Tag Archives: Cyclops NF 2-in-1

Parametric Part Cooler

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Status: fully tested, but not yet released

Updates:

  • 2020/12/27: individual renderings for each application
  • 2020/12/21: improve documentation, with application variables
  • 2019/06/16: design solidified, multiple variants tested (Triple Micro Swiss, Dual Micro Swiss, Chimera, Cyclops NF, Dual V6, Single V6)

Introduction

Back in May 2019 I started to customize dedicated printheads, e.g. combining CR10 hotends / Micro Swiss Hotends in dual and triple mode – and thereby required a dedicated Part Cooler. This lead me to develop my own Parametric Part Cooler in OpenSCAD, adapting the design of Radial Fan Fang by Lion4H as I used that one successful for E3D V6 – now a general approach coded entirely in OpenSCAD:

  • Part Cooler on Triple Micro Swiss (rough draft)
  • Part Cooler on Triple Micro Swiss (rough draft)
  • Part Cooler on Triple Micro Swiss (rough draft)

I started with the central heatsink fan in the geometric center, and route the pipes (symmetrically) around it, back to the nozzle; on top using 5015mm fan blower – after a couple of hours the basic form was defined.

As long I am in edit or tune mode, the part cooler is rendered with a few corners – yet, when exporting STL format, the pipe is calculated with refined spline and smooth surface:

Screenshot from 2019-06-17 07-21-14
Parametric Part Cooler for Triple Micro Swiss Hotends
Screenshot from 2019-06-17 07-22-05
Parametric Part Cooler for Triple Micro Swiss Hotends

Variables

part_cooler() takes following variables with their defaults:

  • m=40: size of heatsink fan
  • t=2: thickness of fan mount
  • zoff=17: z-offset of air outputs
  • yoff=8: y-offset of air outputs
  • ws=12: extra width space
  • wx=35: cutout width X at the bottom
  • sq2=0.6: relative squeeze Y-wise at air outputs
  • sq3=0.6: relative squeeze Z-wise at air outputs
  • zb=0.5: relative Z bend
  • smooth=false: switch of smooth pipe rendering (false: fast rendering / editing mode, true: export to STL)
  • name="noname": label on both sides
  • tscale=1: text/label x/y scale

Needless to say, to set or alter those variables you require the fan and the hotend as a model so you can model the part_cooler() around it.

Applications

After a couple of weeks the part_cooler() was designed for various hotends:

Parametric Part Cooler: Triple Micro Swiss, Chimera, Cyclops NF, Volcano, V6 Lite
  • Triple Micro Swiss (3x CR10 Hotends): largest part cooler, and first application
  • Chimera 2-in-2: two filament/material and two nozzles, yet, a small common heatsink with E3D V6 nozzles
  • Cyclops NF or Lerdge 2-in-1 V2: simple non-mixing 2-in-1 printhead – in use currently on the Ashtar C #1 (Core XY)
  • E3D Volcano: although designs exist, I just wanted to see how my cooler performs in comparison – in use currently on Ashtar K #1 (Prusa i3-like) with 0.6mm nozzle
  • E3D V6 Lite: just an excercise to make it work for this popular setup as well – in use currently on CTC DIY I3 Pro B Y3228

Application Variables

Triple Micro Swiss

name=”triple swiss”
m=50
wx=50
yoff=17
sq3=1
wx=54

* requires a dedicated fan mount: Triple Nozzle Printhead

Dual Micro Swiss

name=”dual swiss”
wx=50

* requires a dedicated fan mount: Dual Nozzle Printhead

Chimera 2-in-2

name=”chimera”
m=30
yoff=10
zoff=18
ws=18
wx=42

Cyclops NF

name=”cyclops nf”
m=30
wx=25
yoff=9

see Cyclops NF

E3D Volcano

name=”volcano”
m=30
wx=24
yoff=12
zoff=21
zb=0.3
tscale=0.9

E3D V6 Lite

name=”e3d v6″
m=30
wx=24
yoff=12
zoff=14
zb=0.2

Pros / Cons

Pros:

  • parametric, reusable design
  • source code available (OpenSCAD) [not yet]
  • modular/stack use:

Cons:

  • other parts must be available as models in order to determine parameters of the part cooler
  • heatblock(s) should wear silicon cover, as air outputs partially affect heatblock which should be avoided

Download

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3680198 (not yet released)

Currently all my parts reside in a single large parts.scad for all Ashtar 3D printers, it helps me to improve designs quickly, but hinders me to release part designs in OpenSCAD source individually – it’s all interconnected and therefore avoid split it into separate files for now. As soon it’s resolved I will release the OpenSCAD sources.

For now three part coolers I released in STL downloadable on the dedicated pages:

Impressions

  • E3D V6
  • E3D V6
  • E3D V6 with nozzle sock
  • E3D V6 with LED Strip
  • Cyclops NF
  • Cyclops NF (mounted)
  • Triple Micro Swiss
  • Triple Micro Swiss
  • Chimera 2-in-2
  • Chimera 2-in-2

I’m quite happy with the result and use this Parametric Part Cooler for all my planned use cases.

References

See Also (Ashtar Series & Parts)

or

3D Printing: Cyclops NF 2-in-1 Printhead

by · published Technology , , ,

Sourcing

After my bad experience with the “Cyclops/Chimera” clone (2-in-1 with mixing capability), I purchased (June 2019) the improved “Cyclops” which resembles the “Cyclops NF 2-in-1” or “LERDGE 2-in-1 V2” , so I name this variant “Cyclops NF 2-in-1“:

which can be ordered at AliExpress (affiliate links):

and uses E3D V6 nozzle (clone) and 30x10mm fan on top. The two mounting holes are 24mm apart and fit the Prusa i3 X-carriage.

Further, the two filaments cannot be mixed like the original Cyclops but either filament A or B can be fed into the nozzle, but not both at the same time. Also, one can print with one filament solely, a 2nd filament must not be present.

Pros:

  • affordable
  • simple setup
  • single filament printing possible without 2nd filament being present

Cons:

  • cannot mix colors
  • long retraction required for tool change (>34mm)
  • long transition purge (~55mm)
  • custom PTFE or nylon piece in the heatbreak (not easy to source)
  • uncoordinated retraction can cause one filament blocking another

Model & Part Cooler

I quickly modeled the heatsink in OpenSCAD:

so I was able to adapt my Parametric Part Cooler with following settings part_cooler(name="cyclops nf",m=30,wx=25,yoff=10):

and the printed assembly:

  • Part Cooler on Cyclops NF

Download

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3680090

Full Assembly

I finally turned the heatblock around (from the default orientation), so I could see the nozzle better and the LED strip shining more direct on the nozzle and bed.

Operation

The long tool switching retraction of > 34mm imposes quite additional risk of jamming combined with temperature sensitivity: depending on the temperature the pulled back of end of filament changes shape, and may not able to re-enter at next tool switch – so I’m a bit skeptical on the reliability – time will tell.

As I use print3r solely (without GUI), I set following in the printer profile:

# -- slicer=slic3r, slic3r-pe and prusa only:
retract_length_toolchange = 36

and a small macro named e2-nf-t1.ini for my Ashtar C #1 (380x400x380) Core XY style:

prepend_gcode="G91\nT0\nG1 E20 F100\nG1 E-36 F3000\nT1\nG1 E36 F3000\nG1 E60 F100\nG90\nG92 E0\n"
end_gcode="G1 Y{$machine_depth-10} F6000\nG92 E0\nG91\nG1 E-2 F2000\nM104 S0\nG1 E-36 F3000\nT0\nG1 E36 F3000\nM84\nG90\n"

which I use as print3r @e2-nf-t1 ... in case I like to print with 2nd filament only:

  • start:
    • T0: purge 20mm
    • T0: retract -36mm
    • T1: forward 36mm
    • T1: purge 60mm
    • reset E meter and go back to absolute positioning/extruding
  • end:
    • go back to Y380 (absolute)
    • T1: retract extrusion -2mm
    • T1: retract -36mm quick
    • T0: forward 36mm quick
    • switch off heating and motors

This way I keep T0 as default, and on-demand switch to T1 only with @e2-nf-t1 macro in operations. One case is not covered: if I abort a print then T1 is still active in the printhead and manually needs to be retracted (future print3r version will resolve this).

print3r --device=tcp:printhub:0 --printer=ashtar-c-1-e2 --random-placement --scad --slicer=cura print 'for(i=[0:2]) translate([50*i,0,0]) cylinder(d=5,h=40)'

Comparison Dual/Multi Color/Material Extrusions

blue = relevant positive
red = relevant negative

Independent Dual Extrusions (IDEX)

  • complex setup
  • moderate cost
  • non-mixing
  • dual nozzles
  • dual heatblocks
  • dual heatsinks
  • normal retraction
  • no purge block 1)
  • no oozing over print
  • no inactive nozzle traveling
  • reliable 2)

★★★★★

Dual Hotends 2-in-2

  • simple setup
  • low cost
  • non-mixing
  • dual nozzles
  • dual heatblocks
  • dual heatsinks
  • normal retraction
  • no purge block
  • inactive nozzle oozing over prints
  • inactive nozzle travels over print
  • moderate reliability

★★★★★

Chimera 2-in-2

  • simple setup
  • clone: low cost
  • original: high cost
  • non-mixing
  • dual nozzles
  • dual heatblocks
  • single heatsink
  • normal retraction
  • no purge block
  • oozing of inactive material
  • inactive nozzle travels over print
  • moderate reliability

★★★★★

Cyclops 2-in-1

  • simple setup
  • clone: low cost
  • original: high cost
  • mixing
  • single nozzle
  • single heatblock
  • single heatsink
  • normal retraction
  • purge block required
  • no oozing of inactive material
  • clone: unreliable

★★★★★ (clone)

Cyclops NF 2-in-1

  • simple setup
  • low cost
  • non-mixing
  • single nozzle
  • single heatblock
  • single heatsink
  • complex retraction
  • no oozing of inactive material
  • moderate reliability

★★★★★

Diamond Hotend 3-in-1

  • complex setup
  • clone: low cost
  • original: high cost
  • mixing
  • single nozzle
  • single heatblock
  • 3 heatsinks
  • tricky retraction
  • purge block required
  • no oozing of inactive material
  • moderate reliability

★★★★★

Multiple Switching Extrusions (MSE) 2-in-2, 3-in-3, 4-in-4

  • moderate complex setup
  • requires additional servo or motor
  • extendable 2, 3, or 4 colors/materials
  • low cost
  • non-mixing
  • multiple nozzles / heatblocks / heatsinks
  • normal retraction
  • no purge block 1)
  • no oozing of inactive material
  • no inactive nozzle touching print
  • reliable 2)

(rating comes later)

Y Splitter x-in-1

  • simple setup
  • extendable 2, 3, or 4 or more colors / materials
  • low cost
  • non-mixing
  • single nozzle
  • single heatblock
  • single heatsink
  • complex retraction
  • purge block required
  • no oozing of inactive material
  • moderate reliability

★★★★★

Tool Changer

  • complex setup
  • extendable to n-colors or materials
  • moderate cost
  • non-mixing
  • multiple nozzles / heatblocks / heatsinks
  • normal retraction
  • no oozing of inactive material
  • no inactive nozzle touching print
  • moderate reliability

(rating comes later)

Footnotes

  1. in theory no purge block, but if ooze shields are shared among switching extrusions (more than 2 extrusions) there may be cross-contamination between colors/materials
  2. the printheads individually are proven to be reliable

Hints:

  • single heatblock = same print temperature
  • dual heatblock = different print temperatures possible
  • dual nozzle = different nozzle sizes possible

That’s it.