PA Calibration Pattern

Use this form to generate G-code that you can use to calibrate your Pressure Advance factor. Default values apply to standard PLA with a 0.4mm nozzle.

Press the Generate G-code button followed by Download as file to save the result.

Settings			G-code
Printer:
Printer:
Filament:
Filament Diameter:		Diameter of the used filament (mm)
Nozzle Diameter:		Diameter of the nozzle (mm)
Nozzle Temperature:		Nozzle Temperature (°C)
Bed Temperature:		Bed Temperature (°C)
Retraction Distance:		Retraction distance (mm)
Layer Height:		Layer Height (mm)
Extruder:		Extruder Index (0 to ?)
Fan Speed:		Fan Speed (%)
Print Bed:
Bed Shape:	Rectangular Round	Rectangular or round bed. Round beds will activate Origin Bed Center
Bed Size X:		Size (mm) of the bed in X
Bed Size Y:		Size (mm) of the bed in Y
Origin Bed Center:		Set the origin position (X0 Y0) to bed center instead of front-left corner
Speed:
Use mm/s:		Use mm/s instead of mm/m
Slow Printing Speed:		Slow printing speed
Fast Printing Speed:		Fast printing speed. This should differ noticeably from Slow Speed
Movement Speed:		Movement speed
Retract Speed:		Retract Speed of the extruder
Unretract Speed:		Unretract Speed of the extruder
Acceleration:		Set printing acceleration (mm/s^2)
Jerk X:		Set the Jerk for the X-axis. -1 to use firmware default
Jerk Y:		Set the Jerk for the Y-axis. -1 to use firmware default
Jerk Z:		Set the Jerk for the Z-axis. -1 to use firmware default
Jerk E:		Set the Jerk for the Extruder. -1 to use firmware default
Pattern:
Lin Advance Version:	1.0 1.5	Select version 1.0 for Marlin 1.1.8 and earlier. Select 1.5 for Marlin 1.1.9 / 2.0 and up
Pattern Type:	Standard Alternate	Select standard or alternate pattern
Starting Value for K:		Starting value for the Pressure Advance
Ending Value for K:		Ending value of the Pressure Advance
Pressure Advance Stepping:		Stepping of the Pressure Advance in the test pattern. Needs to be an exact divisor of the Pressure Advance Range (End – Start)
Slow Speed Length:		Length of the Slow Speed test-line (mm)
Fast Speed Length:		Length of the Fast Speed test-line (mm)
Test Line Spacing:		Distance between the test lines. This will impact print size
Print Anchor Frame:		Adds a frame around the start and end points of the test lines. May improve adhesion
Printing Direction:	Left to Right (0°) 45° Front to Back (90°) 135° Right to Left (180°) 225° Back to Front (270°) 315°	Rotates the print in 45° steps
Line Numbering:		Prints the K-value besides every second test line
Advanced:
Nozzle Line Ratio:		Ratio between extruded line width and nozzle diameter. Should be between 1.05 and 1.2
Z-Offset:		Offset the Z-axis for manual Layer adjustment
Use Bed Leveling:	No Level bed (G29) Leveling ON Load UBL mesh 0 Load UBL mesh 1 Load UBL mesh 2 Load UBL mesh 3	Level bed or load a saved mesh (i.e. for UBL) before printing. Bed leveling has to be activated in Configuration.h! Loading a mesh requires UBL to be activated!
Use FW Retract		Use Firmware Retract. Needs to be activated in Marlin
Extrusion Multiplier:		Usually 1.0
Prime Nozzle:		Prime the nozzle before starting the test pattern
Prime Extrusion Multiplier:		The default of 2.5 results in roughly 1mm of filament for 10mm line length
Prime Printing Speed:		Speed of the prime move
Dwell Time:		Inserts a pause of x seconds before starting the test pattern to bleed off any residual nozzle pressure
Filename:	warning warning warning

Notes on the settings:

• Fast Printing Speed and Slow Printing Speed should be significantly different or the Pressure Advance effect will barely be visible.
• Use Bed Leveling requires a probe.
• For round beds the option Origin Bed Center is automatically activated.
• The overall width (X-direction) of the print depends on the Fast Speed Length and Slow Speed Length settings plus 5mm for the priming line. The length (Y-direction) depends on the Pressure Advance Settings and Line Spacing.
• The script checks to make sure the print fits on the bed. Verify it using a host software like Printrun or Repetier Host.
• Start and End Value for the Pressure Advance determines the range that the test pattern will cover. For example a Start Value of 50 and an End Value of 150 will test a range of 100.
• The Pressure Advance Stepping determines how many test lines are printed for the above range. For example, a Stepping of 10 and a range of 100 results in 10 test lines. A stepping of 3 would not work in this example as 100 cannot be exactly divided by 3. The script will throw an error message if an exact division is not possible. In this case either the range or the stepping needs to be adjusted.
• The Alternate Pattern has a second line of Fast Printing Speed to test 0 to Fast Printing Speed and back to 0 conditions. Best used with an increased Test Line Spacing and reduced Pressure Advance range.
• The proper Pressure Advance depends on the filament, nozzle size, nozzle geometry and printing temperature. If any of these values change, the calibration might need to be repeated.

Screen-shots

The following screen-shots show some examples of the test patterns

• Blue Lines are Slow Printing Speeds
• Red Lines are Fast Printing Speed
• Light blue lines are movements

Standard Pattern

Alternate Pattern with increased Test Line Spacing

Standard Pattern with Frame

45° rotated Alternate Pattern