this post was submitted on 04 Sep 2023
26 points (96.4% liked)

3DPrinting

15671 readers
75 users here now

3DPrinting is a place where makers of all skill levels and walks of life can learn about and discuss 3D printing and development of 3D printed parts and devices.

The r/functionalprint community is now located at: [email protected] or [email protected]

There are CAD communities available at: [email protected] or [email protected]

Rules

If you need an easy way to host pictures, https://catbox.moe may be an option. Be ethical about what you post and donate if you are able or use this a lot. It is just an individual hosting content, not a company. The image embedding syntax for Lemmy is ![](URL)

Moderation policy: Light, mostly invisible

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

I'm thinking of building a new printer and would love to be able to make 2 color prints or dissolvable supports. Does anyone have any experience with this. I see 3 paths.

  1. Two hot ends Pros: Most robust No retraction or filament waste Cons: Alignment issues. Reduced travel Dragging nozzle

  2. Dual filament hot end(taichi style) Pros: Easy to mount No offsets Cons: Jamming? Long retraction

  3. Y splitter Pros: easy to mount No offset Compatible with any hot end Cons jamming Super long retraction

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] j4k3 1 points 1 year ago

Dual filament hotends haven't managed to solve the oozing issue. The multi material units can't handle filaments with vastly different temperature ranges or material composition due to clogging. Also the temperature control is poor when changed by a large amount because of how PID works.

These systems are really only useful for multi color printing. I really wish this was not the case. I would love to design stuff with dissolvable supports, and integrated TPU for seals and tool grips.

The real key tech for functional prints is IDEX. Sorry I assumed this was more obvious that it really is to others. I tend to hone in on things like this and ignore the rest. I built a half finished IDEX prototype at one point, but the software was beyond my skill level at the time.