I’m new to using the AMS and I mostly got it for easy switching between filament more than multi-colored prints. However I have found some areas where I would like to use the multi-color option. In most cases I am not super concerned about the color being perfect and a little mixing is fine. I would like to know more about how the flush volumes, prime tower, and filament load purge procedure work (or don’t) together.
I’ve learned that purge to infill or purge to another object doesn’t actually do anything unless you also have the prime tower enabled. I can resize the prime tower to be fairly small but that is still a waste.
I can’t tell when it changes filament how much of a purge it poops, but it seems like it is generally enough right there for a color change most of the time. If that is sufficient, do I just disable prime tower and run like that? When the prime tower is enabled it has an identified volume that seems independent of the flushing volumes settings under the filament selection, so where does that value come into play? Does that set exactly how much it poops between changes?
The slicer does the math on purge volume automatically. I’m not sure how it does the math. But it understands that loading a lighter color filament after printing a darker colored one requires more purge than the other direction.
The volume it needs to purge is squirted to the poop chute until the remaining purge volume will be consumed in the purge/prime tower and/or infill/support extrusions, at which point it completes the purge by extruding to those areas.
Im probably wrong but i assumed the prime tower was for priming and not purging old color. I think this is why it speeds up as its priming and then jumps right into the print. Gets the pressure in the nozzle correct.
That is the purpose of the prime tower, but the prime tower has is set at a desired size and volume. If that size/volume is not needed purely for priming for that layer, it still needs to put the same amount of filament on the prime tower to complete it, so it cuts the purge (out the back) short, and puts a little of that purge in the prime tower.
For example if its normally going to purge 1g out the back, and needs to prime 0.2g; however the volume for the prime tower per layer requires 0.25g, then instead of wasting 1.25g, it will only purge 0.95g and then purge/prime 0.25g, so your total waste is 1.2g as desired.
So it sounds like the primary advantage to enabling this is that it also enables the option to flush into infill or support? It seems without the prime tower enabled those options go away.
On a print where there are a lot of layers that don’t require color changes it may end up using more since it has to continuously build up the tower.
