this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2023
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I see a lot of people claim they tune/calibrate their printer any time they use a new spool of filament. But does anyone actually do this? It feels like a waste of time when filament is so consistent, even between brands. I can understand doing it for specialty rolls, but for basic pla? Seems unnecessary

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Define “tune” and “calibrate”

I do somethings, yes. Specifically I print off a temperature test- either the full tower (new color/brand,) or a cut down version that’s one tier high (for something I’ve printed with before)

It’s possible that the brand changed formulations or whatever. I’ll also run a micrometer over some of the filament to check it’s thickness.

Finally, I it’s a good time to take the opportunity to give the printer a once-over looking for wear and tear, and it’s a reasonable time to refresh the lube on the z screws, etc.

But no, I certainly don’t do a full recalibration every roll. there's some things I do most every print (checking my first layer, wiping down the bed with IPA or ethanol, for example,) but then there's some things I do occasionally (re-leveling the bed, probing a fresh mesh, , and then there's only things I do when I change something (esteps, checking the belt tension.)