In Marlin, this is a very straightforward process using M303.
In a terminal, enter the following to tune the hot end:
-M303 E1 S200 U1+
M303 E0 S200 U1
This will tune the hot end at 200 degrees. The S value can be altered to suit your most common printing temperature. The U1 means the result is stored to RAM and we can save it immediately to EEPROM by sending:
M500
For the bed, PIDTEMPBED must be enabled in the firmware, then the command is quite similar:
@@ -909,7 +909,7 @@The above video takes you through how to use the pattern generator, which basically involves inputting printer and slicer parameters, before clicking to download the gcode file.
Using the suggested starting K values above, you would then pick an upper and lower limit either side of this for a preliminary test.
- Printing the gcode generated by the pattern generator with yield a result like this:
Some of the horizontal lines should have obvious thick and thin portions, and some may even have large gaps. You are looking for the line with the most consistent extrusion width from left to right. The K value for this line will be printed to the right of the line. At this point, as shown in the video, you may wish to repeat the test with a narrower range of values either side of this best K value. This will help determine the best value by using a 'higher resolution'.