It would be great if the Form1 had a bubble level and leveling legs you could adjust so you could make sure you have it as level as possible.
Right now I have mine on a desk which is study but with a bit of sag and the floor wood floor in my place seems less than perfectly flat and level. I’ve moved my printer around a few times trying to find the best spot for it and each time I have to eyeball the level. I’ve tried bubble levels on top of it but even when that reads level it seems like the resin tank is not. I end up eyeballing it based on how the resin looks in the tank. Seems a bit less than ideal. Also I end up stacking coins under the feet which is really not stable but I’m finding that the current position on my desk I need one end raised1/4-1/2 inch to be level.
It doesn’t seem like the orange top is level enough with the resin tank to level the printer. Or maybe the resin tank is not always level and a bad way to check the level?
If there was a bubble level in an easily viewable place and adjustable legs it would make leveling the form1 so much easier and more accurate than stuffing paper or coins under the feet.
Maybe a premium version of the form 1 could have an auto leveling feature where the adjustable legs had motors and the form 1 could auto level it self. Based on my current work space situation I might have opted for such a feature.
Or for the existing form 1 a matching leveling table/platform would be great.
Don’t worry about it. The Form 1 doesn’t have to be perfectly level to work properly.
I get that it doesn’t need to be perfectly level but it does need to be a bit level.
My first and I think most simple suggestion would be to have adjustable feet/legs. A very simple screw in foot that you spin to level would work wonders for me. I may try adding them my self but it would be great if they were just part of the package.
The 2nd simple addition would be to add a super simple bubble level somewhere easy to see. I think somewhere near the resin tank beside the upright for the print platform would be nice. There seems to be a bit of open space on either side. If added it would also would be nice if formlabs would check that the bubble level was pretty close to what level should be for the resin tank before shipping each printer.
It actually seems like it would not be to hard to modify the printer to add these two things but it would be much nicer if they shipped this way.
I currently level my printer by looking at the resin in the tank and shoving quarters under the feet but it is pretty viscus and reacts slowly. I’ve found a couple of times I over compensated and had to remove or add quarters when I look back at the tank a few minutes later. I currently have 4 quarters under one foot, three under another and two under a third. Yep my desk is a bit wonky. Adjustable feet would rock and adding a bubble level would help rely less on the slow moving and slightly hard to be sure of resin. And again I know it does not need to be perfectly level but having it as level as possible couldn’t hurt anything right?
I also had this issue. my desk and apparently even my room are totally caddywompus. This was absolutely the most difficult and frustrating part of my first print. If the Form One needs to be level, using quarters or bits of paper shouldn’t be the solution. I don’t think we need an on board bubble level, but these feet would be extremely helpful!
I still think a simple bubble level would be very useful. Even cheap tripods have them. My guess is it would add a few dollars at most to the printer and be super useful once leveling feet are added. Other wise how are you going to know if the printer is level? Watching the resin is not very good since it’s pretty thick and takes a while to react. Also It seems like opaque resins will stick to the side blocking the view of the resin surface edge making it even harder/slower to tell if things are level. A small bubble level placed near the resin tank or the upright print platform support would go a long way to speeding up semi accurate leveling.
I think at some point soon I’m going to build a small leveling platform to put the printer on. A piece of wood with a bubble level and leveling feet. Still it would be better if the printer had all of this built in.
The reason tripods have built in levels is the portability factor. You have to constantly re-level them during use. I don’t expect many people are using the Form One on the go. For most users this is a set it and forget it machine. Building in levels would add clutter with little benefit.
Adjustable feet would have little impact on cost or appearance, while simplifying setup. Hopefully the next generation will see this improvement. However I’m with you in having to build a platForm One.
How much clutter does a little bubble level add? I would think the bubble level to just show the little bubble part through a small hole in the top of the metal under the orange cover area. Just drill/add a small hole and mount the bubble level from below. Seems like this would add very little clutter.
If it wasn’t such a pain to level my form1 with my current leveling system (quarters) I would move it around a fair amount. Not that I would be taking it out of my apartment much (but I plan on this from time to time) but I do tend to have limited space in my cluttered work area and would love to be able to slide it around or move it to a different spot in the apartment from time to time and quickly level it.
So for me both the tiny little bubble level and leveling feet would be great.
What I really want is an auto leveling system and a printer that can sort it self out like this little guy.
