Level for 3D Printer

My grandson recently acquired a 3D printer. He needed a way to roughly level the bed, so he purchased an inexpensive bull's eye level.

The bed gets hot enough to damage the inexpensive plastic level. He asked me to help make a holder for it such that it could be used while the bed is hot. Waiting for the bed to cool, then leveling, then waiting for the bed to warm up again would (understandably) try his patience. My first thought was to use a piece of aluminum round bar and make a recess on the top to hold the level. After further consideration, I figured it would not be good to have a large area of contact with the bed since it would likely make a cold spot. So, I thought I would make a recess on the bottom as well. Then, I figured that 3 small-ish legs would be even less of a heat sink.

Here are pictures of the level on the holder, and the top and bottom ends of the holder.

Attachment 45172 Attachment 45173 Attachment 45174


I used the mini lathe to make the recesses in the top and bottom. I also knurled the outside on the lathe. I drilled a hole in the center to fixture the piece on my rotary table and used the mini mill to cut the legs. (The brass in the center plugs the fixturing hole.)

Here are some pictures of the level and holder in use.

Attachment 45175 Attachment 45176 Attachment 45177


All in all, a fun family afternoon in the shop.

A bulls-eye level works just about as good as anything to set the bed on a 3D printer. Most of them are made of plastic and this is a nice way to keep it from melting.

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Thanks dgbreggin! We've added your 3D Printer Level to our Measuring and Marking category,
as well as to your builder page: dgbreggin's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-3d-printer-level"> <img src="/uploads/258709/homemade-3d-printer-level.jpeg"/> </a> </div> </div> <div class="head pngfix"></div> <div class="left pngfix"></div> <div class="right pngfix"></div> <div class="blockover b1 pngfix"> <div class="title"> <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-3d-printer-level">3D Printer Level</a> <span> by <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/builder/dgbreggin">dgbreggin</a></span> </div> <div class="tags">tags: <a href='https://www.homemadetools.net/tag/level'>level</a>, <a href='https://www.homemadetools.net/tag/3d-printing'>3D printing</a> </div> </div> </div> </div>
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