If you’re taking the plunge and buying a 3D printer for your home or business, consider investing a bit more in a printer with dual extruders. Yes, the price tag is a bit higher, but that extra extruder will make all the difference in production, quality, and versatility. Extruders are the part of a printer that ejects and layers the material that forms the printed object, and sometimes also adds a bonding agent. A printer with dual extruders can perform multiple tasks. In short, one extruder is good, but two working together is even better. If you’re still on the fence, here’s a short selection of advantages of dual extruder 3D printers and why you need one.
Dual Extruders Mean Clean Print Jobs
Oozing or stringing is an issue for most 3D printers. This issue causes strands of plastic to form strings or blobs on the final model, marring its appearance. Some printers double their dispensing nozzles, placing them near each other on the same printer head. This often results in stringing or oozing. Independent extruders, on the other hand, are, well, independent. With an independent dual extruder 3D printer, the extruders steer clear of each other as they print, or, while one is working the other stands by, preventing oozing and other entanglements.
Dual Extruders Mean More Options
With an independent dual extruder 3D printer, you can alter the temperatures of the extruders, and equip the dual heads to dispense different materials for your model. While ABS plastic is one of the most common and popular materials, many 3D printers can also use nylon, polylactic acid (PLA), glass-filled polyamide, epoxy resins, silver and steel, wax, photopolymers, and more. Two extruders enable two substances to be combined to make even more impressive prints. You can also print things in different colors, styles, and layers. Add more visual and physical flair to your prints with this powerful tool!
Dual Extruders Bring the Speed
As you might assume, an independent dual extruder 3D printer is faster than other printers. You’ll turn out prints more quickly and cleanly. Additionally, the machine’s programming can perform in different modes that have eparate extruders producing mirrored prints at the same time. To be clear, they’re faster not because they move more speedily than other printers, but because the separate extruders work simultaneously. You can also feed in different materials during a job as the machine requires them.
Dual Extruders Allow More Complex Builds
One of the biggest advantages of dual extruder 3D printers—and a big reason why you need one—is that they create prints that are worthy of your ideas and designs. A single extruder can make a perfectly fine model, but that’s monochromatic kid stuff. Dual extruders help you create more elaborate models, whether through extra colors, different materials, and the ability to create greater detail and more parts at the same time. If you feel ready to graduate to the next level of 3D printer technology, consider investing in an independent dual extruder 3D printer.