First Layer & Z Offset Test for PrusaSlicer – Live Hexagon Ladder | HexCalibr

A single-layer chain of eight hexagons that you step down live, one click per number: compare them side by side, keep the best, then check that value over the whole bed.

Step-by-step guide

Photos, the step table (type your Z offset, it gives the value for every hexagon) and how to save the value on each firmware: hexcalibr.ui4.eu/first-layer.html

What it does

One layer, eight hexagons joined in a chain in the middle of the bed. The infill runs across the chain, so the nozzle fills hexagon 1, then 2, and so on up to 8. You start 0.075 mm above your current Z offset and lower it by 0.025 every time the nozzle reaches a number: eight heights, side by side, in about three minutes. Judging one patch on its own is hard; judging eight neighbours is easy.

Why HexCalibr

• You make every change. The file contains no G-code at all and never moves the nozzle by itself: you step Z with your printer's own buttons (one click of Mainsail's 0.025 button per hexagon).

• Side by side. Too high, right and too low sit next to each other, numbered, on the same print.

• Whole-bed check. The map prints numbered cells joined by a thin web at the value you chose: a cell that looks different points to the bed mesh, not to the Z offset.

Which file to download

• Ladder: first-layer_ladder.3mf for any bed from 180 mm; first-layer_ladder_T1.3mf for the second tool on IDEX printers and toolchangers.

• Map: first-layer_map_<bed>.3mf for your bed size: 180, 250, 300, 350, 400, 500, xl, mk4, coreone, j1 (5 cells on small beds, 9 from 300 mm).

Quick steps

1. Download the ladder (not "Download all" as a ZIP) and open it in PrusaSlicer 2.9 with File › Open project, never Import.

2. In the preview, play the first layer: after the outline the nozzle fills hexagon 1 first, then 2, up to 8.

3. Write down your current Z offset and type it into the table in the guide.

4. While the skirt prints, raise Z by +0.075. Every time the nozzle reaches a number, lower it by 0.025.

5. Compare the hexagons with raking light, tick the best one in the table, save that Z offset. Then print the map without touching Z.

A real result

PETG on a RatRig V-Core 4 IDEX (RatOS), starting from a Z offset of 0.000: hexagons 1 to 3 showed gaps between round lines, 5 was flat and joined with the lines still visible, 7 and 8 were wavy. Mainsail showed −0.100 at the end, as expected, so no click was missed. I kept hexagon 5: −0.025.

Share your Make

Printed it? Post a Make with a photo of the whole ladder under raking light, and say which hexagon you kept. Makes help other people read their own ladder.

Watch the trailer

License and credits

CC BY-SA 4.0. HexCalibr by Matteo Beretta. If you share or remix it, credit "HexCalibr by Matteo Beretta", link back to this page, and keep the same license. The HexCalibr name and logo are not covered by the license: please give modified versions a different name. The official, always-updated files are on this page. Original design; the live-Z method owes a lot to Ellis' Print Tuning Guide and the Prusa community's "Live Z my way" (see License and credits).

Not affiliated with or endorsed by Prusa Research, Rat Rig, the Klipper or Marlin projects, or any other brand named here. All trademarks belong to their owners.

Version 0.5 · made for PrusaSlicer 2.9 (2.7 minimum).

🇮🇹 Italiano

Una catena di otto esagoni in un solo strato da abbassare dal vivo, un clic per numero: li confronti affiancati e tieni il migliore, poi controlli quel valore su tutto il piatto con la mappa. Il file non contiene G-code: ogni cambio di Z lo fai tu. Apri il file con File › Apri progetto. Guida completa in italiano, con la tabella dei valori: hexcalibr.ui4.eu/it/first-layer.html