nozzle

The world of 3D printing It stopped being monochrome a long time ago. Nowadays, there is a rare brand of printer that does not have a multi-color system that allows its machines to print in multiple colors. The next natural step was to offer multi-material, that is, combining different types of plastics in the same print. All of this is already possible, but it involves sacrifices in terms of time, waste and quality. These are three of the great evils of 3D printing. current at consumption level. There are solutions, of course, but they all have flaws. Mova, Dreame’s new brand, wants to solve it. The Chinese firm has brought the AtomForm Palette 300 to Europe, a 3D printer that, at least on paper, solves these three big problems in a truly spectacular way: with a nozzle roulette. Let’s go in parts. The printer next to the RFD-6 | Image: Xataka A previous note. All 3D printers work exactly the same: they push a plastic through a very hot extruder that melts it and deposits it in lines and layers on a hot base through a nozzle. The plastic is called filament and the nozzle is called nozzle. To date, the most normal thing is for 3D printers to have a single nozzle, although we are seeing innovations that allow two, four and even six nozzles through different mechanisms. Problem number 1: waste. When we change color or material during a print, the machine has to retract the filament from the nozzle, load the new filament, purge the remains of the previous filament and extrude the new filament to deposit it in the figure. This residue of old and new filament is known as “poo” and, in some cases, the residue may cost more than the filament used in the figure itself. We saw it here in much more detail. Waste generated during the purge | Image: Xataka Problem number 2: time. This process of changing filament is slow, very slow. So much so that a printout that could be just a few hours if printed in a single color could last up to a day or several days if we use multicolor. Problem number 3: quality. When changing filament or material and doing this purge, it is possible that, if we have not adjusted it well, there will be a color mixture that completely ruins the print. If you ever go to a market where 3D prints are sold, look at the dolls’ eyes. If they have a shift towards black it is precisely because of this. It should be noted that these three problems have been partially solved with some solutions, such as the multiple extruders of the Prusa XL or the Snapmaker U1; or the Vortex system of the Bambu Lab H2C. Mova wants to achieve it too, but taking its system much further, to where the others, at least for the moment, have not gone. Mova OmniElement System | Image: Mova A roulette wheel with 12 nozzles. Mova has come up with a system called OmniElement, which basically consists of a roulette wheel with 12 independent nozzles linked to a color or material. During a multi-color or multi-material print, this system does not have to purge the filament. Let’s imagine, for that matter, that we want to change from black to white. Instead of cutting the black filament, retracting it, loading the white, purging the black and extruding the white (costing time and generating waste, remember), what the OmniElement system does is link one nozzle on the spinner to the white filament and another to the black filament. This way, when switching from one to the other, you don’t have to waste time purging or switching between coils. Change the nozzle directly and that’s it. Well, we can do this with up to 12 nozzles and 36 colors, but not only that. We can also combine different materials, such as PLA and PETG to achieve better supports. According to Mova, the system is capable of achieving 50% faster changes and reducing waste by 90%. Interchangeable nozzle | Image: Mova Another key: various diameters. On the other hand, the brand has confirmed to Xataka that it is possible to combine nozzles of different diameters in the same print. That is, we can use 0.4 millimeter nozzles in some parts, 0.2 nozzles where we need to refine detail and 0.6 or 0.8 nozzles when we need speed. This is something that we have not seen to date and that represents a step forward in 3D printing. We could print the outer lines with 0.2 millimeter nozzles to ensure the best possible detail, but fill in with 0.8 millimeter nozzles to save time on what won’t be seen. At least that is the theory, of course, we will have to see how it is implemented in practice. Your own color module with dryer. The printer can be obtained in a combo version with its own AMS, the RFD-6. This allows up to six colors to be stored and allows them to be dried at a temperature of up to 85ºC. Up to six RFD-6s can be connected to the machine, so the maximum number of colors is 36. The rest. For the rest, the machine promises an automatic calibration and adjustment system that guarantees a maximum deviation of 0.02 millimeters when changing nozzles, a maximum acceleration of 25,000 mm/s², up to 800 mm/s maximum printing speed (theoretical, needless to say) and a printing volume of 300 x 300 x 300 millimeters. The noozle reaches 350ºC, the chamber can be heated to 65ºC and the extruder is made of hardened steel, ergo it supports technical materials such as carbon fiber. The nozzle roulette is in the blue glowing area | Image: Xataka As it could not be otherwise, the printer has all kinds of automatic pre-calibrations, vibration compensation, automatic calibration of linear pressure advance and real-time monitoring of printing defects, such as warping or spaghetti. It comes with its … Read more