11/19/2020 2020 BLTouch Sensor Guide: All You Need to Know | All3DP

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A Touchy Topic

2020 BLTouch Sensor Guide: All You Need to Know

by Hussain Bhavnagarwala
May 29, 2020

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CONTENTS
To Touch or Not to Touch? What Is It?

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Different Types of Sensors: How Do They Compare? Fakes & Issues
Alternatives Where to Buy
General Setup

Learn all you need to know about BLTouch sensors: what they are, how they work, a
setup guide, and where to buy your rst BLTouch.

BLTOUCH SENSOR GUIDE

To Touch or Not to Touch?

Setting up your BLTouch is simple (Source: Creality via YouTube)

Automatic bed leveling is quite a common feature in consumer FDM 3D printers. Most machines with auto-leveling, however, use
a contactless inductive sensor which is simple to install, operate, and con gure. These inductive probes work well with a metal
build plate, but build platforms made of other common materials, such as glass, are practically invisible to inductive sensors.

Go Old School
3D Printer Bed Leveling: Easy Step-By-Step Tutorial

That might have been the way BLTouch sensors came onto your radar: If you needed to use a non-metal bed but also wanted
auto-leveling, these sensors are a great option. You also could have thought about adding one for its accuracy. After all, the
original BLTouch readings have one of the lowest standard deviations of all auto-leveling sensor types.

Without further ado, let’s break down the BLTouch probe and show you all you need to know about this contact-based auto-
leveling sensor.

B LT O U C H A U T O B E D L E V E L I N G S E N S O R

The number one choice for aftermarket mechanical bed leveling sensors -- there are a raft of licensed (and unlicensed) versions
out there, but this one directly from ANTCLABS in South Korea is the original.

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MatterHackers

Amazon

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BLTOUCH SENSOR GUIDE

What Is It?

A mounted original BLTouch sensor (Source: voltlog via Instructables)

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According to Antclabs, the original manufacturer of the probe, “BLTouch is an auto leveling sensor for 3D printers that can
precisely measure the tilt of (sic) bed surface.” This sensor works on any type of bed surface, be it metal, glass, wood, or
something else entirely.

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3D Printer Bed – How to Choose the Right Build Plate

The sensor itself is fairly complex as far as bed sensors go. It consists of a microcontroller, a solenoid switch, and a pushpin
probe which comes into contact with the bed. The original BLTouch uses a hall sensor for high accuracy, and this sensor, in
conjunction with the physical pushpin, is what allows it to be used with many bed types.

In a sense, this sensor is equivalent to a microswitch, mounted on a servo arm, controlled by a servo motor. When the tool head
lowers to “home” the nozzle in the Z-axis, the bed pushes the pushpin slightly upwards, triggering the hall sensor, at which point
the pushpin retracts and the tool head raises.

The BLTouch is one of the most accurate and reliable sensors available, so it’s no surprise that a few manufacturers such as
MakerGear and CraftBot use this device on their high-end machines.

Now that we know exactly what we’re dealing with, let’s take a look at how the BLTouch compares to two other types of sensors
out there.

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BLTOUCH SENSOR GUIDE

Different Types of Sensors: How Do

They Compare?

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An inductive probe mounted to an FDM machine (Source: zkazka123 via YouTube)

Inductive Probe
The key difference between an inductive probe and the BLTouch is that the BLTouch sensor physically touches the bed in the
leveling process. The inductive probe uses currents induced by magnetic elds to detect metal objects nearby, eliminating the
need to physically touch the bed in order to sense it.

But therein lies the problem: Inductive sensors only work on metal beds, since they’re triggering just when in contact with metal.
This might be a deal-breaker if glass is your preferred print bed material.

Microswitch (Physical End Stop)

Let’s not discount the old-fashioned physical microswitch. Compared to the BLTouch, this option is less accurate and possibly
less reliable in the long term, since the sensing depends on physical components which can wear over time (at least for the
physical switches found on most FDM machines).

However, these physical switches give the other fancier sensors a run for their money when it comes to the cost and ease of
con guration. Since physical switches are the simplest and earliest form of Z-homing sensors, they’re easy to obtain and trivial
to set up.

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BLTOUCH SENSOR GUIDE

Alternatives

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Inductive bed leveling sensors are a new norm (Source: Simplify3D)

Pinda Probe 
The Pinda probe, developed by Prusa Research, is an inductive probe with the addition of a thermistor to account for variations in
the bed temperature. The Pinda probe is speci cally designed for the Prusa range of 3D printers, which are designed with special
calibration points on the bed to help with leveling and skew correction.

The probe is said to be highly accurate for 3D printers, and though we couldn’t nd any numbers, the reviews seem positive. This
leads us to believe that this may be a good solution as well, at least if you have a metal bed.

Ezabl Pro
The Ezabl Pro is a custom manufactured capacitive sensor. It comes with a connector board that uses an optical isolator to
prevent any high voltage damage to your mainboard in case of wiring mistakes.

With regards to precision, it’s been able to measure within a range of a thousandth of a millimeter, which is what 3D printers
need. The Ezabl Pro also comes with helpful features like dual shielding, which prevents any interference with other signals.

The main downside with the Ezabl Pro would be the cost, which is about $65. On the bright side, it’ll work on glass beds.

Piezo Sensor
A Piezo sensor makes use of the Piezo-electric effect to capture changes in force, pressure, or strain, and convert these changes
into electrical charge. Precision Piezo, a company in UK, is one of the few companies making Piezo sensors for 3D printers. It
has been said that these have close to 7-micron accuracy, which is quite precise for a 3D printer.

The advantage of the Piezo sensor is that the nozzle itself can be used as the sensing device, with no additional components
needing to be mounted. Also, the Piezo sensor can be placed on the print head or below the print bed to sense the pressure. As
far as price is concerned, it’s pretty much equivalent to the BLTouch.

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BLTOUCH SENSOR GUIDE

General Setup

Adding G29 to start G-code (Source: Hussain Bhavnagarwala via All3DP)

Before you get started with modifying your machine for the BLTouch, you’ll need to plan for the following:

Mounting the Probe

The BLTouch probe will need to be mounted as close to the print head as possible. You can nd many designs available for you
to download directly, or if you’re in the mood to design one on your own, make sure to read the BLTouch documentation to get the
correct measurements.

Some users run into an issue where the nozzle digs into the bed on one side and print perfectly on the other. The reason that this
happens is because the BLTouch is mounted at an angle with respect to the nozzle. So, when designing and mounting your
hardware, make sure to have the BLTouch mounted perfectly square and aligned with the nozzle.

Once you’ve mounted the probe, make sure to note the distance between the probe of the BLTouch and the center of the nozzle in
both the X and Y direction.

Con guring Firmware

To get the BLTouch up and running, the printer’s rmware will need to be modi ed in a few places.

We used the latest Marlin 1.1.9 rmware, which was updated in March 2020. Enter the marlin.ino le and navigate to the
con guration.h tab.

The rst step is to activate the BLTouch sensor by de ning it. Remove the two forward slashes to uncomment the “de ne”
statement:

#define BLTOUCH

The next step is to set the offset of the BLTouch using the X and Y distances you should have measured while mounting the
probe. The Z offset can be a bit tricky, as the probe of the BLTouch extends below the nozzle when activated, so you’ll need to
nd the distance between the probe and the tip of the nozzle when the probe is fully extended.

Also, since the probe goes below the nozzle, the offset needs to be negative. We recommend setting it to about -2.5 for safety
and then adjusting from there. You’ll want to change the values of the following lines to match your numbers:

#define X_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER 30 // X offset: -left +right [of the nozzle]

#define Y_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER 20 // Y offset: -front +behind

#define Z_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER -2.5 // Z offset: -below +above

Once you’re done with the offset, you’ll need to choose the type of bed leveling you want. There are about ve different types of
leveling methods that you can choose from, but we’ll using the Bilinear method since it’s easy to get started with.

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To choose an option, uncomment it by removing the slashes. Note that only one option can be left uncommented. Your code
should look something like this:

//#define AUTO_BED_LEVELING_3POINT

//#define AUTO_BED_LEVELING_LINEAR

#define AUTO_BED_LEVELING_BILINEAR

//#define AUTO_BED_LEVELING_UBL

//#define MESH_BED_LEVELING

You can also set the number of grid points you would like to probe. By default, it’s set to 9 points, which makes a 3 by 3 grid along
the X- and Y-axis. The number of points can be increased for more accurate results, but keep in mind that the probing time will
also increase as more are added.

#if ENABLED(AUTO_BED_LEVELING_LINEAR) || ENABLED(AUTO_BED_LEVELING_BILINEAR)

// Set the number of grid points per dimension.

#define GRID_MAX_POINTS_X 3

#define GRID_MAX_POINTS_Y GRID_MAX_POINTS_X

For More
How to Set Up Marlin for Auto Bed Leveling

Testing
Once the rmware settings are dialed in, you’ll need to check if the BLTouch is working as intended by running a basic test. Once
that’s completed, you can get started with adjusting your Z offset. There’s a great video by 3DMakerNoob that takes you through
the entire process step-by-step.

Con guring the Slicer

Make sure to add a G29 command in your start G-code, right after the G28 command, as shown above.

Don't Miss
2020 Best 3D Printer Slicer Software (Fall Update)

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BLTOUCH SENSOR GUIDE

Fakes & Issues

Spot the original BLTouch (Source: Amazon)

Spotting Fakes
The makers of the original BlTouch at Antclabs have mentioned that original sensors come with a QR code embedded in the PCB
on the back side. Also, it’s known that other Chinese manufacturers, called TL Touch and 3D Touch, have made lower quality
products, which results in poor customer experience. When buying online, make sure to purchase from one of the authorized
resellers, as published by Antclabs.

Problems with BLTouch 3.0

The recent version of the BLTouch V3 has been having problems with Creality printers, where it wasn’t working as intended.
Developers of the Marlin rmware have worked closely with Antclabs and determined that certain modi cations to the rmware
need to be made.

A great tutorial video on xes for this issue was made by Teaching Tech. After making the changes, many users have nally had
the issue sorted out.

Disadvantages of the BLTouch

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While the BLTouch is an extremely accurate leveling sensor, there are a few disadvantages to it as well.

When using the BLTouch, it’s important to keep the surface of the bed free of any debris. The mechanical probe senses the
surface of the bed, and any damage or debris on the surface will result in inaccurate readings.

The BLTouch has also been said to suffer from interference from the current in the hot end heater wires. This interference leads
to improper functioning of the BLTouch. Marlin rmware has a speci c line of code to help you turn off heaters while the sensor
probes the bed. To activate it, nd and uncomment the following:

#define PROBING_HEATERS_OFF

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BLTOUCH SENSOR GUIDE

Where to Buy

PRO

Get it 3D printed for the best price using our 3D printing service marketpla… Learn More

The MatterHackers Orbit BLTouch sensor mounted on a Pulse 3D printer (Source: MatterHackers)

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The BLTouch sensor can be purchased from the vendors below.

B LT O U C H A U T O B E D L E V E L I N G S E N S O R

The number one choice for aftermarket mechanical bed leveling sensors -- there are a raft of licensed (and unlicensed) versions
out there, but this one directly from ANTCLABS in South Korea is the original.

Check price at COMMISSIONS EARNED

Creality3D Official Store

MatterHackers

Amazon

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