How to Calibrate Your Extruder E-Steps (And Why It Matters)

How to Calibrate Your Extruder E-Steps (And Why It Matters)

How to Calibrate Your Extruder E-Steps (And Why It Matters)

If your prints are consistently under or over-extruding despite correct slicer settings, the problem is usually E-steps. Here's the complete calibration process.

TL;DR

E-steps (steps per mm) tell your printer how many motor steps equal 1mm of filament movement. If this is wrong, everything else is wrong. Calibrate by commanding 100mm of extrusion, measuring what actually moved, and adjusting. You only need to do this once when you buy a new printer or change your extruder.

What Are E-Steps?

Your printer's extruder motor is controlled by steps — tiny rotational increments. The E-steps value (steps/mm) tells the firmware: "to push 1mm of filament, run the motor this many steps."

If the factory default is wrong (common — Creality and other manufacturers often ship with conservative estimates), you'll see consistent under or over-extrusion that no amount of flow rate tweaking in the slicer can fully fix. You're compensating for a bad baseline.

Signs your E-steps need calibration: gaps between lines in top surfaces, weak layer adhesion, stringing that doesn't resolve with retraction tuning, or over-extrusion causing blobs even at low flow rates.

What You'll Need

  • A ruler or digital calipers (calipers are more accurate)
  • A marker or piece of tape
  • Your printer connected via USB (or access to OctoPrint/Pronterface), OR the printer's LCD if it supports G-code input
  • A calculator (or use the formula below)

Step-by-Step E-Steps Calibration

Step 1: Mark 120mm from the extruder entry

With no filament loaded in a bowden tube, or on the filament itself for a direct drive printer: measure 100mm from where the filament enters the extruder, then measure another 20mm further, and mark both points with a marker. The first mark is your 100mm target. The second is your safety — if it reaches there, you're over-extruding significantly.

Step 2: Note your current E-steps value

Via your LCD: Configuration → Advanced Settings → Steps/mm → E-steps. Note this number — you'll need it for the formula.

Via G-code: send M503 and look for the line starting with M92 — the E value is your current E-steps.

Step 3: Heat the nozzle and command 100mm extrusion

Heat your nozzle to your normal print temperature (e.g. 200°C for PLA). The extruder motor won't move without thermal runaway protection allowing it.

Send this G-code:

G91 ; Relative positioning
G1 E100 F100 ; Extrude 100mm at 100mm/min (slow, accurate)

Step 4: Measure the actual distance moved

Measure from the extruder entry to your original mark. If you started the mark at the extruder entry, measure how far the mark has moved into the extruder. The actual extruded length = 100mm minus what's left between the mark and the extruder entry.

Example: you marked 100mm, and after the extrusion command there's 5mm left — you actually extruded 95mm.

Step 5: Calculate your new E-steps

New E-steps = (Current E-steps × 100) ÷ Actual distance extruded

Example: (93 × 100) ÷ 95 = 97.9 steps/mm

Step 6: Set and save the new value

Via G-code (replace 97.9 with your calculated value):

M92 E97.9 ; Set new E-steps
M500 ; Save to EEPROM

Via LCD: Configuration → Advanced Settings → Steps/mm → E-steps → enter value → Configuration → Store Settings.

Step 7: Verify with a repeat test

Mark 100mm again and repeat the extrusion command. If the actual distance is now within ±1mm of 100mm, you're calibrated. If it's still off, recalculate and iterate — usually 1–2 rounds is enough.

Common Mistakes

Measuring with the wrong reference point

Measure from the extruder's filament entry point, not from a random point on the PTFE tube. Inconsistent reference = useless measurement.

Extruding into open air (bowden printers)

Some guides say extrude without bowden attached. More accurate to extrude with the tube attached but nozzle removed — this tests the actual path the filament takes.

Confusing E-steps with flow rate

E-steps is a firmware value that should reflect accurate motor movement. Flow rate in the slicer is a fine-tuning multiplier per-filament. Do E-steps first; use flow rate for filament-to-filament variation.

Not saving to EEPROM

M92 only sets the value in RAM. Without M500, the setting is lost on the next power cycle. Always save.

What to Calibrate Next

E-steps is the foundation. Once correct, calibrate in this order:

  1. PID tune — hotend and heated bed temperature stability (M303 in Marlin)
  2. Bed levelling — manual tramming + BLTouch/CRTouch offset if fitted
  3. First layer height — live-adjust during a test print
  4. Pressure advance / Linear advance — reduces blobbing at corners
  5. Flow rate per filament — print a calibration cube and measure wall thickness

Come see us at the showroom

We stock filaments, spare parts, and printer accessories at Toner and Ink in Audas Estate, Somerset West. Bring your print problems — we'll help.

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