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How can I limit waste with Anycubic Kobra 3 Combo Multicolor Printing

In FDM technology, the prime tower is crucial when creating 3D prints of multiple filaments. This tower helps in purging the extruder between filament changes, ensuring clear color changes in the final model. However, a drawback for users is the filament waste produced by the cleaning tower.

Anycubic  Kobra 3 Combo or K3C, which currently supports up to 4 filaments (expanding to 8 by November-December 2024), requires a prime tower. BambuLab AMS also faces similar waste ratios.

Why waste filament in Multicolor 3D Printing?

In multi-filament or multi-color printing, a “cleaning” phase is necessary to transition between different colors or materials. This phase ensures that any remaining filament from the previous material is removed from thoroughly the extruder. This leftover material is known as the prime tower.

Anycubic kobra 3 combo prime tower in multi-color printing

What Happens Without the Prime Tower?

Not utilizing a prime tower may result in incomplete clearing of the extruder during filament transitions, posing various potential issues.:
– Compromise in Print Quality: Failure to fully clean during transitions may result in undesired color blending.
– Filament Flow Problems: Incomplete clearing of old filament can block the flow of new filament, causing printing issues.
– Rise in Printing Errors: Lack of cleaning during filament transitions can lead to excess or insufficient material in specific print areas.

If there are no frequent color changes in the object, you may remove the prime tower, for example :

example of Anycubic k3c / Kobra 3 combo

delete prime tower in multi-color printing

 

Ways to Reduce Filament Waste from the Prime Tower

Let’s delve into how to minimize filament waste using certain features in slicing software.

Optimize Flush Volume in Multicolor 3D Printing

To minimize filament waste, start by adjusting the Flush Volume, which determines the material used during filament transitions. Lowering this value ( 1.0 by default, reduced to 0.4, test result was fine) can help your extruder use less material and create a smaller cleaning tower. However, be careful not to reduce it too drastically as this may impact print quality. For example, transitions between colors such as black and white may need a higher transition ratio.

Reduce flush volume in multi-color printingminimum waste in anycubic kobra 3 Multicolor 3D Printing

Transition Within the Infill Option

An alternative intelligent approach to effectively minimize the Prime Tower is to incorporate transitions within the infill. Although this does not completely eliminate the prime tower, it prioritizes conducting transitions within the infill. This will greatly minimize the waste for models with a high infill volume. The prime tower is replaced by an unseen area of the model.

Software Settings :

Disable Prime Tower

Enable Flush into objects’ infill in Flush Options 

Disable prime tower and enable flush into objects' infil in multicolor 3D printing

Print Multiple Models

Printing multiple identical models in a single session is a highly innovative way to reduce filament wastage in multi-color 3D Printing. Instead of creating a standard rectangular prism like the Prime Tower, consider printing the same or different models instead. Opting for functional parts where surface color is not crucial is a smart decision when utilizing this method.

storage box by anycubic kobra 3 combo Multicolor 3D Printingancubic kobra 3 combo prints doraemon

Prints by Anycubic K3C

Improve Transitions by Optimizing Model Placement

If a specific area of the model undergoes color changes while the rest remains a uniform color, adjusting the model’s position to have all transitions occur at the start of the print can minimize the size of the tower. The prime tower’s purpose is completed after reaching a certain height, similar to a regular single filament print.

Increase Layer Heights in multi-filament 3d printing

Increasing the layer height can effectively decrease the size of the prime tower, particularly for models with extensive surfaces. This adjustment can lead to more efficient results in minimizing filament waste in Multicolor 3D Printing.

 

How can I limit waste with Anycubic Kobra 3 Combo Multicolor Printing

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