Thank you all for the overwhelmingly positive support!!!! As we review the comments it’s clear that there is some information missing from the demo video. But TH-cam won’t let us make changes to it, so we’ll attempt to address some of the needed information here. We are working on a supplemental video now that also addresses these points. In the meantime, we hope this helps. Here are the answers to your most frequently asked questions: Q-How is the filament switched? A-In this video we are switching the filament after a nozzle change using the Prusa MMU (Multi Material Unit). In short, the MMU pulls the old filament out -> selects a new filament -> then loads the new filament in. (The Swapper3D cuts the filament before the MMU pulls the old filament out to prevent possible strings and jamming.) The Swapper3D can also use these filament switchers: Mosaic Palette (any version), CoPrint, ERCF (enraged rabbit carrot feeder), Ryper MMU, 3D Chameleon, and any other similarly designed filament changer. Q-If you only have 25 nozzles can you print a model with more than 25 color changes? A-Yes. Each nozzle is assigned to a single particular color and reused an unlimited number of times. Each time the printer needs to use that color the Swapper3D loads the nozzle for that color, it's heated back up, and the printing continues. In this way unlimited color swaps can be done. For example, the print in the video has 576 swaps. Q-Why 25 nozzles if the mmu can only manage 5 filaments? A-The Prusa MMU can switch between 5 filaments, the CoPrint up to 7, the Mosaic Palette up to 8, the ERCF up to 12 (enraged rabbit carrot feeder), in the future there may be even more. The Swapper3D supports "UP TO" 25, but it will work with 1 or 2 or 5 or 8...all the way UP TO 25. When users purchase the base Swapper3D kit it comes with 5 QuickSwap-Nozzles and it can be expanded by adding more at any time in the future. The ‘up-to’ 25 nozzles can also be used to automatically switch different nozzle sizes during the print even when printing with a single filament. Q-Wouldn’t some other printer/system/technique be better/faster/less expensive to use than the Swapper3D? A-No. Some people really love their 3D printer (like the Prusa i3). With the Swapper3D they can keep the printer they love and add new improved functionality to it. No tool changer out there supports 25 tools, there isn’t the space for that many tools. All those other ways of MultiColor printing require purging, and the Swapper3D eliminates that. Over time the ongoing consumable filament costs + time saved will pay for the Swapper3D’s static price. Q-Will this work on my printer? A-Possibly. Currently we only support the Prusa i3 and Creality Ender 3 out-of-the-box, but we will be adding support for other printers as fast as we possibly can. Brave Makers (like you) can also modify the mounting bracket or create an adapter to mount the Swapper3D to their own printer. We encourage this and supply the 3D step files to our customers to make it easier for them to create their own custom adapters. In addition to mounting the Swapper3D, your alternate 3D printer needs either an available serial port on mainboard or an external Raspberry Pi running Octoprint to coordinate nozzle swaps. Because there are so many different variations of 3D printers we really do need the community to help expand support for the Swapper3D. Printers with a similar design to the Prusa i3 (i.e. bed slingers) will be the easiest to adapt to. Core XY printers will be next for us to create a variation for. There is nothing preventing a core xy printer from using the Swapper3D as long as it has a) an adapter b) an available serial port and c) available clearance. Q-Is it open source? A-Since we have added some new gcode commands to Marlin firmware those changes will of course remain open source along with Marlin's standard license. Additionally, the Swapper3D firmware and all of the printed parts are Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0. Q-How long does it take to heat the nozzle up when it’s first inserted? A-About 15 seconds, which is almost exactly the same time it takes the MMU to unload the current filament and load in the next filament, which means the swap adds zero(0) seconds of additional time because of the nozzle heating up. The Nozzles have a low thermal mass. The QuickSwap-Hotend has a much larger mass and it maintains the temperature of the heater block at all times, during printing and during a filament change and during a swap, with the standard 6mm tube heater and thermistor of the Prusa i3 extruder. When a cold nozzle is inserted, it lowers the temperature of the heater block by about 15C. The Swapper3D inserts a gcode command to wait for the temperature to stabilize to the print melt temperature before it continues printing. Q-Do you have any videos showing the printing while using the Swapper3D? A-Here are 2 unabridged videos of printing with the swapper3D: Front facing: th-cam.com/video/Z3rjUGf5QYM/w-d-xo.html Side facing: th-cam.com/video/ltVoUz5mSNg/w-d-xo.html Q-How do you deal with any ooze that happens while the nozzles are cooling down or heating up? A-There is a wiper molded into the cutter guard that deals absorbs the ooze (not shown in this video. see Kickstarter for more details) We also infill before perimeters to address the pressure stability and priming. Though additional priming can also be done on the wiper pad if needed. Q-If you cut the filament how does retraction work when the nozzle is loaded next? In other words, will retraction still work? A-Yes the retraction still works. During string calibration test prints no noticeable difference is observed between areas where the filament is cut and still disconnected and those where the filament is rejoined in the hotend melt zone. The effect of retraction is made by removing extrusion pressure which still happens during retractions even after the filament is cut. Q-Does this work for automatically swapping different nozzle sizes during a print? A-Yes, you can use this to automatically change nozzle sizes too. and you can use it to swap filament materials too. Q-Can't we just purge to infill? A-The infill is almost never enough volume for a color purge. Remember the infill is limited to the volume of that color space on a single layer. And the infill volume varies by layer so for larger layers maybe it's enough but it may not be on smaller layers and then you'll get color smearing. Q-Can you share some of the failure modes of such a system ? A-We foresee 4 possible failure modes 1)it cannot unload the nozzle 2) it cannot stow the nozzle 3)it cannot select a nozzle 4)it cannot load a nozzle. We incorporate a check switch/probe that confirms each of these steps. For instance if it failed to pick a nozzle out of the tool holder wheel then when it moved to the switch it would not trigger it, then the Swapper3D would display an error on the LCD and pause the print waiting for user intervention. Q-Is there too much weight added to the Z axis? A-No. Not for a lead screw. 1398g are added to the sprung weight. The current of the Z steppers is increased to account for this, and no missed steps have been seen. In the kit we include heat sinks and a fan that are added to the printer main board which keeps it much cooler than it was with even stock current. Q-How are the QuickSwap-Nozzles held in the heater block? A-There is a sliding lock that pulls the hotend up against a taper in the heater block. You can see more information about it on the Kickstarter page. Q-How high is the failure rate? A-Very low. We are currently stress testing the current iteration of The Swapper3D (the one in this video) which has done more than 35,000 swaps without failure up to now and is still counting. Q-Wouldn't a purge bin be better? A-No, because the amount it would need to purge would be the exact same amount (and take the same time) in both cases. The only benefit to a purge bin is that you save the bed space, But many printers cannot move the nozzle off the bed, so in cases like the Prusa i3 you cannot use a purge bin. Q-Why are you cutting the filament when you can just retract before pulling the nozzle out? A-Because Swapping nozzles is better. Pulling out the filament can cause strings and malformed tips that interfere with reinserting that filament next time. It's such a common problem that many users hate filament switchers like the MMU because of it. Cutting the filament eliminates the possibility of those problems and makes the MMU much more reliable. Thank you for watching! =D
I really appreciate your candour, but "open source for non-commercial use" is in direct conflict with clause 1 of the Open Source Definition. On the other hand, NC is an established condition in e.g. Creative Commons, and a respectable choice of where to draw the line for your designs. The point it becomes a bit weird is e.g. if someone wants to build a print farm using a printer that requires a modified mount; will they e.g. have to override the license by interoperability requirements? Would it be restricted to hire a modeller to design that modification? Anyhow, those are hypothetical scenarios. Your product remains your design and anyone would be free to approach you to negotiate terms if those prepared don't suffice. Good luck!
Hi, just saw this video and Kickstarter has finished. How do I buy this? Do you have a website, email list etc? Couldn't find any details on Kickstarter (never used it before) on how to contact a project after funding, like Indiegogo's "in demand" feature
@@darkbunglex We've updated the Kickstarter page with a 'Pre-Order' button. The Swapper3D is now available to pre-order on our website: www.bigbrain3d.com/product/the-swapper3d-no-more-purge-blocks/
Really cool. How does the quick-swap nozzle work, I mean it doesn't fit in the Prusa extruder, would you exchange the extruder? Any plans to make it compatible with Prusa MK4?
I just want to take a second and say I really really appreciate your advertisement approach. It is seldom find a company who, as you guys have done, are proud enough of their product that they don't see any need to inflate their claims or use bogus marketing jargon to hype themselves up. You guys used very reasonable example prints with time-lapse/stamps and that whole 'how it works' section was supper interesting and cool to watch and demonstrated that you are transparent about your product even in a 'pre-ish-' production phase, really cool to see. I really hope you guys do well on the Kickstarter, and even more down the road.
To me it seems they used a pretty torture test to demonstrate the "up-to" scenario where your the block produces the most waste. IMO this all purgeblock would be not necessary or could be minimized by slicer support so that the excess goes into infill
This type of system has been included on CNC milling machines for decades. It was only a matter of time til 3d printers got the same treatment. Thanks yall!
Yeah, the tricky thing is that this is only half the solution for printing... You'd need another add-on for swapping filaments in a 25 spool array to make full use of it.
Eric Karczewski yeah I find it odd they didn’t show that, unless they don’t make one and it isn’t included. If it isn’t included it kind of makes this pretty useless in my opinion. First you need to find one that will handle 25 filaments, then you need to get it to work nicely with the hot end changer, which might be easier said than done. Edit: I’ll add that it could be useful without a filament changer if you just wanted to use different sizes of nozzle for different parts of the model, but then you don’t need 25 different hot ends. And most people wouldn’t need this anyway. It seems like it could be useful is some specific situations but also seems a bit gimmicky and won’t work too well for reasons I put in my own comment, like filament will leak out of the nozzles as they cool down, which could be different amounts depending on the temperature and material, this could lead to blobs or random bits of plastic on your print. It also has to wait for each hot end to heat up which will make that worse as well as plastic will leak as it heats up.
@@theneonbop Can it handle 25 different filaments though? If not then its not using this to its full potential, and how well does it work with this? Does it just work out of the box or does it require a lot of tweaking and adjustment and changing firmware, etc?
@@conorstewart2214 they said you have to swap out the firmware for the printer, and that if you buy it you have to pay more to get more nozzles, they left a comment above with more details.
I never really thought about this, but the ability to swap the nozzle depending on the detail is very appealing, and I could see significant uses for this. It’s interesting to see the expansion of 3d printing into a new area similar to CNC milling, where several tools are used to create a perfect part. The only challenge now is refining these tools to be affordable and take up less space. Awesome stuff you guys made!
Yes this sounds so nice, being able to switch from .6mm nozzle for bulky, quick printed areas and then swap to a .2mm nozzle for the super fine detailed sections.
The nozzles on the wheel are all preheated? And when the nozzle is extracted from hotend, there' s a small part of filament cut in, how the mechanism remove it ready for the next change ?
You'd have to get fancy with slicer settings , as long as it where per layer current slicers would work other then that the slicer tech just isn't there
There are better designs for actually swapping toolheads. Swapping just the nozzle is in itself very useful because of the purging issue, but is both easier and harder than swapping the complete toolhead. But there are already automatic toolswappers which can swap two or maybe four and more hotends or instead something like an expection camera, part placer, drill etc.
I've recently had the idea of putting research into a very similar concept. You guys are years ahead of me. This is *exactly* what I've been looking for. Incredibly exciting to see something like this come to market!!
Holy overengineering. I mean - it's impressive as all hell, that you got a system to work like this! I usually just purge to the infill of my model instead; so fail to see any benefit in that regard, but the quick nozzle swap bit is the real star of the show here. I'd love to have nozzle changes automated like that just to be able to do things like use tiny nozzles (0.25, 0.1) for outer detail pieces, and then combined-infill for bonding the walls together. /sigh...now I've gotta build an ERCF for my personal machines so I can do this.
Thank you :) Yes you can use it to change nozzle sizes automatically during prints just like you mention. It opens up all sorts of possibilities. You could even do that with a single filament, though if you add an ERCF then you can have multiple nozzle sizes per material.... Thanks for the comment!
I have no interest in multicolor printing, outside of soluble support material, but being able to print with multiple nozzle sizes for detail is very appealing. I mostly print with an 0.8mm nozzle (and might go bigger if I get around to upgrading my hot end) which makes nice durable prints. But being able to swap between a 1.0 and a 0.2 at will along with soluble support would be living the dream!
Hey, I have quite a bit of experience printing but none printing multmaterial. Is it a slicer setting that allows you to print to the infill? Or some tweaking you did yourself? I got to say I never considered that a possibility so I'm really curious
what about retractions and ooze? the first ~3cm of filament is not connected to the extruder, hence the ability to retract the filament is not possible until all the initial filament is purged. Ooze can also be a problem by changing a not nozzle, increasing risk of under extrusion the first centimetres of extrusion. Overengineerd design, but cool concept.
put in the code to have the right amount of retraction to relieve pressure, turn off the thermistor, full fan speed to prevent ooze and swap. Would that work?
Agreed and also when the filament that is pushed towards the heatblock hits the ~3cm end of the cut section of filament.. won't that clause extrusion inconsistencies? The two surfaces aren't continuous, so a tiny bit of air will enter the heatblock and presumably heat, expand, and perhaps cause zits on the print...?
@@dt1165 I don't know about that. I would think that would leave residue in the nozzle that might cause air bubbles when the next line of filament enters the hotend. Unless the hotend was cooled and the extruder retracted it like a cold pull, but then the end of the filament would be really inconsistent and wispy. At least with cutting the filament, the interface between the short line of old filament and the rest of the spool is a flat, flush snip rather than a crazy wisp or half-melted crap. But that's just a guess on my part. Edit: Or maybe the residue left in the nozzle after one long retraction would just get re-melted into the incoming filament. But I think air bubbles could still be a problem.
@@zombieno1 I would imagine it would become imperative to print infill first. If a color change is occurring every layer, the inconsistent extrusion would probably be extremely noticeable, provided that this system even produces the hypothetical artifact in the first place.
So impressive and what a wonderful approach that eliminates the purge tower entirely. I built your add on for the Palette 2 but didn’t have a chance to use it much due to issues with the Palette that eventually Mosaic was able to fix with some hardware replacement parts but by then I was committed on other projects. This is far, far more exciting. Very clearly explained and shown in the video.
Thank you for you nice complements and supporting our past work. Backers like you have enabled us to continue innovating. We can only do it with your support! Thanks again :)
Coming from a cnc background and recently getting into 3d printing I love this and its for real big brain ingenuity and such a no-brainer at the same time. I'm excited for this and for the evolution of additive manufacturing
i can see quite a few possibilities for multi-material prints with this, especially as some of the more exotic materials out there are quite expensive. being able to print at multiple "resolutions" with different nozzle sizes coul dlead to some interesting ways to save time, such as doing infill with a much wider nozzle than the outer layers.
Yes, strong and precise at the same time, with outer contours with a 0.4mm or smaller, say a 0.2mm one, then inners with a thicker bore to push out material faster on fatter lines. You'll get both sharp details on the outer walls while reducing print times for strong parts, or even multi material for outer and inner and infill.
I could never see multimaterial printing as more than a novelty in an already niche hobby due to the waste it causes. It’s exciting to see people solve this problem in various ways. Stephan at CNC kitchen recently featured a rotating tool head with multiple extruders, a beautiful design with several drawbacks but it achieved its goal of preventing waste. I hope for the success of everyone in the pursuit of this endeavor.
The easiest way to reduce the waste currently is to have two or more hotends in whatever form that takes. Other than the waste is really relative. There's also support material and wasted prints, and even at two or three times as much filament used I don't see as much of a practical issue. It just hurts our sense of efficiency.
The Swapper3D is paired with either a Prusa MMU or Mosaic Palette to unload the old filament and load in the next filament. Thanks for the question and compliment!
Ok. PrusaMMU supports 5 filaments and the bigger version of Mosaic‘s Palette supports 8. Why do you support 25 nozzles? Is the idea to allow printing with different nozzle diameters as well?
Really cool rig. I bet you could simplify the mechanism a bunch in v2.0 by licensing the swappable nozzles to printer the manufacturers and let them use the x/y/z motion of the printer to pickup and store nozzles under the bed. Just extend the y axis forward a bit to allow the bed to get all the way out from under the x axis.
@@VikMKW You're comparing a 80k machine designed by a group of engineers to a Kickstarter project that costs around $300. I would say this is overengineered in comparison to other 3d printer mods.
@@morbus5726 Over engineered means there's an excess unnecessarily complicated designs. These guys didn't do that. They did the minimum necessary for a tool changer to work. They very easily could've used more sensors to track tool pockets, used a closed loop servo, or made this a CAN node and made integration a living hell.
This is really cool, wish more people were talking about it. Getting rid of purge blocks (or Bamboo poops) is a pretty big issue that most people don't seem concerned about.
the real kicker is different size nozzles. it may take longer rn, but with a slightly faster machine you could make walls with a thin layer and infill with a thick layer. or composite prints! multiple materials per part can now be viable 3d printers are evolving like cnc mills, i like it!
my favorite 3 minute product video I've ever seen. Thanks for not wasting our time! I would like to see how the filament is reloaded. Is that a manual process?
We are glad you think so! In this video we are switching the filament after a nozzle change using the Prusa MMU (Multi Material Unit). In short, the MMU pulls the old filament out -> selects a new filament -> then loads the new filament in. (The Swapper3D cuts the filament before the MMU pulls the old filament out to prevent possible strings and jamming.)
This is an absolute game changer for multi-color printing. Although, I haven't checked the price but it's obvious it's going to need to be very expensive to be profitable. Those nozzles are very expensive, then there's having to pay for the engineering time that went into the design. This will be priced out of availability for most people, but its still an awesome step forward.
I have absolutely zero need for this but it's pretty amazing that this product exists. Just the amount of complexity with all the moving parts is really impressive. If it works reliably I can see it being very useful.
I see it. I believe I understand it. However, it seems like to order a Pizza Cutter but got a hamburger flipper. In video clearly shows filament in the hot end. But now it got there It does not explain how the hot end is kept at the proper temp It does not explain the change of filament It does not explain the filament in the existing flow does not need to extruded to proper temp and consistency
The Swapper3D changes the nozzle only, another device is required to switch the filament. in this case we used the MMU from Prusa. It is mentioned in the video. Here is a link to their product demo th-cam.com/video/E1ZxTCApLrs/w-d-xo.html Bascially the MMU pulls the old filament out and feeds in a filament of a new color/type. The Swapper3D then changes the nozzles so a nozzle only has a single color/material in it. The filament switching is not the feature of our Kickstarter and so we didn't cover it. The Hotend is kept at the proper temperature by the standard heating element that is already part of this printer and it's temperature controller. Hopefully this helps.
Ah a side mounted tool changer, I love seeing these at work. I can't believe it took this long for somebody to come up with this for a 3d printer when it's been standard fare for CNC machining centers for ages... Soon as e3d announced revo I was like this is when we are gonna see a more conventional tool changer for printers. My biggest question is how are the nozzle breaks held in the hotend?
Glad you liked it!. There is a sliding lock that pulls the hotend up against a taper in the heater block. You can see more information about it on the kickstarter page.
@@BigBrain3D and what kind of z offset repeatability have you found? Might be best to combine with a probing cycle with an end stop of a known position, not every firmware supports this, but it would be useful to ensure consistency, my early plan for a z repeatedly would be ±0.015mm so that you have a maximum difference of half of a fine layer
@@3dpyromaniac560 We've found any difference to be imperceptible. The firmware code will be available to customers soon so you could make any adaptations you feel are appropriate very easily.
Interesting concept. How can you assure that the z position of the nozzles remain the same up to a decimal of mm? Usually when you swap a nozzle the position of the tip changes, even slightly, and that can be an issue, how do you solve it?
When the QuickSwap-Nozzle's are inserted into the hotend the slide lock pulls them up and seats them each at the same point in a taper. Just like in a CNC mill tool changer. In this way nozzles are at the same level so individual offsets are not required.
@@BigBrain3D If you have nozzles of different sizes in the tool changer then you will need offsets for each tool. Wouldn't be too hard TBH though, especially if you make a probe like the one featured in the Voron 2.4 and have some gcode that will just loop through all of the tools and save the offsets.
@BigBrain3D only because you did such a great thing by providing the theory of operation did you guarantee a backer. As a technician I appreciate the detailed engineering explanation of what the machine is supposed to be doing. Looks like you have some good checks in there, and I am curious to learn about how it checks for "tool change complete". Vision? Touch Probe? Inductive sensor? Who knows, well you do actually.
Great V1, but there seems to be way too much play in that system to be reliable long term with no babysitting. Maybe use small digital servos or gear motors that don't have that tell-tale RC Servo jerk. Otherwise awesome project!
It also doesn’t seem to be able to account for filament leaking out of the nozzles. Every time I heat up my hot end, filament starts leaking out, slowly, and when it is cooling down a little comes out too. With this you will get that happening when it cools down and heats up as well. This will lead to back quality prints, when you change the nozzle, it will end up with blobs or just little bits of plastic where they aren’t supposed to be as well as under extrusion until the extruder pushes enough filament through to make up for the filament that leaked out.
@Conor Stewart. There is a wiper molded into the cutter that deals with the ooze (not shown in this video. see kickstarter for more details) we also infill before perimeters to address the pressure stability. @TheNeonBop you got it!
Love the machine, but wish it could be used on other printers. Amazing product though! Also doesn't the cut filament, when printing, cause a gap in the extrusion?
Retraction has 2 effects which both make a large impact to stringing. 1) removing extrusion pressure and 2) creating suction at the tip of the nozzle. The #1 effect is seen immediately after a swap. The #2 effect is seen shortly after a little bit of extrusion, and to account for that we change the slicer to infill before perimeters. There is also the wiper on the cutter arm that can be used for priming the nozzle. Thanks for your comment :)
Finally it can swap material/color AND the size of nozzle which Im way more interested for optimizing print times and quality especially with large or strong prints
Seems interesting, but unless someone needs to use different nozzle sizes or materials, it’s not really necessary as slicers can already purge into the infill to get rid of the need for purge blocks. That being said it’s a very cool concept and especially for multi-material prints it could definitely make a huge difference. Hope this system will one day also be available for other printers
We are working other printer adaptations. The infill is almost never enough volume for a color purge. Remember the infill is limited to the volume of that color space on a single layer. And the infill volume varies by layer so for larger layers maybe it's enough but it may not be and then you'll get color smearing.
During the top of the print, where it's all the same colour, the one on the left was slower in the video 1:181:24 , yet they should be identical assuming correct print settings and playback was matched at the same speed. Why is this not the case?
During each print we recorded the time-lapses using Octoprint + Octolapse. Octolapse took 1 picture per layer (we added the 'snap' command in the on-layer-change gcode section in PS. This means that despite the great difference in print time the original rendered timelapse (with purge block and with Swapper3D) were the same run time. What we did when creating the comparison is attempt to, as accurately as possible, make the run time of each timelapse video related to the other correct to it's ratio of print time. Because Octolapse takes 1 picture per layer it means that even in layers where the color is the same, and therefore the video *should* be faster, it appears to take the same amount of time as the multicolor layers. Though we could have tried to make this adjustment in post processing we thought we'd probably just mess it up more so we left it unchanged. You have a good eye for detail. Thank you for your observations :)
It takes 15 seconds for a newly inserted QuickSwap-nozzle to reach melt temp. Which is almost exactly the same time it takes the MMU to unload the old and load the new filament so the heat up adds almost no extra time to the swap. Thanks for the question :)
If you can swap out the enter head assembly why not make a rack with all the nozzles with individual filament feeds still attached skipping the cutting section all together? Heck you could even swap out the entire filament feeder assembly as well. Just need to attach the enter unit back up to the drive section of the printer.
Everyone seems to be talking about the filament swapping aspect, but I'm just wondering how the nozzle is securely held in place for printing. I didn't see any sort of lacking/unlocking mechanism. It sounded like there was some sort of detent, but it's hard to say. 25 nozzles seems like overkill. The MMU2 supports 5 filaments, so with 25 nozzles you would have access to 5 nozzle sizes per filament. However there are only 4 commonly used sizes (0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8mm). I guess you could have multiple nozzle materials though. For example, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6mm in brass, and 0.4 and 0.6 in steel. Really cool concept.
There is a sliding lock that pulls the hotend up against a taper in the heater block. You can see more information about it on the kickstarter page. The Prusa MMU can switch between 5 filaments, the CoPrint up to 7, the Mosaic Palette up to 8, the ERCF up to 12 (enraged rabbit carrot feeder), in the future there may be even more. The Swapper3D supports "UP TO" 25, but it will work with 1 or 2 or 5 or 8...all the way UP TO 25. When users purchase the base Swapper3D kit it comes with 5 QuickSwap-Nozzles and it can be expanded by adding more at any time in the future. The ‘up-to’ 25 nozzles can also be used to automatically switch different nozzle sizes during the print even when printing with a single filament.
Nice video, but it fails to address several important concerns. Since you're changing out the entire hot-end, it is going to take a lot of time to switch it and to heat it up to temperature ... plus the thermister to register the nozzle/block temp isn't going to be as accurate unless you just wait longer for the heating to stablize. Is that time really represented in your figures, or did you just opportunistically simulate that. You offer up top 25 nozzles, which is also expensive. But since you leave filament in each one, then I don't see how they can be reused unless somebody is standing by picking out the filament between swaps to allow for reuse again. 25 nozzles isn't going to last long for a hundred layer 2 color print, which is going to need 200 nozzle swaps. because the newly swapped nozzle is otherwise empty, then some amount of pre extraction has to happen to get a consistent flow. That would require some sort of purge block? You're pushing air for part of that. Even if your model has enough internal space to evacuate ... it sounds like a quality issue for the print.
1. You can have it wait a specified time after doing a swap for heating to stabilize. So maybe 45-60 seconds between swaps? 2. Up to 25 nozzles. You don't have to get 25. Only need however many colors you'll use at one time. So 5-12. Why would you be picking out the filament between swaps? In your first question you pointed out that the nozzle/block temp need to stabilize. The filament is in the nozzle being reheated with the nozzle. Just like starting a new print with the same filament you used the day prior that's still in the nozzle. Two color print will use 2 nozzles. 3. You would prime the nozzles prior to printing. Easy setup procedure.
@@zombieno1 I guess I’m pessimistic that the incoming filament will cleanly press against the previously short cut end from the reused hot end. Seems like a failure point with some non trivial ratio. I could just be way off though
i do very much like the idea and fully back it however i do know there's a simple and cheaper way to do this which is firstly make your purge block much smaller and have your filament retract outside of the hotend then have it insert the next filament. you shouldn't need a cube any bigger then a inch wide if even that. now the other side of that coin where i do love the idea is this could allow for spots to have much higher resolution simply by changing the nozzle with this machine. i dont see this being of much use for color changing but that resolution changing part alone is awesome. this could also prevent issues from materials mixing down the road. I will be following this and wish you the best of luck on this project
This is amazing! I currently use the palette 3 pro and am still in the process of reducing the transition block. I really hope that in the future this can be made to support the Ender 3 and Ender 5 Plus printers. Definitely going to be keeping an eye on the progress of this. Keep up the work guys!
Does the system recognize which color was used with which nozzle, or it just cycles through the nozzles? If so, how does the filament left in the nozzle gets purged?
The Swapper3D knows that Tool 1/2/3/etc is in a specific receptacle so that each nozzle is reused when that tool is called again later in the print, that is what it 'keeps track of', it doesn't know which color or material is loaded in which nozzle; You need to organize that in the slicer.
@@BigBrain3D Very glad to hear that but it does not explicitly answer the question Eric posed. What is the license under which those files are published, and what intentions, if any, do you have regarding changes to that license in the future?
It looks like when a nozzle is swapped out, it still has filament in it, which will cool and harden within the nozzle. How is this purged from the nozzle? Does this mean you only get 25 filament changes for the entire print?
@@mangoldengineering3134 So the system keeps track of which filament is in which nozzle? But even so, there's a couple of cm of filament that can't be retracted and will probably ooze. (BTW: I'm not against the system, I think its a good idea, I just think that there are a few edge case problems)
@@vannoo67 you sound like a calm person and not like those others who have already dismissed this awesome idea. So your first question is Yes. It definitely keeps track of the nozzle. You'd assign them to each color. Just like using an automatic tool changer for a CNC. Your second concern. I think : put in the code to have the right amount of retraction to relieve pressure, turn off the thermistor, full fan speed to cool off the nozzle and prevent ooze then swap. Would that work? Also.. when starting the next layer, set your slicer to print infill first. That'll purge enough to help make sure the flow is consistent before getting to the walls. Savvy?
I wish the timelapse was higher quality, I find it hard to believe you can achieve the same quality between these 2 methods. The tolerance we're talking about for nozzle height and centerline are so small I don't think each cartridge is going to line back up as it should. This is why CNC milling machines have tool length offsets and cutter comp.
I expect they're allowed to cool in the carousel, as the heater block isn't getting swapped and its contact surface is outside the wheel. Typically when we talk of "cooking" filament it's keeping the hot end loaded and hot for excessive amounts of time, which risks drooling and burning. Both those consequences would require purging again for neat prints.
i'm super impressed how smooth the tool changes are, and how no nozzles being screwed in means the nozzle change mechanism isn't just gonna cause a blob of death :)
The nozzle is still screwed into the hot end. The hot and cold ends are swapped out as a single unit so there is no place for melted filament to escape and cause a blob. The filament is being cut above the cold end so it's still just normal unheated filament that just came off the spool. Very clever design.
the idea is great but this implementation looks soo overengineered it makes me worried about reliability over time. most small CNCs uses the machines own motion system to go to a specific location and grab a new tool
Because we wanted to start with Prusa i3 support, or even support for an existing printer, there is design constraints that require certain features. In the case of the i3 we think it's pretty much the simplest way this can be done, though like all first versions it will get better, and more reliable, and simpler over time and design iterations. The good news is that most of the parts should be reusable as we enhance the design. We've taken a page from Prusa and made as much 3D printable as makes sense so that customers can easily upgrade theirs without having to buy a whole new thing. Thanks for commenting :)
oh wow, I just realized that this could have applications beyond simply multi-material printing. You could even have nozzles with different bore sizes on the same filament so that you can print some sections quickly with low detail, and some sections slower with fine detail. If you could get the swap faster, you could probably save a lot of print time doing that
You can use variable layer thickness wven with single nozzle and that will cover most of your needs. And you will be saving yourself ~$400 on that device :)
@@TheTychus not what I meant. I meant like using a wider nozzle to put down thicker lines. A larger nozzle gives higher volumetric flow, meaning you can print much much faster. The time savings are frankly ridiculous in some cases
WOW this is brilliant. I hope it takes off and eventually you develop it for different brands as well. PLUS, like many said here, this could revolutionise even single color prints purely by allowing to change nozzle "resolution" on the fly.
Cool, but you still have filament in those nozzles and on top of that, a kickstarter project is generally something that a lot of people wouldn't back because there is no guarantee that you'll just run off with the money. It does look like it may have made it out of kickstarter and onto a normal product page, but that's a pretty expensive system.
Thank you all for the overwhelmingly positive support!!!!
As we review the comments it’s clear that there is some information missing from the demo video. But TH-cam won’t let us make changes to it, so we’ll attempt to address some of the needed information here. We are working on a supplemental video now that also addresses these points. In the meantime, we hope this helps.
Here are the answers to your most frequently asked questions:
Q-How is the filament switched?
A-In this video we are switching the filament after a nozzle change using the Prusa MMU (Multi Material Unit). In short, the MMU pulls the old filament out -> selects a new filament -> then loads the new filament in. (The Swapper3D cuts the filament before the MMU pulls the old filament out to prevent possible strings and jamming.) The Swapper3D can also use these filament switchers: Mosaic Palette (any version), CoPrint, ERCF (enraged rabbit carrot feeder), Ryper MMU, 3D Chameleon, and any other similarly designed filament changer.
Q-If you only have 25 nozzles can you print a model with more than 25 color changes?
A-Yes. Each nozzle is assigned to a single particular color and reused an unlimited number of times. Each time the printer needs to use that color the Swapper3D loads the nozzle for that color, it's heated back up, and the printing continues. In this way unlimited color swaps can be done. For example, the print in the video has 576 swaps.
Q-Why 25 nozzles if the mmu can only manage 5 filaments?
A-The Prusa MMU can switch between 5 filaments, the CoPrint up to 7, the Mosaic Palette up to 8, the ERCF up to 12 (enraged rabbit carrot feeder), in the future there may be even more. The Swapper3D supports "UP TO" 25, but it will work with 1 or 2 or 5 or 8...all the way UP TO 25. When users purchase the base Swapper3D kit it comes with 5 QuickSwap-Nozzles and it can be expanded by adding more at any time in the future. The ‘up-to’ 25 nozzles can also be used to automatically switch different nozzle sizes during the print even when printing with a single filament.
Q-Wouldn’t some other printer/system/technique be better/faster/less expensive to use than the Swapper3D?
A-No. Some people really love their 3D printer (like the Prusa i3). With the Swapper3D they can keep the printer they love and add new improved functionality to it. No tool changer out there supports 25 tools, there isn’t the space for that many tools. All those other ways of MultiColor printing require purging, and the Swapper3D eliminates that. Over time the ongoing consumable filament costs + time saved will pay for the Swapper3D’s static price.
Q-Will this work on my printer?
A-Possibly. Currently we only support the Prusa i3 and Creality Ender 3 out-of-the-box, but we will be adding support for other printers as fast as we possibly can. Brave Makers (like you) can also modify the mounting bracket or create an adapter to mount the Swapper3D to their own printer. We encourage this and supply the 3D step files to our customers to make it easier for them to create their own custom adapters. In addition to mounting the Swapper3D, your alternate 3D printer needs either an available serial port on mainboard or an external Raspberry Pi running Octoprint to coordinate nozzle swaps.
Because there are so many different variations of 3D printers we really do need the community to help expand support for the Swapper3D.
Printers with a similar design to the Prusa i3 (i.e. bed slingers) will be the easiest to adapt to. Core XY printers will be next for us to create a variation for. There is nothing preventing a core xy printer from using the Swapper3D as long as it has a) an adapter b) an available serial port and c) available clearance.
Q-Is it open source?
A-Since we have added some new gcode commands to Marlin firmware those changes will of course remain open source along with Marlin's standard license. Additionally, the Swapper3D firmware and all of the printed parts are Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0.
Q-How long does it take to heat the nozzle up when it’s first inserted?
A-About 15 seconds, which is almost exactly the same time it takes the MMU to unload the current filament and load in the next filament, which means the swap adds zero(0) seconds of additional time because of the nozzle heating up. The Nozzles have a low thermal mass. The QuickSwap-Hotend has a much larger mass and it maintains the temperature of the heater block at all times, during printing and during a filament change and during a swap, with the standard 6mm tube heater and thermistor of the Prusa i3 extruder. When a cold nozzle is inserted, it lowers the temperature of the heater block by about 15C. The Swapper3D inserts a gcode command to wait for the temperature to stabilize to the print melt temperature before it continues printing.
Q-Do you have any videos showing the printing while using the Swapper3D?
A-Here are 2 unabridged videos of printing with the swapper3D:
Front facing: th-cam.com/video/Z3rjUGf5QYM/w-d-xo.html
Side facing: th-cam.com/video/ltVoUz5mSNg/w-d-xo.html
Q-How do you deal with any ooze that happens while the nozzles are cooling down or heating up?
A-There is a wiper molded into the cutter guard that deals absorbs the ooze (not shown in this video. see Kickstarter for more details) We also infill before perimeters to address the pressure stability and priming. Though additional priming can also be done on the wiper pad if needed.
Q-If you cut the filament how does retraction work when the nozzle is loaded next? In other words, will retraction still work?
A-Yes the retraction still works. During string calibration test prints no noticeable difference is observed between areas where the filament is cut and still disconnected and those where the filament is rejoined in the hotend melt zone. The effect of retraction is made by removing extrusion pressure which still happens during retractions even after the filament is cut.
Q-Does this work for automatically swapping different nozzle sizes during a print?
A-Yes, you can use this to automatically change nozzle sizes too. and you can use it to swap filament materials too.
Q-Can't we just purge to infill?
A-The infill is almost never enough volume for a color purge. Remember the infill is limited to the volume of that color space on a single layer. And the infill volume varies by layer so for larger layers maybe it's enough but it may not be on smaller layers and then you'll get color smearing.
Q-Can you share some of the failure modes of such a system ?
A-We foresee 4 possible failure modes 1)it cannot unload the nozzle 2) it cannot stow the nozzle 3)it cannot select a nozzle 4)it cannot load a nozzle. We incorporate a check switch/probe that confirms each of these steps. For instance if it failed to pick a nozzle out of the tool holder wheel then when it moved to the switch it would not trigger it, then the Swapper3D would display an error on the LCD and pause the print waiting for user intervention.
Q-Is there too much weight added to the Z axis?
A-No. Not for a lead screw. 1398g are added to the sprung weight. The current of the Z steppers is increased to account for this, and no missed steps have been seen. In the kit we include heat sinks and a fan that are added to the printer main board which keeps it much cooler than it was with even stock current.
Q-How are the QuickSwap-Nozzles held in the heater block?
A-There is a sliding lock that pulls the hotend up against a taper in the heater block. You can see more information about it on the Kickstarter page.
Q-How high is the failure rate?
A-Very low. We are currently stress testing the current iteration of The Swapper3D (the one in this video) which has done more than 35,000 swaps without failure up to now and is still counting.
Q-Wouldn't a purge bin be better?
A-No, because the amount it would need to purge would be the exact same amount (and take the same time) in both cases. The only benefit to a purge bin is that you save the bed space, But many printers cannot move the nozzle off the bed, so in cases like the Prusa i3 you cannot use a purge bin.
Q-Why are you cutting the filament when you can just retract before pulling the nozzle out?
A-Because Swapping nozzles is better. Pulling out the filament can cause strings and malformed tips that interfere with reinserting that filament next time. It's such a common problem that many users hate filament switchers like the MMU because of it. Cutting the filament eliminates the possibility of those problems and makes the MMU much more reliable.
Thank you for watching! =D
I really appreciate your candour, but "open source for non-commercial use" is in direct conflict with clause 1 of the Open Source Definition. On the other hand, NC is an established condition in e.g. Creative Commons, and a respectable choice of where to draw the line for your designs.
The point it becomes a bit weird is e.g. if someone wants to build a print farm using a printer that requires a modified mount; will they e.g. have to override the license by interoperability requirements? Would it be restricted to hire a modeller to design that modification?
Anyhow, those are hypothetical scenarios. Your product remains your design and anyone would be free to approach you to negotiate terms if those prepared don't suffice.
Good luck!
@@0LoneTech We've updated our pinned comment and will use the more appropriate license you suggested. Thank you for your advice :)
Hi, just saw this video and Kickstarter has finished. How do I buy this? Do you have a website, email list etc? Couldn't find any details on Kickstarter (never used it before) on how to contact a project after funding, like Indiegogo's "in demand" feature
@@darkbunglex We've updated the Kickstarter page with a 'Pre-Order' button. The Swapper3D is now available to pre-order on our website: www.bigbrain3d.com/product/the-swapper3d-no-more-purge-blocks/
Really cool. How does the quick-swap nozzle work, I mean it doesn't fit in the Prusa extruder, would you exchange the extruder? Any plans to make it compatible with Prusa MK4?
I just want to take a second and say I really really appreciate your advertisement approach. It is seldom find a company who, as you guys have done, are proud enough of their product that they don't see any need to inflate their claims or use bogus marketing jargon to hype themselves up. You guys used very reasonable example prints with time-lapse/stamps and that whole 'how it works' section was supper interesting and cool to watch and demonstrated that you are transparent about your product even in a 'pre-ish-' production phase, really cool to see. I really hope you guys do well on the Kickstarter, and even more down the road.
What a super nice thing to say =D Thank you for mentioning this. This is exactly what we are trying to do!
I wholeheartedly agree with you there. This is what advertising should be "Just the facts, ma'am".
Yes! No "this product will fix your life and file your taxes" advertising!
To me it seems they used a pretty torture test to demonstrate the "up-to" scenario where your the block produces the most waste.
IMO this all purgeblock would be not necessary or could be minimized by slicer support so that the excess goes into infill
Indeeed. Nice advertising 👏
This type of system has been included on CNC milling machines for decades. It was only a matter of time til 3d printers got the same treatment. Thanks yall!
Yeah, the tricky thing is that this is only half the solution for printing... You'd need another add-on for swapping filaments in a 25 spool array to make full use of it.
Eric Karczewski yeah I find it odd they didn’t show that, unless they don’t make one and it isn’t included. If it isn’t included it kind of makes this pretty useless in my opinion. First you need to find one that will handle 25 filaments, then you need to get it to work nicely with the hot end changer, which might be easier said than done.
Edit: I’ll add that it could be useful without a filament changer if you just wanted to use different sizes of nozzle for different parts of the model, but then you don’t need 25 different hot ends. And most people wouldn’t need this anyway. It seems like it could be useful is some specific situations but also seems a bit gimmicky and won’t work too well for reasons I put in my own comment, like filament will leak out of the nozzles as they cool down, which could be different amounts depending on the temperature and material, this could lead to blobs or random bits of plastic on your print. It also has to wait for each hot end to heat up which will make that worse as well as plastic will leak as it heats up.
@@conorstewart2214 The video shows a prusa filament swapper attached to the top of the printer, with 5 different filaments
@@theneonbop Can it handle 25 different filaments though? If not then its not using this to its full potential, and how well does it work with this? Does it just work out of the box or does it require a lot of tweaking and adjustment and changing firmware, etc?
@@conorstewart2214 they said you have to swap out the firmware for the printer, and that if you buy it you have to pay more to get more nozzles, they left a comment above with more details.
I'm terrified of all the exciting new failure modes, but so glad there exist actively working approaches to reducing filament waste
I never really thought about this, but the ability to swap the nozzle depending on the detail is very appealing, and I could see significant uses for this. It’s interesting to see the expansion of 3d printing into a new area similar to CNC milling, where several tools are used to create a perfect part. The only challenge now is refining these tools to be affordable and take up less space. Awesome stuff you guys made!
That's the approach i was thinking of too. Being able to swap nozzles is just as important as change filaments.
Yes this sounds so nice, being able to switch from .6mm nozzle for bulky, quick printed areas and then swap to a .2mm nozzle for the super fine detailed sections.
The nozzles on the wheel are all preheated? And when the nozzle is extracted from hotend, there' s a small part of filament cut in, how the mechanism remove it ready for the next change ?
You'd have to get fancy with slicer settings , as long as it where per layer current slicers would work other then that the slicer tech just isn't there
There are better designs for actually swapping toolheads. Swapping just the nozzle is in itself very useful because of the purging issue, but is both easier and harder than swapping the complete toolhead. But there are already automatic toolswappers which can swap two or maybe four and more hotends or instead something like an expection camera, part placer, drill etc.
I've recently had the idea of putting research into a very similar concept. You guys are years ahead of me. This is *exactly* what I've been looking for. Incredibly exciting to see something like this come to market!!
Thanks!
Finally someone build it! Had a very similar concept laying around for years. Wish you the best with your kickstart!
Thank you for your support =D
Holy overengineering. I mean - it's impressive as all hell, that you got a system to work like this! I usually just purge to the infill of my model instead; so fail to see any benefit in that regard, but the quick nozzle swap bit is the real star of the show here. I'd love to have nozzle changes automated like that just to be able to do things like use tiny nozzles (0.25, 0.1) for outer detail pieces, and then combined-infill for bonding the walls together. /sigh...now I've gotta build an ERCF for my personal machines so I can do this.
Thank you :) Yes you can use it to change nozzle sizes automatically during prints just like you mention. It opens up all sorts of possibilities. You could even do that with a single filament, though if you add an ERCF then you can have multiple nozzle sizes per material.... Thanks for the comment!
I have no interest in multicolor printing, outside of soluble support material, but being able to print with multiple nozzle sizes for detail is very appealing.
I mostly print with an 0.8mm nozzle (and might go bigger if I get around to upgrading my hot end) which makes nice durable prints. But being able to swap between a 1.0 and a 0.2 at will along with soluble support would be living the dream!
@@bobgarrish multimaterial is very useful however
Hey, I have quite a bit of experience printing but none printing multmaterial. Is it a slicer setting that allows you to print to the infill? Or some tweaking you did yourself? I got to say I never considered that a possibility so I'm really curious
@@pixel_vengeur391 It's a slicer setting In Prusa Slicer -> Expert mode -> Print settings tab -> Infill section -> Infill before perimeters (last option in V2.4.0)
The whole setup reminds me of how CNC toolchangers work, to the robot arm and the magazine.
Nice to see this realized for 3D printing!
OK, one year later! Where is your system??
what about retractions and ooze? the first ~3cm of filament is not connected to the extruder, hence the ability to retract the filament is not possible until all the initial filament is purged. Ooze can also be a problem by changing a not nozzle, increasing risk of under extrusion the first centimetres of extrusion. Overengineerd design, but cool concept.
put in the code to have the right amount of retraction to relieve pressure, turn off the thermistor, full fan speed to prevent ooze and swap. Would that work?
Agreed and also when the filament that is pushed towards the heatblock hits the ~3cm end of the cut section of filament.. won't that clause extrusion inconsistencies? The two surfaces aren't continuous, so a tiny bit of air will enter the heatblock and presumably heat, expand, and perhaps cause zits on the print...?
@@KieranShort it'll be so minor it probably won't matter. Especially if you set your slicer to print infill first.
@@dt1165 I don't know about that. I would think that would leave residue in the nozzle that might cause air bubbles when the next line of filament enters the hotend. Unless the hotend was cooled and the extruder retracted it like a cold pull, but then the end of the filament would be really inconsistent and wispy. At least with cutting the filament, the interface between the short line of old filament and the rest of the spool is a flat, flush snip rather than a crazy wisp or half-melted crap. But that's just a guess on my part.
Edit: Or maybe the residue left in the nozzle after one long retraction would just get re-melted into the incoming filament. But I think air bubbles could still be a problem.
@@zombieno1 I would imagine it would become imperative to print infill first. If a color change is occurring every layer, the inconsistent extrusion would probably be extremely noticeable, provided that this system even produces the hypothetical artifact in the first place.
So impressive and what a wonderful approach that eliminates the purge tower entirely. I built your add on for the Palette 2 but didn’t have a chance to use it much due to issues with the Palette that eventually Mosaic was able to fix with some hardware replacement parts but by then I was committed on other projects. This is far, far more exciting. Very clearly explained and shown in the video.
Thank you for you nice complements and supporting our past work. Backers like you have enabled us to continue innovating. We can only do it with your support! Thanks again :)
Coming from a cnc background and recently getting into 3d printing I love this and its for real big brain ingenuity and such a no-brainer at the same time.
I'm excited for this and for the evolution of additive manufacturing
Thank you for your words of encouragement =D
i can see quite a few possibilities for multi-material prints with this, especially as some of the more exotic materials out there are quite expensive. being able to print at multiple "resolutions" with different nozzle sizes coul dlead to some interesting ways to save time, such as doing infill with a much wider nozzle than the outer layers.
Yes, strong and precise at the same time, with outer contours with a 0.4mm or smaller, say a 0.2mm one, then inners with a thicker bore to push out material faster on fatter lines. You'll get both sharp details on the outer walls while reducing print times for strong parts, or even multi material for outer and inner and infill.
@@Kalvinjj I wonder if a carbon fiber infill with a multi-color pla outer shell would work or if the materials are too different.
Really cool! I'm not printing multi material yet but plan to one day. Good luck with the campaign, I'd love to see it be successful!
Awesome, thank you!
I could never see multimaterial printing as more than a novelty in an already niche hobby due to the waste it causes. It’s exciting to see people solve this problem in various ways.
Stephan at CNC kitchen recently featured a rotating tool head with multiple extruders, a beautiful design with several drawbacks but it achieved its goal of preventing waste. I hope for the success of everyone in the pursuit of this endeavor.
The easiest way to reduce the waste currently is to have two or more hotends in whatever form that takes. Other than the waste is really relative. There's also support material and wasted prints, and even at two or three times as much filament used I don't see as much of a practical issue. It just hurts our sense of efficiency.
I can't wait to see where this leads, great first implementation!
This is awesome. Reminds me a lot of HASS and automatic tool changer. This is an amazing build and I really want one.
The filament is extruded by the printer at the exact same speed and distance the nozzle is pulled down. Thanks for the question :)
This is pretty cool guys! How does the filament get swapped?
The Swapper3D is paired with either a Prusa MMU or Mosaic Palette to unload the old filament and load in the next filament. Thanks for the question and compliment!
exactly hahahaha
Told ya!
Ok. PrusaMMU supports 5 filaments and the bigger version of Mosaic‘s Palette supports 8. Why do you support 25 nozzles? Is the idea to allow printing with different nozzle diameters as well?
@@Pluto1010 the ERCF similar to the mmu can change upto like 12 colors. I assume if modify the ERCF to change even more colors this would also work
I can't see a single thing that could go wrong here with such a simplistic approach. LMAO
Really cool rig. I bet you could simplify the mechanism a bunch in v2.0 by licensing the swappable nozzles to printer the manufacturers and let them use the x/y/z motion of the printer to pickup and store nozzles under the bed. Just extend the y axis forward a bit to allow the bed to get all the way out from under the x axis.
Agreed, It would be awesome if manufacturers had compatible hotends from the factory. Great ideas!
Yeah imo the carousel mechanisms, while cool, adds unnecessarily complexity. Would be better to use what the printer already has to swap the nozzle.
This implementation is over the top and I love it
This is so crazily overengineered and I love it.
Far from it. About time someone implemented this. It's a standard side mount tool changer used on CNC machines. Check out how Haas machines do it
@@VikMKW You're comparing a 80k machine designed by a group of engineers to a Kickstarter project that costs around $300. I would say this is overengineered in comparison to other 3d printer mods.
@@morbus5726 Over engineered means there's an excess unnecessarily complicated designs. These guys didn't do that.
They did the minimum necessary for a tool changer to work. They very easily could've used more sensors to track tool pockets, used a closed loop servo, or made this a CAN node and made integration a living hell.
@@VikMKW I was paying him a compliment. Chill out dude.
@@morbus5726 over engineering is not a compliment to people trying to sell a product. LoL 😀
As a machining apprentice I really appreciate the atc on this it's awesome
Fantastic design and execution, but also fantastic video, production, and dedication! I'll be watching :)
Excellent, they've been quick in the making! Wow!
I hope this kickstarter succeeds and doesn’t flop like most others
This is really cool, wish more people were talking about it. Getting rid of purge blocks (or Bamboo poops) is a pretty big issue that most people don't seem concerned about.
This is very impressive and clever solution 🤩
Well done ✅
Thank you for the complement :)
the real kicker is different size nozzles. it may take longer rn, but with a slightly faster machine you could make walls with a thin layer and infill with a thick layer.
or composite prints! multiple materials per part can now be viable
3d printers are evolving like cnc mills, i like it!
my favorite 3 minute product video I've ever seen. Thanks for not wasting our time!
I would like to see how the filament is reloaded. Is that a manual process?
We are glad you think so!
In this video we are switching the filament after a nozzle change using the Prusa MMU (Multi Material Unit). In short, the MMU pulls the old filament out -> selects a new filament -> then loads the new filament in. (The Swapper3D cuts the filament before the MMU pulls the old filament out to prevent possible strings and jamming.)
This is an absolute game changer for multi-color printing. Although, I haven't checked the price but it's obvious it's going to need to be very expensive to be profitable. Those nozzles are very expensive, then there's having to pay for the engineering time that went into the design. This will be priced out of availability for most people, but its still an awesome step forward.
Nice, other single similar quick change nozzles cost over a hundred so the price (about £256) isn't too bad compared to this
I have absolutely zero need for this but it's pretty amazing that this product exists. Just the amount of complexity with all the moving parts is really impressive. If it works reliably I can see it being very useful.
I see it. I believe I understand it. However, it seems like to order a Pizza Cutter but got a hamburger flipper.
In video clearly shows filament in the hot end. But now it got there
It does not explain how the hot end is kept at the proper temp
It does not explain the change of filament
It does not explain the filament in the existing flow does not need to extruded to proper temp and consistency
That's exactly what I was thinking
The Swapper3D changes the nozzle only, another device is required to switch the filament. in this case we used the MMU from Prusa. It is mentioned in the video. Here is a link to their product demo th-cam.com/video/E1ZxTCApLrs/w-d-xo.html
Bascially the MMU pulls the old filament out and feeds in a filament of a new color/type. The Swapper3D then changes the nozzles so a nozzle only has a single color/material in it.
The filament switching is not the feature of our Kickstarter and so we didn't cover it.
The Hotend is kept at the proper temperature by the standard heating element that is already part of this printer and it's temperature controller.
Hopefully this helps.
That's the most cnc looking 3d printer I have seen, LOVE IT!
I think using different nozzle sizes in a single print would be even more useful
I'm getting inspired by this cute video. Communicating the right way
Ah a side mounted tool changer, I love seeing these at work.
I can't believe it took this long for somebody to come up with this for a 3d printer when it's been standard fare for CNC machining centers for ages... Soon as e3d announced revo I was like this is when we are gonna see a more conventional tool changer for printers. My biggest question is how are the nozzle breaks held in the hotend?
Glad you liked it!.
There is a sliding lock that pulls the hotend up against a taper in the heater block. You can see more information about it on the kickstarter page.
@@BigBrain3D and what kind of z offset repeatability have you found?
Might be best to combine with a probing cycle with an end stop of a known position, not every firmware supports this, but it would be useful to ensure consistency, my early plan for a z repeatedly would be ±0.015mm so that you have a maximum difference of half of a fine layer
@@3dpyromaniac560 We've found any difference to be imperceptible. The firmware code will be available to customers soon so you could make any adaptations you feel are appropriate very easily.
At first I thought it was a joke. But you really made this. Impressive.
I hope you guys are going to succeed. I can't support you on kickstarted but I will get one probably if it is released
Then you will get your chance ;)
you re great solving an big issue that not ever big companies managed to understand and solve
Interesting concept. How can you assure that the z position of the nozzles remain the same up to a decimal of mm? Usually when you swap a nozzle the position of the tip changes, even slightly, and that can be an issue, how do you solve it?
i guess same as in CNC swaping tools.... OR each nozzle has its own offset...
When the QuickSwap-Nozzle's are inserted into the hotend the slide lock pulls them up and seats them each at the same point in a taper. Just like in a CNC mill tool changer. In this way nozzles are at the same level so individual offsets are not required.
@@BigBrain3D If you have nozzles of different sizes in the tool changer then you will need offsets for each tool. Wouldn't be too hard TBH though, especially if you make a probe like the one featured in the Voron 2.4 and have some gcode that will just loop through all of the tools and save the offsets.
@@Thorhian I dont think so if the center of Dach nozzle is the same than not thr Alice just hast to know that there is a different size.
@BigBrain3D only because you did such a great thing by providing the theory of operation did you guarantee a backer. As a technician I appreciate the detailed engineering explanation of what the machine is supposed to be doing. Looks like you have some good checks in there, and I am curious to learn about how it checks for "tool change complete". Vision? Touch Probe? Inductive sensor? Who knows, well you do actually.
Thank you for your support! We use a touch probe to make sure each stage completed successfully.
Great V1, but there seems to be way too much play in that system to be reliable long term with no babysitting. Maybe use small digital servos or gear motors that don't have that tell-tale RC Servo jerk. Otherwise awesome project!
It also doesn’t seem to be able to account for filament leaking out of the nozzles. Every time I heat up my hot end, filament starts leaking out, slowly, and when it is cooling down a little comes out too. With this you will get that happening when it cools down and heats up as well. This will lead to back quality prints, when you change the nozzle, it will end up with blobs or just little bits of plastic where they aren’t supposed to be as well as under extrusion until the extruder pushes enough filament through to make up for the filament that leaked out.
I think that's why it always checks if the nozzle is in the gripper, if not it repeats the grabbing process until it works
@@conorstewart2214 A purge block would solve that problem perfectly. :)
@Conor Stewart. There is a wiper molded into the cutter that deals with the ooze (not shown in this video. see kickstarter for more details) we also infill before perimeters to address the pressure stability.
@TheNeonBop you got it!
this is one of the most genius ideas I saw in a long time!
Love the machine, but wish it could be used on other printers. Amazing product though! Also doesn't the cut filament, when printing, cause a gap in the extrusion?
That’s some big brain stuff
Where the cut portion of the filament is purged? It has to be because with the gap in the filament the retraction won't work.
Retraction has 2 effects which both make a large impact to stringing. 1) removing extrusion pressure and 2) creating suction at the tip of the nozzle. The #1 effect is seen immediately after a swap. The #2 effect is seen shortly after a little bit of extrusion, and to account for that we change the slicer to infill before perimeters. There is also the wiper on the cutter arm that can be used for priming the nozzle. Thanks for your comment :)
@@BigBrain3D I'm expecting a proof print of th-cam.com/video/uNqqN5Ao_hI/w-d-xo.html or th-cam.com/video/2HwmjdSHr-g/w-d-xo.html as a show case.
Well done. Amazing and absurd at the same time. The real star of the show is the quick swap nozzle.
I would like to buy this, if your Kickstarter is successful! Buy only in retail, when Kickstarter is completed.
In a few months you will get your chance ;)
Finally it can swap material/color AND the size of nozzle which Im way more interested for optimizing print times and quality especially with large or strong prints
Seems interesting, but unless someone needs to use different nozzle sizes or materials, it’s not really necessary as slicers can already purge into the infill to get rid of the need for purge blocks.
That being said it’s a very cool concept and especially for multi-material prints it could definitely make a huge difference.
Hope this system will one day also be available for other printers
We are working other printer adaptations. The infill is almost never enough volume for a color purge. Remember the infill is limited to the volume of that color space on a single layer. And the infill volume varies by layer so for larger layers maybe it's enough but it may not be and then you'll get color smearing.
This is a Game Changer
During the top of the print, where it's all the same colour, the one on the left was slower in the video 1:18 1:24 , yet they should be identical assuming correct print settings and playback was matched at the same speed. Why is this not the case?
During each print we recorded the time-lapses using Octoprint + Octolapse. Octolapse took 1 picture per layer (we added the 'snap' command in the on-layer-change gcode section in PS. This means that despite the great difference in print time the original rendered timelapse (with purge block and with Swapper3D) were the same run time. What we did when creating the comparison is attempt to, as accurately as possible, make the run time of each timelapse video related to the other correct to it's ratio of print time. Because Octolapse takes 1 picture per layer it means that even in layers where the color is the same, and therefore the video *should* be faster, it appears to take the same amount of time as the multicolor layers. Though we could have tried to make this adjustment in post processing we thought we'd probably just mess it up more so we left it unchanged. You have a good eye for detail. Thank you for your observations :)
I can barely imagine the work that went into this. Making something nobody else dared to make yet is a bitch 110% of time. Wishing you luck!
We're glad you understand the pain of R&D !!
youtube's algorithm is pushing hard for me to watch this
This is impressive work, thank you for this!!
You're welcome :)
How quickly does a nozzle get back up to temperature after being swapped in?
It takes 15 seconds for a newly inserted QuickSwap-nozzle to reach melt temp. Which is almost exactly the same time it takes the MMU to unload the old and load the new filament so the heat up adds almost no extra time to the swap. Thanks for the question :)
If you can swap out the enter head assembly why not make a rack with all the nozzles with individual filament feeds still attached skipping the cutting section all together? Heck you could even swap out the entire filament feeder assembly as well. Just need to attach the enter unit back up to the drive section of the printer.
It looks great, I hope you will find some independent content creators who will review it before the end of the kickstarter
Thank you for your support :)
Everyone seems to be talking about the filament swapping aspect, but I'm just wondering how the nozzle is securely held in place for printing. I didn't see any sort of lacking/unlocking mechanism. It sounded like there was some sort of detent, but it's hard to say. 25 nozzles seems like overkill. The MMU2 supports 5 filaments, so with 25 nozzles you would have access to 5 nozzle sizes per filament. However there are only 4 commonly used sizes (0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8mm). I guess you could have multiple nozzle materials though. For example, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6mm in brass, and 0.4 and 0.6 in steel. Really cool concept.
There is a sliding lock that pulls the hotend up against a taper in the heater block. You can see more information about it on the kickstarter page.
The Prusa MMU can switch between 5 filaments, the CoPrint up to 7, the Mosaic Palette up to 8, the ERCF up to 12 (enraged rabbit carrot feeder), in the future there may be even more. The Swapper3D supports "UP TO" 25, but it will work with 1 or 2 or 5 or 8...all the way UP TO 25. When users purchase the base Swapper3D kit it comes with 5 QuickSwap-Nozzles and it can be expanded by adding more at any time in the future. The ‘up-to’ 25 nozzles can also be used to automatically switch different nozzle sizes during the print even when printing with a single filament.
Nice video, but it fails to address several important concerns.
Since you're changing out the entire hot-end, it is going to take a lot of time to switch it and to heat it up to temperature ... plus the thermister to register the nozzle/block temp isn't going to be as accurate unless you just wait longer for the heating to stablize. Is that time really represented in your figures, or did you just opportunistically simulate that.
You offer up top 25 nozzles, which is also expensive. But since you leave filament in each one, then I don't see how they can be reused unless somebody is standing by picking out the filament between swaps to allow for reuse again. 25 nozzles isn't going to last long for a hundred layer 2 color print, which is going to need 200 nozzle swaps.
because the newly swapped nozzle is otherwise empty, then some amount of pre extraction has to happen to get a consistent flow. That would require some sort of purge block? You're pushing air for part of that. Even if your model has enough internal space to evacuate ... it sounds like a quality issue for the print.
1. You can have it wait a specified time after doing a swap for heating to stabilize. So maybe 45-60 seconds between swaps?
2. Up to 25 nozzles. You don't have to get 25. Only need however many colors you'll use at one time. So 5-12. Why would you be picking out the filament between swaps? In your first question you pointed out that the nozzle/block temp need to stabilize. The filament is in the nozzle being reheated with the nozzle. Just like starting a new print with the same filament you used the day prior that's still in the nozzle. Two color print will use 2 nozzles.
3. You would prime the nozzles prior to printing. Easy setup procedure.
@@zombieno1 I guess I’m pessimistic that the incoming filament will cleanly press against the previously short cut end from the reused hot end. Seems like a failure point with some non trivial ratio. I could just be way off though
i do very much like the idea and fully back it however i do know there's a simple and cheaper way to do this which is firstly make your purge block much smaller and have your filament retract outside of the hotend then have it insert the next filament. you shouldn't need a cube any bigger then a inch wide if even that. now the other side of that coin where i do love the idea is this could allow for spots to have much higher resolution simply by changing the nozzle with this machine.
i dont see this being of much use for color changing but that resolution changing part alone is awesome. this could also prevent issues from materials mixing down the road. I will be following this and wish you the best of luck on this project
Make one for an Ender 3!
edit: and Klipper support!
That's the next printer support will be added for.
The Swapper3D now supports the Creality Ender 3: www.kickstarter.com/projects/bigbrain3d/swapper3d/posts/3564223
@@BigBrain3D yay!
This is amazing! I currently use the palette 3 pro and am still in the process of reducing the transition block. I really hope that in the future this can be made to support the Ender 3 and Ender 5 Plus printers. Definitely going to be keeping an eye on the progress of this. Keep up the work guys!
Creality printers will be next to get the Swapper3D treatment!
The Swapper3D now supports the Creality Ender 3: www.kickstarter.com/projects/bigbrain3d/swapper3d/posts/3564223
Does the system recognize which color was used with which nozzle, or it just cycles through the nozzles? If so, how does the filament left in the nozzle gets purged?
Why wouldn't it recognize which color are what? That's like one array of variables that it just needs to store. Easy for a computer to do.
@@bobsixtyfour is that an assumption or it was confirmed?
The Swapper3D knows that Tool 1/2/3/etc is in a specific receptacle so that each nozzle is reused when that tool is called again later in the print, that is what it 'keeps track of', it doesn't know which color or material is loaded in which nozzle; You need to organize that in the slicer.
This is awesome. I would genuinely just getting this to watch it work
Is this project Open Source? If not do you plan on releasing it under an Open Source license in the future?
Our customers receive access to printed part design files and firmware code. Thanks for your question :)
@@BigBrain3D Very glad to hear that but it does not explicitly answer the question Eric posed. What is the license under which those files are published, and what intentions, if any, do you have regarding changes to that license in the future?
Looks like a lot of stuff that can break, but nice idea!
bro its a pit stop
Loved it. This may bring me to multi materials.
It looks like when a nozzle is swapped out, it still has filament in it, which will cool and harden within the nozzle. How is this purged from the nozzle? Does this mean you only get 25 filament changes for the entire print?
Just heat it back up when reinserted?
@@mangoldengineering3134 So the system keeps track of which filament is in which nozzle? But even so, there's a couple of cm of filament that can't be retracted and will probably ooze. (BTW: I'm not against the system, I think its a good idea, I just think that there are a few edge case problems)
@@vannoo67 you sound like a calm person and not like those others who have already dismissed this awesome idea.
So your first question is Yes. It definitely keeps track of the nozzle. You'd assign them to each color. Just like using an automatic tool changer for a CNC.
Your second concern. I think : put in the code to have the right amount of retraction to relieve pressure, turn off the thermistor, full fan speed to cool off the nozzle and prevent ooze then swap. Would that work? Also.. when starting the next layer, set your slicer to print infill first. That'll purge enough to help make sure the flow is consistent before getting to the walls. Savvy?
@@zombieno1 this is the way
@@zombieno1 Hide the transition in the in the infill - what a good idea.
I wish the timelapse was higher quality, I find it hard to believe you can achieve the same quality between these 2 methods. The tolerance we're talking about for nozzle height and centerline are so small I don't think each cartridge is going to line back up as it should. This is why CNC milling machines have tool length offsets and cutter comp.
Is the machine heating all of those blocks through the entire print, or are they heated and cooked after every swap? Thanks!
I expect they're allowed to cool in the carousel, as the heater block isn't getting swapped and its contact surface is outside the wheel. Typically when we talk of "cooking" filament it's keeping the hot end loaded and hot for excessive amounts of time, which risks drooling and burning. Both those consequences would require purging again for neat prints.
@@0LoneTech Yeah, this was concern! Seem this device will just trade a purge block with my more valuable "time"!
No, it takes less time than purging which is the point of this demonstration.
i'm super impressed how smooth the tool changes are, and how no nozzles being screwed in means the nozzle change mechanism isn't just gonna cause a blob of death :)
The nozzle is still screwed into the hot end. The hot and cold ends are swapped out as a single unit so there is no place for melted filament to escape and cause a blob. The filament is being cut above the cold end so it's still just normal unheated filament that just came off the spool. Very clever design.
the idea is great but this implementation looks soo overengineered it makes me worried about reliability over time. most small CNCs uses the machines own motion system to go to a specific location and grab a new tool
Because we wanted to start with Prusa i3 support, or even support for an existing printer, there is design constraints that require certain features. In the case of the i3 we think it's pretty much the simplest way this can be done, though like all first versions it will get better, and more reliable, and simpler over time and design iterations. The good news is that most of the parts should be reusable as we enhance the design. We've taken a page from Prusa and made as much 3D printable as makes sense so that customers can easily upgrade theirs without having to buy a whole new thing. Thanks for commenting :)
That is impossible. It is such a great System and Idea. Really good improvemend.
This is awesome! I’m looking forward to future support for other printers.
and not a computer graffic in sight. nice job seems like a really cool idea
im working at a machine shop and i just got a printer.
i just love seeing this stuff
This is amazing! Saing lots lots of money in the end! 👍
This is awesome! I’m going to put this on my tiktok and help you to get more attention for this awesome idea!
Thank you for supporting us! That's a very kind gesture :)
That's insane😮😮. As a noony I've seen a lot of videos about 3D printing but this here takes the cake. It's pretty cool though ❤❤
This is awesome, I really liked it
Fantastic! Very innovative!
oh wow, I just realized that this could have applications beyond simply multi-material printing. You could even have nozzles with different bore sizes on the same filament so that you can print some sections quickly with low detail, and some sections slower with fine detail. If you could get the swap faster, you could probably save a lot of print time doing that
You can use variable layer thickness wven with single nozzle and that will cover most of your needs. And you will be saving yourself ~$400 on that device :)
@@TheTychus not what I meant. I meant like using a wider nozzle to put down thicker lines. A larger nozzle gives higher volumetric flow, meaning you can print much much faster. The time savings are frankly ridiculous in some cases
WOW this is brilliant. I hope it takes off and eventually you develop it for different brands as well. PLUS, like many said here, this could revolutionise even single color prints purely by allowing to change nozzle "resolution" on the fly.
What an interesting approach.
Thanks! :)
Holy crap im actually jaw dropped, this is amazing
honestly the best soft tutorial ive ever seen. short and straight to the point ! i love it
Proper CNC tool head changer. Love to see that
informative and to-the-point. Good job, this is how you do advertising.
Thats a very novel idea, i subed to see where this will lead, top project!
This is a very cool concept. i love it
This is an example of innovation.
Thank you for saying so! =D
Something like this but without removing the filament would be an amazing toolchanger.
Will you please describe your idea in more detail?
@@BigBrain3D i found that something like it already exists: th-cam.com/video/wzug_HmM-FQ/w-d-xo.html
This is a really big brain ideea
Awesome!!!
Cool, but you still have filament in those nozzles and on top of that, a kickstarter project is generally something that a lot of people wouldn't back because there is no guarantee that you'll just run off with the money. It does look like it may have made it out of kickstarter and onto a normal product page, but that's a pretty expensive system.
That's awesome... looks like HAAS CNC tool changer!. Would take a hell of a long time to pay off though. No ROI, but cool idea.