Creality Upgraded BL Touch V3.1 Auto Bed Leveling Sensor Kit for 32 Bit V4.2.2/V4.2.7 Mainboard Ender3 V2/Ender 3/Ender 3 Pro/Ender 5/Pro

Automatic bed leveling (ABL) is a feature found in later versions of Marlin (and presumably other firmware) but it's something of a misnomer because the bed has to be level in the first place.One might consider ABL as a fine adjustment that's largely unnecessary for glass beds (which are known for being totally flat, compared to some others). I bought this one for an Ender 3 v2 which comes with a glass bed.The basic leveling has to be done manually using the bed springs which can be out a little even from new. But once a decent Z0 has been established (there are many videos on YouTube to help you) this little device will set up a "map" of the bed surface which makes micro-adjustments during the print in order to keep Z0 correctly set.The BLTouch is only one design of several (which include capacitive and inductive sensors) and is the most accurate because it relies on the actual surface of the build *surface* rather than trying to detect the built plate itself. In the case of my other printer (a TronXY Pro 2) which has an inductive bed leveling system, the system senses the metal plate just fine, but any bumps and other misalignments in the plastic/fibreglass build plate are missed.The down side of these sensors is that the probe can easily be snapped off during leveling if the bed is already too far out (or you left something on the build plate). While this is a potential issue, it's not affected me yet, and this comes with a spare probe so ... Compared to the inductive system on the TronXY Pro 2 though, this is a complete delight. When not in use, the probe is retracted well clear of the any obstacles and only drops out when it's needed to sense the bed.So what you ask? In my experience printing fairly large objects, there have been several occasions where the inductive sensor (which has to be perilously close to the Z0 of the nozzle) has caught prints in progress and knocked out of alingnment them effectively destroying the print. It only takes a large "zit" from a previous layer to do this and the results can be time consuming and costly! You can see this in the image with the heavily modified blue hotend - inductive sensor is floating around millimeter clear of where the hotend is depositing plastic.Compared to copies, the open source BLTouch is a fairly expensive addition and really could do with more detailed instructions. Me being an idiot tried attaching the wrong adapter to the head because they only apply to the Ender 3 (not the V2) although a metal bracket is supplied to fit this model.Wiring isn't difficult and it's only a case of removing a couple of screws to access the motherboard. All in all, if you do it right, you can be up and running in under half an hour.Yeah, it's a lot of money for something resembling a pharmacy syringe with an LED inside, but take it from someone who has lost at lot of prints from a poor bed adhesion and levelling issues, this thing makes life a LOT easier (and it will pay for itself in decent prints, first time)

Obviously this works but you have to be prepared for a challenge to upgrade the firmware if you have the Ender 3 v1.Actually installing the hardware side of it takes 5 minutes. the firmware thought I found a nightmare learning curve.

Easier to set the bed levelling using this tool, however does take some time to set up. Would advise watching a few YouTube videos before attempting to install. You will need to update firmware of your printer which can be a bit of a faff. The included QR code does take you to a website, but there seem to be so many files to choose from, so like in India Jones and the last crusade “ you must choose wisely”

I purchased this several months ago for use on my CR10 v2.My printer has a connector already in place for the BL touch so all I had to do was install the BL Touch on the including support bracket, screw it straight into the Z-Axis back plate and run the included extension through the braided wire tidy already carrying my PTFE tube and other wires to the hot end.It's important to realise that the purpose of this sensor is to probe your build surface at a pre-heated temperature to create a 3D mesh of your bed and adjust your entire print to compensate.After installing the sensor you will need to install modified firmware, either the official Creality one or an alternative.I personally used the TinyMachines3D firmware for the increased resolution mesh (25 probe points).The sensor is not designed to automatically adjust your bed levelling wheels and it won't compensate for massive errors due to levelling, primarily because of the lack of points and therefore resolution.You still need to learn to level manually and the probe will take care of the rest.Tips for levelling, don't use stupid templates you find online.- Confirm your Z-axis travelling square, my CR10 v2 has dual Z-axis motors and lead screws and they kept running out of sync on longer prints. I acquired two GT2 pulleys and a belt and fit them to the top of the lead screws to keep them in sync.- Acquire a decent square rule and confirm your Z-axis extruded aluminium frame is actually square to the base frame of your printer.- Learn that on each axis, at least one of the pulleys wheels is mounted with an eccentric bolt and the rotation of this/these bolts increases/decreases the pressure of the pulley wheel on the extruded aluminium T slot. Too tight and you'll destroy your pulley wheels in next to no time, too slack and you'll encounter all sorts of weird problems with layer slips and print accuracy/quality.- Invest in a cheap set of feeler gauges or plunger type dial test indicator (DTI).- Learn that most people set their nozzle to bed gap a sheet of paper thick so when their printer Z-axis is at 0mm, there's actually a gap to the bed. Typically most copy paper people use at home is 80 GSM A4 which is around 100 mic thick (0.1mm).- Finally let the sensor do the job it was intended to do instead of the job you were hoping it was going to do.

Easy to install and helps alot. One of the things I hate the most is leveling the bed so for me this is a must. Initial setup is time consuming but once done only have to fine tune. Definitely look at videos on setup it will help but I already knew how to do it. Common sense I think. It won't stop the need to level completely but it does make the whole easier. If you have mastered bedleveling and really don't mind it then maybe you don't need this. It does help when your bed warps though. My prints have definitely improved since having it.