I finally got multi-color working on my Creality K1 Max using the 3D Chameleon.

Decided to make a 2 color benchy and scaled it down to 75% to save time, along with 0.25mm layer height.

So far the Chameleon has been pretty picky with filament, but when it works it works well! This print is with silk gold and matte black. I have even gotten 95A TPU to print with it surprisingly!

I modified the color-change code so it takes 1 minute less, which makes a big difference when you have hundreds of color changes.

Next up, 4 color benchy. Probably will be 10 hrs lol

  • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    I thought this was going to be a joke where you hand-drew the bench with a filament pen, thought it was really good for that.

    Nope. Wow, that took a while.

  • huskypenguin@sh.itjust.works
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    9 months ago

    Four hours? That seems awfully slow. You say you’re printing this for your store? I would think you’d want to get a Bambu A1.

      • 4lan@lemmy.worldOP
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        9 months ago

        1min30sec for every color change. Multiply that by hundreds of color changes and it adds up!

        I am starting to see why people usually print whole plates full of multicolor prints. It’s the same amount of color changes, but more way more efficient.

    • /home/pineapplelover@lemm.ee
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      9 months ago

      Or just well tune your printer. Bambus are fine for people who can spend more money and use proprietary software but will spend less time tinkering.

      • huskypenguin@sh.itjust.works
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        9 months ago

        They have community firmware now and the A1 is $550 bucks with AMS that has no printer poop for multi material. Not that it matters to me, I just grabbed a Qidi X Max 3 for the print volume (and because it was open-ish Klipper).

    • 4lan@lemmy.worldOP
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      9 months ago

      no, this was a print for myself to test the Chameleon. I don’t sell any multicolor prints as of now.

      I prefer non-proprietary parts and unlocked software you get with a rooted K1. I can edit my klipper configs directly.

      This is not my multicolor-specific machine. It will be used mostly for single color regular prints

        • 4lan@lemmy.worldOP
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          9 months ago

          Yeah that is pretty cool how Bambu is dealing with it too, but not the same as having full root access to the Linux computer that runs the printer.

          I can SSH into my K1 and change things, install programs, etc. I even changed my Start_Print sequence to stop doing all the time-consuming calibration for every print. Sometimes I am just prototyping and dont want 10 min of calibration for a 3 minute print.

  • felbane@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    The multi color is neat but that print quality… woof

    and this is coming from someone who daily drives an ANET

    • 4lan@lemmy.worldOP
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      9 months ago

      Yeah it’s not the prettiest lol. This is 75% size, and 0.25mm layers, which doesn’t help. (I just wanted to shorten print time)

      I had to use Prusa Slicer because of the custom GCode features, so my settings there are not perfect yet. It also isn’t controlling the aux fans properly like Creality slicer.

      My normal 1 color benchies are 22 minutes and absolutely perfect, using my finely tuned Creality Slicer profile.

  • pixeltree@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    9 months ago

    If you don’t mimd me asking, what practical use case for this is there? Like it’s cool but I just split the model up and print them separately and it seems like so much less of a pain

    • Overzeetop@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      If you print with incompatible filaments (materials which don’t bond/adhere) you can get cheap, nearly perfect breakaway supports. I’ve done some rocket parts on my PrusaXL and it’s certifiably magic.

      • 4lan@lemmy.worldOP
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        9 months ago

        yeah I saw people were doing that with PETG and PLA. I haven’t tried it yet but good to know that’s in my back pocket if I need it.

        Also soluble supports are a thing, although they might be trickier and more expensive

    • 4lan@lemmy.worldOP
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      9 months ago

      very. I spent the last 3 weeks fiddling with the timing. If you are not willing to troubleshoot and work on it I’d go for a ready-built solution like the AMS. I like the challenge, but definitely underestimated it

      Most of it was me not fully understanding what was happening in the filament swap gcode. Once I understood that I was able to tweak settings to make it work. Once I found out certain filaments are just trouble I have had better luck. Still working on getting it to be less picky.

      the updated version in April is going to have sensor-less detection of where the filament is in it’s path, which will make timing a non-issue. Any Chameleon sold until then will have the hardware needed, and can be updated for free in April. can’t waiit