re: The Official 3D Printing Thread

quote:

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.Is it just that it takes measurements at different points on the bed and if there are any unlevel spots the BLTouch just compensates for that in the gcode?

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That's kind of accurate, the original gcode itself is not changed, it remains exactly as it was sliced.

More accurately and more detail, there are many types of "auto-leveling", while each does things a bit differently, compensating for the entire bed, or uneven spots on the build plate, etc... those differences are then compensated for by compensating for the out of level locations in X/Y by adjusting Z as the gcode is executed.

Same process regardless of the sensor used, a BLtouch, inductive, other proximity, etc...they all just measure the distance between the sensor and the bed.

Edit: For those truly sadistic people (yeah like me) you can through the Marlin code and get a much more detailed explanation of how all this works. Configuring and compiling the Marlin software for RAMPS/MEGA boards from source can be a VERY challenging experience. Though it's well documented.