Why Don't More People Build This Open Source AMS/MMU?
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- Опубліковано 26 лип 2024
- In this video, I talk about the ERCF v2 or Enraged Rabbit Carrot Feeder. Brought to you by PCBWay. Go to www.pcbway.com/activity/anniv... and get EXCLUSIVE discounts as they celebrate their 10th anniversary 🎉
For the last few weeks, I've been working on printing and assembling the latest edition of the ERCF, or Enraged Rabbit Carrot Feeder. It's basically an open-source multimaterial switcher, akin to a Bambu Lab AMS or a Prusa MMU, but it prints 8 to 12 colors or materials... and it's printer-agnostic... meaning that you can install it on any printer running Klipper, and turn it into a magnificient, multi-color machine.
In this video, I'm going to explain a bit about this system, how it works, what's involved, and so on. You'll learn what the ERCF v2 actually IS, what's involved in building it, and whether or not I recommend that YOU build your own Enraged Rabbit Carrot Feeder. I really hope you enjoy it.
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🎥 IN THIS VIDEO: 🎥
00:00 Introduction
01:35 About the ERCF v2
03:15 How It Works
05:48 ERCF 1.1 vs. ERCF 2
12:48 The Build Experience
16:13 Electronics, Firmware, and Software
17:39 Where Things Stand
🔗 LINKS MENTIONED IN THE VIDEO: 🔗
👉 ERCF v2 kit from FYSETC: jle.vi/ercf
👉 Voron Stealthburner Kit from FYSETC: jle.vi/fysetc
👉 My livestreams where I build an Enraged Rabbit Carrot Feeder (ERCF) V2 from FYSETC and share my progress: • FYSETC ERCF V2 Builds
👉 My interview with Ivan Trail, ERCF v2 Team Member, on Open Source Multicolor Printing: ua-cam.com/users/liveT5J_Z-3uEpo
👉 My Voron build livestreams: • Voron 3D Printer Builds
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The CAN tutorial I put together should still work fine. The only thing that has changed is that the CanBoot Bootloader is now Katapult. However, all of the legacy commands still work as of a few weeks ago. (I used it when setting up CAN on another printer). CAN in general has quite a few pieces. Theres the method of setting up the network so U2C or CanBridge, the configuring the actual network, flashing the bootloader, and then flashing the firmware. Also make sure you have the 120ohm resistor in place or your toolboard will not be detected.
Thanks man. Sorry if it felt like I was calling out your video. It turns out I was wrong, it wasn’t that the guide was out of date… something was wrong with my equipment. I think it was the BTT U2C, because even an MKs board didn’t work till I swapped to another MKS U2C!
I’ll pin your comment
@@thenextlayer No worries. Glad you got it figured out. Just wanted to clarify 👍.
That little resistor jumper has got everyone I reckon. Why doesn’t it just come populated?
@@TheButchersbLockyou can daisy chain nodes on a CAN network so you only want it at the end and beginning of the network.
Aaawhhh huu huh... He said Rods😂
We choose to build an ERCF in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too.
😂🤣
🌛
what he said
@@gorgonbert Second!
the encoder is to detect jams, the switches only detect there is filament but not if its moving the right direction etc, the encoder allows monitoring that, so if it isnt moving but all other switches are actuated then it knows there is a jam
Thanks!!!
You asked why anyone would want to watch a live stream after the fact. They are perfect to play in the background while doing the same project. It let's you know what is coming up next and you can pause/rewind/fast forward as necessary.
I love that you even covered the Blobifier! It's just a small addition to the system but seeing it appear in other people's videos makes me really proud! Thank you!
Oh really looking forward to the sv08 tool changer series - I'm patiently waiting for my SV08 to arrive.
I can't imagine how hard it is to build AND film all this. Thank you for doing it.
Dude, thanks for the video! I was there for a chunk of the live streams, you've put a ton into this and I know it's taken away a lot of your time from other videos. I bought one of these the day of your first live stream and I really appreciate all that you put into this. Good luck with the remaining work!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I didn't even know you can build a 3D Printer from scratch. It sounds fun!
This project seems incredible
For CAN setup, refer to "Esoterical CAN BUS Guide"; is up to date and really comprehensive.
Building one too and have been for the last month, glad I am not the only one having trouble getting it to work lol
Yeah. It’s a lot. I wish the software had a very clear manual like the hardware does. The wiki is a lot of info but I don’t think it’s comprehensive or linear yet.
@@thenextlayer well good to know, just not going to get it then. Hope the creality one works with any klipper printer
@@jonathanr3258 Tradrack is so much simpler and more reliable, much better off going that route if you want something to actually put to use. Don't get me wrong ERCF is cool, they're implementing fancy functionality that will likely make its' way elsewhere in future, but that doesn't mean it's a good choice for someone that just wants to add multi material printing to their printer.
Not owning a Voron or an ERCF, you questioned the need for two runout sensors so close to eachother:
I'm fairly sure it's because of the retraction. If you *only* have the one runout sensor at the multiple different units, when you're retracting to swap filaments you'd end up pulling up too far and not be able to use that one slot until manually reloading it.
Having a secondary sensor in the actual selector allows you to figure out that "Hey, I'm now *out* of the selector, and the second sensor's not tripped yet. Good time to switch."
The other side works the other way, it tells you you're running out at a point where you can still retract to swap and not get stuck.
The thing with tip tuning is, that it is not just about the tip. Bambu printers are known for being VERY wasteful when swapping, because they have to push out the filament piece, that gets left behind after the cut. If you can cleanly extract and reinsert your filament, you are saving material and time on every single swap you do.
So I'm convinced to just do multi color on my Bambu
Thank you for covering this, I've looked into making one awhile ago but never found a vid i enjoyed with some one showing there journey building it. Great Vid
Subscribed. I started getting into printer building and modifying after breaking my back over the last decade of building cars. I've got tinkering experience and a basic understanding of circuits as I was a master of automotive electrical systems. I started with an Ender 3 in 2022 and recently moved up to a Bambu P1S to print high-quality parts for the mods with the intent of using my Ender 3, which is no longer Creality except the frame and the bed, which just got the BTT SKR 3 EZ so I can run more steppers. I recently converted an old FlashForge Adventurer 3 to an open source setup running a BTT E3 Mini v3 and Klipper. I'm almost done with that build and looking forward to my first print on it.
Next, I think I'm going to take on a Voron build or modify an old Ender 5 Plus for multi material printing.
Awesome video! I've seen stuff about and looked into the ERCF before and I was always curious how it actually worked. Your explanations in this video were perfect! Thanks a ton! Looking forward to seeing it when you get it all working!
Awesome, thank you!
finally a video about ercf its like ams but on steroids. I love the idea and im suprised youre so late on this.
I built the other one but held off because v2 came out
I think the complexity sort of answers the question of why no one's heard of the ERCF. I don't think I've ever seen one up and running without the owner being extremely nervous about how long it would stay that way. The rabbits are too enraged, methinks.
@@gatling216 its not that complicated though. But you kinda need a filament-cutter like on bambulab... once I installed one I have had lots of succesful prints on my ercf, and the ones that failed wasnt because of the ercf 🙂
I've noticed the same thing; though I know many people who have had their Tradrack up and running reliably for a long time.
O dont know how few people have heardbabout this but the fact that people think bambu invented core xy makes me think that most people dont know much about project in 3d printing
@@joeltorres3202 Most people don't. 3D printing has always been a niche hobby. It's easy to forget that, from the outside looking in, it might as well be black magic. The average person looking into printing wants an appliance they can plug in and will work, just like a microwave or a toaster. The time, effort, and skill it takes to put together something like a Voron or an ERCF is literally incomprehensible if you're not deep in the hobby, and most people have no desire to get that deep.
Use your RPI to communicate with the ERB over USB, significantly easier. As for setting up the firmware, I recommend Happy Hare. Happy Hare is so easy to make everything work and their documentation is pretty good, cut down the set up time so much and gives plenty of options for material swapping procedures. Happy Hare uses retract before cut, which I am sure Bambu is going to try and patent so other manufacturers don't use it.
Excited for this project may do one for myself
Pro Tip: you can actually change the Bambu gcode for the AMS/AMS lite to also retract the filament before cutting to reduce waste! I even went a step further with my A1 mini with AMS and also changed the purge speeds slightly to make the color changes faster, still haven’t tested it tough but the filament retraction has been tested and there’s a makerworld post that has the costum gcode for it. You should give it a try
It's been around for most of this year unofficially and officially supported in May 2024 in the slicer.
There was a test that got it down to 70% reduction or 30% purge multiplier.
@@hawtdayum for now it’s only been implemented for the X1 printers, not P1 or A1
Have you looked into the Python AMS mod?
@@Belenosdj I know about it but haven’t looked into it why? I have the A1 mini so not useful for me
@nunovicente34 sorry, actually meant to reply to the video, not your comment.
I am currently in the process of this mod and wondered about their thoughts on it.
Amazing video! I have almost everything I need to add an ERCF, my hotend (XOL w/ ebb36) even has some filament cutters designed for it. Looking forward to you showing me how to troubleshoot it too!
Thanks for putting this out. It's a really impressive project!
Great video and thank you for documenting your experience!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent video. This is an awesome project, and I'm REALLY looking forward to the 7 head tool changer. I had not heard of this before, and I'm glad you made a video of this. Thanks!
Chuck the ercf in the bin and do the tool changer, it makes it redundant.
This man is doing the lords work!
There's a key difference between this and the AMS - the AMS uses a dedicated feeder motor for each channel. IMHO this would be a better approach as it results in a much less complex motion system and gives you more control over buffering and spool tension
This is amazing. Im sure all the kinks will get worked out with all the smart people working on it.
I recently ordered a Voron 2.4 kit to upgrade from my large bedslinger running Marlin. I've been curious about the ERCF as an upgrade later down the road (using funds from selling my current printer after the Voron is complete). Thanks for the detailed explanation of the ERCF.
The question that the video title posits: "Why Don't More People Build This Open Source AMS/MMU?"
Is answered in the first 2 minutes with the quote "I really don't know how much longer it's going to take to get this thing running perfectly..."
That sentiment isn't just for UA-cam content creators. It also applies to most people into 3D printing. We just want something that works.
As evidenced by the landslide popularity of the Bambu Lab printers.
I want to 3D print to support my **other** hobbies. I don't want to take on another hobby of endlessly building and tuning and tweaking a 3D printer. I just want the thing to work.
Yep, love the ERCF v2 (much better than v1) however I am very excited for "Armoured Turtle modular AMS" looks even more slick than Bambu AMS
I was waiting for this video because I'm thinking about building one myself for a very modded Ender 3.
People out there be turning their ender 3 into a Tesla gigafactory
@thenextlayer it's actually really satisfying turning a shit printer into something on par with a prusa
@@shadowphyre4746 In the interest of saving you time and effort; look at the Tradrack by annex instead.
@@shadowphyre4746 I literally found this video, thread, & your comment after researching ender coreXY conversion kits 😂
@CrashTestZombie-mx3nj there is the ender 3 ng mod which basically turns it into a corexy ender 3. It costs about 200 - 250 euro plus printed parts. Might do it myself at some point
Woah! First time hearing about it.
It's funny to read "opensource AMS", when the ERCF been around for way longer haha
subbed to make sure I don't miss that 7-tool sovol build. Hope you can get different nozzle sizes slicing together, which is still a shortcoming of the Prusa XL.
Different layer heights seems even more challenging, but if both of those capabilities get working, you can do detailed outer layers and chonky infill. Stronger, more beautiful parts in multimaterial, multicolor, and minimum print time... the future is toolchanging
Grrrrrrreat video man!!! Well done! So much love and respect, keep up the great work.
I’m aspiring for a huge idex voron phoenix fed with an ecrf linked to a big filament drier with that open source motor driven (ams style) buffer mechanism that respools the excess filament back into the drier cabinet.
At the price of like 200 USD, tbh the elbow grease requied is definitely worth it. Thanks for introducing this to me.
Enjoy... but I STILL don't even have mine working :)
If you have an Octopus, you do not need the U2C. When configuring the firmware for the octopus, you can choose to use the octopus as the canbridge.
SInce canbus is a network, all canbus devices can be connected to the same single canbus network as nodes.
Great video! I was considering the enraged rabbit when the new MMU came out.
Non printing related note: if you wanted to try tracking points for the labels you added but in a new way using After Effects, it’s a more simple process than you’d think! Obviously this assumes you’re using adobe which hopefully you aren’t, but as someone who has only a basic understanding of motion graphics etc, tracking points for labels/tags comes out amazing with very limited effort.
If you have the patience to build vorons and this project, you’re more than capable of figuring out the pick whip and crazy way layers work in AE, or whatever 3rd party option there is in Davinci or Final Cut.
Your production quality clearly doesn’t need any help, but maybe this will be a new, fun little skill for your workflow!
😂 glad the hackerman bit made it in. And yeah that multimeter stuff was a drag, but the video came out great at least! Can’t wait to see the rest of the project come together
Thanks again!
I've got absolutely nothing about the ERCF, it seems like an awesome mmu, but now that the voron v2 has a really decent toolchanger mod which has the incredible benefits of NOT NEEDING to purge NEARLY as much (in some cases not at all if you tune your setup really well) which SIGNIFICANTLY reduces waste, as well as tool changes are WAY faster than a standard mmu (because you only have to retract a tiny ammount (a mm or two) just as you would when parking the toolhead after printing so multimaterial or multicolor parts print way faster.
I'm looking forward the seeing your ERCF in action. My Voron 2.4 is pending some planned upgrades one of which is a canbus tool head, which will also be going with tap from standard omron sensor and relocating the end stops; x on toolhead and y at the rear right. Then I can look to get my Siboor ERCF v2 connected connected to the same canbus.
You can do sensorless homing on the 2.4. That's what I did :)
The filament switch sensors at the erct are just for detection if filament is in the buffer.
As for the encoder, you can go several ways. The stock voron build has a sensor at the toolhead and the encoder, which mean redundancy as with a encoder you dont need any sort of toolhead sensor as the encoder detects when the filament bottoms out at the extruder gears. You can also forgo the encoder and only use switches like the annex tradrack or prusa mmu, the software behind it is really configurable. Some people also use multiple sensors at the toolhead with the encoder, one sensor above and another one below the extruder gears. In my two builds i always skipped the toolhead sensors, above the gears is in my opinion not repeatable enough depending on bowden tube length and diameter. The sensor below gears is for me too big of a compromise for tpu as i generally print 85a and softer. Also neither of my toolheads have enough space for one.
I also built a ercf 1.1, ercf 2, and public beta tradrack. A modded ercf v1.1 is basically a v2, so if anyone got a v1.1 with springy, binky and sturdy bunny mods, there is no point in upgrading. The tradrack is a vastly different in construction, significantly simpler and cheaper to build with only one downside, you have less grip at the mmu feeder since you use a single gear instead of two. The build is also significantly quicker, it took me 3 to 4 hours, with mods such as encoder and filament brakes. The other advantage is that it can feed quicker since it only has a 3 to 1 gearing instead of 4 to 1. Last but not least its much easier to self source in my opinion, no super long d cut shaft, only one set of bmg gears, no closed loop belt
I had my eyes on it for a few month now.
It's an awesome video, will totally build one, but i will also take my time, the complexity and cost tell me this isn't a quick weed end project.
I'd actually like to see the in-action comparison of all the multi-material machines, but with the Prusa MMU2 and MMU3 included!
I think the biggest problems with this are twofold, one is self assembly, the others a bit more complicated.
Self assembly is a huge turn off for a lot of people. Even with help, if you screw up and it partly works, it's still on you to fix it. A prebuilt product on the other hand generally comes with support and is ultimately less work on your end. That means ALOT to the average person.
The second part is the real usefulness of multi-material printing. If your prints have been designed and optimized to work in a specific material then using a different material isn't what you really want to mess with. It's another hassle and something you have to start with, if you aren't using MM to print now, then going forward you likely wont.
For instance I print alot of toys. I can design for TPU, PLA, ABS, or PETG, but generally speaking I don't NEED to print in more than one of those. So these are ultimately pointless for my design process. So why waste time and money building this?
Oooooo! I'm excited to see the tool changer build after this is done! 👍🏼 Got a subscribe from me just for that! Plus your other content is good too!
The Trad Rack by Annex team is a better option for a MMU in my opinion as i have experience building both, the trad rack is just more simpler to assemble,supports more filaments than ercf and also has fewer parts, and has higher repeatability
I had some problems setting up can bus aswell, but the Manta M8P+EBB CANbus Setup Tutorial from Stacking Layers helped me quite a bit.
Its fairly up to date and covers most of the setup (except for the u2c) but maybe it helps you aswell.
i like the state of development this 'home brew' ams enough to forgive the 2 tips. when i 1st saw the bambu ams i wondered how long before the maker community out did it, a common theme for the maker community in my experience, and to my immense surprise and delight it was apparently done far earlier than i thought. i look forward to seeing this in action
Far sooner but never a home run in terms of implementation. The AMS while simple looking is a engineering marvel compared to what was available before 2022. MMU, Palette ercf etc.
With so many moving parts standardization should be a thing.
Cutter, tip forming, buffer, and literally down the rabbit hole(pun intended) we go.
@@No0o0o0o0o0 Honestly, I think you touch on a really important point; the AMS isn't successful because it's a better design, it's successful because it's standardized with a big company behind it. If you tried to have the end user recreate the AMS, I doubt you'd get very far. To me this illustrates just how much better the open-source designs will need to be to compete here, with such an emphasis on parts being consistent, it becomes difficult to create a design that can use a bunch of off-the-shelf hardware.
I get why some want open or full control over the system but when comparing a multi hour/day/week endeavor vs plug in some cables and ptfe tubes and be up in running in 20 minutes.
There is a market here. Why are there no plug and print solutions in the open source world?
I know, right?
You would be surprised by how many people within the open source sphere are against making things easy to use.
It's frustrating for sure. I can appreciate the level of community input getting the open source instructions/parts out there but after seeing connect and go solutions it's world apart. You are right, making it easy is secondary to making it work. Then you have competing personalities, implementations, limited resources and printer hardware/software.
Every time I see the ercf topic show up it reminds me of a Rube Goldberg machine of parts and contraptions that one errant filament line will make the whole thing come crashing down.
But if an outfit could make a polished product that connects without fuss they would shake up the open source community.
The Open community thinks making money is anathema to maker ethos.
That's why companies can swoop in and do the unthinkable like.....make a good product that meets consumer needs.
Then the OS folks clutch their pearls that ANYONE DARE make a product for the masses who should be sacrificing raspi on a pentium processor, read miles of code and search outdated forums for bespoke solutions to a problem that was fixed 3 firmware revisions back but the documentation hasn't been updated 6 revisions ago. 🤣
@@No0o0o0o0o0 This is so infantile and stupid; of course a company with money behind it and a consistent motivation will have some more consistency in the delivery of their product. I think it's incredibly moronic to dance around why the AMS is successful and open source designs haven't been; the AMS doesn't require the end-user to build the thing with a bunch of off-the-shelf parts. It's very clear how inexperienced many people in this comment section are; the ease with which you can create a design with all custom parts, relative to a design with off-the-shelf parts is practically a trope in this space.
The AMS isn't the "gold-standard" it's just the first MMU that came out that was idiot-friendly; you can already get better reliability, performance etc if you are capable or sufficiently persistent.
I don't really like open systems. They're ok if you go through your pla spools rapidly. But if you print petg, or do it slowly - you have to dry them out.
Having said that, yes, I do own 2 ams for bbl, they both are enclosed. Yes, I print with an open spool sometimes on the same printer, and I have another open spool printer. When I print open spools I tend to print from an active dryer. I mostly print pla, but petg and tpu... they always are printed with a dryer or from inside enclosed AMS. And my printers are almost never resting.
@@SneakyJoeRu You can make it closed. I've already seen one assembled inside an enclosure de size of a Voron with many more spools than an AMS and with a dryer inside of it as well... it's the good thing abiut open source projects.. you make and change them the way you want or are able to.
I strongly advise you to install the second filament sensor after the Gear extruder, this way Happy Hare knows if the filament has been loaded correctly and will try again if there is an error.
I'm a contributor of the team (mcu localisation, and some minors ideas)
great introduction ^^ I was wondering if it would be possible to do a cold pull for automated changes
"Why Don't More People Build This Open Source AMS/MMU?" ... Well - because that looks insanely complicated and like a whole ton of work for something that a fraction of designers and printers need. Don't get me wrong - I am not saying it is not amazing - I just don't think your everyday printer guy - or even random hobbyist like me would put that much effort into this thing. CRAZY impressive and cool - but so much work! Anyhow... carry on - looks amazing.
I agree, lol. That was the point of the video kinda.
apreciate it ... would put/use
I followed your link to Ali to buy an ERCF kit, but I'm confused by all the options there. If I want to build an 8 feeder ERCF and want to get all the electronics and hardware, so I only have to print the plastic parts, which set do I need?
Upgraded set3. It's really confusing how they have it there...
hmm this one has a big potential...if all the stars align.
It could reduce filament purging if you would add a filament cutter.
If you know you need 10g of filament than you would measure that amount of filament CUT (it not retract it) and than add the next color. This would mean that the amount of filament that needs to be purged from the previous color is much smaller and determined because you cut it not retract the filament and not knowing how much is there left in the head.
It would also reduce the time to retract each spool.
Don't forget about the Annex Engineering tradrack MMU unit!
I haven't seen anybody build the annex engineering tradrack though. It's another open source AMS.
I hear it’s simpler too.
On your toolhead CANBUS is there a "end of the line" jumper that you need to remove or add? On mine I needed to add one to tell it that it's the last system on the line.
Good job on the video, and I hope you can get those communication issues sorted out.
Is there a smaller version of this, like maybe something in the range of 3-5 different filaments? I usually only have 2-4 spools of filament at any one time, and controlling moisture here in the Orlando area is practically a nightmare.
they make a 4 color version I believe
I have the ERCF 1.0 and it worked great. Only issue is the missing filament box with rewinder.
I have an IDEX, and do multi material prints on occasion, and would LOVE an MMU for one of the two heads, but realize nobody will ever build one to just work with any ol' slicer.
Any chance you could also compare the ERCF to the TradRack and the 8-Track MMU systems?
Currently have and have been printing with my MK3S+ that I built from a kit for several years now. I'm on the fence do I add an MMU3, do I get an MK4 and add a MMU3, do I get a Prusa XL, do I get a Bambu X1C and now I see this and like the idea of 12 colors. The end goal for me is probably a bigger print area and multi-material. So if I did decide to build this what printer should I build to go with it?
Can't watch at work, but just wanted to point out that the ERCF isn't the only open source MMU. It was based on the SMuFF which is still actively developed, and may be a better option for some people.
Hi, could I use this with my Bambu P1S and Bambu Slicer?
Consider looking at the tradrack, I've found it works much better than the original ERCF did
Tempting
11:00 retraction tuning is also possible with AMS. Just FYI
A Happy Hare and a Wizard? What is this, Alice in Wonderland? :)
Love the video! Personally I believe that a multi-head tool changer is a better way to multi-colour / multi-material, but I love that there is an open solution out there for people who want an AMS-style approach.
Looking forward to the future Sovol tool changer video!
Thanks for the tips!
outfox zero is a design on thingiverse that first started the filament cutting for multi-color
I found some video somewhere on the history of multicolor printing. and one of the first approaches had a system that mixed filament. So almost like a ink printer. You would have CMYK and black and white. rolls. and then basically it would be like mixing on the fly. The filament was melted together and extruded and then re-fed into the print head (if I recall correct( . Its very hard to control that sort of mixing. But I still think that approach should be re-checked into. maybe also, consider that filament might not be the best option to do something like that. What about printing with pellets? it would be much easier to control the mixing this way. maybe. idk. Its cool to see people working on these projects.
I would also recommend building a Trad Rack MMU to make the full comparison more comprehensive!
If I ever recover from this build
Since I got my Sovol SV06 earlier in the year I have wondered if it would be possible to upgrade it to be able to print multiple colours. It's nice to know that it is in the realm of possibility. Maybe one day.
You: "Oh, I'm an MBA, not an engineer, not really technical"
Also you: *Builds 4-5 Vorons and 2 ERCFs*
But not that successfully...!
@@thenextlayer If you can build a tool changer why would you want an ERCF?
Would I be able to use this with my K1C, or is it pretty much Voron only?
I could never get the "tip tuning" thing to happen to make a phaetus taichi work properly, that would have been awesome, but I guess for now I just do manual colour changes when they're needed.
Will this work with a Flashforge AD5M? I know there is an unofficial Klipper firmware mod for this printer.
My canbus hang up was not knowing i had to reflash klipper onto the printers main mcu with canbus turned on. It should defiantly mention this in the instructions.
Looks interesting though I don't need or want a big thing like that which takes 12 spools. If there was a smaller version or if you could configure this one to only use 2,3 or even 4 spools I would be interested.
The answer is: because more and more people want to print stuff ... and NOT fiddling around forever.
"Tool or project" is still the question. It's good to have both, of course. But these days more people decide to buy those MMU units and build easier stuff like a Lerdge iX for fun.
Where did you get your apron's LED strip? The one named "DIGI_LED_12 V1.0" ? It seems sturdier than the PCB LED I used (and soldered a million times 😅)
Came with the FYSETC kit
more interested in the Voron tool changers so that multicolor doesn't require purging. They already work, only hold up is slicer support
Im building one as well have a g2 extruder on the filamatrix sb still setting it up wish they had a starter guide like for starters we reccomend the ercf and etc. Add ons to start with or something instead of all in idk
Lane based systems are the way. This method of changing colors needs everything to go exactly right every time. And 3d printers are bad at always doing things exactly right... Exxcellent overview of this project though, good work!
I feel that.
"nobody is talking about"!? - ERCF has been around for a looong time now, before the bambu ams... I haven't built one yet personally, but it looks pretty great :D
Could you print in any material if you were to print them in a vacuum chamber?
I don't own a 3D printer, but I WANT ONE OF THESE
i almost got a voron 2.4 with an ERCF last year but ultimately decided against it and to get a 2 head prusa XL instead as multi-head will outclass multi-color/material any day and the cost of a 2 or even 5 head XL is similar in cost to a voron 2.4 with an ercf. i would still love to get one but voron and the ERCF is a project that you need to build and tweak yourself while prusa machines are a ready to go product that you can still build but require almost no tweaking.
Be nice to have options for how colors I'd like a small 3 color system
The BTT board for CanBus and especially for SB is horrendous. The use non-standart connectors of microscopic size. And there is no protection from shorts. The board from Mellow is miles better with standard PH2.0 connectors that you can easily crimp, very good defaults and replaceable "fuse". And their boards are documented very well. I was updating my 0.2 the other day and everything is up to date!
As a bambu x1c owner with ams, coming from a diy core xy, mainly for ams, should i ever want to build or buy a new printer it would be an IDEX or anysort of tool changer. Got ams mainly for multi material prints (support + part) is about best i can tolerate, and appreciate. However even when switching between two materials, and support interface layer only supports of different material, depending on prints it can add hours of extra time. Hence why an idex type would be more suitable even for this 2 material use case. One thing i haven’t seen yet on vorons or others is the lidar sensor from bambu - that thing is a godsend - chuck in and brand of filament and off you go with zero manual tunning needed.
if you swap out the octopus with the latest version of the manta m8p (make sure it's v2), you can get rid of the U2C board altogether and go directly from the manta m8p to the ebb36 (via can bus still)... and, from personal experience in my zero-g mercury one build, it's far more reliable.
you should build an annex trad rack next!
Considering it
Was planning to build one but now I'm much more interested in multi head solution that allows me to use multiple materials on single print. ERCF doesn't solve a major problem - slowness of filament switching.
Coming soon. So like, judging by how long it takes me to finish projects… 2026?
50-50 on this. My ERCF can swap a filament in 30 seconds + purging time (another 15 seconds or so). A toolchanger still needs to move the gantry to the parked tool location, heat up the nozzle, dock, undock and move back down again. So I'm not sure how much faster it will be. However filament waste is another matter... This is I think the biggest benefit; however the drawback is much more complex calibration and alignment of the tools to each other.
@@igiannakas Prusa XL needs ~5s for tool change (from interrupting print, moving gantry, putting old tool, picking up new tool, and going back to the print). 1000 changes with 45s change is over 12.5h for tool changes only. On XL it is 1.5h only. 9x faster. Even assuming it would do twice slower changes (10s) it would still complete all changes in 3h only. It's a major deal for prints with multiple color changes.
@@arekx exactly , that is why when doing a print with multiple color changes a Prusa XL with the toolheads will be *way* faster than a Bambulab with AMS , plus you don't have waste at all with the XL , so the multiple toolheads will save up quite alot of time
The Prusa MMU should also be part of the comparison video if you have one.
Wish I did! I don’t.
@@thenextlayer I would love to see a review :)
I purchased the ERCF V2 kit on West3D. haven’t started building it yet, but I hear it’s a fairly difficult build.