Duet3D Logo Duet3D
    • Tags
    • Documentation
    • Order
    • Register
    • Login

    My multi input, multi material, mixing hot end

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved
    My Duet controlled machine
    12
    32
    3.0k
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • deckingmanundefined
      deckingman @dc42
      last edited by

      @dc42 said in My multi input, multi material, mixing hot end:

      Regarding the filament inlet spacing, what's the reason for putting the BMGs on the outside and the extruder stepper motors on the inside, instead of the reverse? Is it because you sometimes need to dismantle the BMGs to deal with filament issues?

      Mostly that but also fitting them in the first place. The screws go through the extruder body into the motor so if two extruders face each other, it's impossible. Having said that, maybe I could fix each set of 3 onto a plate, then somehow slot or bolt that plate into place. If I needed to dis-assemble one extruder, I'd have to remove the plate with all three but that wouldn't be the end of the world. It's only a partial solution to the problem though - there would still be a significant offset in X if not so much in Y, but if the inputs to the hot end were angled, it might work. I do have a bit of a concern about heat with those 6 motors being in such close proximity to each other, so having the motors on the outside would be advantageous in that respect.

      Ref heat breaks, certainly "off the shelf" ones will save me a lot of heartache. As well as the E3D variant, I was very taken by what the inventor (if that's the word) of the Zatsit printer was doing. Also the Slice engineering Mosquito seemed to be a very efficient heat break design. If I could adapt my design to use either of those, and if either of those companies would supply me just the heat breaks, that's another option.

      Lots to think about............

      Ian
      https://somei3deas.wordpress.com/
      https://www.youtube.com/@deckingman

      wilrikerundefined 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • Martin1454undefined
        Martin1454
        last edited by

        Im really looking foward to see how it turns out 🙂 - The "maze mixing" design sounds interresting!

        deckingmanundefined 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • deckingmanundefined
          deckingman @Martin1454
          last edited by

          @martin1454 There are a few untested ideas that ultimately might not work. I've set the bar quite high trying to do multi-material as well as mixing so in the end, I might have to make some sort of compromise. But for now, I'll leave the bar where it is and keep on trying.

          Ian
          https://somei3deas.wordpress.com/
          https://www.youtube.com/@deckingman

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • fmaundefined
            fma
            last edited by

            Did anyone aready try to inject ink in the melted zone to color the filament? It should be easier to mix CMYB inks rather than PLA...

            Frédéric

            deckingmanundefined 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • deckingmanundefined
              deckingman @fma
              last edited by

              @fma said in My multi input, multi material, mixing hot end:

              Did anyone aready try to inject ink in the melted zone to color the filament? It should be easier to mix CMYB inks rather than PLA...

              Kind of. IIRC, that was something that Adrian Bowyer or one of his students was looking into. If you look at the firmware, you'll see this https://duet3d.dozuki.com/Wiki/Gcode#Section_M578_Fire_inkjet_bits. It seems to have died a death so maybe there were some problems that couldbn't be overcome.

              Ian
              https://somei3deas.wordpress.com/
              https://www.youtube.com/@deckingman

              Phaedruxundefined 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • wilrikerundefined
                wilriker @deckingman
                last edited by

                @deckingman said in My multi input, multi material, mixing hot end:

                Ref heat breaks [...] Also the Slice engineering Mosquito seemed to be a very efficient heat break design. If I could adapt my design to use either of those, and if either of those companies would supply me just the heat breaks, that's another option.

                At least Slice Engineering sells the heatbreak as spare parts: https://www.sliceengineering.com/shop/heat-break

                Manuel
                Duet 3 6HC (v0.6) with RPi 4B on a custom Cartesian
                with probably always latest firmware/DWC (incl. betas or self-compiled)
                My Tool Collection

                deckingmanundefined 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • deckingmanundefined
                  deckingman @wilriker
                  last edited by deckingman

                  @wilriker said in My multi input, multi material, mixing hot end:

                  @deckingman said in My multi input, multi material, mixing hot end:

                  Ref heat breaks [...] Also the Slice engineering Mosquito seemed to be a very efficient heat break design. If I could adapt my design to use either of those, and if either of those companies would supply me just the heat breaks, that's another option.

                  At least Slice Engineering sells the heatbreak as spare parts: https://www.sliceengineering.com/shop/heat-break

                  ahh, thanks for that.

                  Edit- £35 USD a pop and I need 6! That's an expensive experiment.

                  Ian
                  https://somei3deas.wordpress.com/
                  https://www.youtube.com/@deckingman

                  wilrikerundefined 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • wilrikerundefined
                    wilriker @deckingman
                    last edited by wilriker

                    @deckingman I never said they where cheap. 😁

                    EDIT: But for test you could start with one.

                    Manuel
                    Duet 3 6HC (v0.6) with RPi 4B on a custom Cartesian
                    with probably always latest firmware/DWC (incl. betas or self-compiled)
                    My Tool Collection

                    deckingmanundefined 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • deckingmanundefined
                      deckingman @wilriker
                      last edited by

                      @wilriker said in My multi input, multi material, mixing hot end:

                      @deckingman I never said they where cheap. 😁

                      EDIT: But for test you could start with one.

                      True. Or I could try making something similar. Looks like a copper heat sink, copper nut with (probably) Titanium tube swaged in between. hmmmm........

                      Ian
                      https://somei3deas.wordpress.com/
                      https://www.youtube.com/@deckingman

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • Phaedruxundefined
                        Phaedrux Moderator @deckingman
                        last edited by

                        @deckingman said in My multi input, multi material, mixing hot end:

                        @fma said in My multi input, multi material, mixing hot end:

                        Did anyone aready try to inject ink in the melted zone to color the filament? It should be easier to mix CMYB inks rather than PLA...

                        Kind of. IIRC, that was something that Adrian Bowyer or one of his students was looking into. If you look at the firmware, you'll see this https://duet3d.dozuki.com/Wiki/Gcode#Section_M578_Fire_inkjet_bits. It seems to have died a death so maybe there were some problems that couldbn't be overcome.

                        I think DiVinci sells a proprietary printer that uses inkjet coloring.

                        Z-Bot CoreXY Build | Thingiverse Profile

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • fmaundefined
                          fma
                          last edited by

                          Mu suggestion was to inject the ink in the melted chamber, not on the printed part.

                          But It may be difficult to maintain pressure, and it may mess up the print process...

                          Frédéric

                          deckingmanundefined 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • deckingmanundefined
                            deckingman @fma
                            last edited by

                            @fma I don't know what the boiling point of printer ink is, but I'll bet it would likely just vaporise if you tried to inject it into the melt chamber at circa 200 deg C.

                            Ian
                            https://somei3deas.wordpress.com/
                            https://www.youtube.com/@deckingman

                            3DOesteundefined 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • Phaedruxundefined
                              Phaedrux Moderator
                              last edited by

                              You'd think some of the pigment or dye might survive. What do they use to color the filament itself?

                              Z-Bot CoreXY Build | Thingiverse Profile

                              deckingmanundefined 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • deckingmanundefined
                                deckingman @Phaedrux
                                last edited by

                                @phaedrux said in My multi input, multi material, mixing hot end:

                                You'd think some of the pigment or dye might survive. What do they use to color the filament itself?

                                I believe coloured pellets go into the mix but I'm not sure.

                                Ian
                                https://somei3deas.wordpress.com/
                                https://www.youtube.com/@deckingman

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • fmaundefined
                                  fma
                                  last edited by

                                  @deckingman said in My multi input, multi material, mixing hot end:

                                  I believe coloured pellets go into the mix but I'm not sure.

                                  Yes, you're right. So, it would need to add solid pigments in the mixing chamber. Even more complicated!

                                  BTW, Ian, where you able to test you mixing-matrix-chamber? Does it work?

                                  Frédéric

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • inztigatorundefined
                                    inztigator
                                    last edited by

                                    Love your blog entries. Looking forward to the follow-up 🙂

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • JRDMundefined
                                      JRDM
                                      last edited by

                                      I realize you've already bought them (sunk cost and all) but for future reference:

                                      I have a reservoir pump just like yours. That reservoir has a shallow working range. It's about 1cm from full to sucking air due to a whirlpool funnel effect. I end up topping off my loop every 6-8 weeks just from coolant evaporating through the tubing.

                                      You likely don't need the large radiator, a single 120mm cell is fine even for six heat breaks. I use a 80mm radiator for a dual and I've tested both running at 300˚C. The amount of heat lost through a heat break is probably a low single digit watts each.

                                      deckingmanundefined 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • 3DOesteundefined
                                        3DOeste @deckingman
                                        last edited by

                                        @deckingman said in My multi input, multi material, mixing hot end:

                                        @fma I don't know what the boiling point of printer ink is, but I'll bet it would likely just vaporise if you tried to inject it into the melt chamber at circa 200 deg C.

                                        There are liquid masterbatches, they are used in the plastic injection industry primarily for PET and PC resins, so they resist 300° C easily. They get injected with a peristaltic pump if I remember correctly, but you need a pump per colour.
                                        Solid masterbatches won't work unless you have a very long screw, so I think not even pellet extruders might get consistent colors with that...

                                        deckingmanundefined 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • deckingmanundefined
                                          deckingman @JRDM
                                          last edited by

                                          @jrdm Thanks, I'll bear that i mind. The pump and radiator were the cheapest I could find on the basis that they would do for testing. So if I end with water cooling as a solution, I'll bear your comments in mind.

                                          Ian
                                          https://somei3deas.wordpress.com/
                                          https://www.youtube.com/@deckingman

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • deckingmanundefined
                                            deckingman @3DOeste
                                            last edited by

                                            @3doeste Ah OK. I suspect that dosing tiny amounts of filament might be a bit challenging. Any idea what sort of range the ratio of dye to filament might be? Just looking at some numbers, for a 0.5mm segment length at 0.3mm layer height and 0.5mm layer width, the extruder move length is about 0.025mm which is about 0.00375 mm^3 of plastic. I would imagine that the Dye content would be in the order of parts per million of that?

                                            Ian
                                            https://somei3deas.wordpress.com/
                                            https://www.youtube.com/@deckingman

                                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                            • First post
                                              Last post
                                            Unless otherwise noted, all forum content is licensed under CC-BY-SA