Kentstrapper Introduces Dual Independent Extrusion

By on February 22nd, 2018 in printer

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Dual independent extruders on the Kenstrapper Mavis professional 3D printer
Dual independent extruders on the Kenstrapper Mavis professional 3D printer

Italy-based Kentstrapper introduced a very attractive new option for their popular Mavis desktop 3D printer: independent extruders. 

The Mavis is perhaps their flagship 3D printer, being of very large volume, a ridiculously huge 400 x 400 x 700mm space. Thatā€™s 112 liters in volume, which, if filled entirely with PLA would weigh 140kg! 

The Mavis is a very powerful 3D printer that includes a variety of terrific features, including: 

  • Power loss management, where their ā€œPhoenixā€ system can park the system and recover it after power is restored
  • Filament out detection, where the print is paused for a reload. This is really important on a large 3D print volume like the Mavis
  • All metal hot end, providing the ability to 3D print a wider variety of materials
  • Automatic calibration, which occurs when you turn on the device
  • Graphically oriented touch control panel

But now theyā€™re introducing another very interesting new feature: dual independent extrusion. In this feature the device includes two extruders, which is something youā€™ll see on many machines – but there is a difference here. A typical dual extrusion setup involves bolting the two hot ends together and they operate one at a time. 

The Kentstrapper configuration is quite different. Each hot end operates independently, enabling some very different operating modes. 

You can 3D print in two colors, but have the printing take place at the same time – barring delays for collision avoidance. You might be able to 3D print with two hot ends at the same time and the same material, speeding up the print. And you can 3D print two objects at the same time. 

If the objects are identical, and you need more than one, this just sped up your production time by a factor of two. 

This is a very good addition to a very large machine. Itā€™s not always that you need to print gigantic objects, so the ability to print MULTIPLE small objects is quite desirable. This makes the big Mavis machine act like it is two smaller machines. 

I believe at some point in the future we may see many more machines include dual independent extrusion capability, but for now there are very few of them on the market. One option is now from Kentstrapper. 

Via Kentstrapper

By Kerry Stevenson

Kerry Stevenson, aka "General Fabb" has written over 8,000 stories on 3D printing at Fabbaloo since he launched the venture in 2007, with an intention to promote and grow the incredible technology of 3D printing across the world. So far, it seems to be working!