Tag Archives: Micro Swiss Hotends

3D Printing: Triple Nozzle Printhead

by · published Technology , , , ,

Updates:

  • 2020/12/29: published finally, also released files on Thingiverse
  • 2019/09/24: initial draft (not yet published)

After working on dual CR10 nozzle / Micro Swiss nozzle setup, I considered to add a third nozzle:

Triple CR10  Hotends / Micro Swiss Hotends

In order to pack the 3rd nozzle, I put it in front of the dual setup, and use one heatsink fan cooling all three heatsinks:

screenshot-from-2019-05-21-21-16-04.png
  • Rough draft
  • Rough draft

The Parametric Part Cooler has the settings part_cooler(m=50,wx=50,yoff=17,sq3=1,wx=54).

Final smooth part cooler and fully assembled:

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

Download

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3865972

Assembly

Assemble 3 nozzles in one go, and adding heatsink fan mount:

adding 50mm fan on top:

and with the dedicated Part Cooler using 5015 fan blower:

I recommend cover all nozzles with silicon socks when using the part cooler. Optionally LED strip mount in case you want some light on all three nozzles.

Leveling Three Nozzles

It’s essential that all three nozzles have the same distance to the bed, otherwise inactive nozzles might touch and tip-over a piece while printing. See Dual Nozzle Setup for the procedure.

Third Hotend Wiring

One requires a board with 3x MOSFETs to heat all three heatblocks and 3x thermistors inputs, like RUMBA or TANGO (Open Source variant of RUMBA) controller board or extend it with dedicated parts:

  • per heater: STP55NF06L (MOSFET) with 10R, 100K on a Dx (digital output); LED with 1.8K is optional
  • per thermistor: 4.7K with 10uF on a Ax (analog input)

for wiring see RAMPS 1.4 schematic as reference:

See Also

That’s it.

3D Printing: Dual Nozzle Printhead

by · published Technology , , , ,

Once I discovered the Micro Swiss Hotend clones aka CR10 hotends, I realized they had properties which were ideal for dual nozzle printheads:

  • the nozzle is vertically fastened with a single screw
  • 2 or more nozzles can be easily vertically calibrated to have the same distance to the printbed
  • CR10 Hotend: one worm screw to change distance
  • Dual CR10 hotends: equalize nozzles perfectly

The proper way includes two additional screws which stabilize the heatsink with the heatblock, but those are left out for this use-case.

Dual Hotend Mount

A very minimalistic lightweight mount with 40mm fan in mind:

The nozzle X offset is 24mm in the ideal case.

Part Cooler

Adapting my Parametric Part Cooler with part_cooler(name="dual swiss",wx=50)​:

Download

https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/tool/dual-extrusion-with-2x-cr10-micro-swiss-hotends-with-part-cooler

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3633941

BOM

  • 2x M3x12 or 14 to mount to 30mm X carriage, possible 2x M3 nuts
  • 4x M3x20 (mount 2x “CR10 hotends”)
  • 4x M3 nuts
  • 4x M3x10 or M3x12 if you use part cooler too (mounting 40mm fan)
  • 1x 40×10 fan
  • 1x 50×15 fan blower (optional as part cooler)

Assembly

  1. assemble both hotends to the X carriage without PTFE inserted yet
  2. move Z down until one hotend reaches bed (truly touch)
  3. open worm screw of the other hotend so the nozzle drops to the bed as well
  4. close worm screw firmly
  5. move X carriage 2mm or more up
  6. insert PTFE and fasten firmly (I recommend https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1993384 2x PC4-M10 = PTFE remains intact) and insert filament
  7. perform test print

X Offset

You can define X offset via Gcode (e.g. as start gcode):

M218 T0 X0
M218 T1 X24 Y0

given T0/Extruder 1 is left, and T1/Extruder 2 is on the right.

Since “CR10 hotends” are really cheap and not precisely machined, there is too much margin in the mounting 3mm holes – hence, you likely have more or less of 24mm X offset, and possible even Y offset as well. Use a 2-color calibration model to tune the offsets.

Usage

  • Dual CR10 hotends: different distance to bed
  • Dual CR10 hotends: equalize nozzles perfectly
  • Dual CR10 hotends: equal distance to bed
  • Dual CR10 hotends: 40mm fan mounted
  • Part cooler mounted
  • Complete setup attached to X carriage

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

See Also

That’s it.