The wipe tower is almost exactly equal in height to the object that you are printing. Its base size, around 10 cm2, is proportional to the amount that you need to wipe. If you print a white and black model, you will want to increase the amount of the material that is wiped (to make sure that you do not leave black streaks in the white parts). If you print pastel earth tones like those snails, the size of the wipe tower is minimal (because the colors are closer.) The wipe tower has a very low density, maybe 5%, typically. I have to add two mitigating factors: 1. You can sometimes wipe the material inside the model itself as an infill. Is that case, there is no wipe tower. 2. There's only one wipe tower per print. So, printing 1 snail is the same as printing 5 snails.
As soon as I get the MMU3 for the MK4, I will do another video. According to Prusa, I should get the package in the second week of May. I will assemble it and test it out right away. This second review will use PLA (instead of PETG) as I plan to keep a setup where my MK3S+ MMU3 prints PETG and my MK4 MMU3 prints PLA. (I always use Prusament for multi-material prints to have consistency of temperature and flow settings for all 5 spools.)
Maybe a final point. I find it absolutely satisfying to be able to pick a color (out of 5 possible ones) every time I print out a monochromatic object. The MMU3 lets me print remotely without having to do a filament change ahead of time.
Yesterday, I printed the 4 wheels of this counter (link below) in white and red. I just checked: the 4 wheels weigh 31 grams and the wipe tower weighs 10 grams. The wipe tower is quite dense (because I was going from a very clear color to a dark one) and measures 60*16*12 (LxWxH) www.printables.com/model/712319-hands-free-counting-machine-9000-v12
You can tweak the values a bit. I found that the system purged quite a bit more than necessary after a filament change, dialing down that setting (off the top of my head I'm not sure what it's called) will reduce waste.
Thanks for the good review. Question.... What are the enclosures that you are using?
Thank you ! I use my own version of the LACK table enclosure. www.printables.com/model/627745-prusa-mk3mk4-enclosure-built-with-an-ikea-lack-tab
Awesome video for me who is thinking of replacing my MK3 with an MK4 and MMU3. How much waste is created in the wipe tower?
=]
The wipe tower is almost exactly equal in height to the object that you are printing. Its base size, around 10 cm2, is proportional to the amount that you need to wipe.
If you print a white and black model, you will want to increase the amount of the material that is wiped (to make sure that you do not leave black streaks in the white parts). If you print pastel earth tones like those snails, the size of the wipe tower is minimal (because the colors are closer.)
The wipe tower has a very low density, maybe 5%, typically.
I have to add two mitigating factors:
1. You can sometimes wipe the material inside the model itself as an infill. Is that case, there is no wipe tower.
2. There's only one wipe tower per print. So, printing 1 snail is the same as printing 5 snails.
As soon as I get the MMU3 for the MK4, I will do another video. According to Prusa, I should get the package in the second week of May. I will assemble it and test it out right away.
This second review will use PLA (instead of PETG) as I plan to keep a setup where my MK3S+ MMU3 prints PETG and my MK4 MMU3 prints PLA. (I always use Prusament for multi-material prints to have consistency of temperature and flow settings for all 5 spools.)
Maybe a final point. I find it absolutely satisfying to be able to pick a color (out of 5 possible ones) every time I print out a monochromatic object. The MMU3 lets me print remotely without having to do a filament change ahead of time.
Yesterday, I printed the 4 wheels of this counter (link below) in white and red. I just checked: the 4 wheels weigh 31 grams and the wipe tower weighs 10 grams. The wipe tower is quite dense (because I was going from a very clear color to a dark one) and measures 60*16*12 (LxWxH)
www.printables.com/model/712319-hands-free-counting-machine-9000-v12
You can tweak the values a bit. I found that the system purged quite a bit more than necessary after a filament change, dialing down that setting (off the top of my head I'm not sure what it's called) will reduce waste.