Calibration Test for Large Prints

Calibration Check for Large Prints Thinking of printing a large model? This quick test can save you hours, ££s, or $$s! Many of us have probably printed a calibration cube before; if you print a 20 mm calibration cube and it comes out at 20.14 mm, you’d probably think that was close enough, right? On a large model spanning a few baseplates - 700 mm wide for example - that tiny difference amounts to around half a centimetre too big (or 3/16”), which would require lots of sanding, or even make it useless. The same goes the other way. Even ignoring printer calibration, the plastic you print with matters too; PLA usually prints accurately, but higher-temperature materials (and even different brands) are prone to different amounts of shrinkage when cooling. If you’re printing a vase or a fidget toy, or anything standalone it often won’t matter, but all these factors add up when printing big models, especially if they need to fit into or onto something else. When it does go wrong, you’re loo