Prometheus multi filament system
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Hi DJ.
Well I don't see why not. In essence it's the same as a mixing hot end except that there is a longer section between the filament input and the mixing chamber if you get my drift. Off the cuff I'd think the pros would be that you can use a standard hot end which would be smaller and more nimble than something like the Diamond. You can also change nozzles easily, which has to be a big plus. As for cons, the only thing that springs to mind are that it will take more to purge the system when switching filaments. I'd guess that keeping the distance between the hot end and the Y splitter as short as possible will help. Of course, it won't "mix" filaments (but then a mixing hot end doesn't do that very well in any case).
I'd have thought my technique of moving the tool changes forward in the gcode file would work well with a Y splitter. I don't know if it would eliminate the need for wipe/prime towers all together, but it would certainly reduce the amount that has to be extruded to purge the system.
Ian -
Seems interesting doesn't look like prometheus will sell the y splitter as a separate parts for obvious reasons but it can't be that hard to make. I wonder how well the hotend will tolerate retracting the filament with the stringy bit attached then refeeding it on the next change?
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I ordered the Y splitter component from this site some weeks ago but it hasn't arrived yet. I'm interested to see how it will work.
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Thanks I have been meaning to try a clone titan see how close they got, maybe I'll get some with the y splitter.
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….................I wonder how well the hotend will tolerate retracting the filament with the stringy bit attached then refeeding it on the next change?
I didn't realise that was how it worked. I just assumed that it simply switched from feeding one filament to another, hence my comment about needing a lot of purge. If it has to pause, retract all the filament, feed in the new and then resume printing, then my technique of advancing tool changes within the gcode file probably won't be of much use, and a priming tower would be fairly obligatory. I'd would imagine doing it that way would lead to a fair bit of mixing and a significant transition period between one filament and the next. So yes, re-feeding filament with a variable amount of stringy stuff attached could be an issue. At least with something like the diamond hot end, there is no need to pause the print when switching between filaments.
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Seems interesting doesn't look like prometheus will sell the y splitter as a separate parts for obvious reasons but it can't be that hard to make. I wonder how well the hotend will tolerate retracting the filament with the stringy bit attached then refeeding it on the next change?
Bad for me ! I tried one all day without really successful print, sometime hotend jam (e3dv6) and after I had melt colors on print when not jamming. ..
But maybe I miss something on the tool change script.
I hope you success on it ! -
I've finally got around to building a machine, now I need to workout all the settings. Anyone tried this yet?
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I was checking those out but it seems to me the cyclops hotend would perform better (no experience with it) just that the change happens much closer to the hotend which means less retraction of stringy filament into the cold end
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CaLviNx, this is my first Bowen, much prefer a direct drive, totally agree the acrylic extrudes are not that brilliant. Have you switched yours out for the one in the picture?
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I've just manged a print, via a convoluted post processing script for Simplify3D, now i need to tune
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PS the extruders are not great!
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My experience with the Promethius has not been good so far. I tried the hotend, and to get similar perfromance I was getting from my E3DV6 Volcano setup, you have to use 3 nutts, and then the single part nozzle is not long enough to give you clean retracts, I am using 2 Bondech QR extruders, so they're up to the task. I ended up returning the hotend and the Y-Splitter (I got a cheaper Y splitter on aliexpress), and I just received the Distech e3d compatible heatbreak which is supposed to accomplish the same idea of allowing for clean retracts – installed it, but haven't had a chance to print with it. I have more hope in that working out. I've gone through a few different mechanisms for multi extrusion on my big delta, I'm printing with a 0.6mm nozzle, so Diamond is out, I tried the e3d chimera, and cyclops (drilled out the cyclops nozzle to 0.6mm) -- the chimera was OK, but not for single extrusion because the second nozzle would bump into what the other nozzle printed -- more pronounced with thicker layers, this caused shifting. I have a wiper system to eliminate ooze, so that worked, but 2 nozzles only worked for dual extrusion. I'm hoping the switching approach will work eventually. Cyclops didn't because they're using a standard cartridge and the block is wide, so not enough heat is getting to filament paths, so I was getting constant clogs -- I'm sure having to do with a thicker extrusion I'm trying to get. I am working on this as a side project for now as I'm building a dual idex large format machine, (duet based of course) -- so for multi material, multi color printing, direct drive, smaller bondech bmg extruders with e3d volcano hotends. So far, I've come to the conclusion that other mechanisms are wasteful, and slow, IDEX is the best option. I have a palette+ on order to see how it does with another machine for higher precision stuff, but purge blocks are time consuming and wasteful. Just my 2c.
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I'd agree. My little foray into multicolour printing was an exercise in making my machine slower and everything take 8 times as long and be less accurate. My 2p
Idex might be the answer for cartesian/corexy.
