Re: Toolchanger / Jubilee

[TobyCWood]

Thanks for the post.

I have zero experience with the Jubilee. Zilch. Can't speak to it.

The E3D tool changer OTOH I can talk about. 

As I have it setup up right now I can reliably print at the same level of reliability as any of my other better machines. It can print with any material, PLA, ABS, PETg, Nylon, PC, TPU, and lots of other one offs. What it can't do is print fast. The X carriage which carries the changing components (a small stepper) and the tool saddle along with the attached tool is a significant amount of mass even for a well made, highly rigid CoreXY gantry. Perhaps when the next version of RRF comes out with fully functioning Input Shaping we may be able to go a little faster for some use cases, but it can never be a speed machine. That said... it's still faster then a Mendel!
Is it a workhorse machine? Well... my last multicolor print took three days and it did it with zero issues. Actually, most MM use cases will by their nature be very very long prints taking 1 to 4 days... so yeah it's GOT to be reliable and a strong durable machine.

Theres one thing more about the E3D tool changer. It's expensive. Mine cost me more than $4K for it and everything I added to it.

Is it my favorite machine? Oh yeah! It's what I dreamed of after I got my first 3D Printer way back in 2011.

On Saturday, August 7, 2021 at 12:46:40 PM UTC-7 Bill Denheyer wrote:

I stumbled upon the podcast a few months ago and enjoy listening when I do yardwork. Thanks Andy and Whitney for doing it. I particularly liked the episode last week comparing the popular CoreXY designs as I'm considering building a larger printer soon. I've been using my Prusa MK3S for about 2 years and it does everything I need, except print in more than 1 material. Most of the things I print are functional parts for my car or around the house and having the ability to print with TPU and PETG in the same print would be useful. I'd also like to print larger and faster.

With that said, I'm curious whether the E3D Toolchanger / Jubilee concept is mature enough that it can be reliable without spending hours tinkering each time a print is kicked off. I'm also interested in whether a toolchanger can be a single-material workhorse, or if there are significant drawbacks to the design as a result of the multi-material support. For example, does the toolchanger mechanism lead to a significantly higher gantry weight limiting achievable speeds? Are there other compromises that would make something like a Voron a better choice for single-material prints? I have no firsthand experience but I know that the E3D Toolchanger is discussed on the podcast quite often, so figured I'd ask on here.

If the concept is sound and it can serve as a workhorse machine, I'll likely build a Jubilee soon. If not, I'll just go with a Voron to get faster speeds and a bigger build area, and wait for a more mature multi-material solution in the future. Any input would be appreciated!