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How to Choose the Best Multi-Color 3D Printer
One of the most sought-after innovations in 3D printing is the introduction of multi-color models that can produce 3D prints in a variety of colors, rather than one, as is the case on standard 3D printers. This prevents the need for painting, and you get a print that is ready to use straight off the printer.
These multi-color 3D printers are a great choice as they’re considered to be the 3D printing pinnacle. But the cost of these machines was not so long ago too expensive for the average buyer. Today, this has changed, and you can quickly get one from the broad range of choices available on the market.
If you don’t know where to start, here’s a detailed guide on the best multi-color 3D printers you should consider.
What Is A Multi-Color 3D Printer and How Do They Work?
Multi-color 3D printers work in the same way as single-color 3D printers, but they print using a system similar to a paper printer where they use a few different colored ‘inks’ but not the entire range of colors. These machines feature color filaments which are printed at specific parts of the 3D model. As a result, this creates parts comprising a limited number of block colors plus the characteristic of these colors is that they’re bold and unique.
Using multi-color 3D printers is a step closer to making functional products that are a lot more aesthetically pleasing and closer to a finished object. The use of these machines also makes the 3D printing process a lot more efficient by minimizing the required post-processing steps.
There are three main technologies that multi-color 3D printers employ to apply the colors to the object with the color combination, with numerous colored links. These technologies include Selective Disposition Lamination, Binder Jetting, and a variant of Polyjet technology. The most popular method among these three methods is Binder Jetting.
Multi-color 3D printers can print a broad range of colors, reaching over 390,000 different colors.
What Are the Best Multi-Color 3D Printers Available?
HP Jet Fusion
When you want detailed and complicated color 3D prints, the HP Jet Fusion multi-color 3D printer is an outstanding choice. This 3D printer works by enabling numerous binding agents’ deposit onto plain materials in an additive manufacturing process. In addition to manipulating the color, this 3D printer allows you to influence the print’s texture.
You can also dictate the translucency, density, and other features of the finish, which enable you to completely control the finish of your print.
This 3D printer is also compatible with up to eight different materials, meaning you always get the properties you want from your 3D print. The finished prints are both functional and detailed.
If you run a small or medium-sized company, look no further, as this 3D printer is a great pick for commercial printing when you need reliability and dependability. With it, you’re guaranteed to enjoy super functionality and well-designed prints.
Geeetech A20M Mix Color 3D Printer
While the oddly named Geeetech company is relatively unknown outside of 3D printing, this company based in China specializes in making open-source 3D printers at a reasonable price. They produce high-quality printers and have sold more than 100,000 3D printers across the globe.
The exciting A20M is the only multi-color 3D printer in Geeetech’s line-up. It is a FFF/FDM style printer that features a dual extruder with two 2-in, 1-out hot end. This feature allows this machine to provide four different 3D printing color options, including dual-color 3D printing, mix color 3D printing, graded color 3D printing, and single color 3D printing, which means you have a lot of color options available!
When using the Geeetech 3D printer, you get a lot of flexibility in coloring your prints. This is the case since you can choose to print some models by mixing different colors every few layers.
This 3D printer has a volume of 255 by 255 by 255 mm and is a semi pre-assembled 3D printer kit you can quickly get up and running on your own with. You shouldn’t let this concern you since you don’t need to have a great experience in DIY tasks to assemble it successfully. All that’s required from you is following three simple steps.
You can print many different filament materials with this multi-color 3D printer, including PLA, ABS, PETG, HIPS, PVA, and wood-filaments. This printer also provides you with exceptional accuracy of up to 0.1mm.
When looking to mix different colors, you need to use Geeetech’s ColorMixer software and pick the 3D printer color settings, including graded color between specific layers.
You can use this 3D printer remotely by connecting it to a WIFI, and it’s compatible with 3D slicers such as Simplify3D and Cura.
If you’re searching for the perfect budget multi-color 3D printer, look no further, as this printer is the ideal pick for you.
XYZ Printing da Vinci Color
One of the best desktop multi-color 3D printers you need to consider is the XYZ Printing daVinci Color 3D printer. The ideal base material for this 3D printer is white PLA that provides a blank platform for its colors. To provide color, it uses a CMYK color cartridge, just like a paper printer. Ink is added to the plastic filament as it prints to give a full spectrum of color.
You can also get a smaller version of this 3D printer that features only one cartridge, unlike the bigger model with four cartridges. If you’ve got an office that isn’t very spacious, the smaller model is an excellent choice because it still makes 3D prints of exceptional quality. You will just need to replace the color cartridge more often.
The Da Vinci multi-color 3D printer also has a unique ink-saving design whereby only the visible filament layers get colored instead of the whole print, which is pretty smart!
Rize XRIZE Multicolor 3D Printer
Rize is another company that is up and coming in the 3D printer world. Their color model, the Rize XRIZE multi-color 3D printer, is a great option. This 3D printer uses a patented Augmented Deposition process together with ink-jetting technology to ensure its prints are vibrant and robust.
The XRIZE multi-color 3D printer can also deposit Release One Ink – a special copyrighted material that is deposited between the print itself and the support structures. Therefore, it’s easy for you to disconnect the support structures quickly and cleanly. This is crucial as it means the piece remains smooth, so you aren’t required to do a lot of post-processing tasks.
This multi-color 3D printer is an excellent choice for beginners because its setup is easy and straightforward, plus using it is equally easy. You also don’t need to do a lot of pre and post-process tasks when printing 3D prints of outstanding quality due to its innovative support technologies.
ComeTrueT10
If the speed of the printing process is essential to you, the ComeTrueT10 multi-color 3D printer is a great choice. The base material for this 3D printer is the neutral and plater-like sandstone. This base material gets colored and hardened through the ComeTrue process, enabling the bonding of the colored liquid to the agent.
After this, you should follow this up by placing these pieces inside a dry vacuum machine that’s bought separately that allows you to remove the remaining powder with an airbrush. But for many people, this entire process needs time to perfect but is something you’ll quickly learn over time.
The ComeTrueT10 also incorporates several useful features, including functional across a broad range of applications, numerous use cases, and can print sophisticated parts. It has one downside in that the quality of its prints isn’t that great due to its rapid print speed.
What Should You Look for When Choosing A Multi-Color 3D Printer?
Before choosing the multi-color 3D printer to buy, it’s important first to assess the features integrated into each model. Doing so is crucial since these features determine the accuracy, resolution, and surface finish of the 3D print. Here are the most critical aspects you should consider when determining the best multi-color 3D printer for your needs.
Resolution
The resolution capabilities of your 3D printer is a crucial feature you need to consider. Some multi-color 3D printers on the market provide you with superb resolution, while others only produce a decent resolution. Therefore, you need to decide how crucial resolution is to you before investing in a multi-color 3D printer.
Surface Finish
Whereas you can do post-processing to get a good surface finish on your own, it’s best to go for a 3D printer that gives you the best finish possible to reduce the amount of manual sanding and cleaning required. Printers with dual-extruders allow the use of a separate support material that can be easily dissolved in alcohol or water, leaving behind a blemish-free finish.
Build Size
It’s vital to consider the printer’s size for two main reasons. The first reason is knowing the size of the object you’re planning to print and the room where you intend to place the machine. Knowing the exact size of the printer is especially crucial since the size of 3D printers varies widely, with some models as small hence can be comfortably placed on a desk while others are as big to occupy an entire closet.
Make sure always to consider the 3D printer’s size not to buy a useless printer. Fortunately, you shouldn’t have a hard time choosing the right model for you since the build size is usually stated for most models.
Print Speed
The speed at which 3D printers print is measured in inches printed per hour. This printing speed usually depends on the design’s complexity and size of the 3D print. Another issue that affects the speed of your multi-color printer is the type of material being printed.
It’s best to consider all these factors before deciding whether to invest in a specific multi-color 3D printer. You also should know that not all the 3D printers which boast incredible speeds do a great job at handling intense workloads and great accuracy. This is usually the case since, at incredible speeds, it becomes a lot harder to achieve exceptional accuracy. Just because a 3D printer boasts a fast top printing speed doesn’t mean you will be able to reliably print quality parts at this speed.
Therefore, if you want to print parts requiring great accuracy, a fast multi-color 3D printer might not be the best option for you.
Printer Material
There’s a broad range of printer materials you can find, and this number is only growing. This is an advancement from the past when the photosensitive resin was the only available printer material.
The choice of printer material usually depends on whether you want the print to be flexible or stiff, whether it needs to withstand loads, and if it will be subjected to chemicals, UV, or heat in its life. Therefore, you need to always go for a material that provides you with these capabilities. Your choice of print material might affect the degree of the printed material.
With this in mind, you should always consider the type of material you’ll be using and determine what exactly you’ll be printing before deciding which 3D printer to buy.
Conclusion
Deciding which is the best multi-color printer can be overwhelming since there are many great models on the market. If you were conflicted on which model you should go for, reading this comprehensive post has hopefully offered you useful insights on all you need to know about color 3D printers, and you are better placed to make an informed purchasing decision.
