Itty Bitty Double Extruder

[clough42]

Very nice work on the flex material extruder - pics look great.

Couple of general dual extrusion questions for C42 and everybody:

-What is the best way to print a single material on the dual? I know you can assign one extruder to infill and I've done that successfully. But if you're really only using one head, do you heat up the other one or leave it completely off? I set up a material that has a temp of zero so that I can leave the extruders setting in slicer at 2 and not have the empty nozzle heating.

-There is a lot of potential for confusion on extruder identification - ramps is labeled 0/1 but marlin assigns 0 to the bed, 1 and 2 to extruders, the LCD has 0 on left and 1 on right but no designation on screen. Slicer is very weak with two materials slots over under which I can never remember which is which, and calls them 1 and 2 in the window where you select which extruder prints which part of a single stl print. Is everybody using:

0 on ramps, therefore left on LCD, 1 in marlin, 1 in slicer multiple extruder window and "bottom" on the two material selectors in the plater dialog, and
1 on ramps, therefore right on LCD, 2 in marlin, 2 in slicer, and "top" selector in the plater?

I can figure this out but would love if someone can recommend an organized way of thinking about this.

I have the first extruder on the left. That way it matches the LCD and nobody gets hurt....err...burned. Slic3r calls it 1, which is the top material selector.

In Slic3r, if I want a single material print, I just use a configuration with only one extruder. It only heats up the left nozzle and everything works. It actually works out well that way because the cold hot end is slightly shorter due to its temperature, so it doesn't scrape on the print, and of course it doesn't dribble. You do have to make sure the second nozzle is clean so it doesn't hit the print. Just heat it up and wipe with paper towels.

[bobovich]

Did you post a link to your i3 mounting plate. I can only find the i3v version.

[clough42]

I don't believe I ever posted a design for an i3 mounting plate. The extruder will fit on the i3 with some longer M3 bolts into the shelf and no screws into the brackets. The bracket pins also need to be trimmed a little to make them fit, but it can be done pretty easily.

[clough42]

I've gotten a number of inquiries about NEMA 14 stepper motors for our double extruders. We now have them available: http://clough42.com/go/product/nema-14-stepper-motor

[clough42]

I have gotten some questions about the new Hexagon AO hot end. It has a shorter heat sink and a larger aluminum block, so the fan shrouds don't fit. Here is an experimental version of the shroud that should fit the Hexagon AO. I have not tested it. If you do, please let me know how it works. I have no idea if it will provide enough cooling for the smaller heat sink.

TightDoubleHexagonAOShroud.STL

This is the version for the Itty Bitty Double Extruder. I have also put one for the Itty Bitty Double FLEX Extruder in the other thread.

[avluis]

That hexagon looks interesting - may have to get it just to be able to screw the heater and thermistor in (and not worry about it falling out without kapton tape).
Wonder if makerfarm will start carrying it.

On another note - noticed that they are carrying the itty bitty double extruder kit now, awesome!
Wonder if they can print out the parts as well (lets say about $100 for the whole thing), can you ask them about that?

[clough42]

That hexagon looks interesting - may have to get it just to be able to screw the heater and thermistor in (and not worry about it falling out without kapton tape).
Wonder if makerfarm will start carrying it.

On another note - noticed that they are carrying the itty bitty double extruder kit now, awesome!
Wonder if they can print out the parts as well (lets say about $100 for the whole thing), can you ask them about that?

If you try it, let us know how it works. We don't know yet if cooling will be sufficient with a 25mm fan.

We have discussed providing printed parts, but there are no specific plans.

[dravenm4]

I finished printing the shroud last night and an done with assembly of the extruder. I will mount it tonight get some pic's for everyone and will let you all know how it works to keep them cool.

[clough42]

I finished printing the shroud last night and an done with assembly of the extruder. I will mount it tonight get some pic's for everyone and will let you all know how it works to keep them cool.

Awesome. Do you have a way to measure the heat sink temperature precisely? For reference, I'm seeing heat sink temperatures between 40 and 50C with the original Hexagons, measured with a thermocouple wedged in between the fins near the top.

[dravenm4]

Yes, I have a few ways to measure the the temps accurately, but they will all be externally. I am currently looking at a way to add temp monitoring and fan control to keep them at optimal temps. Liquid cooling is also a thought but currently looks to be out of reach without a liquid mess.

Anyway here is a link open to you guys for my Google Drive. I will be adding all my pics and findings there as I gather them.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?...DA&usp=sharing