E-Steps Calibration for 3D Printing Extruders
Why e-steps matter
Slicer commands the printer to extrude 100 mm of filament. If e-steps is off by 5 percent, the printer actually extrudes 95 or 105 mm. Every wall, every infill line, every print is wrong by the same percent. Fix this once and many 'mysterious' print quality issues clear up.
How to calibrate
- Heat the hotend to print temp
- Disconnect the Bowden tube (Bowden printers) or load filament past the extruder (direct drive)
- Mark the filament 120 mm above where it enters the extruder
- Command 100 mm of extrusion at slow speed (M83; G1 E100 F100)
- After it finishes, measure from the extruder to the mark
- If the mark is now 20 mm above the extruder, e-steps is correct (100 mm extruded)
- If less, the extruder over-extruded; if more, under-extruded
- Calculate new e-steps: current_steps × (100 / actual_extruded_mm)
- Set with M92 E
- Save with M500
Default e-steps by extruder type
- BMG-clone dual drive extruder: ~415 steps/mm
- Stock Ender direct drive: ~93 to 415 depending on variant
- Prusa Nextruder: ~325 steps/mm
- Bowden Bondtech: ~415 to 500
When to recalibrate
- New printer (always do this first)
- After changing extruder hardware (drive gear, stepper)
- After firmware update (some defaults change)
- If under or over-extrusion persists despite flow rate tuning
Browse the range
All filament. Good filament makes calibration easier; consistent diameter means consistent flow.