As I have gained just a little experience with 3D printing, some things have some to mind, some of them brought on by dealing with an IDEX printer.
From now on I will not use the same nozzle to print filaments that require different temperatures. At first I naively thought I could print with PLA, then switch to PETG, then back again. Many of my issues with filaments have come from doing this. I can now see why people convert to swappable hotends. It also brings up something else. I am wondering if this “rule” can be modified with the Artist D. Since the nozzles can be swapped so easily, might it be possible to dedicate a set of nozzles to PLA, another set to PETG, yet another for TPU, etc? This might be a workable compromize.
Speaking of the Artist D, I’ve discovered a weak point when using Duplication Mode. In this mode both nozzles are in use at the same time. Thinking about this I realized that, for it to work properly, both nozzles have to be tuned exactly the same as far as bed clearance is concerned. There is zero way to have different Z Offset settings for each nozzle. This does not apply to multi-color printing. When printing multi-color, first 1 nozzle prints its assigned color and then parks while the other nozzle comes out of park & prints its assigned color. Since only 1 nozzle is active at any given moment, it is possible to have different Z Offsets for each of them.
The requirement have both nozzles tuned exactly the same for Duplication Mode points out a significant weakness in the design of the Artist D – the way bed clearance is done for the 2nd extruder. To say the least, it is, at best, rinky-dink. It requires loosening 4 bolts at the back of the extruder assembly then tighten or loosen a spring-loaded top bolt to raise of lower the nozzle. It should come as no surprise that having to loosen the 4 bolts intruduces significant “slop”, meaning that it is very difficult to get the clearance correct the 1st time. Repeated loosening of the 4 bolts, tightening or loosening the top bolt is usually required. Rinse & repeat. It’s a PITA.
It got me wondering. What if the support plate that holds the 2nd extruder could be redesigned so it can slide up and down by tightening or loosening the top bolt. Go futher: replace the top bolt’s head with a wheel, just like the ones used on printbeds (maybe a little smaller). Heck, borrow the whole concept used for printbeds. Put in a printbed spring to keep good tension on the assembly. Use 1 or 2 more bed springs to keep the sliding parts of the support plates tight against each other, removing any “slop”.
Take it even farther: use the sliding plate system for both extruders. The wheels at the top of each extruder could be used to fine tune how close each nozzle is to the bed. Additionally, it would make it possible to adjust each nozzle independently, even in Duplication Mode.
Of course, it is still necessary to ensure the printbed is parallel to the X Axis rail. That’s a given. But, instead of jumping through menues to find & adjust Z Offset settings, it would be possible to simply turn a wheel on the extruder that’s out of tune.
I no longer print waste lines to ensure good filament flow. Now, unless it’s something that requires a brim, I always print a skirt. While the skirt is printing I watch the quality of the line. Is it sticking to the bed properly? Does it seem too thick or thin? Do the adjacent lines have gaps between them? I will make live adjustments to the Z Offset while the skirt is printing to correct for any issues. This has worked really well for me.
I think all extruders on hobby price printers should have a mechanism similar to what most printbeds have, so micro adjustments can be made on the fly. I think it would make life a whole lot easier.
Anyone up for a project?