Folks,
I now have two IDEX, Independent Dual Extruder, 3d printers. The JG Maker Artist-D Pro and a Flashforge Creator Pro 2 which is still in the box. A huge box. Over the next few months, I will be publishing a series of videos about IDEX 3d printers and the tools that support them. I will post my experiences with these devices here and look forward to engaging in interesting conversations with members of the DrVax community.
Irv
Completed a 12 hour print of a difficult dual color model. It is a good test of the IDEX capabilities because it has many extruder switches per layer which extends the print time. Printed in MatterHacker Build PLA on an Artist D Pro using TwinkieXLII firmware version 2.3.2. I had no issues with the firmware. I did notice the hot end still does not park over the open area of the filament bins but remains over the brushes.
The completed vase was printed using Cura regular mode because I could not get the spiral mode to work correctly with multiple extruders. There were two seams on the finished print but after rubbing off some globs of stringing at the seams they are barely visible.
Really enjoying this IDEX 3d printer.
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Up until now, I have been using Cura for all of my Artist-D Pro prints. However many people working with IDEX 3d printers recommend IdeaMaker. So it is time to give it a try and make a video about it.
My first single-color print of a calibration cat was relatively good. Then I increased the print speed a bit and tried a custom test of both supports and dual-color printing. This did not go well. Take a look:
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It might be hard to tell with all of the strings but this model is also under-extruded.
My first impression of IdeaMaker is that it has much better support for IDEX 3d printers and also has a number of very interesting features include: highly flexible easy to use support controls, the ability to apply textures to the surface of a model, 2d to 3d extrusions, per layer, per model, and per-group control over almost all slicing parameters, pause at layer built-in and more I am still discovering.
One thing I really like, that makes it clear IDEX was not an afterthought in IdeaMaker, is that it has a separate start g-code for single color and dual color prints. In Cura, you have to define multiple printers to do this.
It also puts parameters in very different places than either Cura or PrusaSlicer, so it takes a bit of time and reading to figure it out. For example flow rate is in a separate filament profile and the default for most Raise3d printers is 94% which is much too low for the Artist-D which caused the under extrusion.
I have now created a custom filament profile and print template (what is basically a profile in Cura) and I have another long print (12 hours), this time of a two lizard with scales, printing now. It still has a bit of a stringing problem but the extrusion looks great. Should be posting a picture later today.
30-05-2021
Hi Irv Could you please share a link to your custom filament profile.
Thanks kitsoft
@kitsoft It is not ready yet. Still needs a lot of work. Keep watching.
I am really looking forward to more info on using Ideamaker with the Artist D Pro. I am just starting to play with it.
