Lego 3D Printer Bed Leveler

One of the most important thing to have in 3D printing is a leveled bed. The bed of a 3D printer is the surface the printer prints on. Without a leveled bed there could be many problems. If the bed is too far from the nozzle, (Where the plastic filament comes out of) the plastic won't stick to the bed and result in the whole print failing. If the bed it too close to the nozzle, the filament won't be able to come out smoothly or might not come out at all.

To solve this problem I made a Lego bed leveler. I usually make my projects with a 3D printer, but that wouldn't make sense because you need a leveled bed in order to print. On the other hand, Lego bricks are really precise and are very common in most homes. The hardest part was trying to compact and use the least amount of bricks.

In this instructable I'll include the mechanism as well as a DEMO video at the end.

The leveler will probably only work on the Ender 3. Luckily that's one of the most common 3d printers on the market.

You will need. . .

• Lego bricks
• small rubber band (Loom band)
• 3D printer (To level)

(Top of photo 1)

First, grab two 5x1 beams, two stud pegs, and two 1'' axles with studs. Place the stud sides of the axles and pegs into one of the beams. Then, place the other beam on top of them and the pegs should lock it in place. Make sure the center hole is open. It should look like the second photo. (A)

(Middle of photo 1)

Grab two 1x1x2 bricks with axle holes, one 1x7 beam, and two 2.5'' axles with flat heads. Place the two axles through the beam and then connect the bricks onto the end of the axles. It should look like the third photo. (B)

(bottom of photo 1)

Finally, grab a beam with two axle holes and one peg hole, one friction peg, and one peg joiner. Place the peg inside the middle hole in the beam. Then, place the peg joiner onto the end of the peg. It should look like picture four. (C)

Now, place C on top of A, then place it all on top of B. It should look like picture five.

(photo 1)

Grab four 3m friction pegs, two 1x3 beams, two friction pegs, and one 1x9 beam. Place the 3m friction pegs into either sides of the 1x3 beams. Leave the center open and place the friction pegs into the 1x9 beam. It should look like picture 2. (A)

(photo 3)

Grab A, two 3m friction pegs, one 1x2 beam, and one 1x13 beam. Place the 1x13 beam on top of A. Now, place the two 3m friction pegs into the holes of the 1x2 beam. Turn the 1x2 beam sideways and use it to connect the 1x13 beam to A. It should took the picture 4.

(photo 1)

Grab a 1.75'' axle with a stop, two m3 friction pegs, one T beam, two friction pegs, and one 1x3 beam. Place the m3 friction pegs into either side of the T beam. Then, place the long side of the axle into the the bottom middle hole of the T beam. Now, place the top two friction pegs into the top two holes of the T beam. Lastly, place the 1x3 beam onto the friction pegs. It should look like picture two. (A)

(photo 3)

Now, grab A, the connector from step one, the frame from step two, a 1x7 beam, and two 2x2 slabs with peg holes. First, place the connector onto the pegs of the frame. Now, thread the axle from A through the top 5th hole on the frame. Place the 1x7 beam onto the pegs of A and it should secure everything together. Finally, place the slabs on both sides of the frame. It should look like picture four.

Grab an 8 toothed gear and slide it onto the axle on the frame. It should look like picture 1.

Now, grab a 40 toothed gear, a 1'' axle, and an axle fastener. Place the axle through the top hole of the frame. Place the 40 toothed gear on the front and the axle fastener on the back. It should look like picture 2.

(Photo 1)

First, grab a 1x1 smooth slab, one 1x1 vertical tooth, two 1x1 bricks with a peg hole, two 1x2 curved slopes, two 1x3 slabs, and one 1x2 slab. First, place the 1x1 smooth slab on top of the tooth. place that on top of a 1x1 brick and make sure the hole is facing down. Place it all on top of a 1x3 slab and put both of the 1x2 curved slopes on either side. Place the other 1x3 slab and the 1x2 slab on the bottom of the build. Finally place it all on top of the 1x1 brick. It should look like picture two.

For this step grab a 1x1 tooth, an angle connector, one 1.25'' axle, and an angle connector with an axle hole. Place the tooth onto the angle connector and stick the axle into the other side of the angle connector. Place the other angle connector onto the other end of the axle.

(photo 1)

Grab an angle connector with an axle hole, two 5/8'' axles, two 180 angle connectors, two stud pegs, a 1 7/8'' axle, and one flat gear. First, place a 5/8'' axle into the angle connector. Then, place that into a 180 angle connector. Put another 5/8'' axle into the other end of the 180 angle connector. Now, put the 1 7/8'' axle into the other side of the 180 angle connector. Place both of the stud pegs into either one of the peg holes. Finally, place the flat gear onto the studs on the pegs. It should look like picture two.

Whew! Those were some confusing steps, now it's time to put it all together.

(Photo 1)

For this step you'll need all the pieces from the previous steps, three friction pegs, a cone, a half axle fastener, and one rubber band. First, put two pegs into the beam protruding from the frame. It should look like picture two.

Now, place the aligner onto the pegs. Place the half axle fastener onto the axle with the 8 toothed gear, and then place the pointer onto the axle. Don't worry about the position of the gears I'll explain it all in the next step. It should look like picture three.

Place the vertical gear into the slots on the frame. Now, place the cone onto the axle on the vertical gear. Don't put it on all the way, it should be on about 1/2 of the way. It should look like picture four.

Place the last friction peg into the bottom hole of the 2x2 slab. Then, place the rubber band into the grooves of the peg. It should look like picture five.

Finally, place the other end of the rubber band onto the angle connector on the vertical gear. It should look like picture six.

The final build should look like picture seven.

Having the correct gear alignment is super important. Using the photo, turn the gears into the correct position. You may have to remove the gears and put them on correctly.

1. The axle on the vertical gear touches the printer bed and moves up or down depending on how level the bed is. The rubber band pulls the vertical gear down to the bed so it's always level with the bed.

2. The flat gear then turns the 40 toothed gear.

3. The 40 toothed gear then turns the 8 toothed gear. Having this big to small gear makes the gear ratio 5/1. That means for every one turn of the big gear, the small gear turns five times. This helps the leveler be much more precise.

4. The aligner then uses the pointer to see how level the bed is.

First, connect the leveler to your 3D printer using the to clamps in the back. Next, use the pointer to see how level the bed is. If the pointer is too low, bring the bed up higher. If it's too high, bring the bed down lower.