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Bed Mesh

The Bed Mesh module may be used to compensate for bed surface irregularities to achieve a better first layer across the entire bed. It should be noted that software based correction will not achieve perfect results, it can only approximate the shape of the bed. Bed Mesh also cannot compensate for mechanical and electrical issues. If an axis is skewed or a probe is not accurate then the bed_mesh module will not receive accurate results from the probing process.

Prior to Mesh Calibration you will need to be sure that your Probe's Z-Offset is calibrated. If using an endstop for Z homing it will need to be calibrated as well. See Probe Calibrate and Z_ENDSTOP_CALIBRATE in Manual Level for more information.

Basic Configuration

Rectangular Beds

This example assumes a printer with a 250 mm x 220 mm rectangular bed and a probe with an x-offset of 24 mm and y-offset of 5 mm.

[bed_mesh]
speed: 120
horizontal_move_z: 5
mesh_min: 35, 6
mesh_max: 240, 198
probe_count: 5, 3
  • speed: 120
    Default Value: 50
    The speed in which the tool moves between points.
  • horizontal_move_z: 5
    Default Value: 5
    The Z coordinate the probe rises to prior to traveling between points.
  • mesh_min: 35, 6
    Required
    The first probed coordinate, nearest to the origin. This coordinate is relative to the probe's location.
  • mesh_max: 240, 198
    Required
    The probed coordinate farthest from the origin. This is not necessarily the last point probed, as the probing process occurs in a zig-zag fashion. As with mesh_min, this coordinate is relative to the probe's location.
  • probe_count: 5, 3
    Default Value: 3, 3
    The number of points to probe on each axis, specified as X, Y integer values. In this example 5 points will be probed along the X axis, with 3 points along the Y axis, for a total of 15 probed points. Note that if you wanted a square grid, for example 3x3, this could be specified as a single integer value that is used for both axes, ie probe_count: 3. Note that a mesh requires a minimum probe_count of 3 along each axis.

The illustration below demonstrates how the mesh_min, mesh_max, and probe_count options are used to generate probe points. The arrows indicate the direction of the probing procedure, beginning at mesh_min. For reference, when the probe is at mesh_min the nozzle will be at (11, 1), and when the probe is at mesh_max, the nozzle will be at (206, 193).

bedmesh_rect_basic

Round beds

This example assumes a printer equipped with a round bed radius of 100mm. We will use the same probe offsets as the rectangular example, 24 mm on X and 5 mm on Y.

[bed_mesh]
speed: 120
horizontal_move_z: 5
mesh_radius: 75
mesh_origin: 0, 0
round_probe_count: 5
  • mesh_radius: 75
    Required
    The radius of the probed mesh in mm, relative to the mesh_origin. Note that the probe's offsets limit the size of the mesh radius. In this example, a radius larger than 76 would move the tool beyond the range of the printer.
  • mesh_origin: 0, 0
    Default Value: 0, 0
    The center point of the mesh. This coordinate is relative to the probe's location. While the default is 0, 0, it may be useful to adjust the origin in an effort to probe a larger portion of the bed. See the illustration below.
  • round_probe_count: 5
    Default Value: 5
    This is an integer value that defines the maximum number of probed points along the X and Y axes. By "maximum", we mean the number of points probed along the mesh origin. This value must be an odd number, as it is required that the center of the mesh is probed.

The illustration below shows how the probed points are generated. As you can see, setting the mesh_origin to (-10, 0) allows us to specify a larger mesh radius of 85.

bedmesh_round_basic

Advanced Configuration

Below the more advanced configuration options are explained in detail. Each example will build upon the basic rectangular bed configuration shown above. Each of the advanced options apply to round beds in the same manner.

Mesh Interpolation

While its possible to sample the probed matrix directly using simple bi-linear interpolation to determine the Z-Values between probed points, it is often useful to interpolate extra points using more advanced interpolation algorithms to increase mesh density. These algorithms add curvature to the mesh, attempting to simulate the material properties of the bed. Bed Mesh offers lagrange and bicubic interpolation to accomplish this.

[bed_mesh]
speed: 120
horizontal_move_z: 5
mesh_min: 35, 6
mesh_max: 240, 198
probe_count: 5, 3
mesh_pps: 2, 3
algorithm: bicubic
bicubic_tension: 0.2
  • mesh_pps: 2, 3
    Default Value: 2, 2
    The mesh_pps option is shorthand for Mesh Points Per Segment. This option specifies how many points to interpolate for each segment along the X and Y axes. Consider a 'segment' to be the space between each probed point. Like probe_count, mesh_pps is specified as an X, Y integer pair, and also may be specified a single integer that is applied to both axes. In this example there are 4 segments along the X axis and 2 segments along the Y axis. This evaluates to 8 interpolated points along X, 6 interpolated points along Y, which results in a 13x9 mesh. Note that if mesh_pps is set to 0 then mesh interpolation is disabled and the probed matrix will be sampled directly.
  • algorithm: lagrange
    Default Value: lagrange
    The algorithm used to interpolate the mesh. May be lagrange or bicubic. Lagrange interpolation is capped at 6 probed points as oscillation tends to occur with a larger number of samples. Bicubic interpolation requires a minimum of 4 probed points along each axis, if less than 4 points are specified then lagrange sampling is forced. If mesh_pps is set to 0 then this value is ignored as no mesh interpolation is done.
  • bicubic_tension: 0.2
    Default Value: 0.2
    If the algorithm option is set to bicubic it is possible to specify the tension value. The higher the tension the more slope is interpolated. Be careful when adjusting this, as higher values also create more overshoot, which will result in interpolated values higher or lower than your probed points.

The illustration below shows how the options above are used to generate an interpolated mesh.

bedmesh_interpolated

Move Splitting

Bed Mesh works by intercepting gcode move commands and applying a transform to their Z coordinate. Long moves must be split into smaller moves to correctly follow the shape of the bed. The options below control the splitting behavior.

[bed_mesh]
speed: 120
horizontal_move_z: 5
mesh_min: 35, 6
mesh_max: 240, 198
probe_count: 5, 3
move_check_distance: 5
split_delta_z: .025
  • move_check_distance: 5
    Default Value: 5
    The minimum distance to check for the desired change in Z before performing a split. In this example, a move longer than 5mm will be traversed by the algorithm. Each 5mm a mesh Z lookup will occur, comparing it with the Z value of the previous move. If the delta meets the threshold set by split_delta_z, the move will be split and traversal will continue. This process repeats until the end of the move is reached, where a final adjustment will be applied. Moves shorter than the move_check_distance have the correct Z adjustment applied directly to the move without traversal or splitting.
  • split_delta_z: .025
    Default Value: .025
    As mentioned above, this is the minimum deviation required to trigger a move split. In this example, any Z value with a deviation +/- .025mm will trigger a split.

Generally the default values for these options are sufficient, in fact the default value of 5mm for the move_check_distance may be overkill. However an advanced user may wish to experiment with these options in an effort to squeeze out the optimal first layer.

Mesh Fade

When "fade" is enabled Z adjustment is phased out over a distance defined by the configuration. This is accomplished by applying small adjustments to the layer height, either increasing or decreasing depending on the shape of the bed. When fade has completed, Z adjustment is no longer applied, allowing the top of the print to be flat rather than mirror the shape of the bed. Fade also may have some undesirable traits, if you fade too quickly it can result in visible artifacts on the print. Also, if your bed is significantly warped, fade can shrink or stretch the Z height of the print. As such, fade is disabled by default.

[bed_mesh]
speed: 120
horizontal_move_z: 5
mesh_min: 35, 6
mesh_max: 240, 198
probe_count: 5, 3
fade_start: 1
fade_end: 10
fade_target: 0
  • fade_start: 1
    Default Value: 1
    The Z height in which to start phasing out adjustment. It is a good idea to get a few layers down before starting the fade process.
  • fade_end: 10
    Default Value: 0
    The Z height in which fade should complete. If this value is lower than fade_start then fade is disabled. This value may be adjusted depending on how warped the print surface is. A significantly warped surface should fade out over a longer distance. A near flat surface may be able to reduce this value to phase out more quickly. 10mm is a sane value to begin with if using the default value of 1 for fade_start.
  • fade_target: 0
    Default Value: The average Z value of the mesh
    The fade_target can be thought of as an additional Z offset applied to the entire bed after fade completes. Generally speaking we would like this value to be 0, however there are circumstances where it should not be. For example, lets assume your homing position on the bed is an outlier, its .2 mm lower than the average probed height of the bed. If the fade_target is 0, fade will shrink the print by an average of .2 mm across the bed. By setting the fade_target to .2, the homed area will expand by .2 mm, however, the rest of the bed will be accurately sized. Generally its a good idea to leave fade_target out of the configuration so the average height of the mesh is used, however it may be desirable to manually adjust the fade target if one wants to print on a specific portion of the bed.

Configuring the zero reference position

Many probes are susceptible to "drift", ie: inaccuracies in probing introduced by heat or interference. This can make calculating the probe's z-offset challenging, particularly at different bed temperatures. As such, some printers use an endstop for homing the Z axis and a probe for calibrating the mesh. In this configuration it is possible offset the mesh so that the (X, Y) reference position applies zero adjustment. The reference postion should be the location on the bed where a Z_ENDSTOP_CALIBRATE paper test is performed. The bed_mesh module provides the zero_reference_position option for specifying this coordinate:

[bed_mesh]
speed: 120
horizontal_move_z: 5
mesh_min: 35, 6
mesh_max: 240, 198
zero_reference_position: 125, 110
probe_count: 5, 3
  • zero_reference_position:
    Default Value: None (disabled)
    The zero_reference_position expects an (X, Y) coordinate matching that of the reference position described above. If the coordinate lies within the mesh then the mesh will be offset so the reference position applies zero adjustment. If the coordinate lies outside of the mesh then the coordinate will be probed after calibration, with the resulting z-value used as the z-offset. Note that this coordinate must NOT be in a location specified as a faulty_region if a probe is necessary.

The deprecated relative_reference_index

Existing configurations using the relative_reference_index option must be updated to use the zero_reference_position. The response to the BED_MESH_OUTPUT PGP=1 gcode command will include the (X, Y) coordinate associated with the index; this position may be used as the value for the zero_reference_position. The output will look similar to the following:

// bed_mesh: generated points
// Index | Tool Adjusted | Probe
// 0 | (1.0, 1.0) | (24.0, 6.0)
// 1 | (36.7, 1.0) | (59.7, 6.0)
// 2 | (72.3, 1.0) | (95.3, 6.0)
// 3 | (108.0, 1.0) | (131.0, 6.0)
... (additional generated points)
// bed_mesh: relative_reference_index 24 is (131.5, 108.0)

Note: The above output is also printed in klippy.log during initialization.

Using the example above we see that the relative_reference_index is printed along with its coordinate. Thus the zero_reference_position is 131.5, 108.

Faulty Regions

It is possible for some areas of a bed to report inaccurate results when probing due to a "fault" at specific locations. The best example of this are beds with series of integrated magnets used to retain removable steel sheets. The magnetic field at and around these magnets may cause an inductive probe to trigger at a distance higher or lower than it would otherwise, resulting in a mesh that does not accurately represent the surface at these locations. Note: This should not be confused with probe location bias, which produces inaccurate results across the entire bed.

The faulty_region options may be configured to compensate for this affect. If a generated point lies within a faulty region bed mesh will attempt to probe up to 4 points at the boundaries of this region. These probed values will be averaged and inserted in the mesh as the Z value at the generated (X, Y) coordinate.

[bed_mesh]
speed: 120
horizontal_move_z: 5
mesh_min: 35, 6
mesh_max: 240, 198
probe_count: 5, 3
faulty_region_1_min: 130.0, 0.0
faulty_region_1_max: 145.0, 40.0
faulty_region_2_min: 225.0, 0.0
faulty_region_2_max: 250.0, 25.0
faulty_region_3_min: 165.0, 95.0
faulty_region_3_max: 205.0, 110.0
faulty_region_4_min: 30.0, 170.0
faulty_region_4_max: 45.0, 210.0
  • faulty_region_{1...99}_min
    faulty_region_{1..99}_max
    Default Value: None (disabled)
    Faulty Regions are defined in a way similar to that of mesh itself, where minimum and maximum (X, Y) coordinates must be specified for each region. A faulty region may extend outside of a mesh, however the alternate points generated will always be within the mesh boundary. No two regions may overlap.

The image below illustrates how replacement points are generated when a generated point lies within a faulty region. The regions shown match those in the sample config above. The replacement points and their coordinates are identified in green.

bedmesh_interpolated

Adaptive Meshes

Adaptive bed meshing is a way to speed up the bed mesh generation by only probing the area of the bed used by the objects being printed. When used, the method will automatically adjust the mesh parameters based on the area occupied by the defined print objects.

The adapted mesh area will be computed from the area defined by the boundaries of all the defined print objects so it covers every object, including any margins defined in the configuration. After the area is computed, the number of probe points will be scaled down based on the ratio of the default mesh area and the adapted mesh area. To illustrate this consider the following example:

For a 150mmx150mm bed with mesh_min set to 25,25 and mesh_max set to 125,125, the default mesh area is a 100mmx100mm square. An adapted mesh area of 50,50 means a ratio of 0.5x0.5 between the adapted area and default mesh area.

If the bed_mesh configuration specified probe_count as 7x7, the adapted bed mesh will use 4x4 probe points (7 * 0.5 rounded up).

adaptive_bedmesh

[bed_mesh]
speed: 120
horizontal_move_z: 5
mesh_min: 35, 6
mesh_max: 240, 198
probe_count: 5, 3
adaptive_margin: 5
  • adaptive_margin
    Default Value: 0
    Margin (in mm) to add around the area of the bed used by the defined objects. The diagram below shows the adapted bed mesh area with an adaptive_margin of 5mm. The adapted mesh area (area in green) is computed as the used bed area (area in blue) plus the defined margin.

    adaptive_bedmesh_margin

By nature, adaptive bed meshes use the objects defined by the Gcode file being printed. Therefore, it is expected that each Gcode file will generate a mesh that probes a different area of the print bed. Therefore, adapted bed meshes should not be re-used. The expectation is that a new mesh will be generated for each print if adaptive meshing is used.

It is also important to consider that adaptive bed meshing is best used on machines that can normally probe the entire bed and achieve a maximum variance less than or equal to 1 layer height. Machines with mechanical issues that a full bed mesh normally compensates for may have undesirable results when attempting print moves outside of the probed area. If a full bed mesh has a variance greater than 1 layer height, caution must be taken when using adaptive bed meshes and attempting print moves outside of the meshed area.

Surface Scans

Some probes, such as the Eddy Current Probe, are capable of "scanning" the surface of the bed. That is, these probes can sample a mesh without lifting the tool between samples. To activate scanning mode, the METHOD=scan or METHOD=rapid_scan probe parameter should be passed in the BED_MESH_CALIBRATE gcode command.

Scan Height

The scan height is set by the horizontal_move_z option in [bed_mesh]. In addition it can be supplied with the BED_MESH_CALIBRATE gcode command via the HORIZONTAL_MOVE_Z parameter.

The scan height must be sufficiently low to avoid scanning errors. Typically a height of 2mm (ie: HORIZONTAL_MOVE_Z=2) should work well, presuming that the probe is mounted correctly.

It should be noted that if the probe is more than 4mm above the surface then the results will be invalid. Thus, scanning is not possible on beds with severe surface deviation or beds with extreme tilt that hasn't been corrected.

Rapid (Continuous) Scanning

When performing a rapid_scan one should keep in mind that the results will have some amount of error. This error should be low enough to be useful on large print areas with reasonably thick layer heights. Some probes may be more prone to error than others.

It is not recommended that rapid mode be used to scan a "dense" mesh. Some of the error introduced during a rapid scan may be gaussian noise from the sensor, and a dense mesh will reflect this noise (ie: there will be peaks and valleys).

Bed Mesh will attempt to optimize the travel path to provide the best possible result based on the configuration. This includes avoiding faulty regions when collecting samples and "overshooting" the mesh when changing direction. This overshoot improves sampling at the edges of a mesh, however it requires that the mesh be configured in a way that allows the tool to travel outside of the mesh.

[bed_mesh]
speed: 120
horizontal_move_z: 5
mesh_min: 35, 6
mesh_max: 240, 198
probe_count: 5
scan_overshoot: 8
  • scan_overshoot Default Value: 0 (disabled)
    The maximum amount of travel (in mm) available outside of the mesh. For rectangular beds this applies to travel on the X axis, and for round beds it applies to the entire radius. The tool must be able to travel the amount specified outside of the mesh. This value is used to optimize the travel path when performing a "rapid scan". The minimum value that may be specified is 1. The default is no overshoot.

If no scan overshoot is configured then travel path optimization will not be applied to changes in direction.

Bed Mesh Gcodes

Calibration

BED_MESH_CALIBRATE PROFILE=<name> METHOD=[manual | automatic | scan | rapid_scan] <br> [<probe_parameter>=<value>] [<mesh_parameter>=<value>] [ADAPTIVE=[0|1] <br> [ADAPTIVE_MARGIN=<value>]
Default Profile: default
Default Method: automatic if a probe is detected, otherwise manual
Default Adaptive: 0
Default Adaptive Margin: 0

Initiates the probing procedure for Bed Mesh Calibration.

The mesh will be saved into a profile specified by the PROFILE parameter, or default if unspecified. The METHOD parameter takes one of the following values:

  • METHOD=manual: enables manual probing using the nozzle and the paper test
  • METHOD=automatic: Automatic (standard) probing. This is the default.
  • METHOD=scan: Enables surface scanning. The tool will pause over each position to collect a sample.
  • METHOD=rapid_scan: Enables continuous surface scanning.

XY positions are automatically adjusted to include the X and/or Y offsets when a probing method other than manual is selected.

It is possible to specify mesh parameters to modify the probed area. The following parameters are available:

  • Rectangular beds (cartesian):
    • MESH_MIN
    • MESH_MAX
    • PROBE_COUNT
  • Round beds (delta):
    • MESH_RADIUS
    • MESH_ORIGIN
    • ROUND_PROBE_COUNT
  • All beds:
    • MESH_PPS
    • ALGORITHM
    • ADAPTIVE
    • ADAPTIVE_MARGIN

See the configuration documentation above for details on how each parameter applies to the mesh.

Profiles

BED_MESH_PROFILE SAVE=<name> LOAD=<name> REMOVE=<name>

After a BED_MESH_CALIBRATE has been performed, it is possible to save the current mesh state into a named profile. This makes it possible to load a mesh without re-probing the bed. After a profile has been saved using BED_MESH_PROFILE SAVE=<name> the SAVE_CONFIG gcode may be executed to write the profile to printer.cfg.

Profiles can be loaded by executing BED_MESH_PROFILE LOAD=<name>.

It should be noted that each time a BED_MESH_CALIBRATE occurs, the current state is automatically saved to the default profile. The default profile can be removed as follows:

BED_MESH_PROFILE REMOVE=default

Any other saved profile can be removed in the same fashion, replacing default with the named profile you wish to remove.

Loading the default profile

Previous versions of bed_mesh always loaded the profile named default on startup if it was present. This behavior has been removed in favor of allowing the user to determine when a profile is loaded. If a user wishes to load the default profile it is recommended to add BED_MESH_PROFILE LOAD=default to either their START_PRINT macro or their slicer's "Start G-Code" configuration, whichever is applicable.

Alternatively the old behavior of loading a profile at startup can be restored with a [delayed_gcode]:

[delayed_gcode bed_mesh_init]
initial_duration: .01
gcode:
  BED_MESH_PROFILE LOAD=default

Output

BED_MESH_OUTPUT PGP=[0 | 1]

Outputs the current mesh state to the terminal. Note that the mesh itself is output

The PGP parameter is shorthand for "Print Generated Points". If PGP=1 is set, the generated probed points will be output to the terminal:

// bed_mesh: generated points
// Index | Tool Adjusted | Probe
// 0 | (11.0, 1.0) | (35.0, 6.0)
// 1 | (62.2, 1.0) | (86.2, 6.0)
// 2 | (113.5, 1.0) | (137.5, 6.0)
// 3 | (164.8, 1.0) | (188.8, 6.0)
// 4 | (216.0, 1.0) | (240.0, 6.0)
// 5 | (216.0, 97.0) | (240.0, 102.0)
// 6 | (164.8, 97.0) | (188.8, 102.0)
// 7 | (113.5, 97.0) | (137.5, 102.0)
// 8 | (62.2, 97.0) | (86.2, 102.0)
// 9 | (11.0, 97.0) | (35.0, 102.0)
// 10 | (11.0, 193.0) | (35.0, 198.0)
// 11 | (62.2, 193.0) | (86.2, 198.0)
// 12 | (113.5, 193.0) | (137.5, 198.0)
// 13 | (164.8, 193.0) | (188.8, 198.0)
// 14 | (216.0, 193.0) | (240.0, 198.0)

The "Tool Adjusted" points refer to the nozzle location for each point, and the "Probe" points refer to the probe location. Note that when manually probing the "Probe" points will refer to both the tool and nozzle locations.

Clear Mesh State

BED_MESH_CLEAR

This gcode may be used to clear the internal mesh state.

Apply X/Y offsets

BED_MESH_OFFSET [X=<value>] [Y=<value>] [ZFADE=<value>]

This is useful for printers with multiple independent extruders, as an offset is necessary to produce correct Z adjustment after a tool change. Offsets should be specified relative to the primary extruder. That is, a positive X offset should be specified if the secondary extruder is mounted to the right of the primary extruder, a positive Y offset should be specified if the secondary extruder is mounted "behind" the primary extruder, and a positive ZFADE offset should be specified if the secondary extruder's nozzle is above the primary extruder's.

Note that a ZFADE offset does NOT directly apply additional adjustment. It is intended to compensate for a gcode offset when mesh fade is enabled. For example, if a secondary extruder is higher than the primary and needs a negative gcode offset, ie: SET_GCODE_OFFSET Z=-.2, it can be accounted for in bed_mesh with BED_MESH_OFFSET ZFADE=.2.

Bed Mesh Webhooks APIs

Dumping mesh data

{"id": 123, "method": "bed_mesh/dump_mesh"}

Dumps the configuration and state for the current mesh and all saved profiles.

The dump_mesh endpoint takes one optional parameter, mesh_args. This parameter must be an object, where the keys and values are parameters available to BED_MESH_CALIBRATE. This will update the mesh configuration and probe points using the supplied parameters prior to returning the result. It is recommended to omit mesh parameters unless it is desired to visualize the probe points and/or travel path before performing BED_MESH_CALIBRATE.

Visualization and analysis

Most users will likely find that the visualizers included with applications such as Mainsail, Fluidd, and Octoprint are sufficient for basic analysis. However, Klipper's scripts folder contains the graph_mesh.py script that may be used to perform additional visualizations and more detailed analysis, particularly useful for debugging hardware or the results produced by bed_mesh:

usage: graph_mesh.py [-h] {list,plot,analyze,dump} ...

Graph Bed Mesh Data

positional arguments:
  {list,plot,analyze,dump}
    list                List available plot types
    plot                Plot a specified type
    analyze             Perform analysis on mesh data
    dump                Dump API response to json file

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit

Pre-requisites

Like most graphing tools provided by Klipper, graph_mesh.py requires the matplotlib and numpy python dependencies. In addition, connecting to Klipper via Moonraker's websocket requires the websockets python dependency. While all visualizations can be output to an svg file, most of the visualizations offered by graph_mesh.py are better viewed in live preview mode on a desktop class PC. For example, the 3D visualizations may be rotated and zoomed in preview mode, and the path visualizations can optionally be animated in preview mode.

Plotting Mesh data

The graph_mesh.py tool can plot several types of visualizations. Available types can be shown by running graph_mesh.py list:

graph_mesh.py list
points    Plot original generated points
path      Plot probe travel path
rapid     Plot rapid scan travel path
probedz   Plot probed Z values
meshz     Plot mesh Z values
overlay   Plots the current probed mesh overlaid with a profile
delta     Plots the delta between current probed mesh and a profile

Several options are available when plotting visualizations:

usage: graph_mesh.py plot [-h] [-a] [-s] [-p PROFILE_NAME] [-o OUTPUT] <plot type> <input>

positional arguments:
  <plot type>           Type of data to graph
  <input>               Path/url to Klipper Socket or path to json file

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -a, --animate         Animate paths in live preview
  -s, --scale-plot      Use axis limits reported by Klipper to scale plot X/Y
  -p PROFILE_NAME, --profile-name PROFILE_NAME
                        Optional name of a profile to plot for 'probedz'
  -o OUTPUT, --output OUTPUT
                        Output file path

Below is a description of each argument:

  • plot type: A required positional argument designating the type of visualization to generate. Must be one of the types output by the graph_mesh.py list command.
  • input: A required positional argument containing a path or url to the input source. This must be one of the following:
    • A path to Klipper's Unix Domain Socket
    • A url to an instance of Moonraker
    • A path to a json file produced by graph_mesh.py dump <input>
  • -a: Optional animation for the path and rapid visualization types. Animations only apply to a live preview.
  • -s: Optionally scales a plot using the axis_minimum and axis_maximum values reported by Klipper's toolhead object when the dump file was generated.
  • -p: A profile name that may be specified when generating the probedz 3D mesh visualization. When generating an overlay or delta visualization this argument must be provided.
  • -o: An optional file path indicating that the script should save the visualization to this location rather than run in preview mode. Images are saved in svg format.

For example, to plot an animated rapid path, connecting via Klipper's unix socket:

graph_mesh.py plot -a rapid ~/printer_data/comms/klippy.sock

Or to plot a 3d visualization of the mesh, connecting via Moonraker:

graph_mesh.py plot meshz http://my-printer.local

Bed Mesh Analysis

The graph_mesh.py tool may also be used to perform an analysis on the data provided by the bed_mesh/dump_mesh API:

graph_mesh.py analyze <input>

As with the plot command, the <input> must be a path to Klipper's unix socket, a URL to an instance of Moonraker, or a path to a json file generated by the dump command.

To begin, the analysis will perform various checks on the points and probe paths generated by bed_mesh at the time of the dump. This includes the following:

  • The number of probe points generated, without any additions
  • The number of probe points generated including any points generated as the result faulty regions and/or a configured zero reference position.
  • The number of probe points generated when performing a rapid scan.
  • The total number of moves generated for a rapid scan.
  • A validation that the probe points generated for a rapid scan are identical to the probe points generated for a standard probing procedure.
  • A "backtracking" check for both the standard probe path and a rapid scan path. Backtracking can be defined as moving to the same position more than once during the probing procedure. Backtracking should never occur during a standard probe. Faulty regions can result in backtracking during a rapid scan in an attempt to avoid entering a faulty region when approaching or leaving a probe location, however should never occur otherwise.

Next each probed mesh present in the dump will by analyzed, beginning with the mesh loaded at the time of the dump (if present) and followed by any saved profiles. The following data is extracted:

  • Mesh shape (Min X,Y, Max X,Y Probe Count)
  • Mesh Z range, (Minimum Z, Maximum Z)
  • Mean Z value in the mesh
  • Standard Deviation of the Z values in the Mesh

In addition to the above, a delta analysis is performed between meshes with the same shape, reporting the following:

  • The range of the delta between to meshes (Minimum and Maximum)
  • The mean delta
  • Standard Deviation of the delta
  • The absolute maximum difference
  • The absolute mean

Save mesh data to a file

The dump command may be used to save the response to a file which can be shared for analysis when troubleshooting:

graph_mesh.py dump -o <output file name> <input>

The <input> should be a path to Klipper's unix socket or a URL to an instance of Moonraker. The -o option may be used to specify the path to the output file. If omitted, the file will be saved in the working directory, with a file name in the following format:

klipper-bedmesh-{year}{month}{day}{hour}{minute}{second}.json

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