<p>Since nobody had any idea what cause the problem, I investigated for a full week.</p>
<p>The problem is related to <strong>Fade Height</strong> and .... a <strong>warp bed</strong>, since I have ABL (Auto Bed Levelling) and Fade Height enable. The compensation was way too big, something like -1.4 or bigger.</p>
<p>So, after I bought a new glass bed and set the fade height to 0 the problem is gone and the prints are looking normal, like -.2 mm or -.3mm in heights.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-18T19:27:01.910Z
2021-05-18T19:27:01.910Z
Stefan Merfu
<p>This problem is driving me crazy, no, seriously speaking. I bought this printer this week and started to calibrate for accurate dimensions. I printed the one-and-only calibration cube (20x20x20 also a 10x10x10) and well, the dimensions for the X &amp; Y axis are perfect, but the Z-axis is a big problem, almost 1.5 mm bigger than expected.</p>
<p>I tried everything in order to resolve this issue, I checked to see if the steps are correctly calibrated using a ruler and moving my extruder up and down, precise as you expected, no weird sounds coming from the Z-axis and stepper while printing. I calibrated the E-Step, also the bed leveling is done automatically using the BLTouch probe. Also I want to mention that the first layer is perfect (took time to calibrate this too).</p>
<p>I am using Cura for slicing using the default profile for the Ender 3 Pro, Premium PLA, 210 °C for the first layer &amp; 200 °C for the rest, 50 °C bed temperature.</p>
<p>I will leave here some photos, perhaps somebody could give me an idea.</p>
<p>As you can see from the images the Z-axis is scaled-up perfectly. This difference is about 1.5 mm for both cubes (the one with 20 mm &amp; 10 mm).</p>
<p><strong>Has anyone encountered this type of problem before?</strong></p>
<p><strong>EDIT:</strong>
I will attach some pictures with the first layer. Right now I observe some wobbling in the Z axis and saw that the printer is not perfect laid on the table, one corner was lifted. So I tried to flatten. Waiting for the test print.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/bGJQg.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/bGJQg.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/yh1Sb.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/yh1Sb.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/NfAO0.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/NfAO0.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/5JQo8.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/5JQo8.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-13T12:28:50.567Z
If your output is, for example, 5% too tall, please reduce your steps per mm in the Z by 5% and retest; let us know if this helps.
Davo
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-13T13:49:27.823Z
Thank you for your response. The idea is that if I move the Z axis manual the distance travelled is perfect all the time. Just when is printing this problem occurs. I will try to compensate using the steps, but I don’t think that this is causing the problem.
Stefan Merfu
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-13T14:18:32.877Z
Since the 10mm and 20mm cubes are both off by the same amount, it is not a matter of scaling.
Perry Webb
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-13T14:22:10.417Z
What does the first layer surface look like?
Perry Webb
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-13T16:17:40.050Z
The first layer is looking incredible, no squeezing at all, I didn’t use any adhesive for the cubes. That’s what is driving me crazy ☹️. Right now I am not near the printer. But I could update the post with the image to see for yourself.
Stefan Merfu
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-15T16:34:08.787Z
You didn't mention anything about reviewing output g-code file. Have you review it? Nothing suspicious?
octopus8
<marlin><creality-ender-3><ultimaker-cura><pla>
Height of the prints are always larger
Stefan Merfu
# Height of the prints are always larger

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-05-13)

This problem is driving me crazy, no, seriously speaking. I bought this printer this week and started to calibrate for accurate dimensions. I printed the one-and-only calibration cube (20x20x20 also a 10x10x10) and well, the dimensions for the X & Y axis are perfect, but the Z-axis is a big problem, almost 1.5 mm bigger than expected.

I tried everything in order to resolve this issue, I checked to see if the steps are correctly calibrated using a ruler and moving my extruder up and down, precise as you expected, no weird sounds coming from the Z-axis and stepper while printing. I calibrated the E-Step, also the bed leveling is done automatically using the BLTouch probe. Also I want to mention that the first layer is perfect (took time to calibrate this too).

I am using Cura for slicing using the default profile for the Ender 3 Pro, Premium PLA, 210 °C for the first layer & 200 °C for the rest, 50 °C bed temperature.

I will leave here some photos, perhaps somebody could give me an idea.

As you can see from the images the Z-axis is scaled-up perfectly. This difference is about 1.5 mm for both cubes (the one with 20 mm & 10 mm).

**Has anyone encountered this type of problem before?**

**EDIT:**
I will attach some pictures with the first layer. Right now I observe some wobbling in the Z axis and saw that the printer is not perfect laid on the table, one corner was lifted. So I tried to flatten. Waiting for the test print.

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/bGJQg.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/bGJQg.jpg)

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/yh1Sb.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/yh1Sb.jpg)

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/NfAO0.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/NfAO0.jpg)

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/5JQo8.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/5JQo8.jpg)

**Tags:** marlin, creality-ender-3, ultimaker-cura, pla

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: If your output is, for example, 5% too tall, please reduce your steps per mm in the Z by 5% and retest; let us know if this helps.  
> **username_0**: Thank you for your response. The idea is that if I move the Z axis manual the distance travelled is perfect all the time. Just when is printing this problem occurs. I will try to compensate using the steps, but I don’t think that this is causing the problem.  
> **username_2**: Since the 10mm and 20mm cubes are both off by the same amount, it is not a matter of scaling.  
> **username_2**: What does the first layer surface look like?  
> **username_0**: The first layer is looking incredible, no squeezing at all, I didn’t use any adhesive for the cubes. That’s what is driving me crazy ☹️. Right now I am not near the printer. But I could update the post with the image to see for yourself.  
> **username_3**: You didn't mention anything about reviewing output g-code file. Have you review it? Nothing suspicious?  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_0 on 2021-05-18. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

Since nobody had any idea what cause the problem, I investigated for a full week.

The problem is related to **Fade Height** and .... a **warp bed**, since I have ABL (Auto Bed Levelling) and Fade Height enable. The compensation was way too big, something like -1.4 or bigger.

So, after I bought a new glass bed and set the fade height to 0 the problem is gone and the prints are looking normal, like -.2 mm or -.3mm in heights.


---

