Whenever someone says “I asked AI …” I instantly think about this:
I was told to google this and do the research myself, so I googled it. My google search didnt agree with what you are saying.
You are free to disagree with whatever you want, but I do want to pick your brain. Based on what criteria do you classify socket as a tool, but battery not?
Extruder is just a source of energy to push filament…
… Everything is doing the work that was designed to be. Nothing in the printer design exists for no reason.
All of them. Every single component is crucial. Remove one - the printer would not produce a meaningful result.
That is your opinion. You can call it however you want, you can even call it a piece of junk, it all comes down to whether or not you find a common understanding of your opinions.
So … your research lead you to what, a first line of text you saw on the screen. I guess that’s enough of your “research”?
I don’t know you, but it hits hard like I talk with some teen who has no idea how to find information lmao. I guess we’ll end this here, as it is clearly a pointless discussion.
Sorry, Rusty, but nobody told you to ask AI. You should look things up on Wikipedia, for example. On top of that - and I don’t mean to be mean - you often struggle to understand written text and clearly prefer images. This makes communicating on the forum even more difficult.
At the same time, you almost always respond with just questions and a single sentence.
The forum isn’t a picture gallery, and that’s been explained several times already - with photos, not just once.
I don’t mean it personally; I’m just asking to make sure I understood correctly: How did you manage to read the user manual for your printer or the Bambu Wiki if you’re having trouble understanding text? Is there a way we can explain it to you better?
This forum is text-based communication, not just pictures. Communicating with you can often be extremely difficult, and I know it’s always been that way. I’m not even sure if you’ll understand this comment, since you already had trouble with the previous ones.
Give us a helping hand so we can figure out how to explain this to you. It seems like pictures didn’t work either - see previous comments. The communication problem is always there, and as I said, please don’t take this personally, but how many times have we brought this up already?
Mechanical vs Potential energy.
An extruder is not a source of energy. It consumes energy and converts it into work. Same way that I do not consider diesel or gasoline a tool.
Not really. Take the light of the printer, it will still work. Take the side panels off, it will still work. Take out the cameras, it will still work.
So many components are just extras. Take out the extruder motor, doesnt work. Take out the mainboard, doesnt work. Take out the nozzle, doesnt work.
It is a thin distinction.
At least I can agree that we are just repeating ourselves. @Rusty35 form an opinion and try to argue it on a higher level.
To get back to the topic - the original question:
When will true, full-color 3D printing become available to consumers? Unfortunately, I could only find this video here from an Asian company that just ran the text through a translator… but it’s the technology that matters:
The printer works much like a regular ink printer, except that it uses UV light to cure the material layer by layer. Sure, right now it’s still just for companies, but it’ll definitely become mainstream at some point.
From this perspective, one could argue that what we currently know as 3D printing is merely a stepping stone towards the technology demonstrated in the video. In the future, we may no longer need to consider filament colour.
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I have an opinion
The U1 is a toolhead changer the vortek system is a nozzle changer, and the INDX system is a nozzle changer that keeps the filament with the nozzle, and nobody seems to be able to explain what the the actual tool is, yet they want to use terms like “true tool changer”. When someone tries to tell me that a ratchet is not a tool and a socket is not a tool the conversation has become pointless.
You know what’s funny. Almost all of what we have today on a consumer level … was designed by Stratasys. This printer above is not an exclusion. I have a similar multicolor printer at work. It’s called Stratasys PolyJet and material called “VeroVivid”. Crazy expensive though, as everything with Straponsis.
Here’s when I was doing a simple single color part, couple years ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YymIIAWBmlY
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Prusa and Bondtech see it differently, as I’ve already shown in a screen I posted. Sure, you’re entitled to your opinion, of course, but it’s quite a stretch to claim you know better than, say, Prusa.
However, I respect your opinion, so I’ll leave it at that. I’m just saying, that’s quite a stretch…
Of course, we can also ask the question differently to move the discussion forward:
- So you’re saying that Prusa and Bondtech are mislabeling their printers?
Please just answer this simple question. Thank you. 
With a lot of goodwill, one could perhaps still debate whether it’s a hybrid - although I find the term misleading, but I don’t want to open that door, because that would require a more solid basis for discussion.
Not at all, Im saying all the folks using the term “true tool changer” are unable to explain what they consider to be the “tool” My opinion the nozzle is the tool and both the vortek and INDX would would be considered tool changers.
Actually, this has been explained to you several times, not just in this thread - with pictures, videos, links, and screenshots.
The truth is that the phone line on your end is simply cut off, and nothing is getting through.
People are writing pages and pages of explanations - from various users. If it were just one user, you might not understand, but you’re collecting them like they’re Pokémon cards. In that case, let’s just say: That’s a you problem.
This also applies to general interactions, such as opening a wiki, viewing a link, or performing a search.
In a nutshell: You shouldn’t blame others; instead, you should grow up and develop your own opinions and knowledge. Like I said, I never meant any disrespect, but a forum is, after all, text-based communication.
Have you ever tried this? Maybe it will help you with your reading and writing comprehension.
I use it regularly myself because of my disability, and I have nothing but good things to say about it:
Where, point out where some one has explained what the “tool” is that hasnt said things like “a ratchet is not a tool” or the entire tool head is the tool, or FDM is CNC.
If that one sentence you keep repeating is all you’ve taken away from the last few posts, then… well… and in doing so, you’ve consistently ignored absolutely every post - and I suspect it’s not because it’s being deliberate, but because of attention deficit.
Long comments confuse you and cause you problems. There are ways to deal with that. Like I said, this is a recurring theme for you - in case you’ve forgotten, it comes up every few months.
I probably know what the problem is, but I’m not going to say it out loud. Use the tool I suggested to you. This isn’t a problem with the users; it isn’t a forum problem; it’s simply a communication problem, and probably compounded by attention span issues. Has four letters.
However, this isn’t really supposed to be about you personally, but in a nutshell:
Get help or use the tool that I suggested to you. There’s also AI that translates texts into simple speech and reads them aloud.
I don’t understand why it is such a big deal. I would say to go with what you think and run with it. Why? Because it doesn’t really matter. They all are just two ways to achieve the same goal.
Funny thing, Klitech is advertised as a nozzle changer, despite having very similar qualities to INDX. Is creality wrong?
Why calling something a nozzle changer is a negative term? idk.
Why we cant consider a nozzle changer a TYPE of tool changer? idk.
Most of these guys have not been in the CNC world, the terminology established there does not matter to them, despite 3d printing being a fork of traditional CNC.
I dont have a problem calling what ever everyone wants to call it. It is not a big deal at all,
I get confused when some folks say vortek is not a “true tool changer” but INDX and U1 are, this bring up the question what these individuals are calling the “tool” since the U1 and the INDX system are pretty much not the same. So ask a simple question. what is considered the “tool” and get comments like
But no definition of what those individuals consider the”tool”