Dual Extruder 3D printer Suggestion

[Gramps]

I'm printing some challenge type coins to use at a friends Christmas Run. To make the lettering stand out I'm going over it with a Sharpie. This has gotten me to think that a dual extruder printer would be nice, I know I can stop my Ender v2 at a certain layer height and change colors but this just isn't convenient. I'm printing a bed full at a time which takes 7.5 hours so switching colors wouldn't be at all convenient.

So do any of you have any experience with a dual extruder printer or the Geeetech which feeds 2 filaments through the same extruder. I'm not looking to spend a ton of money would like to keep it below $500

[Ender5r]

You could go for something like the Artist D Pro that Irv Shapiro and I have, but you may not need to. If you design your coins so that you only need 1 filament change, much like my Mad Scientist sign (https://forum.makewithtech.com/forum...0282#post10282), you could print the base of the coin in 1 color and the rest in another, only having to change the filament once for a bedfull of coins.

[Alan]

For signs, the Geetech A10M looks like a great value ($250 on Amazon; the Artist D Pro is on sale for $529). Dialing in retraction seems to be a problem for these 2-in-1 hotends, but for two-color signs I don't think that would be a big issue. I wouldn't try printing with 2-different materials (just two colors of the same material), although Atom3D and SeeMeCNC seem to be able to do it (on their much more expensive machines). I like the option for autobed leveling and the menu-driven color change gradient option. According to TeachingTech, it has a noisy hotend cooling fan (no surprise, given its a budget machine). Here is TeachingTech's review from 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbZhNvMM4Os and a follow-up video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o--HmfZ57I

Good luck!

[Alan]

Also check out the Jadelabo J1, another IDEX printer that should be available early 2022.

Cheers