with stringing. Neither are strictly necessary, but they did effect a noticeable improvement on print quality.
I got these: (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RZKF8MB/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_7XNYH30P7HQKC5YECRF8?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1) and it really helped with keeping the bed level and I can print all day every day on my Mega until i run out of filament.
Silicone corner bits, here's a link. -> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RZKF8MB?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details
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These things are pretty awesome, I went from needing to level once a day, to once every couple of weeks.
One thing that helped my repeatability was to get rid of the stock bed springs and swap them for silicone sleeves (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RZKF8MB/) - I noticed that the bed wasn't staying in the same spot after I touched it to remove the last print - the springs weren't pushing hard enough to make it come back to the spot it started from.
I also put a coat of Magigoo (https://smile.amazon.com/Magigoo-Pen-All-One-Adhesive/dp/B01N2JGTWJ/) on as well - It's been great at 1st layer printing since then.
Get the upgraded orange springs that are stiffer or the silicone spacers like these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RZKF8MB/ they will make it less likely to lose the level.
I replaced my bed spring with silicon dampeners and I feel my bed leveling stays true much longer. Amazon Link
Change yellow springs to the silicone doughnuts. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RZKF8MB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
So there's a couple of things to unpack here. Warning, text wall incoming. :)
First - Download a bed level test print from thingiverse. I found a simple one layer flat "coin" and put one in each corner and one in the center. Print, adjust, repeat until you've got the level dialed in. You want lines to be squished together nicely. If it starts looking transparent you're too close. If you can see space between the lines you're too far away. If you haven't yet, I very strongly recommend changing your bed level springs out for silicone dampers. I haven't had to level the bed on either of my printers for months now across dozens and dozens of prints. These are the ones I bought:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RZKF8MB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Second - The nozzle knocking your print off of the bed could be several things. The print could be warping due to cooling to fast, causing the edges to curl up and the nozzle to run into it while moving around. Try lowering your print temps in 5 degree increments until you solve that. I print PLA at 190 nozzle temp and 55 bed temp, which seems to work great for me. Also make sure your printer is in a place where it won't get drafts from air vents, doors opening, etc. I keep mine in a closed room and that's really helped stabilize printing so I can focus on dialing in my settings.
You might also try pritning slower. I find that for big blocky type models I can print at max speed just fine, but for tall, narrow, or fragile models, I may have to go much slower. For small prints where detail is important I print at 20mm/sec.
There is also a setting in cura under travel called "Z Hop When Retracted." Enabling this raises the nozzle a bit when moving to avoid hitting printed parts. I also have the Z hop only over printed parts enabled and the distance set to 0.075mm. Seems to work for me, but like any setting, you'll probably have to tweak it for your specific printer and circumstances.
Third - I have found that 3D pritning is an exercise in patience and experimentation. The worst thing I did to myself when I started was changing a whole bunch of settings at once. When something went wrong, I couldn't figure out which setting I had changed that caused the problem. Be slow and methodical. It takes time, but once you've got everything dialed in and only have to make minor adjustments depending on the model you're pritning, it is very gratifying.
Last - Check out these links below for a few of the resources that I found immensely helpful while learning my way through. Youtube is my best friend, and should be yours too. Whenever I encounter an issue, I search for a "how to," watch a few videos to understand the issue, and then go back to experimenting. Rigidink's guide has also been extremely helpful in addressing very specific issues. Check them out below:
https://rigid.ink/pages/ultimate-troubleshooting-guide
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22gi4YjlTPI&list=PLIP7Dq_F9kvexgCd635rG6DuOAXv42YlO&index=7
Hope this helps at least get you pointed in the right direction.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RZKF8MB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glc_fabc_SNG0A680S2AHVJZ800SP
I have an X4, winner is these will work
Will these work out do I need a different size?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RZKF8MB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glc_fabc_SNG0A680S2AHVJZ800SP
I've never used any auto bed leveling hardware, but I've only had my printers for a few months. What I did do is replace the springs with these, which hold the bed in place FAR better than the springs (even the "upgraded" stiffer ones), and purchase this spring steel PEI sheet, as the glass and flexible plate my Ender came with sucked as far as part adhesion go (doesn't help that the center of my bed is lower than the corners). Because of my hotbed being cupped, I stuck a single square Post-It in the center, which greatly helped things. :)
I bought these and they've worked great.
Buy these, replace the bed springs ASAP
I struggled leveling my bed for almost a year. Replace those shit springs with these. I haven't had to relevel since!
I purchased some solid silicone springs that have really been fantastic. I have had minimal adjustment on my bed since then.
Silicone Columns or Springs. I only linked Creality’s springs combo but there are other brands that vary in price and shipping.