Find Yourself a 3D Printer - 3D Printing: Build your Own 3D Printer and Print your own 3D Objects - page 34

Print Bed Size and Leveling
All 3D printers lay down the bead of melted plastic on the print bed. This print
bed is a flat surface that helps to ensure that each layer is parallel to the floor and
that the hot end isn't printing out a lopsided object. Most 3D printers come with
a method for leveling the print bed, but not all. It's definitely helpful to be able to
level the bed (and the printer itself), especially if you get in the practice of toting
your 3D printer with you to various places. You never know where you'll be set-
ting the printer, so being able to make certain the printer and the print bed are level
to the ground is a nice benefit.
Note
If your 3D printer doesn't come with small feet for leveling, you can
easily add them. Just purchase a set from any hardware store, but be
sure to buy the kind that you can turn with your fingers to raise and
lower. Investing in a tiny level can also be helpful when fine-tuning the
printer.
Another consideration when it comes to the print bed is the bed size print area. The
Printrbot Simple, for example, is a smaller 3D printer, and it can print out only ob-
jects that would fit inside a 4" square cube—or 64 cubic inches. This might not be
a problem for someone wanting to print out custom game pieces for Monopoly, for
example, but if you're thinking you want to print out a 6” tall robot body, you'll
want to find a 3D printer that can handle the printing of larger objects or resort to
breaking that robot up into individual parts (arm, body, head) and assembling them
after printing. For example, the MakerBot Replicator 2 can print objects as large
as 410 cubic inches—that's about 11” long × 6” wide × 6” tall.
You'll find printers that can print extremely tall objects but are limited to length
and width. Likewise, you'll find printers that can print extremely wide and long
objects but don't offer much in terms of Z-axis movement (height). Again, think
about exactly what kinds of objects you want to print. If you're not sure, look for
a happy medium or just go with the inexpensive Simple to see what you can do.
By the time you find that the 4" cube printing area isn't big enough, you'll have a
better idea of what you want to create with your next 3D printer purchase. (You'll
quickly find, as many 3D printer owners have, that one 3D printer is never enough.
It's an addictive hobby; I own three 3D printers myself.)