Printable calibration plate to help diagnose and fix head alignment issues

3D printer parts and enhancements

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Attribution

Inspired by inkjet printer manual alignment processes of the 90's

Description

This plate is designed to help those with a dual head printer align the offsets between them. The intended use is:

Align as closely as you can through direct measurement.
Print a coarse alignment plate for whichever nozzle size you're using (0.5mm range).
Adjust the head offsets in your slicer based on which target lines up the best. Keep in mind that printers' axes may not always line up with the positive/negative axis on the plate, so you may need to flip the measurement the other direction.
Repeat steps 2-3 until your printer is aligned as closely as you can get using that plate.
Print a fine alignment plate for whichever nozzle size you're using (0.2mm range).
Align in the same manner as the coarse alignment.
Repeat steps 5-6 as necessary to align your heads.

I have generated and included files for various nozzle sizes (0.3mm, 0.4mm, 0.6mm) and ranges (0.5mm coarse, 0.2mm fine). The model is generated using OpenSCAD, so if your printer uses two different nozzle sizes which are not an even multiple of each other or different than what I've included, you can change it.

Also, DO NOT SCALE. Considering the marks are designed to be exactly the size of the nozzle, it will mess up the print. If you need a different size, open up a close OpenSCAD file and adjust the parameters to generate what you need.

Materials and methods

Print in a material that flows easily. Suggested material is PLA. I would not try to print this using PETG.

Also, mind your retraction settings or turn off retraction entirely. It's better to have some stringing than to mess up where the marks on the plate line up with each other.