Question: If you have tried a dodgy dual input hotend, what were your experiences?
Background: As with anyone else who have a single extruder, I've been contemplating upgrading to something with a bit more flexibility. But the idea of getting a whole new printer doesn't appeal as much to my wallet, as it does to my mind :-)
Scouring aliexpress for weird filaments with the mrs - you know, normal Saturday-evening-and-the-kids-are-sleeping couple activities - we fell upon a dual input hotend for creality cr10. It looks an awful lot like the hotend we have, and it comes with either 24v or 12v heater. It's only about 15€ so I might just give it a try, but it's pretty stupid when I don't even have a plan for an extra extruder as well. And I don't know how I would go about wiring that part up on my cr6 at the moment.
Avoid. There's a good reason BambuLabs has one of the only somewhat working multicolor system on the market. Just buy an A1 and toss the CR10 in the trash unless you're doing this as a learning exercise and you like putting yourself through hell figuring out issues with your machine. I do happen to like doing that, and I still wouldn't do a system like this.
Welcome to 2025, Bambu has competition now
Anycubic Kobra combo (built in filament dryer too) Creality K2 Plus combo (2.5x the build area of biggest Bambu, faster)
Then there are DIY MMUS like ERCF, 3DChameleon, etc.
The problem is that it's not good enough to be 99.9% reliable, when it takes 4500 color switches. I wouldn't trust Anycubic with ANYTHING; I repair machines for a living and they are the WORST when it comes to filament machines, and somehow really great when it comes to resin machines.
The K2 Plus combo hasn't proven itself yet. And like you said, welcome to 2025: most people don't DIY their machines any more.
I don't even own a Bambu (I own a VZ330 and a Voron 2.4 310); but I have hands on familiarity with every machine on the market - I've been doing this for 12 years. I've set up every multicolor system under the sun, including palette 3 pro and ERCF -- and the fact of the matter is: The only one that stays 99.999% reliable is the AMS.
Yes, things are getting way better - for sure. I'm really hoping the K2 Plus "CMS" stands the test of time. I really like that its got a larger option and comes with the 4-way "hub" by default.
But, even with Creality pulling out the stops on that thing -- Bambu labs engineers came from DJI drones; they hit the market with fresh eyes, and they still have more protections in place than their competitors. That makes them the easiest to use for people who don't like to learn stuff, or manage/repair their machines.