3D printer calibration tests: free STL sized to your printer

See inside

What this tool does

A first layer test sized to your bed: pick the printer and the squares land at its corners and center.

A tolerance test: a plate of holes from 0.05 to 0.4 mm of clearance per side and the pin to try them with.

A stringing test with towers 10, 20 and 40 mm apart, to tune retraction.

Overhangs from 30° to 70° and bridges from 10 to 50 mm, to learn where supports become necessary.

A temperature tower of 3 to 9 floors, with the table of heights and temperatures to set in your slicer.

Each test explains what to look at and what to adjust. The STL files are generated in your browser.

How it works

Choose what to tune

First layer, tolerances, stringing, overhangs, bridges or temperature. Each test targets one setting.

Fit it to your printer

For the first layer, pick your printer among 26 models. For the tower, the starting temperature and the drop per floor.

Print and compare

Download the STL, print it and follow the guide on what to look at. Change one setting at a time and print again.

Frequently asked questions

Which calibration tests should I run on a new 3D printer?

In this order: first layer, so parts stick and the base comes out smooth; a temperature tower, once per new filament; stringing, to tune retraction at that temperature; and tolerances, to learn how much clearance to leave in parts that fit together. Overhangs and bridges come later, to decide when to use supports. ilove3d's calibration test generator builds each one to size and says what to look at.

How do I know the first layer is right?

The squares should come out smooth, with no gaps between lines and well stuck, and all alike. Where the lines look apart or round, the nozzle is too high there. Where the layer is nearly see-through, rough, or the nozzle drags plastic, it is too low. A difference between corners is bed leveling; all of them equally wrong is the Z offset.

How is the temperature tower used?

The tower has 10 mm floors. In the slicer you tell the printer to change temperature at the start of each floor: in PrusaSlicer, OrcaSlicer and Bambu Studio, by right-clicking the layer slider and adding a custom G-code, M104 S followed by the temperature. The tool shows the table with the height of each floor. After printing, the floor with the best bridge, the best overhang and the fewest strings gives the temperature for that filament.

What is the tolerance test for?

To learn how much clearance to leave between two parts that must fit together. You try the pin in each hole: the first one it enters without forcing is your printer's clearance with that filament. That number is the one to use when designing lids, pins and joints, and the one tools like Cut model or Box maker ask for.

Question of the month

Which printer do you use?