As you continue Printing with Protosthetics, you'll need to know how to manage the Z-Offset on your printer.

Watch the video below, and then read on to learn more about watching for Z-Offset failures and how to resolve them.

Before we cover how to change Z-Offset, let's go over why we care about Z-Offset

If your Z-Offset is too high, the filament won't adhere to the bed and the print won't come together properly, making a large mess on the bed.

If your Z-Offset is too low, the filament will get smothered into the bed, cake onto the toolhead, break the toolhead and create a huge mess to clean.

Here are some examples of the Z-Offset being too low:

Picture of too low Z-Offset

All of these are direct effects of a Z-Offset being too low.

Let's look at how to Adjust the Z-Offset

You should have a file in your FabOne print control, "Y-Motor Z-Offset" to print with. After starting the print, you'll see the layers as the print starts and a menu on the screen should appear that says, "Z-Offset." If you don't see it, you'll need to select "Done" or "Back" until you are back to the main screen.

Raise or lower the Z-Offset by -0.20mm, then wait. The printer will adjust it's Z-Offset live so you won't need to restart the print. Repeat this raising and lowering until the layers look like they do in the video. After you've corrected the Z-Offset, you'll want to restart the print so the entire print has the correct Z-Offset, adjusting the Z-Offset again if need be.

Updated on: 14/05/2025