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It's that time again...

bigseb

Alibre Super User
About a year ago I sold both my FDM printers (Flashforge Creator X and Creality CR-X) and currently only have a DLP printer (Anycubic Photon). I really regret selling the CR-X as it was an absolute beast and gave great results. I'm looking at what's currently available and shortlisted a few.

CONDITION: must allow dual extrusion!

The CR-X is on the list and my No. 1 choice at the moment despite being the oldest. I know what it can do and I still have all the profiles and whatnot for it. I really like the 2-in 1-out extruder too; I think that's a really good dual extrusion system. The only downside with the 2-in 1-out system is printing flexibles is incredibly difficult, but that'ss typical with bowden extruders.

There are a few IDEX printers listed as well. They look very promising. The Flashforge is only listed because I like the brand and they have the best slicer on the market. Realistically though it is overpriced for what it is. As far as IDEX goes the TL-D3 Pro is a strong contender.

The Geeetechs are pretty interesting too. They have an extrusion system similar to the CR-X except they are 3-in 1-out and one can blend filaments in the hot-end to either create a new colour or smoothly transition form one colour to another. The colour thing is, in all honesty, just a novelty but something that would be a lot of fun to play around with, especially considering the price. I'm more focused on being able to use a separate build material and support material. Having three extruders would allow for two (different colour) build materials and a support material... and that means very cool prototypes :D

And yes, I am aiming at the lower price range. I enjoy thinkering with these machine and fine-tuning them. Both my Flashforge and CR-X gave me excellent quality prints and as such I don't buy into the whole 'expensive is better' mentality.

Printer Choice 1.JPG


In case anyone's interested here is my review of the Creality CR-X. Check it out. The test prints are phenomenal quality.
 

simonb65

Alibre Super User
Have You thought about Prusa Mk3S printer?
Its a great printer (I have one), single extruder with up to 5 filament changes with the MMU2S addon, but it's slow at changing filaments, especially if you want to do multiple swaps on each layer (i.e. supports, etc)! Not sure it would fit Seb's requirements when compared to the others on his list.
 

bigseb

Alibre Super User
Have You thought about Prusa Mk3S printer?
No hate towards Josef but I just don't think his printers are for me. I think the colour mixing of the Geeetechs is pretty mindblowing stuff - 3 filaments can make up to 6 colours and various blends and this can all be finetuned on the printer itself - and they are good quality as Geeetech work pretty much hand in hand with Creality. The Tenlogs are also making waves with their IDEX setups.

Then consider the build volumes that are way bigger than the Prusas and a vastly reduced cost...
 

bigseb

Alibre Super User
... but it's slow at changing filaments, especially if you want to do multiple swaps on each layer (i.e. supports, etc)!
Slow... less of an issue tbh... quality first, always. The CR-X had the 2-in 1-out extruder and that worked really well even if it did take longer. Waste was also present in the form of a purge tower. But the prints looked amazing. I know the MMU from Youtube videos, it looks a pretty nifty piece of kit but expensive.
 

bigseb

Alibre Super User
After chatting with some A10t/A20T owners online I think I can remove them from my shortlist. The mixer nozzle that they use is incredibly fussy wrt clogging, the user must load three filament spools and the materials used must be the same (eg no mixing PLA/PLA/TPU). I still think its an interesting concept so maybe later it would make a nice toy.

I have added the Sovol SV2 to the list. It's basically an improved version of the CR-X, slightly smaller but with a 32bit board and silent stepper drivers. And a great price too.

Ah... consumerism...
 

bigseb

Alibre Super User
Well the deed has been done. I purchased a Geeetech A30T. It wasn't on my list but I was aware of it.

Other users apparently have had plenty of issues with the mixing nozzles; from all I've read it can be a very fickle thing to work with. But aside from the nozzle problems this is by all accounts a very well-built printer. Build volume is 320x320x420 (bigger than the CR-X), has a 32-bit board and silent drivers. I also like that the Y rails are widely spaced, unlike the A10T/A20T, Sovol SV02 and Hands 2Pro that have only a single Y rail in the middle. Ultimately I intend to replace the mixing nozzle with a 3-in 1-out non-mixing nozzle as it I know that set-up works from the CR-X and the drivers and extruders are already there.

Geeetech had an offer. An A30T for €400. Couldn't say no. But now comes the hardest part... the waiting...
 
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