A different multi-extrusion approach - UM tool / printhead changer

[macua85 52]

Well, I have tried again with the new design. The head and assembly all works well, but i''m still having problems with the e3d v6 getting blocked after a couple of layers. I thing there may be a problem with the heat breaks, as machining marks are clearly visible inside. My theory is that the filament is getting caught on one of these. Its a concern particularly if the parked head is going to be left for a while with not extrusion...the filament sat in the heat break may soften and cause a blockage on the next extrusion attempt.

So, i've emailed e3d with the problem, will see what they come back with.

The progress I did make however, was to make the print head swap very easy. All wires are now on plugs, so swapping to the experimental setup takes a matter of minutes rather than hours now.

Good work on the development guys. I really like the way you have attached the tool storage piece to the frame neotko...I may just have to 'borrow' that idea!

Edited June 14, 2015 by Guest

[ultiarjan 1,223]

 

@macua85 hope you succeed with the v6, curious about the E3D answer...

Edited June 14, 2015 by Guest

[ultiarjan 1,223]

About the overlap in materials, for this one I set an overlap of 0.25 mm in CAD which gives a nice strong bond, but also causes a little smearing of the green into the white, best seen around the ears. I'll try a few more probably around 0.1 / 0.15 mm.

[foehnsturm 969]

I'm still there watching ;-)

Didn't made so many posts recently cause I've been thinking about how to get the most out of this idea.

[neotko 1,417]

Ultimaker 4 by foehnsturm! Great potential there

[ultiarjan 1,223]

Yeah, thinking about how to move on myself, wonder what rails are used in the BCN sigma, think a rail in the middle of the H make's more sense than rods. I'll probably someday start building a complete machine, most likely from aluminium extrusion, maybe after the summer.

Parking heads at the front (with extruders at the back) will not work with larger numbers as the bowdens will be blocking each other. Parking at the back needs a much better type of docking unit as in mine the head will not stay in place with the amount of pressure on the bowden you 'll have at the back. Already now tweaking the bowdenpressure (curvature) needs to be precise (I can do it by adjusting the angle of the feeder on the railsystem)

Personally atm I'm more interested in improving the reliability with 2 heads than moving to more heads. I think a machine with heads on a rails is probably more reliable than loose docking stations but both the Orcabot and the BCN Sigma need to move a lot of mass around. Although I don't like a moving buildplate, the idea of the Orcabot should be easy to expand to 4 heads (2 per rails, from 2 sides)

[neotko 1,417]

Umm just a crazy idea. What if instead of changing the head we could change the bowden. Retract. Load other tube with magnets 3kilo force should be enough for a tight fix. This way the 1 head moves to the bowden clamp it and extrude to clean. Ofc it's a lot of wasted material... Just thinking out loud.

[Dim3nsioneer 557]

@neotko: You would have to retract, then wait until the filament is cooled down enough and then exchange the Bowden. If you don't wait long enough before removing the filament from the printhead you get an ugly clog. There are quite a few examples here on the forum where people used to large retraction distance and got clogs.

And this will take too long for being attractive.

@foehnsturm: After tangled filament comes tangled Bowden tubes... It might work if the Bowden tubes come from a spot above the printer; a revolver system could be even used there.

Edited June 14, 2015 by Guest

[foehnsturm 969]

Well, I already made some decisions:

1,75 mm filament, linear rails, direct extruders, ...

I'll start with 2 or 3 tool heads. With 1.75 mm filament and without bowden tubes I'm quite confident to find a way to avoid tangling. While other parts are close to a final design, the "wires" and "tubes" are only for illustration.

[ultiarjan 1,223]

 

@foehnsturm good luck, as always curious to see what you come up with, specially curious to see the rail gantry and which rail you'll use...

[foehnsturm 969]

@ultiarjan Thanks! Some parts are already ordered but t'll take considerable time until something will be assembled. I went for Misumi Miniature Linear Guides and a corexy gantry.

[jonnybischof 60]

Already know how to power four extruders?

I've been working on the electronics platform to do this for quite some time now

/edit:

I thought about using some relays to switch between different motors on one stepper driver. But there are a few problems with that. For one, you'll lose control over the disconnected stepper motor (maybe lose tension on the filament in the process...).

This might be overcome by shorting the coils of disconnected motors together. But I doubt that would work for longer periods of time.

My conclusion was that I want an actual 8-driver electronics platform (for 5 extruders). You can expect news from that project soon. Schematics are pretty much done, and I'm working on completing the PCB layout now.

Edited June 15, 2015 by Guest

[foehnsturm 969]

A smoothieboard 5x has enough thermistor inputs and MOSFETs for 3 extruders and a heated bed. There are 5 stepper drivers but also a bunch of unused pins broken out. So, one or two external stepper drivers should be feasible.

[neotko 1,417]

Well, after almost 1 month the company that I use for the laser parts returned me the pieces because they where not able to 'bend' it. I also tried to find other companies that bend metal and they all say (15 different) that the piece it's too small to make the bends. So... I just did it by myself. Bough a mini anvil, a 1 kilo hammer and with some tricks (I had to use a metal from Ikea I had laying around for the inner zone) now I have 2 (and 5 spare metals to make more) for my 30x30x10 x4 fans setup. Now I need to design a middle part to connect it (piece of cake) and do a few drill holes.

Also, interesting. I had to take out one of the hotends because the peek was broken (it broke months ago when I had to take it out from the original aluminium holder) and two days ago it started leaking because the crack was too severe. But the interesting think it's that I had the chance to check if the hot from all this weeks printing did or didn't deform the pla. And as you can see on the photos it's flawless, not even a bit of heat deformation. So the basic design with the heatbreak film works like a charm.

Edited June 20, 2015 by Guest

[ultiarjan 1,223]

prototyping a magnetic head for the E3Dv6, thinking of using a UM2 fanshrout symetricaly by just drilling a nozzle hole in the middle ...

[ultiarjan 1,223]

mounted a fitting prototype, including nice (almost) symmetrical fans, but before my first print the thing clogged big-time, no time to fix it now :( first print will have to wait ...

I think the bowden was not in deep enough...

Edited June 22, 2015 by Guest

[macua85 52]

Did it form a 'bulb', in the heat break?

[ultiarjan 1,223]

I have no idea, the PLA is not moving in eater direction anymore ... any solutions?

[neotko 1,417]

Just a wild idea. Maybe the e3d head needs the air of the dissipated faster with no obstacles like the cables reflecting airflow?

[ultiarjan 1,223]

I was already thinking the same.... now the find a good solution...

[jonnybischof 60]

You can easily check if the E3D hotend fan works well enough. If you touch the large heatsink, it has to be cool. Even at the lowest fin. I remember someone saying that even if it feels "just a little warm", you will get clogs.

[ultiarjan 1,223]

hmm, have to remove the wires than for sure..... it was a little warm at the bottom...

now I still need to find out how to unblock it:)

[ultiarjan 1,223]

update version3 available for simplify3D ....

 

Optimized Dual Extrusion

Create stunning dual-color parts with Simplify3D’s Dual Extrusion Wizard. Unique features prevent filament from oozing on your print, resulting in crisp, sharp definition between colors.

Streamline the setup of dual-extrusion print jobs.

Protect your part from blobs and defects using the Ooze Shield and Prime Pillar.

Print the part in one material and the support structures in another, allowing you to use dissolvable filament.

[neotko 1,417]

You beat me to post that! Soo niceee

[ultiarjan 1,223]

Yeah... like to try but my 2th nozzle is blocked no time for this now.... will have to wait.... love to see your results...