Transcript:
Hey, everyone, I’m back today. With a video I’m extremely excited about, and that’s because we’re reviewing the quad fusion Cmyk extruder made by M3D. This is actually the extruder used on their crane printer, but it’s only the extruder timestamps are on the screen now and in the description down below. If you want to skip the setup and get straight to the prints, a really cool fact about this is that m3d didn’t ship this to me. In fact, an awesome viewer from this channel named Dale did. He was part of their crowdfunding had two units and was kind enough to send me one for review. I definitely can’t. Thank him enough for that. What I didn’t know when I was getting into? This was just how big of a project it would be. My naive self thought it would just be another extruder I could swap for and well. It definitely wasn’t. It ends up that this extruder not only requires a duet board, but it requires a duex expansion to accommodate for four extruders. Well, dale actually sent me this before. The outbreak and shipping on the duet and Duex took months, so this video really got delayed that said it’s all ready now for an initial review video to start off since a viewer sent me this. I don’t really know any of the background on this extruder and m3d’s progress on it. They’ll let me know that they kind of have a black mark on their name. Due to the way, they handled their crowdfunding approach, so this review isn’t an endorsement on M3D or anything, but rather just a review on this particular extruder I will be linking to their site where it’s sold, but I have no personal experiences using it while the extruder is listed at 300 I did need to buy that. Duet and Duex expansion, meaning the total bundle came closer to 550 If you don’t want to spend hours wiring everything to a printer, you happen to have on hand. I will also be linking to their crane printer. Which has this quad fusion built in for 850 dollars. It looks like a basic Ender 3 setup, but it might be worth it for many of you out there, especially if you don’t already have a printer to dismantle since they use an Ender 3 looking printer, That’s 24 Volt. I went ahead with a very similar setup and used my longer LK4 pro as the printer to build this on. You may want to use this on a better machine. This was just the easiest for me to personally deal with now with someone who is anything, but an electrical engineer boards and wiring have always been a bit confusing to me. M3d’s documentation on installation also seems to be lacking in a lot of places that said. Let me go over some points as you watch me disorganizingly wire everything keep in mind. I do clean it up all in the end. I just wanted to make sure that I could actually get this to work before doing that. The first note is the way this extruder is mounted. It’s very simple to mount, which is great. It is just that it’s not sturdily built. I had played around creating a mount for this on my longer. LK4 and I accidentally broke one of the mounting pegs right off. I actually just super glued it back on, but it’s definitely not as sturdy as I would like it now. Make sure you don’t over, tighten it. If you do get one of these as I will reiterate. I was learning as I was doing this so there could have been things that I did wrong along. The way one thing I’m not sure about is the power on the fans since this extruder requires a 24 volt power supply with the duet. I had assumed the fans were made for 24 volt as well. Well, they aren’t, and I burnt them out. The first time I turned on the printer, I ended up replacing them with 24 volt fans and everything worked great. So I’m not sure if I wired these fans to the incorrect section on the board initially, or if M3D put the incorrect powered fans on, I also went ahead and printed a mount for the board and expansion and wired two always-on fans to blow onto it. This was crucial for making sure nothing overheats as well as being crucial for organization. I’m not gonna lie. I was beyond ecstatic when I got the firmware uploaded and got the duet Web control working. I did need to do some tweaks to the firmware after this initial turning on of the printer. But I was just so happy that it was alive. So next I went on with cleaning up this messy wiring. In order to put the board underneath the printer, I had to extend a lot of wires and I also made sure that the proper connectors on the board were being used. I then really do my best to clean everything up in a presentable fashion, and I think I kind of succeeded. The board on the bottom had to be angled in an awkward manner to be mounted, but it definitely works and is out of the way. Remember that I’m just happy that this thing works after weeks of delays and confusion with the documentation? I wouldn’t suggest this unless you know what you’re doing or you’re happy with spending a ton of time learning and making mistakes and now was the test to see if the filament would actually extrude out of this thing. Since I didn’t have the cmyk color corrected filament from M3D delivery jet, I went ahead with just some opaque, blue, red, yellow and white. You can use white, black or transparent as the K for different effects. But you will soon see that. I actually think this extruder needs to be cmykw in order to be proper. You really do need black and white in order to have the full color spectrum since this isn’t printing onto white paper like a 2d printer. I have plenty of tests and examples to show that in this regard, okay, printer moves, homes. Extrudes has four colors loaded and it’s time to get to slicing and this is when I play around with one of the coolest as well as one of the most limiting factors about this printer. The voxelizer slicer voxelizer has an experimental slicer that is designed to work with this extruder. And I don’t think there is really any other options out there. There are some great things about the slicer and some things that really need fixing first. I’ll talk about the great things. This slicer is so cool when it comes to how you choose the colors, you’ll be using in the print. You tell the printer what colors you’re using as your main four, which I guess to the best of my ability for these first four prints, though the cmy colors are supposed to be color calibrated to m3d spools. Once you choose the four colors you are using, you can then go and create new colors when creating these new colors, the slicer figures out what percent of each material is required to get that blend. Please keep in mind. Every extruder needs to be running at at least two percent to avoid clogs, so there is no way to print a hundred percent with just one color. You will always be blending them, so it’s extremely smart to be using the same material and same manufacturer. I feel like Voxelizer did a great job on the color selection and it is very user friendly when it comes to understanding what color you’re trying to use, but now it’s time to talk about the annoyances first of all. It crashed all the time. I mean, it took the program crashing a good four times before I was able to slice apart. I did delete it and re-download it, and now it happens a little less frequently, but it definitely still crashes. You gotta make sure to save your progress continually as you go. Next is the actual slicing parameters. Some options are very limited, especially when it comes to supports. You will see that I am never able to get clean supports even by the end of this video, so there really needs to be some tweaks to this. This becomes a lot less useful if I can’t print parts that I need support material because the slicer is too difficult to hone that in properly next. I can’t seem to figure out how to tell voxelizer what color to use as an infill. They allow me to choose. What color will be used on the supports? But I couldn’t see how to do that with the infill when using opaque colors, it really shouldn’t make a difference, but you can imagine if you have light transparent walls with dark infill, it can really mess up the look and finally this may be a function of the extruder itself, but unfortunately, you can only work off of multiple stl’s rather than just one colored obj. This works exactly the same way as any other. MMU printer does only you’re not limited to the color selections. You can have 10 different. Stls combined to only make one model with each of the 10 stl’s, using a different color each requiring a minor amount of purging before printing, so this isn’t exactly the full cmy color printing with gradients. I was originally thinking it was At least I couldn’t quite figure out how to do that. As of making this video, I actually just went ahead and used a sample file of a butterfly based off a tutorial made by M3D for my first print. This really worked as a tutorial for me as to learn how to use the slicer. The slicer does actually offer the ability to basically watermark a layer with a pattern which I do for this one print. You should know that m3d warns that if you’re using opaque colors, you will likely get a toothpaste. Look to your prints, they say that. If you want to use opaque colors, you should really use a smaller diameter nozzle, but we’re just seeing what’s possible for this first video. I’ll tell you now. When Dale first told me about this extruder, I thought I would only be dealing with nozzle clogs. I figured there was no way. A single one hour print would be able to finish dual extrusion printing out of one nozzle. Always clogs on me, So there’s no way Four could work well. This first print came out much better than I thought it would not only did. I not need to deal with a single clog and actually matches the color estimation on voxelizer. Pretty, amazingly. I thought there is no way but here. It is and we’re looking at it. Yes, the toothpaste effect is in full swing here, but now I’m super excited to wait for that. Transparent cmyk colors being delivered by M3D. Let’s get to printing. Some more first up was a model of President Xi. I mean, Winnie the Pooh, which was designed for MMU Printing by Red Dad Steve or Steve Solomon on Thingiverse and my Mini Factory. I believe all of my mmu prints I use for this video are by him, but everything I use will be linked to down below and just look at this thing. If you have never 3d printed before this would be anything but special to you, but to me. This is phenomenal. It has toothpaste streaks. It has temporary under extrusion. But look at it, im. Sorry, this definitely excites me. You can see that. The eyes and nose are actually blue tinted Because I use white as my K. If this printer has slots for both white and black, you could see how a more accurate color could be created. I then did a spyro. The dragon print, which is when I learned I have some issues with support settings in voxelizer. I played around with this. But as mentioned earlier, I couldn’t quite get the supports working at least in time for this first video while it is broken, it’s pretty cool to see the differences in colors from that Winnie the pooh print, even though they are both using the same blue red yellow and white Pla, I then swapped out the blue for a flesh color PLA and the red for black and attempted to try and print Charlie Brown. Since you aren’t only limited to cmyk, you can actually use whatever four colors you want and create any combinations. You want so long as you tell voxelizer what your initial four colors were and along with the support issues and toothpaste. Look, this still impresses me. You can see, though. That since the quad fusion requires each of the extruders to be used, at least two percent not to clog, there isn’t a way to get a solid yellow color since it is forced to be a tiny amount of black swirled in after this is when my transparent color corrected Cmyk pet G was delivered from M3D. You have to keep in mind that if you’re able to find transparent PLA or pet G that comes close to matching these colors, buy that instead m3d absurdly charges over eighty dollars for these four quarter kilogram spools. That means it’s over eighty dollars for just one kilogram, and that’s really insane to charge for standard pet G. Definitely not worth it but worth it to review in this video. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to match the colors. Voxelizer was guesstimating anywhere near what the opaque colors was guesstimating. Even though I used the Cmyk suggested by voxelizer, along with the M3D supplied filament. Red just does not shine through. I did another test tweaking colors a bit and you can see. This is just heavy on the yellow. I was wondering if this was because I was using transparent pet G as the K. So I swapped it over to white opaque. This definitely gave the print a cool look, but the red doesn’t shine through better at all, the same is true. When I used opaque black pet G as the K, it looks different and has its own cool features, but the shirt is definitely not red. I was wondering if this was specific to red, so I went ahead and found a green Kermit The Frog Mmu print while keeping the K as black, opaque pet G. And would you look at that? The green on this looks amazing. No toothpaste effect, and there was zero. Green material used. I’m back to being thoroughly impressed after this and think that these cmy colors have difficulty making red. I know that normal cmyk 2d printing can’t get vibrant red, but it can at least print something that you would consider red, so I went to swapping the Magenta out with a deep red, transparent pet G and it looks like I should have chosen a deeper red in voxelizer because this poo is way too red that said it’s a pretty good looking brown at the bottom. Since at this point, I was already running low on the yellow pet G. My next Winnie. The Pooh was going to be my final test for this particular video, and now this is a huge improvement, so it seems that changing the red on voxelizer to a deeper red gave a much more accurate guesstimation of what the final print will look like still a bit too red, but a huge improvement from the previous print that said. It’s clear why you might want to do some trial and error before you get the exact combinations that you want. You can see here how the lack of my ability to choose the color for the infill can affect the quality. It’s hard to say for sure, but I think those streaks you see are actually from the infill and well, that’s all for now. I definitely plan on doing some more tests when I have more material and time to play around but figure this initial video is pretty long enough for you guys to get a good opinion. Let’s go over the pros and cons of this machine, followed by my final thoughts, the pros. This is the first time I’ve ever seen this method being done. Xyz printing has their own proprietary method of doing cmyk printing, but it isn’t like this, and it also costs thousands of dollars for their machine. The price, honestly 300 is extremely affordable for what you’re getting. Unfortunately, you do need to shell out a lot more money for the board, but bang for your buck. It’s definitely not that bad it works. This should be the number one pro beyond anything else. Yes, painting will definitely look nicer. But the fact is actually printed and was close to the estimated image. I am beyond impressed. It didn’t clog once. This is a miracle in my opinion since dual extruder single nozzle printers only clog on me. But I am now at a dozen prints and I haven’t had a single clog. The duet is a great board, which this extruder requires using their transparent cmy colors, along with opaque, white or black, gives a really good effect without a toothpaste streak when using the correct four colors for your print, you can get really close to matching the estimated Look from Voxelizer. The purge wall around the print is perfect, as is no tweaking the voxelizer needed and it is extremely minimal amount of waste Quite a difference from the palette. It’s easy to find a mount and it’s extremely quiet and now for the cons, these four tiny motors are not very powerful. While I didn’t experience a clog once the extruders need to be running very slow, they are susceptible to getting very hot. Even when, using the lowest recommended motor settings from M3D, I actually added tiny little heat sinks but would feel even more comfortable. If I wire a fan blowing directly on them, I have had some under extrusion, and I’m not quite sure if that’s an e-step issue or due to the underpowered motors. I’m going to have to hone this in over time. This really needs to be cmykw in order to actually give you the full color spectrum, using opaque colors is much more accurate in my opinion, but it gives that streaky look, i’ll have to test out smaller nozzles in the future. I had that mounting issue where I broke off one of the parts. It could use a redesign to be a bit stronger. Voxelizer experimental crashes A lot. And I mean, enough to get me pretty frustrated at times. The installation instructions are lacking in sections. I’m not sure how much support m3d plans on doing for these extruders, but they definitely should be interested in making this even nicer. Unfortunately, the prints need to be using different stls for different colors. There doesn’t seem to be a way to paint directly on it or give a variation in gradients. Each STL is its own separate color. I’m not sure if there’s even another method to do this. Due to the fact that a purge is required, I can’t figure out how to choose. What color to print the infill in which can affect the transparent prints using the m3dcmy colors doesn’t seem to produce a good red color. If you want red in your print, you’ll likely need to swap the magenta out for something more red. Since each motor needs to be turning a minor amount to avoid clogs, it’s impossible to get a solid color from one of the four colors you are using each color will require a bit of the other three and here are my final thoughts. This has a ton of potential. I think a Gen 2 or Gen, 3 of this extruder could be phenomenal, that said. I don’t know the reputation M3D currently has or their ability or want to continue working on this project. Personally, I definitely think they should, but then again. I am coming at this from a hobbyist tinker attitude. If you want full cmyk options for a print that looks great, this probably isn’t it. In fact, painting might be the only option. Anything I paint will hands down, turn out more vibrant, with more accurate colors, along with the ability for me to shade and add minor details. So if I really wanted a full color print, I’m just going to paint it, But this type of printer excites me for what’s possible if you’re the type of person who loves to play around with these 3d printers and you don’t necessarily require a printer for specific job, Then I can definitely recommend this. You could play around with different color combinations to get the specific mixture You want if you’re new to 3d printing? This shouldn’t be your first machine. If M3d adds a fifth color option, so you can use both black and white adds to their support pages and creates a lot. More tutorial videos reduces their prices for their cmy colors makes the mounting a bit more sturdy and we see improvements to the voxelizer slicer. We can see the beginning of something really innovative. You will all have to let me know what you think. In the comments down below. Maybe I’m just too excited for something That has prints that look like this, but I definitely think it has potential. If you have experiences with m3d, the quad fusion or the crane printer definitely make sure to leave a comment and let others know down below. Thank you all for watching and again, a big, thanks to Dale for not only sending me this extruder, but letting me know that it exists. I might make a part 2 to this video. If I ever get pristine prints with good supports, I will see you all soon with further reviews, tutorials and fun prints. Are you new to 3d printing or would like to get some more information? The brand new 2020 edition of my book 3d printing failures is now available on Amazon. This 2020 edition has had every chapter rewritten and updated and there are even six brand new chapters. One of these chapters is a detailed explanation of material science and 3d printing by Nicholas Tocoteu, a polymaker, which I think makes this book worth it on its own check out now linked in the description down below.