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slic3r / Slic3r

Open Source toolpath generator for 3D printers
https://slic3r.org/
GNU Affero General Public License v3.0
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Feature Request: Adding multicolor Extruder with mixing cabability #3456

Open ghost opened 8 years ago

ghost commented 8 years ago

Hey, would it be possible to consider the ability for multiextrudign with a single hotend end and Color mixing like ist possible with the Diamond hot end from reprap.me, i think that would be a gread Feature?

lordofhyphens commented 8 years ago

Multiple extruders/colors are already doable, not sure what you are looking for here

ghost commented 8 years ago

I am asking for the posibility to mix colors from 2 or 3 extruders in a singel hot end like the diamond hot end does.

lordofhyphens commented 8 years ago

I'd probably look at a pull request regarding it, but since I don't have (and don't need/want/use) one...

It'd probably require refactoring of the extruder configuration to start and a gcode flavor with special options to do replace a single extrude move with 3 moves instead in the correct amounts, and some way to define how to get to color X from A+B+C, probably involving some color theory and RGB assignments for the three filaments. That's the easy part.

Then you'd have to work out how to get those colors assigned to the regions of the print. Currently that's done by assigning filament profiles to regions. I believe this information can be saved by Slic3r to AMF.

Patola commented 8 years ago

RGB? Wouldn't it be additive, like CMYK?

I also have a diamond hotend. I am quite interested in how it can work out.

bubnikv commented 8 years ago

As far as I am known, only Repetier firmware supports mixing a extruder. Or is there any support in Marlin as of today?

I believe the way it has been implemented in Repetier firmware is through virtual extruders and by setting a color palette for each of the virtual extruder in the firmware.

I suppose to support a mixing extruder (currently I am aware of the Diamond as the only specie available), effort in the slicer shall be coordinated with firmware development.

Vojtech

On Fri, Aug 12, 2016 at 8:39 AM, Patola notifications@github.com wrote:

RGB? Wouldn't it be addictive, like CMYK?

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lordofhyphens commented 8 years ago

I think what was being asked was to generate gcode so that the virtual extruder setup was unnecessary.

bubnikv commented 8 years ago

But for which firmware? Who will interpret this G-code?

ghost commented 8 years ago

I am using marlin firmware, shouldn't it be possible to use 2 or 3 extrudera at the same time, like to 3 axis at the same time?

bubnikv commented 8 years ago

Marlin surely does not support it, at least the Marlin from the start of this year, which we forked at Prusa3D.

On Fri, Aug 12, 2016 at 10:08 AM, arget888 notifications@github.com wrote:

I am using marlin firmware, shouldn't it be possible to use 2 or 3 extrudera at the same time, like to 3 axis at the same time?

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mrvn commented 8 years ago

There are actually 2 things to support:

  1. A hotend with single heater but 3 extruders. On tool change the old filament has to be purged. This could be done on a wipe tower outside the object or the tool change could be done ahead of time while printing infill. The former is needed when printing different materials, e.g. water soluable support, the later can be done when it's just a color change.
  2. Mixing colors. I think it makes most sense there to have virtual extruders with an E1/E2/E3 ratio setting that gives the desired color. Again old filament needs to be purged to achive color correctness on switch. From what I heart the colors don't mix well though and it's more like multi colored toothpaste with regions of individual colors in the extrusion. Virtual extruders could be converted to colors in post processing, slic3r just needs to support many extruders here.
ghost commented 8 years ago

The Marlin 1.1.0 RC7 has the feature of a mixing extruder. If I a understand it correctly, the slicing software has to support generating gcode for mixing filament or am I wrong?

As far as I am known, only Repetier firmware supports mixing a extruder. Or is there any support in Marlin as of today?

I believe the way it has been implemented in Repetier firmware is through virtual extruders and by setting a color palette for each of the virtual extruder in the firmware.

I suppose to support a mixing extruder (currently I am aware of the Diamond as the only specie available), effort in the slicer shall be coordinated with firmware development.

Vojtech …

On Fri, Aug 12, 2016 at 8:39 AM, Patola _@_.***> wrote: RGB? Wouldn't it be addictive, like CMYK?

— You are receiving this because you are subscribed to this thread. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#3456 (comment)>, or mute the thread https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AFj5I3WFLXCvRWvKG9RGzc4Z3g3V7L1dks5qfBUpgaJpZM4Jh9_m .

lordofhyphens commented 8 years ago

The way that Repetier supports it iirc is through virtual extruders, so all the slicer has to do is say "use extruder 38484" and the firmware handles the rest.

Handling it in the slicer means working out how much to move all N axes to get what is desired.

That is probably not going to happen, at least from myself or @alexrj. Especially since the names of the axes is going to change, etc.

I would probably look at a pull request but it is going to touch quite a bit of the interface.

ghost commented 8 years ago

Couldn't it be done by mixing the colors in an easier way like we do it at entering colors on the pc. For e.g. if 1meter of a orange color is needed the programm can calculate that for e.g 50%red and 50% of yellow filament is needed and than it says extrude 0.5 meter of red and 0.5 meter of yellow?

lordofhyphens commented 8 years ago

That is going to be firmware dependent for the gcode. As far as I know, neither @alexrj or I own one of these hotends either.

So talking about it is all well and good but that isn't going to get me (at least) to spend time working on it. Hence why I said I would review a pull request if someone else wants to take a crack at it.

lordofhyphens commented 8 years ago

From a UI standpoint we'd need a good way of defining and using N extruders (better than what we have now). At minimum the color information would need to be in the file format as well (so we're at AMF required).

ghost commented 8 years ago

ok thx, i hope some else also think it would be nice and can do it ;)