Dual Material 3D Printer Comparison

Dual material / dual extrusion printers compared. Sortable table, hover over a cell for more information.

Dual Extrusion 3D Printer Comparison	Scaled image	Price £ Inc Tax	Dual Extrusion system	Stringing / Blobs	Nozzle lift	Seconds to swap material	hh:mm:ss added to example DM print	Printer Width mm	Printer Depth mm	Printer Height mm	Fully enclosed	Dual Extrusion Build Width	Dual Extrusion Build Depth	Dual Extrusion Build Height	Unboxed Weight. kg	Material waste per print %	Type of waste	Print Surface	Number of prints between maintenance	Removable	Flexible	Materials	3rd party materials allowed?	1.75mm Filament compatible	External filament feed	Dedicated material dehumidifier	Structural Material	ABS	Nylon	PETG / CPE	Abrasive filled	Flexible	Support Material	Water soluble PVA base eg PVOH/BVOH	Peel away	HIPS	Ethanol / diluted acid soluble	Software / Service	Software Included	Warranty length months	UK service centre	Connectivity	LAN	Wifi	Direct USB	SD card or USB stick	Automation	Levelling	Adaptive mapping	Material setting	Error resolution	User notification	File sending	Print statistics logging	Safety	HEPA Filter	Carbon Filter	Locking door	Automatic unlock
Robox RBX10		£3699.00	Close Valve + Rotate	No	Yes	0.4	00:06:40	513	508	605	Standard	300	210	400	16	0%	None	Sprung Steel + Thick PEI	500+	Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes	Optional (+£600)		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes	12	Yes		Yes	Yes	No	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Robox RBX02		£1119.90	Close Valve + Rotate	No	Yes	0.4	00:06:40	410	340	240	Standard	210	150	100	10.8	0%	None	Thick PEI	500+	Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes	Optional (+£600)		Yes	Yes	Yes	Optional Head (+£160)	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes	24	Yes		Optional (+Root £110)	Optional (+Root)	Yes	Optional (+Root)		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes		Optional (+Extractor £350)	Optional (+Extractor)	Yes	Yes
Ultimaker S5		£6114.00	Passive Hotend Swap	Yes	Yes	9	02:30:00	495	457	520	Optional (+£384)	330	240	300	20.6	30%	Wipe tower	Glass + Glue	1	Yes	No		Yes	No	Yes	No		Yes	Yes	Yes	Optional Head (+£330)	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes	No		Yes	12	No		Yes	Yes	No	Yes		Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No		No	No	No	No
Ultimaker 3		£3354.00	Passive Hotend Swap	Yes	Yes	9	02:30:00	342	380	389	Optional (+£360)	197	215	200	10.6	30%	Wipe tower	Glass + Glue	1	Yes	No		Yes	No	Yes	No		Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes	No		Yes	12	No		Yes	Yes	No	Yes		Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No		No	No	No	No
Makerbot Method		£5999.00	Powered Hotend Swap	Yes	Yes	8	02:13:20	649	413	437	Standard	152	190	196	29.5	30%	Wipe tower	ABS	1	Yes	Yes		No	Yes	No	No		No	No	Yes	No	No		Yes	No	No	No		Yes	12	No		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes	No	No	No
Zortrax Inventure		£2326.80	Powered Hotend Swap	Yes	Yes	20	05:33:20	350	345	405	Standard	135	135	130	21.0	20%	Ooze Shield	ABS	12	Yes	No		No	Yes	No	No		Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes		Yes	No	Yes	No		Yes	12	No		No	No	No	Yes		Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No		Yes	No	No	No
Raise3D PRO2		£3778.80	Powered Hotend Swap	Yes	Yes	2	00:33:20	620	590	760	Standard	280	305	300	52.0	30%	Wipe tower	PC film	5	Yes	No		Yes	Yes	Yes	No		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes	No		Yes	12	No		Yes	Yes	No	Yes		Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No		Yes	No	No	No
BCN3D Sigmax R19		£3889.20	Y axis only (IDEX)	Yes	No	7	01:56:40	675	440	680	Optional (+£300)	420	297	210	18.0	10%	Dribble bin	Glass + Glue	1	Yes	No		Yes	No	Yes	No		Yes	Yes	Yes	Optional Nozzle (+£72)	Yes		Yes	Yes	No	No		Yes	24	No		No	No	No	Yes		No	No	No	No	No	No	No		Optional (+Enclosure £300)	No	No	No
Flashforge Creator Pro		£643.99	Y axis motion only	Yes	No	2	00:33:20	526	360	749	Standard	227	148	150	14.8	20%	Ooze Shield	Glass + Glue	1	No	No		Yes	Yes	Yes	No		Yes	No	No	No	No		Yes	No	No	No		No	12	No		No	No	No	Yes		No	No	No	No	No	No	No		No	No	No	No
Craftunique Craftbot3		£2364.00	Y axis only (IDEX)	Yes	No	13	03:36:40	490	460	640	Optional (+£300)	270	250	250	32.0	30%	Wipe tower	PC film	5	Yes	No		Yes	Yes	Yes	No		Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes	No		Yes	12	No		No	Yes	Yes	Yes		No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes		Optional (+Enclosure £300)	Optional (+Enclosure)	Optional (+Enclosure)	No
Leapfrog Bolt Pro		£7221.90	Y axis only (IDEX)	Yes	No	7	01:56:40	723	831	801	Standard	300	320	205	64.0	10%	Dribble bin	PC film	1	Yes	No		No	Yes	No	No		Yes	Yes	Yes	Optional Nozzle (+£300)	Yes		No	No	Yes	No		Yes	12	No		Yes	Yes	No	Yes		No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No		Yes	Yes	No	No
Stratasys F170		£19152.00	Powered Hotend Swap	Yes	Yes	7.15*	01:59:10	711	864	1626	Standard	254	254	254	227.0	30%	Wipe tower	ABS	1	Yes	Yes		No	No	No	No		Yes	No	No	No	Yes		Yes	Yes	No	Yes		Yes	12	Yes		Yes	Yes	No	Yes		Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes		No	No	Yes	No
Dual Extrusion 3D Printer Comparison	Scaled image	Price £ Inc Tax	Dual Extrusion system	Stringing / Blobs	Nozzle lift	Seconds to swap material	hh:mm:ss added to example DM print	Printer Width mm	Printer Depth mm	Printer Height mm	Fully enclosed	Dual Extrusion Build Width	Dual Extrusion Build Depth	Dual Extrusion Build Height	Unboxed Weight. kg	Material waste per print %	Type of waste	Print Surface	Number of prints between maintenance	Removable	Flexible	Materials	3rd party materials allowed?	1.75mm Filament compatible	External filament feed	Dedicated material dehumidifier	Structural Material	ABS	Nylon	PETG / CPE	Abrasive filled	Flexible	Support Material	Water soluble PVA base eg PVOH/BVOH	Peel away	HIPS	Ethanol / diluted acid soluble	Software / Service	Software Included	Warranty length months	UK service centre	Connectivity	LAN	Wifi	Direct USB	SD card or USB stick	Automation	Levelling	Adaptive mapping	Material setting	Error resolution	User notification	File sending	Print statistics logging	Safety	HEPA Filter	Carbon Filter	Locking door	Automatic unlock

Speed

Efficiency

Model+support / Waste

Stringing and blobs around the print create flaws on a surface. Unexpected structures on a print can easily lead to failure, wasting the whole print because it gets knocked off the build surface or is unusable. This is not shown in the data, failed prints means lost time and money. The solutions available for other printers are ooze shield / wipe tower / dribble bin. Each of these wastes material and still struggles to prevent stringing and blobs around the print.
Robox simply closes a valve on the nozzle when swapping materials, the result is faster, uses less material and creates far more successful prints.

Two Towers

Material change time effects total print time. To gather this data two towers 100mm tall are built side by side, each in a different material so all layers have the same properties and are sliced in 0.1mm layers. The material needs to change once every layer for 1000 layers to create the build, this includes nozzle motions and wipe tower type actions.