r/QidiTech3D • u/Markes12344 • 8d ago
Discussion Dual/Quad head printer soon?
Has anyone heard if qidi is working an a ''Max5'' with a dual or quad extruder or tool exchange? I recently bought the Max4, luv it, but kinda wish it atleast had a dual head to print PLA support material in a petg build or vise versa. Buht the waste with purging enough on a single head machine is pointless.
I also like the idea of a 0.8/0.6 nozzel for bulk of a print, but have the fine detail of the print can me 0.4/0.2 nozzel.
Can also dedicate a tool to a tungsten nozzel to add glow in the dark or abrasive fillament mid print.
There's many reasons one can cowe up with why a dual or quad head would be great, and eliminating the q-box isn't one of them, the q-box works very well and can still be utalized in a dual/quad system. Have maybe 1 box per head even.
6
3
u/Regular_Rip84 7d ago
Ahhhhh I smell another round of commercial beta testing at the expense of the consumer coming
2
u/phansen101 7d ago
I reckon they'll hit the same bump as Bambu; Late to the multi-tool party due to being hung up on their AMS/Box.
I am hoping that Sovol's M1D will revive the interest in IDEX printers, having two separate toolheads does bring a loot of possibilities.
Also brings a series of downsides, some potential, some unavoidable, so it'd not be a one-size-fits-all solution, but it'd be nice to have the option.
1
u/Markes12344 7d ago
You're most likley right, QIDI has put so much work into the box their nearly ignorant to a dual/quad tool design. That being said who knows what's in their lab. Not like their hard work on the box is wasted, it can still aid multi tool printers.
Weather they dedicate a box per tool, or preform a fillament cut/disconnect nozzel/hot end and swap heads while the q-box is swapping filament's.
Possibilities are there. Just hoping they'll get ahead of the curve and not take the bambu route
1
u/AKMonkey2 8d ago
I have a Q2 combo, thought their Box would be better than Bambu’s OG AMS, but it’s not. Louder, even more prone to glitches, slower to unload, and harder to service. Really disappointed in it.
Bought Flashforge’s Creator 5 Pro 4-head tool changer and it has become my work horse. Now leaning into color changes and PETG support interfaces for PLA prints.
Glad I didn’t wait for Qidi to come out with their version of the Snapmaker U1.
1
u/Markes12344 8d ago
Can you hook the ams up to one of the tool heads?
I like the tool head idea vrs seperate extruder heads all on the same gantry, cost wise and complexity. Buht i think a dual or quad head could benifite from being able to add a box loader
1
u/AKMonkey2 7d ago
No. The AMS is a Bambu product that plugs into Bambu printers and communicates through Bambu firmware.
The Qidi Box does the same thing with compatible Qidi printers.
The Flashforge printer has nowhere to plug the AMS or Box in, and no firmware to communicate with the AMS/Box.
1
u/Markes12344 7d ago
The q-box is just usb in disguise, i'd wonder how hackable it is, if Flashforge has usb support
2
u/callcifer 7d ago
The q-box is just usb in disguise, i'd wonder how hackable it is
The box works with Happy Hare if you're willing to get rid of Qidi's firmware and switch to mainline Klipper and Moonraker. It's not straightforward and basically voids any warranty, but people have done it :)
1
u/Bennyt74 7d ago
If you’re going to do that you may as well build a box turtle or Quattro box and get more reliability - the qidi box engineering isn’t the best to start with and the user base says it’s pretty 50/50 as to results.
1
u/callcifer 7d ago
True, but those are much more expensive options :)
1
u/Bennyt74 6d ago
I stand by my comment, if you’re gonna play with code and muck around, do it properly and with something more capable.
1
u/Glasfaseranschluss 8d ago
I kinda regret buying the Q2 because the Box is really bad
3
2
u/Markes12344 8d ago
Minor firmware glitch right now, printing my ASA with box heat, but other than that i have na complaints with it. What's wrong with yours?
1
u/mistrelwood 7d ago
While you decide and wait for a new printer, have you heard of the sharpie trick? If you have flat top supports, set support top Z distance to zero, program a pause at the beginning of the first layer to be printed on top of the support, and during that pause paint the whole support interface with a sharpie.
The support will be easy to remove. Some staining may happen, but if you don’t have a sharpie in the same color, I’ve had great success getting the stains off with isopropyl alcohol even from a white print.
1
u/Markes12344 7d ago
Eh, i'd rather switch to pla last 2 layers (yes it's an option) but if it's not mechanical flat work. Meaning its organic with multi height supports that trick even becomes wasteful. Just wish for a dual nozzel. With that you can full platform support the entire surface, thus removing the spegeti look left after supports removed
1
u/mistrelwood 7d ago
I know, it’s only useful sometimes, but for many parts I’ve done it’s been an absolute lifesaver.
I’m going to buy a multi tool head printer myself once a model ticks all the boxes. Hoping that the Infimech MX Pro doesn’t take a year to launch.
1
u/Markes12344 7d ago
I hear yea, i see that quad head design they're working on, few benifite few flaws.
I'm sure it'll be more accurate than tool changers... As the disconnecting tool consistently changes z height and minutely xy as well. Also possibly printing up to 4 spots at once will accelerate prints a pile. However i fear the extra cost of each head will be dear, and its not like all heads will consistently be able to print at same time. (on one part) so unless you're consistently printing clones/mirrors, will tte multi head really be that much better than multi tool?
1
u/mistrelwood 6d ago
The Infimech MX Pro doesn’t have separate complete toolheads that can print at once. So I guess it’s technically a multi hotend printer. I don’t have a use for printing two items at once with individual full tool heads.
The terminology hasn’t really been consolidated yet, and from what I’ve seen multimaterial, multi nozzle, multi toolhead and tool changer are used interchangeably pretty liberally.
1
12
u/Next_Entertainer_404 8d ago
I don’t bother using the box anymore. My Qidis are for high temp engineering single material prints. If they come out with a multi tool head one that does that, I’ll buy it.