multi material printing with a MMU?
I'm quite new to 3D printing but build my Core One from kit a few months ago with the idea I could upgrade with the MMU afterwards.
I would like to be able to print multimaterial, combining for example TPU and PLA in one print
Would this be possible using an MMU or do I need an XL for this?
Thanks for your time,
Pea
Loving the learning curve!
RE:
edit window expired ... I know mmu means multi Material Unit but my question is does it work with different materials like pla and tpu ? Is it just slower than a XL but are the results the same in the end? Your experience is valued.
Regards,
Pea
Loving the learning curve!
OK, a careful answer here -and Caveat: I have not tried a Core One MMU3 combination but the essentials remain the same.
When it first came out I built a MMU2 for my Mk3, it worked well for multi *colour* printing in dry weather (many people had problems that I never encountered) but multi *material* was always a problem.
When using multiple colours of the same pigment the purge has only got to be enough to clear the colour but when different polymers are involved the purges have to be much larger, very wasteful, or the slight traces of the previous filament can ruin layer adhesion or seriously distort the properties for which the new filament was chosen - particularly awful if one of the filaments is soluble. Changing flexible filaments is also a challenge for the MMU, the setup has to be near perfect for it to work at all.
I don't print multicolour toys and trinkets so my colour use-case is for labels and graticules and until I acquired my XL I left most multi-*material* alone. In fact, for my purposes I found the Manual MMU method more useful, especially as filaments could be left in dry storage until needed rather than loaded and deteriorating in the humid local air.
So: What you are suggesting is *just* possible but very tricky; I found it easier with the Manual MMU method.
https://forum.prusa3d.com/forum/prusaslicer/manual-multicolor/
As you deduced, true multi *material* work is straightforward on the XL.
Cheerio,
RE: multi material printing with a MMU?
I would like a technical explanation for why multiple materials with the MMU are not recommended.
As I understand it, there an only a few variables: nozzle temperature, bed temperature and chamber temperature to accommodate one material from another. Even if two or more materials have poor adhesion with each other, the model can be designed with other types of mechanical interlocking. As long as the materials can withstand the chamber temperature, wouldn’t it just be a matter of waiting for the correct nozzle temperature? It could be imported as a multi-material model, right?