Purge blocks waste more time and filament than the print you want to make.
Purge blocks, sometimes called purge towers or just purge, are the result of MultiColor 3D printing when switching to another color, the nozzle-hotend must have the previous color cleaned out. This is wasted filament, wasted print bed space, wasted printing time, and wasted money.
Purge blocks are bad for you, and the environment!
The default purge blocks that Prusa Slicer suggests are inadequate for most transitions, especially from dark to light colors. They need much larger purge blocks sometimes 10x the amount of the actual print.
Purging endlessly gives a diminishing return; The color will never be perfect. A discerning eye will always see the color streaks especially from dark to light color transitions.
The Swapper3D is a bolt-on add-on for the the Prusa i3 or the Creality Ender3 V1, PRO, and V2 and CR-10 series printers with one of the following filament changers:
- Prusa MMU
- Mosaic Palette
- CoPrint: Multi-Material Module
- ERCF (enraged rabbit carrot feeder)
- 3D Chameleon
Instead of purging old colors out, it automatically swaps nozzles so that a nozzle only ever has a single color in it. For instance, if you’re printing a white and black print, there is a nozzle in The Swapper3D for each color White and Black. Then every time the print changes color, the Swapper3D swaps the current nozzle for the nozzle of the other color and then no purging is needed because the nozzle has that color already in it!!
Each nozzle is assigned to a single particular color and reused an unlimited number of times during the print. Each time the printer needs to use that color the Swapper3D loads the nozzle for that color, it’s heated back up, and the printing continues. In this way unlimited color swaps can be done.
The Swapper3D can hold 25 nozzles. That is many more than other ‘tool changer’ or ‘multi-extruder’ 3D printers, Swapper3D can do this because only the nozzle and heat-break are removed from the printer which is much smaller without the heater-block, heater, and temperature sensor. The unique design and ultra short heat break prevent jams even without a cooling fan on the heat-break.
And because the Swapper3D locates the QuickSwap-Insert/Nozzle in the same bore of the heater block there is no offset calibration required as there would be with multi-extruder 3D printers. And because there is no purging at all when using the Swapper3D you don’t need to waste any time calibrating the transition length and optimizing the purge amount per filament. This will get you printing in less time and with less frustration.
The Swapper3D can even be used for nozzle size changes on the fly. Imagine having .2/.4/.6/.8/1mm nozzles for use throughout your prints automatically no tools required.
Our QuickSwap-Insert comes with a Nickel plated Copper nozzle by default, but the actual nozzle is removable and can be replaced with any E3D V6 compatible nozzle.
This way you can still make use of your expensive upgraded nozzles you already own (i.e. Ruby tipped, tungsten, hardened steel, and different sizes, etc). Also, if the nozzle clogs then you can just replace the end nozzle instead of the entire QuickSwap-Insert which will save you money.
Benefits of the Swapper3D:
- Eliminates purge blocks
- Eliminates color transitions and purge waste
- Reduces used filament
- Reduces print time
- Frees up space on the print bed
- Automatically swaps nozzles during multi-material prints (like PVA)
- Automatically swaps nozzles during MultiColor prints (*MultiColor add-on not incl.)
- Automatically swaps nozzles for different sizes during prints
- It’s more interesting to watch than printing a purge block
MMU print reliability is greatly improved. Because the filament is now cut before unloading no tip shaping is required, and strings are impossible too. The reliability of the Mosaic Palette is also increased because less filament is used for the entire print which helps the Palette maintain splice length synchronization.
A step in the right direction to save our planet:
One of the main purposes of this product is to reduce the waste plastic that is normally produced during MultiColor FDM 3D printing. Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues in the world. The filament plastic we waste unthinkingly every single day, the plastic we throw away without a moment’s thought, it lives on, and on.
We estimate that if every Prusa MMU 3D printer user were to use a Swapper3D then it would keep more than 300,000kg worth of purge plastic out of landfills per year!
Why 25 Nozzles?
For the first time ever a 3D Printer is able to have 25 nozzle types and sizes loaded at once. By this point you may be wondering “Why are there 25 nozzle/hotend storage spots when the Prusa MMU can switch between 5 filaments, the CoPrint up to 7, the Mosaic Palette up to 8, the ERCF up to 12 (enraged rabbit carrot feeder)?”
The Swapper3D supports “UP TO” 25, but it will work with 1 or 2 or 5 or 8…all the way UP TO 25. When users purchase the base Swapper3D kit it comes with 5 QuickSwap-Nozzles and it can be expanded by adding more at any time in the future.
The ‘up-to’ 25 nozzles can also be used to automatically switch different nozzle sizes during the print even when printing with a single filament.
There are a few good reasons for us to include 25 nozzle/hotend storage spots:
1) Nozzle sizes & types. The Swapper3D can be used to automatically swap nozzle sizes during a print. Since the Swapper3D hotend works with any E3D compatible nozzle you could load in your ruby, tungsten, stainless, high speed, brass, nickel copper, or hardened steel nozzles that you already own and automatically swap them at the required time during a 3D print.
2) Filament types. Mixing different filament types can cause problems, so you could use the extra spots to store nozzles for different material types, like ABS or PET, and automatically swap them during a 3D print. This way you don’t need to clean the nozzles out between materials without risk of jamming or clogging. The Swapper3D works with any material.
3) Leave your colors loaded. If you have 25 different colors on hand you could leave all the nozzles loaded and select the correctly colored nozzle from inside PrusaSlicer, either at the start of a print or automatically during a print.
4) Future proof. As MultiColor add-ons increase in number of available colors you can easily add QuickSwap-Nozzles to the Swapper3D to accommodate the upgrade.
In short the extra storage spots don’t require any extra hardware so there is no disadvantage if you don’t use them, and plenty of advantage if you do use them. The Swapper3D comes with 5 QuickSwap-Nozzles. That is enough for the Prusa MMU. If you want more then you can buy them at the checkout.
What is included in your Swapper3D Kit:
Each Swapper3D kit includes all the hardware needed to assemble one(1) Swapper3D, and five(5) QuickChange nozzle-heatbreaks.
We know our customers are Makers at heart, and they don’t shy away from a little 3D printing and assembly, so we thought “Why not let them print their own parts, and assemble the Swapper3D themselves? Then they can save some money and get a faster delivery at the same time!” That’s why we are giving you the option to buy just the hardware and print your own plastic parts; Or at check-out you can upgrade to have us print the plastic parts of your Swapper3D for you. It’s your choice.
We will provide you with complete step by step written and video instructions for building your Swapper3D.
Hardware (Set 1) Included in Swapper3D Kit:
Hardware (Set 2) Included in Swapper3D Kit:
Additional Parts included for Mosaic Palette Users:
3D Printed Parts Add-On Available at Checkout:
As a fun (and tasty) thank you we include some “BigBrain3D” candies in with your kit to help you through the Swapper3D assembly using our complete step by step instructions. The Squish Candy Company in Montreal will be custom making us mini packs of their Brain Freeze candies (which we think match our BigBrain3D Logo pretty perfectly!)
Swapper3D in action on the Prusa i3 and the MMU:
