Assuming you all must be familiar with 3D printers, there are various parts or components to be considered that help in the successful printing of a model. The bed is one such component without which printing is incomplete, or we can say printing is not possible. If the bed causes trouble at any point, the entire printing fails. Thus special care must be taken for the bed surface, bed temperature, and bed leveling. In this post, I will largely discuss Ender 3 bed leveling issues and fix them.
Bed leveling is the most common problem faced by many Ender 3 users; hence it is discussed in much detail. Bed leveling refers to the distance between the nozzle and the print bed; if the level is not set beforehand, the nozzle will drop the filament out of alignment, and the structure of your end product will completely deteriorate.
I’ve put up some common bed leveling issues to help you identify if you are going through the same problem. Well, there is nothing much you have to do, just make some adjustments here and there, and you’re ready to launch.
Causes of Ender 3 Bed Leveling Issues
1. Nozzle scraping the print bed
Nozzle scratching over the print bed is annoying. Leveling the print is easy, especially if it’s an Ender 3, but sometimes due to some errors from your side, the print nozzle starts scraping on the bed right after the printing starts.
The first thing you can do is heat up the bed before leveling; this would easily glide the print to the desired level. If leveling still becomes difficult, you can try to tighten some loose bolts, screws, or maybe sensors so you can level the print to the right alignment.
2. Ender 3 bed wobble
This is another major problem for bad print bed leveling. If you see your print bed is loose or wobbles from any side, it could be due to poor adjustment. Usually, the print bed is secured with the help of a plate; besides, there are 4 rollers that help the bed move up and down against the horizontal plane.
The indications of a wobbled bed are clear; it will constantly move when you place your fingers on it. You will have to tighten the bolts or screws on the roller so that the print glides smoothly across the Y-axis and doesn’t wobble before printing starts.
3. Z-stopper is higher
In most cases, the bed leveling in 3D printing occurs because one corner of the plate is lifted higher than the other corners. This creates a disbalance of the rollers.
The corner I am referring to here is Z-stopper, if it is too low, the nozzle would not be able to reach the bed surface, and if it is set high, the nozzle will find it hard to reach the print surface; hence it must be fixed before printing begins.
How to Fix Issues of Ender 3 Bed Leveling?
Now that you know all the possible problems that could occur during Ender 3 bed leveling. It’s time to know the precautions as well as fixes.
1. Reduce wobbling
To avoid wobbling of your printer, you have to tighten some bolts behind the roller and follow the steps below;
- Carefully place your printer upside down so that you can see the bottom of the print bed properly.
- Using the wrench, which you get along with the printer kit, tighten the hex bolts on the right-hand side of the roller.
- As you start tightening the bolts, keep your fingers on the print and check if it’s still wobbling.
- Make sure you tighten the bolts in the back and forth movement; this will ensure proper tightening of the bolts.
2. Change bed springs
Bedsprings allow movement of the bed, but if the spring becomes extremely soft, it’s bad news for the bed as it will constantly make the print bed move. You have to replace the existing bedsprings with new ones, probably the much sturdier ones. Once you have got the new springs, you can follow the steps below;
- First, remove the rollers by rotating them in the clockwise direction.
- Remove the old springs present between the bed and the carriage.
- Insert the new springs and put the carriage back to its original position.
- Put back the rollers to their original position and tighten them with the help of the wrench.
- Now the bed should be properly leveled.
3. Fix heated bed screws
Some Ender 3 printer users complain about the bed screws on all 4 corners of the bed. Sometimes they are not attached properly to the bed, and when you try to move the rollers, these bed screws rotate along with it. Here’s how you can fix it;
- Move the corresponding roller of the problematic screw on the right side until it comes off completely.
- Then remove the springs.
- Place some nylon washer and then put a nut on top to tighten it hard.
- Now put the spring and the roller back to their original position.
- By the end of the above step, your bed should be leveled. Once the screw is fixed, I recommend doing it on the rest of the screws.
Conclusion
The Ender 3 printer seems to have a lot of issues, but these issues can be prevented with simple fixes. The best thing you can do is tighten all the bolts and screws, and the next best thing you can do is heat the printer bed to a certain degree or try changing your old springs. By applying any of these fixes, you can tackle the bed leveling issues.
