Using the tool changer for non-filament operations  

Using the tool changer for non-filament operations

Hello,

I watched a video by Andy Gleadall where he demonstrated g-code for using a tool changer. On his non-Prusa printer, he changed the FFF extruder to a camera. He was able to capture images that proved his g-code was producing the desired results.

-What can be expected as immediate obstacles when trying to design a camera to be a tool in the XL in place of what is otherwise an extruder?

Andy Gleadall also has demonstrated a flow mixer design. This makes me wonder if there can be a flow mixer infill pattern. I am expecting that such a pattern is something I will need to create independently by myself. And if I had a flow mixer infill, it would be very great if one of my 5 tools was not a FFF extruder. I'd like the tool to be a slow curing, deep pour epoxy injector needle. I would like to use the kind of epoxy you see used on the hobby of making river tables. I think I need to design a one-time use tool that can be easily reprinted and reinstalled for the next use.

I imagine that I would like one of the selcted tools to be a needle injector that can squirt a droplet or a blob of epoxy into the infill areas of the printed part. And after the part is printed, I expect the insides will still be wet. The slow curing properties of epoxy drops trapped inside could allow a tumbling process or a turning process that approaches an evenly distributed coating of epoxy on all of the internal fibers. I think controlled volume injections of epoxy will need a separate controller but that controller will require some form of interface to the Prusa firmware.

-When and where can we expect to find more technical information that can be used for the purposes of creating our own modified tools to be in the changer? I have time ahead of me to think these things out and try to learn what I would need to know.

Please forgive if my questions are dumb. I am very behind on the learning curves required to perform the operations I imagine in my head. I appreciate your patience.

My background is only Prusa I3 MK3 with 5 color filament MMU. I was the only person who had a 3D printer when I started. I am completely self taught as I had no friends who were into this yet. There were horrible things I caused to happen to my printer many times. Sometimes, I nearly gave up and quit because I wrecked my printer so badly. But those are learning experiences if you push yourself to repair the damage.

I stopped all printing at the beginning of lockdowns because I had family guests trapped in my house for many months. Prices for the hobby spiked. I had no peace when I got home from work. And the magnets shook loose from the underside of my heat bed. Life. But now I am getting a 2nd job on weekends to save the funds required to get the fully loaded Prusa XL when it comes out. I will be restarting with more drive this time.