Hi all - I have been watching/researching this forum for a while and I think I am ready to order a Taz 6 today (my first 3D printer… so total noob) and I had one quick question. I have been reading about the water-soluble filaments that are available. Down the road, if I upgrade to a dual extruder will I be able to make use of this technique? Is it supported with the Taz 6 using a dual extruder? Since I am just starting out… I think the single will be fine to learn with but love the idea upgrading in the future and being able to do the more complicated prints using that technique if it is capable of that.
Thanks,
Tony B.
Hi there, Welcome to the forum!
THe short answer to your question is yes, you could use Water Soluable support. The problem is that most of the water soluable fillaments are basically useless and prone to failure with any moisture in the air. They leave a much worse surface than just plastic support would, and there are very few cases where it doesn’t cause more problems than it fixes. It’s not so much that water soluable fillament is an issue for a Taz, it’s more that it just doesn’t work very well on ANY printer. Same thing with using HIPS and Limoene, etc. You will find that you get the most use for a dual extruder by making either multi color objects, or multi material items (a Ninjaflex rubber printed socket with an embedded ABS flange arm for example, or a rigid structure with different material types to make it flex in different patterns at different stress or heat points)
Hope that helps!
Thanks for the quick response. That makes sense… maybe by the time I get to where I am trying those kinds of prints the materials they are using will have gotten more mature/reliable.