Fine-Tuning the First Layer with Bed Mesh Correction

Even after a successful automatic bed leveling (ABL), you might notice that your first layer is ever-so-slightly more "squished" on one side of the bed than the other. For perfectionists, Klipper offers a powerful tool to make micro-adjustments to the generated bed mesh.

What is Bed Mesh Correction?

Your printer's ABL system probes a grid of points on the bed and creates a digital "mesh" to compensate for any warping. The BED_MESH_CALIBRATE command in Klipper allows you to manually adjust the height of each point in this mesh for ultimate control.

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How to Use Klipper's Bed Mesh Tuner

1. Generate a Bed Mesh: First, ensure you have a saved bed mesh. Run BED_MESH_CALIBRATE followed by SAVE_CONFIG if you don't have one.
2. Start the Calibration Tool: In the console, run the command BED_MESH_CALIBRATE.
3. Start a First Layer Test Print: While the calibration tool is active, start printing a large, single-layer object (like a 200x200mm square).
4. Live-Tune the Mesh:
   • As the nozzle moves across the bed, you will see its position reflected in the bed mesh map in your web interface.
   • If you notice an area is too high (not enough squish), you can use the TESTZ Z=- command to lower the nozzle in that specific area (e.g., TESTZ Z=-0.02).
   • If an area is too low (too squished), use TESTZ Z=+ to raise it.
5. Accept and Save: Once you have tuned the mesh to your liking across the entire bed, run the ACCEPT command. Finally, run SAVE_CONFIG to make the changes permanent.

   

An image of the Klipper bed mesh visualizer in Mainsail or Fluidd, showing the grid of probed points and their relative heights.

Warning

This is an advanced technique. For most users, a standard automatic bed level is sufficient. This is for chasing that "perfect" first layer.