Makergear M2 Dial Indicator Mount

thingiverse

This bracket is to mount a dial indicator to the Makergear M2. I own the M2 with the V4 extruder/hotend assembly. When looking for other brackets the installation either required the older M2 extruder assembly or required the removal of the entire extruder assembly. I printed the bracket with ABS but will likely work with PLA as well. I designed the cup and screw hole with a bit of extra tolerance to allow for shrinkage due to cooling. This bracket is a piece of cake to install. I think the entire process of bed leveling can now be done in a matter of a few minutes and is about as precise as a gnats behind (technical term :) ). Installation: 1) Simply remove the bottom left screw from the extruder fan (this will remove both fans). (Note: Don't lose the little washer pinched between the fan shroud) 2) Place both fans on the X axis rail to keep out of the way 3) Using the screw removed in step 1, insert the screw in the hole of the bracket with the dial indicator mount point facing toward you. 4) Screw the bracket into the hole of the extruder assembly where the fan was removed (snug the screw, no need to overtighten) (Note: the cup designed into the bracket will press fit over the head of the large screw on the extruder assembly to prevent the bracket from pivoting.) 5) Place the dial indicator lug to the right hand side of the dial indicator mount point on the bracket. 6) Insert a bolt through both the bracket and dial indicator lug holes and tighten a nut on the other side. (snug into place, no need to overtighten) That is all there is to it. Simply use the software based printer interface to run the Z-axis up such that it causes the plunger of the dial indicator to become engaged. Remember that the exact Z height location for bed leveling is not critical, its all about the four corners being level relative to one another. I heated my bed up to about 80C and then manually moved the X-axis (i.e. extruder assembly) and Y-Axis (i.e. bed) such that the dial indicator was positioned over each of the 4 corners. Find the highest corner and then adjust the other three corners to the highest point. It took me all of about 5 minutes to get my bed absolutely perfectly aligned. I then removed the dial indicator/bracket and screwed the fans to the extruder assembly (don't forget about your little washer pinched between the fan shroud). Make sure that after you adjust the bed level you don't forget to make sure your z-height is set appropriately. For the Z-height I went back to the M2 Quick Start App to get this set correctly (i.e. I skipped the bed level function of the M2 Quick Start App since it was now set perfectly from the dial indicator). Print it out and give it a try. You will never go back to using anything else when it comes to ensuring a perfectly level bed. Good Luck!! The dial indicator that I used for this was the: TÜRLEN DIAL INDICATOR 0-1" AGD SPEC 0.001" w/LUG BACKhttp://www.amazon.com/T%C3%9CRLEN-DIAL-INDICATOR-SPEC-0-001/dp/B0043F779K Print Settings Printer Brand: MakerGear Printer: M2 Rafts: No Supports: Yes Resolution: 0.2mm Infill: 20%