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Adding a 2nd Hot End

Discussion in 'General Questions' started by Todd Wessendorf, Jun 1, 2017.

  1. Todd Wessendorf

    Todd Wessendorf Active Member

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    I might as well put this out there . . . I wanted the R2 printer so I could print two filaments, so my first thing to start thinking about is adding a 2nd hot end.

    I understand there is a product that Robo3D is working on, the "R2 Dual Extruder Kit", but it's isn't available yet, and I don't really expect soon.

    So, I'm going to read up on some mods that were done to the C2 by the amazing Mark Tomlinson and see how much progress I can make.

    Anyone else planning to get this bird printing in two filaments, feel free to jump in and add advice/pointers/thoughts.

    TW
    (R2 comes tomorrow)
     
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  2. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Going by what I did on the C2, it is pretty much out-of-the-box ready to drop in a second extruder. There are a few jumpers/connectors that may or may not already be in place for that to work. I didn't have them, but I assumed that was due to the C2 not being sold as "dual-extrusion" ready :) I will keep an eye on this and if you have questions fire them up.
     
  3. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    I would think on the R2 they would pre-wire 99% of that stuff so it really is as easy and just plugging in the the second one.
     
  4. daniel871

    daniel871 Well-Known Member

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    Wait, the R2 wasn't dual-extrusion to begin with? When was that feature removed?
     
  5. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    It was an option you could add as I understood it (it was dual-extrusion "ready" and a kit would be available...)

    The C2 uses the same "effector"/build plate/hotend mount which is why adding a second hexagon on there was not hideously difficult.
     
  6. daniel871

    daniel871 Well-Known Member

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    Ah, it changed when the Kickstarter campaign ran. The last announcement I looked at circa 2015 promised native dual extrusion.
     
  7. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    I was a bit miffed (disappointed, etc) when they listed it as "dual-ready" rather than just pushing it out as dual-extruder from the launch.
    The added cost is not much as far as parts go and if you don't want to use the second extruder... remove it.
     
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  8. daniel871

    daniel871 Well-Known Member

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    Multiple-hotend extrusion is likely to be re-evaluated anyway once those $300 quad-extruder add-ons by Josef Prusa get into the wild and copied/cloned around.

    The only thing I'm not a huge fan of with that approach is that you're forced into a Bowden setup.
     
  9. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    random guess...wernt able to calibrate to perform to expectations. Old tech (side by side extruders) and hard to get working correctly. I'd bet the upgrade kit comes as is to be figured out, not plug and play
     
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  10. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    The C2 (and I presume the R2) are faux-bowden* to start with on the main extruder and adding the second as a bowden was not only easy -- it seemed to be what they had in mind when they designed it.


    *they use a bowden tube to feed into the direct extruder rather than out of it
     
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  11. pclabtech

    pclabtech Active Member

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    From what it looks like, the second hole in the print head does not have a direct drive gear to feed the plastic, this is why it has to be a bowden feeder. Otherwise you won't have anything to push the filament into the second head.
     
  12. pclabtech

    pclabtech Active Member

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    Oh btw, a bunch of us begged and begged for them to add the second extruder to the R2 either as a pledge upgrade, or a stretch goal. It was never promised as coming stock with the printer... ever.
     
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  13. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Yes, this is why my C2 second extruder was bowden. The extruder carriage in the unit is totally configured to receive a bowden tube for the second extruder. No clue where they mounted the motor (I just picked a spot on the back and used another direct exrtuder similar to stock that I printed from thingiverse).
     
  14. daniel871

    daniel871 Well-Known Member

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    The R2 release has been promised since 2014, and it had been specified as having dual extruders up until CES 2016.

    The kickstarter campaign to fund it was when things went off the rails with development changes.
     
  15. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    The final product was not like what they demoed back then so clearly a redesign was done. The shorter axis drive sections is a good idea.

    Business decision... Their call.
     
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  16. daniel871

    daniel871 Well-Known Member

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    Right, but saying they never claimed the machine would have a specific feature when there are easily found articles from each trade show since 2014 is a bit much.
     
  17. Jerry RoBo 3D

    Jerry RoBo 3D Administrator
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    Just an FYI, the R2 extruder assembly is pre-wired for the second extruder. No need to disassemble and add wires to the extruder assembly.
     
  18. Todd Wessendorf

    Todd Wessendorf Active Member

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    Nice! Good to know. What about wiring for the 2nd motor for the extruder? Think that is there too, or just for the heater/thermister?
     
  19. daniel871

    daniel871 Well-Known Member

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    One quick way to check would be to open whatever panel covers the electronics and look.

    Unless Robo ordered boards specifically without labels, there should be a pretty clear series of labels. The current one that is plugged in should be plugged in at the spot labeled "E0" and next to that should be an "E1".
     
  20. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    The second extruder stepper is labeled on the control board.
    I think I covered that in the C2 thread I did.
    Did they run it up to the extruder carriage? That part only an R2 owner can research and answer :)
     
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