Cool! I will try to unpack a few tidbits that can help.
TLDR - short answer:
- Type and send this command in the Console in Mainsail or Fluidd:
PROBE_CALIBRATE— it will launch and run a macro for getting a Z_Offset value. - After getting Z_Offset value, type and send this command in the Console in Mainsail or Fluidd:
SAVE_CONFIG— it will add the new Z_Offset to your printer.cfg file so it can be available for future use. I think you now need to reboot. ? - After getting and saving the Z_Offset value, run the macro to create a bed mesh, using the Auto Bed Level button, for instance, in Mainsail, scroll down to Macros, and there is a button for it.
Somewhere in the above, I think at the end of the PROBE_CALIBRATE process, the last step is to manually calibrate the Z_Offset by inserting a slip of copy paper between the nozzle and the bed, and lowering the nozzle using buttons, until it can be felt barely scraping on the paper.
A part that is not intuitive is that the new Z_Offset value, only ever gets utilized / honored by doing a bed mesh (Auto Bed Level) macro afterward! So if you do Auto Bed Level first, then Z calibrate, your new Z_Offset gets ignored, unless and until you finally do an Auto Bed Level process after.
… Now, to the “TLDR” answer I started typing, but realized it was too much!
Technically, Klipper is a firmware and it came installed on your AD5M’s main board from the factory. What you installed is a mod “for Klipper” that contains user interfaces (UI’s), config files, macros, and also (I think, if not already present) an unseen “API” communications type thing called Moonraker, and etc.
The mod does not replace the factory installed Klipper firmware, but adds UI elements that were missing because the manufacturer chose not to use them, but instead chose to provide their proprietary stuff.
The Klipper “name” also gets used for elements of the “eco system” that has sprung up around it. So, it’s certainly OK to say “I installed Klipper” instead of “the Klipper mod” and most people familiar with the situation will know what was meant.
All these UI’s mentioned below already existed before the mod was made, and they are usually installed on a Raspberry Pi or other small computing device. In the case of the AD5M Klipper Mod, these UI’s just needed to be “shoehorned” into an environment that does not have a lot of resources to spare (hence one reason why the printer is so affordable).
Two of the UI’s are always included in the Klipper mod: Mainsail and Fluidd. Both of these are browser-based UI’s — allowing remote control via a wifi-connected device. Both of these work well. I like Mainsail. Screen shots below are from Mainsail.
Two of the UI’s are not always included in the Klipper mod: Klipperscreen and Guppyscreen. These are not browser-based, but rather touchscreen based, and thus there are three choices when picking out a mod variant to install: (1) no touchscreen UI, (2) Klipperscreen, (3) Guppyscreen.
The “shoehorning” of the Klipperscreen variant was accomplished first, and later Guppyscreen was accomplished as an available choice.
Klipperscreen uses more resources, and seems to occasionally ride the line and a lockup happens. Rare, but it happens. I started with Klipperscreen and really like it, but I did have some lockups. Because of that, eventually I switched to Guppyscreen, which is more streamlined, and I have yet to see a lockup while using it.
So for anyone not familiar with Klipper (which I was in that group) the situation here was a bit confusing in two key areas, and by googling and reading I managed to get it sorted out.
When you go to do the Z offset calibrate thing, and the bed mesh thing, it’s easy to misunderstand how they are related and not related, and, as mentioned, there are at least two aspects that did not seem intuitive, and took some brief learning to get a grasp.
I’m going to make at least some reference to macros. Some have buttons included in the Mainsail UI, and for some that there is no button for it, but you can launch and run the macro by a command in the console.
Screen shot - macros that are included in the Mainsail UI:
In the Mainsail and Fluidd browser-based remote interfaces the Console can serve as a “Terminal” where you can enter commands, and some of those commands launch macros, while others invoke core code that is not a macro per se.
Screen shot - console in red, command bar in blue:
In the following screen shot, I highlighted two buttons related to loading and unloading filament.
These macros have buttons, but can also be launched via the Console using either of these commands: LOAD_FILAMENT and UNLOAD_FILAMENT — and such commands are not case sensitive.
You’ll notice there is a button for the “Auto Bed Level” macro related to creating a bed mesh, which accommodates the auto leveling feature:
(And consider that, if I remember correctly, multiple meshes can be stored and saved, but that’s beyond the current scope here.)
However, while there is a Mainsail UI button for making a mesh, there is no Mainsail UI button for doing the Z_Offset calibration macro. I think there is a Klipperscreen UI button for it, but I will explain how to launch this macro via the Console.
At this point, I should mention there’s a lot of great documentation available, and good place to read about this is here: Probe calibration - Klipper documentation
Typing and sending this command: PROBE_CALIBRATE — will launch and run a macro for getting a Z_Offset value.
(… and now, the details I gave at the start, apply here.)
I just did
- Z_offset calibration,
- bed mesh (auto bed level)
- resonance vibration calibration
I think that’s it.
Yes, I think you are onto the fact that Mainsail and Fluidd are user interfaces, while Klipper is firmware (unseen) and Moonraker is like an API for communication, and it’s also unseen.
Thank you! I hope the above helps!