3D printer with multiple X arms

This is just an idea at the moment and would like to hear your thoughts on this.

Instead of a toolchanger that goes to a designated spot, releases a hotend and picks up another one, would it be feasible to have two independently moving X rails? I mean two sliders on the Y axis that each have their own independent toolhead mounted on it.

To 3D print using two materials you could have rail 1 move out of the way so that rail 2 can move to the object and resume printing. I suppose this could be done with a pause command followed by executing gcode with different stepper motors.

This obviously only makes sense on a 3D printer that is large enough. I would say rails of at least 500mm in X and Y direction and a bed that supports that.

Does this make any sense over a dedicated toolchanger? I suppose the complexity is much lower and it's less likely to fail.

I also believe there is a benefit for printing multiple objects simultaneously but at some point it might as well be two separate printers.

halfapage 8 points a month ago

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nocteb 6 points a month ago

There are already printers with dual extruders but on the same gantry. They can even print simultaneous in some cases or switch quickly by one head moving out of the way e.g. to print two different colors or to print supports in a different material.

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finalarbiter 6 points a month ago

Congrats, you've reinvented IDEX printers.

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ExcessShiv 4 points a month ago

But with higher complexity (assuming they print simultaneously {

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evidences 3 points a month ago

Dueling zero is a Voron V0 with dual x gantries.

https://github.com/zruncho3d/DuelingZero/

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Munkisquisher 3 points a month ago

The Raise printer does this, either use both extruders with different filaments on one model, or print two models at once on the same build plate https://www.raise3d.com/e3/

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TootSweet 1 point a month ago

The ZideX printer isn't quite what you're talking about, but it kinda has the same idea.

Here's a video about how to build one that will give you more of an idea what it looks like and how it works.

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Crozekiel 1 point a month ago

This is basically IDEX (Independent Dual EXtruders) printing. Usually they will have two toolheads on one gantry, but there are some that have more than one gantry. There are pros and cons to both configurations, and compared to tool changers.

The market seems to be heading toward tool changers currently (they are kind of the "new-hotness" right now) because you can fit more of them in a smaller space and there is less weight on the gantry (which means better prints at higher speeds) and they produce a lot less waste material than the AMS-style multi-material printers.

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sylver_dragon 1 point a month ago

So, this?

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