Bed adjustments...how much and how often?

jeremy-gillick · July 3, 2014

I've been using the UM2 for a couple months now and am loving it. It's still almost always printing something. However, I still have a couple questions nagging at me. How often to people adjust their build platform? And how tight to the nozzle?

When I get to the step of using the paper, I adjust the screws until the nozzle is rubbing the paper. Somewhere in between no friction and stuck. There's still a tiny gap when I'm done and on the next print the nozzle squishes the first layer into flat paths, which makes a nice smooth first layer. Unfortunately this doesn't last long. A few prints later the nozzle is somehow further from the build plate and now laying rounded paths on the first layer. As long as it sticks (which is sometimes a problem when it's not being squished) it doesn't harm the print, just makes the first layer a bit rougher.

Am I adjusting it the space to be too tight? Is it normal for the space to increase after a few prints?