NGL that is a stupid design
Probably more practical though than some of these ideas I proposed last year.
Had to manually add YouTube link for some reason.
Strange don’t know why posting YouTube links (from Safari on a Mac) doesn’t seem to work properly - have tried updating it to post a link - but even that doesn’t look correct.
Will try from Chrome.
turn each of those nozzles at 45 degrees and add a belt
I remember reading that patent a year ago and thought something similar until I actually read what the patent was about.
That picture is just an illustration of a filament change process where basically an AMS feed a single nozzle in a multi extruder configuration.
Here’s a poor translation describing that picture:
In some possible implementations, referring to fig. 1, fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a 3D printer according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 1, 3D printer 102 includes at least two nozzles, such as nozzle 1021 and nozzle 1022. Wherein each spray head has a corresponding at least one trough 103.
2nd attempt at posting youtube link - from Chrome this time.
Youtube itself has been playing up of late , this video isnt available , until you (i) refresh but i have noticed a new player being used for videos ,(edge)
i got to add i dont think the above idea is very practical with such a small axis to mount two toolheads on
Publication date of 25th Oct threw me - I see it was filed in April - so maybe thats when you picked it up.
Yes - there are a few options. What I was trying to illustrate was a fixed bed with multiple fully independent moving gantries - that could do parallel printing potentially.
I still quite like the idea of joining multiple printers together in some way - so that when you want to use them individually you can, but when you want to print something big - you can get them all collaborating together and ideally printing different parts in parallel.
The A1 mini was never really a serious idea (I’m actually pursuing it on a CoreXY printer) - although seeing this video earlier today, plus this patent reminded me of the idea.
https://www.reddit.com/r/BambuLab/comments/1oi44fl/i_turned_my_bambu_a1_mini_into_a_mini_laser_cutter/
Did the multi plate A1s get scrapped or they still pushing ahead ?
Ahh, the one I’m familiar with was published in China 16th of April 2024.
I only really use Google Patent searches. Google Patents
Wouldnt that patent already partly exist from when the mini and ams lite were being developed ?
Trying to use an A1 mini as a base for an IDEX ignores the technical requirements of an IDEX, each head needs to get off the build plate (on each side).
Sorry, poorly thought out H2D and upcoming H2C.
I used to own this before donating it.
TENLOG TL-D3 Pro 3D Printer, Independent Dual Extruder 3D Printer with Upgrade Borosilicate Glass Bed,Silent Mainboards TMC2208 Drive Support PVA TPU ABS PLA,Direct Feed FDM 3D Printer 300x300x350mm
As you can see, the head has room to park off to each side, a necessity for a decent design.
Had this of had automatic bed level like modern printers it would have been perfect.
Throw an AMS (or four) on each side and you have a great printer.
The build volume needs to justify the IDEX benefits, this was 300x300x300mm.
Being able to print two teddy bears (duplication) at the same time or two feet (mirroring), left and right without any loss in speed was great.
The A1 series printers were released at the end of 2023, so this particular patent is well after the fact. What the patent highlights is that they were working on a dual (or more) nozzle configuration that would utilize AMS’s to feed, i.e. the H2D series.
Thats the reason for asking as it is the ams lite that already does the feed and retract for the A1`s and i cant see any connection to more than one nozzle for a patent . its already got a hub .
I re-read the patent and it’s really describing the filament change process utilizing 2 more more nozzles and how to determine the most efficient way to handle changing and purging of filament. Like how the H2D has features like filament saving mode where it calculates the most efficient filament placement to optimize purging/waste.
The patent has nothing to do with the A1 series printers specifically, unless they decide later on to include a 2+ nozzle setup on them. Right now only the H2D series uses the process. The picture of the A1 mini is just for illustration purposes in the patent to show a 3d printer with two nozzles with two material handlers hooked up to it.
You never know.
Check this:
Very interesting - I’ve been working on a similar concept for IDEX too where you switch between single, copy and mirror modes within the same gantry - plus also looking to introduce more complex transformations.
Have just contacted them with my playlist to see if they are interested in any sort collaboration. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLevb-K79VgiBZrj5xNUxBCmG4nxjcEeS2&si=Fdfzsw_4GiTqUP3o