Soft Multimaterial 3D Printed Robots

More information: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1736-8

Prusa New Water Soluble Supports

Slic3r Prusa Edition in the latest version 1.36.2 comes with improved printing with water soluble supports. On Prusa i3 MK2 MultiMaterial you now have three ways to print with support. Basic supports from the same material as on regular MK2/MK2S, water soluble supports everywhere and water soluble only on the interface layers.


Here is the video presentation:




With this features, Prusa is getting more powerful and competitive even when compared with much more expensive machines.


Prusa post with detailed information:

http://www.prusaprinters.org/printing-soluble-interface-supports-prusa-i3-mk2-multi-material/

Prusa Gives Us Multi Material Upgrade with Dual and Quad Extrusion

Josef Prusa gives us a multi material extrusion upgrade for I3 Mk2 which looks great. It can come in dual and quad extrusion versions and will give you advanced options for your I3.

Here is the video presentation:




Final release is expected for shipping by the end of November 2016 and is it available for preorder.

• 4 material version is $249 or €269 with VAT
• 2 material version is $199 or €219 with VAT

Prusa homepage:

http://prusaprinters.org/original-prusa-i3-mk2-multi-material-upgrade-release/

Revolutionary MultiFab 3D Printer

MIT CSAIL is an innovation powerhouse and they presented their Multifab 3D printer that can use up to 10 different materials, uses computer vision to adjust operations and can embed objects into prints. It even cost just around 7000 USD. Hopefully the MIT will release some of the designs under open source license.

MultiFab video presentation:




MultiFab description:

We have developed a multi-material 3D printing platform that is high-resolution, low-cost, and extensible. The key part of our platform is an integrated machine vision system. This system allows for self-calibration of printheads, 3D scanning, and a closed-feedback loop to enable print corrections. The integration of machine vision with 3D printing simplifies the overall platform design and enables new applications such as 3D printing over auxiliary parts.

Furthermore, our platform dramatically expands the range of parts that can be 3D printed by simultaneously supporting up to 10 different materials that can interact optically and mechanically. The platform achieves a resolution of at least 40 micrometers by utilizing piezoelectric inkjet printheads adapted for 3D printing. The hardware is low cost (less than $7,000) since it is built exclusively from off-the-shelf components.

The architecture is extensible and modular -- adding, removing, and exchanging printing modules can be done quickly. We provide a detailed analysis of the system's performance. We also demonstrate a variety of fabricated multi-material objects.

MultiFab project homepage:

http://cfg.mit.edu/content/multifab-machine-vision-assisted-platform-multi-material-3d-printing

Detailed paper about MultiFab:

http://cfg.mit.edu/sites/cfg.mit.edu/files/paper.pdf

ShapingBits 3FXtrud 3D Printers

Here are some new 3d printers by Shaping Bits, 3FXtrud Uno is priced at $848 while the 3FXtrud Duo pricing starts at $1,399:



KS campaign:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/899423160/multi-material-and-high-resolution-3fxtrud-3d-prin

Company web page: http://www.shapingbits.com/

Slic3r stable version 1.1.6 new features and review by James Bruton

Slic3r stable version 1.1.6 is out. Since last time I looked at it it now has many new options like linear gap fill, per-region settings, modifier meshes, pillars / bridge support material, model cutting etc.

Here is a review by James Bruton (known for his 3d printed costumes such as 3d printed Xenomorph). He
explains functions like improved multi-material print handling and others.




http://slic3r.org/releases/1.1.6

FlexyDualie open source dual extruder for printing in hard and flexible materials

James Bruton from XRobots made this review and demonstration of new open source extruder from Aleph Objects creators of Lulzbot. FlexyDualie enables you to print with two different types of filament, one rigid and one flexible (NinjaFlex in this case).

He shows properties of objects printed in flexible and hard materials and software setup needed to get the dual material printing possible.

He uses Autodesk123D Design for the featured objects,  which is free software. Each piece is exported as as separate STL and then the "combine multi-material STL" function is used in Slic3r to generate the g-code to drive the FlexyDualie.

His site with more details:

http://xrobots.co.uk/alien2/index_concept.html

Here is Aleph Objects site with all the data if you want to build it yourself:

http://devel.alephobjects.com/lulzbot/TAZ/accessories/Dual_extruder_w_flexy/ (looks like this link is not working)

or

http://devel.lulzbot.com/TAZ/accessories/flexy-dualie/

FlexyDualie extruder

Hard rims with soft wheel, uni-directional flexible joint and tank track

Update:

James shows Alien 3d printed costume hand made with this technique here:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2014/06/3d-printed-steampunk-alien-xenomorph.html

Lathon multifeatures 3d printer

Lathon is a 3d printer with several high-end features developed by Nohtal Alex Partansky, it supports:

• Enclosed Build Volume
• Air Filtration with carbon filter
• Large High Quality Prints
• Dual Nozzle Printing
• Dissolvable Support
• It can create overmolded prototypes
• Multiple Materials
• Standalone Printing

It should also be made open source after funding and development.

Lathon specifications:

• Layer Resolution: up to 80 micron
• Build Volume: 12"x9"x8" (305x230x200mm)
• Air Filtration: Activated carbon
• Frame Dimension: 25"x16.5"x25" (640x420x640mm)
• Positioning Precision: X/Y/Z 6.25/6.25/<1micron
• Print Speed: 30mm/s - 150mm/s
• Travel Speed: 30mm/s - 200mm/s
• Weight: Approx. 33lbs (15kg)
• Filament Type (3mm): ABS, PLA, TPE, Nylon, HIPS, PVA, Carbon Fiber, Wood
• Connection: Print via USB or without computer using on board control panel
• Electronics: RUMBA board with Marlin Firmware
• Motors: Nema 17 1.8° step with 1/32 microstepping
• Power Supply: 450 Watt with 120VAC or 225VAC switching
• Printbed is made out of Ultem 2300 that does not need any tape or ABS juice to function
• Enclosed print chamber
• Priced at USD 1900

Comparison of  Lathon vs. Replicator 2x vs. CubeX Duo

http://www.lathon.net/

Lathon had a Kickstarter that at this time, 3 days before end, reached 60,000 USD of 80,000 USD goal.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nohtal/lathon-3d-printer

Stratasys Objet500 Connex3 World's First Color Multi-material 3D Printer

This powerhouse is priced around 300,000 USD.


Technical specifications:

Model materials:

• Vero family of opaque materials, including color
• Tango family rubber-like flexible materials
• Medical: MED610
• Digital ABS and Digital ABS2 in ivory and green
• DurusWhite RGD430
• High Temperature RGD525 white
• Transparent: VeroClear and RGD720

Digital model materials:

• Hundreds of composite materials can be manufactured on the fly including:
• Vibrant blended colors in rigid opaque
• Translucent colored tints
• Rubber-like materials in a variety of Shore A values
• Polypropylene-like materials with improved thermal resistance

Support material:

• SUP705 non-toxic gel-like photopolymer support

Tray size:

• 500 × 400 × 200 mm (19.7 × 15.7 × 7.9 in.)

Net build size:

• 490 × 390 × 200 mm (19.3 × 15.4 × 7.9 in.)

Layer thickness:

• Horizontal build layers down to 16 microns (0.0006 in.)

Build resolution:

• X-axis: 600 dpi; Y-axis: 600 dpi; Z-axis: 1600 dpi

Printing Modes:

• Digital material: 30-micron (0.001 in.) resolution
• High quality: 16-micron (0.0006 in.) resolution
• High speed: 30-micron (0.001 in.) resolution

Accuracy:

• 20-85 micron for features below 50 mm; up to 200 micron for full model size (for rigid materials only, depending on geometry, build parameters and model orientation)

Input Format:

• STL, OBJDF and SLC File

Workstation compatibility:

• Windows 7 64-bit or Windows 8 64-bit

Network connectivity:

• LAN – TCP/IP

Size and weight:
Objet500 Connex3:

• 1400 (w) x 1260 (h) x 1100 (d) mm
• (55.1 x 49.6 x 43.3 in.)
• 430 Kg (948 lbs.)

Material Cabinet:

• 330 (w) x 1170 (h) x 640 (d) mm
• (13 x 46.1 x 26.2 in.)
• 76 Kg (168 lbs.)

Print heads:

• 8 units

Power Requirements:

• 110–240 VAC 50/60 Hz; 1.5 KW single phase

Operational Environment:

• Temperature 18 C-25 C (64 F-77 F); relative humidity 30-70 percent (non-condensing)

Stratasys product page:

http://www.stratasys.com/3d-printers/design-series/precision/objet500-connex3


PDF technical specification sheet:

http://www.stratasys.com/~/media/Main/Secure/Material%20Specs%20MS/PolyJet-Material-Specs/Objet500%20Connex3_Design_SellSheet_low%20res%20R3.pdf

2BEIGH3 DIY hybrid CNC machine and 3D printer with detailed build instructions

Many people are building machines they designed from scratch. Here is combination of CNC machine and 3d printer which is well documented with complete build guide. It has some interesting features like printing with many materials.

Here is 2BEIGH3 as CNC cutter slicing trough acrylic plate:



Here is 2BEIGH3 3d printing with Nylon (btw: printing Nylon emits toxic fumes, it should be done in controlled environment):

2BEIGH3 technical specifications:

• Build volume for CNCing: 14” x 14” x 6”,  355mm x 355mm x 160mm  
• Build volume for 3d printing: 14” x 14” x 12”, 355mm x 355mm x 355mm
• Material Aluminium 3mm or 0.125" ABS and PLA Plastic Rod or Line
• Plastics 2-3mm(or 0.125") Nylon, Nylon Polymers, Nylon 6 and 6/6 - 6' Rod
• Foam 3mm or 0.125" PET (Plastic from water bottles)
• (Steel with the addition of cooling) 
• Resolution: X-Y Resolution +/- 0.005 ~ +/- 0.012, Z Resolution +/- 0.005 +/- 0.005
• Cut/Print Speed 350mm/min 24mm/s
• Cutting Foam ABS
• Tools/Tips 0.125” – 0.250” .32mm - .62mm

Software:

• Any CAD that makes “.dxf” and exports “.stl”
• MACH3
• LazyCam slic3r rev 6
• PC Win XP

This hybrid can print with various materials like ABS, PLA, different nylon polymers, acrylic and It can also print with reclaimed PET from the regular PET bottles. Here are the images of printed objects in different materials:

Here is a video of it printing in clear acrylic:





Hot end is also custom designed from simple parts:

All the details need for construction of 2BEIGH3 can be found here:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Combination-CNC-Machine-and-3D-Printer/?ALLSTEPS

Update from HYREL 3D

From video description:

Just in time for the 2013 Holidays, HYREL 3D changes the economics of 3D printing with a single, affordable machine.
Whether one of HYREL's Engines or Systems, all are able to fabricate multiple parts simultaneously.

What this means to you:
If it currently takes four hours for your 3D printer to print / fabricate a single part and you need four of the same parts, it will take at least 16 hours total with a single machine.
With a single HYREL Engine or System, your capacity to fabricate parts simultaneously on the same machine opens up the bottleneck, saves you time and valuable shop space.
So, if you need two, three, or four fabricated parts... or if you need a small production run of parts...
... or if you'd like to mix in other materials with our different extruder heads -- you can do it all on your HYREL.

Other Materials include:
Sugru, Clay, Porcelain, Precious Metal Clay (PMC), Silicone RTV, Play-Doh, Plasticines... and coming soon, Wax, Chocolate, Cheese, Peanut Butter... etc.
For the material in the video, we used four colors of ABS. Each of the Mk1 Extruders in the video have been tested and verified to fabricate parts with the following types of filament: ABS, PLA, Nylon, PET, & Rubber. More filaments are currently being tested and more will be certified as 3D printable with the Mk1s in early 2014.

Hyrel 3d homepage:

http://www.hyrel3d.com/

Here is a video describing the capabilities of Hyrel machines:

Luminar Products 3D Super Extruder enables you to 3d print with industrial grade plastic welding filament

Powerful large extruder project that enables you to 3d print with industrial grade plastic welding filament in several materials like: PVDF, PVC 1, PVC 2 & CPVC, Polyethylene, HMW and Polycarbonate.




From Kickstarter description:

There are generally two types of thermoplastic that are available for filament type 3D printers, ABS and PLA plastics. These filaments are available in many colors and diameter sizes of 1.75mm & 3mm (0.070 & 0.118 inch). Currently these are pretty much the only sizes that can be used in these 3D printing machines. There are other types of thermoplastic available today that are available as an extruded filament however these have larger cross-sectional diameters of 0.125, 0.156 & 0.188 (3.18mm, 3.96mm and 4.76mm). These are sold as plastic welding rod and are typically used for joining sheets of plastic together. These larger diameter filaments come in many different types of plastic that have for the most part not been used by the 3D printing community. Many types of plastic welding rod are considerably less expensive per pound than the common printer filament of ABS and PLA. So if this material could be made to work in a plastic printer you could have a greater variety of plastics for printing and lower material cost. Our solution is to create a new extruder that can be fitted to existing 3D printers to enable these printers to use all of these different diameters of filament and handle the wider range of processing temperatures for the different thermoplastics.
We have already built 3 versions of our NEMA 23 extruder so far with improvements being incorporated to each new version. We have run the extruders with various materials and are convinced we have a good product here. Our plan is to manufacture our extruders in two sizes. A large extruder driven by a NEMA 23 stepper motor and a smaller version driven by a NEMA 17 stepper motor. The larger version will be able to run all of the filament sizes from 1.75mm to 4.76mm (0.070 to 0.188 inch). The smaller version will run filament sizes 1.75mm to 3mm (0.070 to 0.118 inch). The heater block of our extruders and the nozzles are made from copper for faster and more stable temperature control. Several nozzle sizes will be available for printing various sizes and types of parts.

Our latest version of this extruder is larger than current extruders and has design improvements to allow it to take advantage of the higher temperature ranges required by the various types of thermoplastic available in the larger diameter sizes. These plastics have properties that will greatly enhance a 3D printer's usefulness by allowing it to make parts that can be used in many different environments.
The following are some of the types of common thermoplastic welding rod along with several uses and properties that would make them an attractive candidate for a 3D printed part.

PVDF Chemical restiveness of PVDF and its long lasting strength will make this a popular choice for laboratories or clean-rooms where tanks, tank furniture, fittings or cassettes could be made quickly from a computer library of components or as needed from a 3D CAD drawing for a custom application.

PVC 1, PVC 2 & CPVC with their ability to withstand UV would be great for any sort of outdoor applications or unique PVC pipe fittings. These materials also resist acids and alkalies and are commonly used in chemical processing applications.
Polypropylene makes parts with a hard surface and resists many chemicals and solvents. One interesting use for this material is its ability to make parts that have a living hinge on them, like used on the lid of a Tic-Tac candy box. It is also commonly used in clean rooms for chemical benches, tanks and enclosures.

Polyethylene available in low or high density formulations are very resistant to moisture as well as many chemicals.

HMW makes parts with a slippery surface useful for many industrial applications such as chain guides or rollers. It has excellent impact strength and good wear resistance.

Polycarbonate is synonymous with impact resistance. This transparent material has excellent impact resistance over a wide temperature range. Parts made from this plastic would have great strength and flexibility.

Our extruders, are of course, not limited to these materials and can also extrude ABS, PLA, any of the Taulman filaments, nylon, PETT, HIPS, PVA and others from 1.75mm diameter to 4.75mm diameters (0.070 to 0.188 inch). Many of these materials have previously not been available to the 3D printer community. It is our hope that this extruder will change that and be a benefit to all 3D printer owners who need parts with better strength, chemical resistance, UV resistance or other properties that these various plastics can provide.

Why are we so proud of our extruders?

• Very compact design with a mid mounted, integrated heat sink for better cooling of both filament drive parts and stepper motor.
• Extremely solid one piece aluminum body with mounting options on top, bottom or either side.
• Copper heater block and nozzle for faster, more stable temperature control.
• Plans for making two sizes of extruder, a NEMA 17 stepper motor size for smaller 3D printing machines or the larger, more powerful NEMA 23 stepper motor extruder for larger, faster moving 3D printers.
• Precision quality, our extruders feature a spring loaded dual wheel filament drive mechanism for positive filament control. The drive wheels are made from steel and are hobbed for traction.
• Our NEMA 23 extruders will be able to accommodate 5 filament sizes (1.75mm, 3mm, 1/8, 5/32 and 3/16 inch diameter filaments) and multiple plastic options with nozzle options for various materials and extrude diameters.

http://www.luminarproducts.com/3d-super-extruder-press-release.html

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/172237528/improved-3d-printer-extruder-allows-more-plastic-o

Hot end made from copper 

3D Systems ProJet 4500 - first continuous tone full-color plastic 3D printer

From the product page:

The industry’s only continuous tone full-color plastic 3D printer
Combine the Power of Vibrant Full Color With Durable Plastic Materials
The ProJet® 4500 gives you the power to make ready-to-use, flexible, strong parts, colored pixel by pixel, with superior surface quality. This office-friendly 3D printer is quick and efficient, and features intuitive operation controls, so you can ensure high productivity and cut operating costs.
Combine outer beauty with inner toughness and have durable, full-colour plastic parts right out of the printer from the ProJet 4500. Using ColorJet printing technology and the VisiJet® C4 Spectrum™ plastic material, the ProJet 4500 allows you to quickly create true-to-life prototypes of your end product, accurately display vital features, and produce high-resolution, customized end-use products.
The ProJet 4500 prints fast, generates minimal waste, requires no supports and delivers ready-to-use, full-color, functional parts and assemblies without post-processing or painting. This category-defining 3D printer is ideal for consumer products, home furnishings, healthcare, toys and collectibles companies, and completely shifts the paradigm for professionals engaged in architectural modeling, marketing communications, fashion design and more. Safe for office, easy-to-use, sustainable to operate and fast to print on, the ProJet 4500 is economical and comes with fully integrated material recycling for greater yield and better total material usage.

http://www.3dsystems.com/3d-printers/professional/projet-4500

PDF product brochure:

http://www.3dsystems.com/sites/www.3dsystems.com/files/projet4500-1113-usen-web.pdf


There is no published information on the price, but it is probably very very high (for regular person).

ORDSolutions MH3000 5 color or material DIY 3d printer with liquid cooling

Marius Kintel, the creator of OpenSCAD, discusses the merits of Multi-color multi-material 3D Printing on the ORD Solutions 5 extruder system.

http://ordsolutions.com/

They had very successful Kickstarter:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ordsolutions/5-color-material-3d-filament-printer-made-in-canad

Update:

Here is a detailed guide on how to set up the MH3000 from beginning:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2014/09/how-to-setup-ord-solutions-mh3000.html

DIY RepRap with triple extruder setup for mixing and blending multicolored filament

RichRap2011 shows off his 3 extruder setup with a single hot-end combining nozzle, to 'mix' and blend colored filament plastic or different materials on a RepRap 3D printer. It was some time before new RepRapPro Mendel Tricolour which does not mix colors.

RepRap Tricolour Mendel is out!

RepRapPro has their Tricolour Mendel out. It is designed to work with three colours or three different plastics at the same time. They also plan future usage of electrically-conducting plastics, magnetic plastics and soluble support materials. Great to see that the technology is advancing. Hopefully first reviews of the working machine in real world applications will be out soon. It is priced around 1000 USD.

Specs:

• Build volume: 210x190x140mm
• Overall size: 500x460x410mm
• Printing materials: ABS, PLA, 1.75mm diameter thermoplastic.
• Build surface: PCB-heated bed to reduce complexity of assembly and to ensure parts do not warp. Computer interface: USB
• X-carriage: Three Z-adjustable deposition heads.
• Accuracy: 0.1mm
• Resolution: 0.0125mm
• Building speed: 1,800 mm/min
• Moving speed: 12,000 mm/min
• Deposition rate: 33 cm3 / hr
• Motion: Linear ball bearings on X and Y axes, Igus low friction bushings on Z axis.
• Pre-soldered electronics with built-in microSD card slot for standalone printing.
• enhanced widely-used Marlin firmware allowes the addition of a slave controller board to drive the extra extruders.
• Arduino-compatible Melzi electronics for both the master and slave controllers.

http://reprappro.com/Tricolour_Mendel

Multi colored RepRap Mendel printing

Here is a video by THE Adrian Bowyer showing multi headed Mendel printing in three colors and challenges when CAD modelling it.


RepRapPro Multi-material Printing from Adrian Bowyer on Vimeo.

http://reprappro.com/Special_Blog?cmd=post&id=12