Dual Extruder Upgrade Availability?

[NF6X]

Hi! I've been bitten by the 3D printer bug recently thanks to that inexpensive little mini 3D printer from Monoprice, and I'm hooked. I'm considering my upgrade path, and the MakerGear M2 looks like the most attractive printer to me at this time. I'm not afraid of tinkering, as I've had to do a lot of work on that Monoprice printer already in the short time I've had it, mostly because of its quality control and reliability issues. Of all of the printers I've studied since buying it, he M2 looks like it has the most attractive chassis to me from a mechanical standpoint.

The discussion here of dual extruder upgrades is particularly interesting to me, because I'm interested in having the capability of using dissolvable support structures. Is the dual extruder upgrade available for purchase at this time, whether as an upgrade, bundled with an M2 kit, or installed on an assembled and tested M2? The dual extruder upgrade item appears greyed out to me on the upgrades page, and the most recent discussion I found here mentioning availability is about a year old.

[jsc]

You should email them to see about availability. Sometimes emailing can get you things that aren't available through the web site.

[NF6X]

Thanks! I emailed on Sunday, but haven't received a response yet. So, with excitement and impatience, I posted here yesterday (Monday), and my post just got approved a few minutes ago. I think they must have been busy or away yesterday, and I expect they'll get to me email inquiry soon. Until then, I've been reading old posts here and learning neat stuff. It looks like the MakerGear machine has a nice community around it.

[Jules]

Yes, please send an email to info@makergear.com

They currently have the website undergoing rennovations, and it looks like they are not updating the old site for the new Rev. E machine and the Dual Upgrade that goes with it. (They do make them though, and they are quite awesome.)

[NF6X]

Yes, please send an email to info@makergear.com

Thanks! I had emailed hello@makergear.com on Sunday, but haven't received a response yet. I just emailed info@... in case the original email got lost. My post and reply here weren't approved immediately (I'm apparently on moderation as a new forum member, which is quite understandable), so I'm guessing the right person(s) at MakerGear is under-available at the moment. Maybe somebody is out sick, on vacation, or hiding in a bunker until the RNC is over.

[Jules]

Yes, please send an email to info@makergear.com

Thanks! I had emailed hello@makergear.com on Sunday, but haven't received a response yet. I just emailed info@... in case the original email got lost. My post and reply here weren't approved immediately (I'm apparently on moderation as a new forum member, which is quite understandable), so I'm guessing the right person(s) at MakerGear is under-available at the moment. Maybe somebody is out sick, on vacation, or hiding in a bunker until the RNC is over.

Awwwww, they're all out partying again! We try to keep them in, but you know how it is......

I'm joking of course!

They just put up the new web site....it is AWESOME!

They do have the Dual upgrade available (it's a kit that you add to the M2)....here's the link to it:

http://www.makergear.com/collections/upgrades

[NF6X]

Oooh, shiny! They emailed me this morning to let me know that the dual extruder is back in stock on the site, but the new site wasn't live at the time. I'll probably fire off an order this weekend. I might have already done it this morning, but I'm down with a cold and my brain is a bit too addled.

Since I plan to experiment with different filament types, maybe I should order some extra nozzles? Or even some extra complete hot-ends to swap out? I've read some of the posts about what can go wrong if there's some PLA residue left in the extruder when switching to a high-temp filament...

[Jules]

Oooh, shiny! They emailed me this morning to let me know that the dual extruder is back in stock on the site, but the new site wasn't live at the time. I'll probably fire off an order this weekend. I might have already done it this morning, but I'm down with a cold and my brain is a bit too addled.

Since I plan to experiment with different filament types, maybe I should order some extra nozzles? Or even some extra complete hot-ends to swap out? I've read some of the posts about what can go wrong if there's some PLA residue left in the extruder when switching to a high-temp filament...

Yeah, just pick up one spare nozzle, you should have an extra from the conversion.

With a Dual though, you can just dedicate one nozzle to high temp stuff, and one to lower temp stuff like PLA, and you don't have much problem with clogs. (You can always pick up some eSun Cleaning Filament over on Amazon though if you plan to run different temperature filaments through the same nozzle. Doesn't hurt to have one little hank of that on hand either.)

Congrats!

[NF6X]

Thanks for the help! I just fired off my order on an M2 with dual upgrade kit. Yay!

I understand that you like PETG on PLA (non-dissolvable) support, Jules. How do you like to support PLA, though? My experiments using support on my little Monoprice printer, sliced by Cura, give me ugly bottom surface finish. I don't know how much of that is the slicer/printer, vs. me not knowing how to tune things up yet, vs. that's just the nature of the game.

[Jules]

Thanks for the help! I just fired off my order on an M2 with dual upgrade kit. Yay!

I understand that you like PETG on PLA (non-dissolvable) support, Jules. How do you like to support PLA, though? My experiments using support on my little Monoprice printer, sliced by Cura, give me ugly bottom surface finish. I don't know how much of that is the slicer/printer, vs. me not knowing how to tune things up yet, vs. that's just the nature of the game.

Oh yes, it does take some fine tuning, that part is definitely the nature of the game.

PLA on PETG is not quite as good as the other way around.....the PLA prints at a lower temp than the PETG and sometimes there are some initial sticking issues, to get the PLA base layer to adhere to the solid PETG base underneath.

I've been thinking of experimenting with pausing the print, hitting the PETG support with a shot or two of hairspray, and then resuming the print. (Might not work but I just want to see what happens.)

Having said that - it's still a heck of a lot better than the dissolving filament, which doesn't seem to support things well at all. (That stuff sticks everywhere except where it is supposed to, and it's expensive to boot!)

Usually, I just use PLA to support PLA. It removes easily enough, and if you dial in a dense support layer or two with the Slicer, it does pretty well on the undersides. Also, it bridges beautifully, (even though overhangs are crap without an extra fan), so if all else fails, I just design in some support structures that the PLA can bridge to, but that I know I'll remove later.