High Precision Nozzle Offset Calibration?

The QR code brings a 404 message (@BambuLab - please fix) and the only reference I can find are two failed attempts on Reddit.

One complains about unable to use PETG ?

The instructions on the display are a bit unclear. I presume it expects two filaments in both nozzles rather than one AMS ??

Does the below message presume there’s an AMS connected to each side ?

Also what about filament, is indeed only PLA supported ?

Can’t find anything in the wiki at all.

You need 2 contrasting colors of material in the left and right nozzle. no AMS required on both nozzles. Not sure if PLA is a must, but probably yes.

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What is the benefit or need of this calibration if it’s already included as part of every dual nozzle print job?

It’s more complex than the pre-print calibration, it actually prints some particular shapes for the “High-precision” offset calibration, and optically scans them to adjust the offset.

[I just tested this calibration myself on my H2D]

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This is a possible explanation, as Bambu Lab has not provided any technical documentation on the matter.

The sensor can be designed to check whether the nozzle is properly aligned along both the X and Y axes. If an error is detected, the camera assists in fine-tuning the X/Y calibration. It may do this by comparing the actual printed lines to their intended positions, identifying any small misalignments. When an offset is found, the camera relays that information back to the printer, allowing it to make precise adjustments.

This is only my assumption.

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@SupportAssistant could you maybe explain more about this?
There is no way to select PETG. And also no way to select filaments that require a heated chamber like ASA. And, is it useful to recalibrate between different types of filaments?

There is a Wiki page ( Nozzle offset calibration introduction | Bambu Lab Wiki ) but it is not telling much more than the on-screen info does.

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With no reply from any Bambu Lab representative I decided to create a ticket to request ASA support ( Issue type: Printer Firmware/Network Malfunction > Printer Firmware Malfunction > New Feature Suggestions )
Support said they will forward the request to the developers. But with the current slow release of any software feature I am not expecting anything real quick. Perhaps nothing at all.

When I asked if cool chamber PLA calibration wasn’t too much of a difference with high temperature ASA calibration they responded with:

The printing temperature itself (high or low) does not introduce any mechanical change to the offset between the two nozzles; calibration only requires determining their precise distance deviation. However, because high-temperature filaments demand more extensive pre-print preparation, using low-temperature filaments—which print quickly and reliably—significantly improves the success rate of the calibration process.

I don’t agree with that. Because “material shrinkage/expansion is not limited to the filament. Also to the metal in the toolhead/nozzle etc.” But everybody is free to interpret Bambu Lab’s response in their own way…

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Replying to keep an eye on this… but I agree with the complaints here. I bought my H2D to use with ABS/ASA and perhaps an occasional PC blend, nylon, or HIPS support. I normally don’t even own PLA filament. Then I had to do this calibration that implies it would work with any material, but ONLY accepts PLA.

In my case, I was lucky enough to still have the PLA sample spools that bambu shipped with my X1C, but it was annoying having to flush that PLA out of the hotends to get back to ABS. I wonder what customers who have no PLA at all would do. Perhaps Bambu should ship samples of black and white PLA with the H2D printers to allow for this nozzle offset calibration?

@BambuLab, you already know that a heated bed/toolhead/chamber causes thermal expansion. This is why you do bed leveling on a heated plate/chamber. For this same reason, you should do “high precision” offset calibration in the same heated chamber that a user typically uses. The bed, toolhead and nozzles all change shape in the heated environment.

I don’t have any PLA to do this calibration, so I created a custom filament preset that is called PLA but uses all PETG printing parameters. Because it is custom, I can assign it to filaments in the AMS in Bambu Studio or on the machine.

During the calibration process I can select those rolls of PETG masquerading as PLA and it goes through the entire calibration process completing successfully.

After a couple of months of silence I reopened my ticket. This time I got a different response:

After evaluating the feature and reviewing the volume of user feedback, we’ve found that using PLA for high‑precision nozzle offset calibration is already capable of achieving the intended calibration results. ASA, on the other hand, requires more demanding printing conditions and has a higher failure rate, and there is currently no timeline for introducing this functionality.

Since the primary goal of this feature is to perform nozzle calibration through visual detection, using the easiest‑to‑print filament is the optimal solution.

So I guess we won’t be getting a high (chamber) temperature nozzle offset calibration.

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Just take the following into account:

  • 50mm nozzle distance with a temperature difference of lets say 45C (20C vs. 65C) will expand approximately 0.027mm when carbon steel is used.
    Is that too much? Maybe.
  • The Nozzle offset sensor at the back of the build plate is capable of doing a calibration of the outside shape of the nozzle. Reported accuracy of the eddy current sensor is approximately 0.025mm
  • The High Precision Nozzle Offset Calibration, can reach an accuracy of approximately 0.015mm, and additionally, it is not measuring the circumference of the nozzle but the position of the nozzle opening relative to each other.
    Therefore this method is more precise, but also the printer can determine the difference between the outside of the nozzle and the nozzle opening. This deviation can then be reused when the standard nozzle offset is measured with the sensor at the back. And that measurement is always done at chamber temperature.
  • Now take the motion accuracy of the printer. Do you have any idea, how much that is in relation to your offset?

IMHO, doing a HPNOC at 65C or 20C is not going to help you in the quality of your part.
Or do you have use cases where this 0.027mm (if it is really that much) is going to give you an issue?

Thanks for the in-depth reply! This is way more useful than the replies van Bambu Lab :grinning_face:

I don’t have any use case where 0.027mm is giving me issues. For me it is more that I never got a clear answer from Bambu Lab regarding the difference between the regular nozzle offset method and the HPNOC method.
On top of that I don’t have suitable PLA filament. But the HPNOC can also be done by incognito PETG.

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