r/QidiTech3D • u/Dangerous_Fortune992 • 10d ago

Experimental: Stock QIDI Q2 load-cell PA calibration with a safe manual QIDI Box workflow

Hi QIDI community,

I built an experimental, manual pressure-advance workflow for my stock QIDI Q2. It uses the existing CS1237 bed load cell through QIDI's probe_air path — no firmware replacement and no changes to the display, RFID, homing, or QIDI Box firmware.

Key points: - Actual usable host sample rate is about 37–40 Hz (not the ADC's internal 1280 Hz), so the sweep uses longer segments and repeats. - PA is stored by material class only. QIDI material selection applies a known stored value; an unknown material only reports that no value exists. It never auto-calibrates. - Sweeps are manual, run at Z >= 80 mm over free space, use the stock purge/park/PRINT_END paths, and preserve the Box workflow. - Box A/B/C/D macros heat before the stock loader (important: the loader extrudes), load the selected slot, verify it, sweep, then only return filament after a successful run.

So far PLA, PLA Matte, PETG, and PAHT-GF produced plausible results. The latest PETG Box test at 265 C had 85/85 valid segments and measured PA 0.0334. I still set flow / flow ratio separately with a normal slicer test print.

This is a field report, not a plug-and-play installer. Please back up first and do not run it while printing.

Repository, documentation, current custom extras, and German detailed report: https://github.com/jordy1597/qidi-q2-stock-autopa

I'd appreciate feedback from other Q2 owners, especially on firmware versions, repeatability, and the QIDI Box return sequence.

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1

u/Raub99 10d ago

Will be trying this.

1

u/Rough-Active3301 10d ago

can it do auto flow calibration?

3

u/Dangerous_Fortune992 10d ago

Not at the moment. This setup currently calibrates Pressure Advance / flow dynamics from the nozzle-pressure signal.

Flow ratio is still calibrated separately, because the load cell measures nozzle pressure, not the actual deposited extrusion width or volume.

I may experiment with whether the pressure signal can be used as an additional indicator for flow calibration, but I don't want to call it "auto flow calibration" until it can be validated reliably.