FFF Settings, Multiple Processes, Dual Extrusion Confusion!!

[Innovatorator]

OK, So I've been using S3D for a while now and I should really understand how all this works, but I don't.
Also, I spent some time reviewing past posts but did not see this addressed directly.
The only way I've been able to get dual extrusion to work is by sheer determination!

So I start with the Dual Extrusion Wizard and pick a profile.

1. There is drop down menu for "Material Configuration." Why is there ONE material selection when setting up DUAL extrusion? You will definitely need two different material settings- even if you use two different colors of the same material, the pigments can change the properties, so shouldn't there be a material setting for each?

2. Still in Dual Extrusion Wizard, in the Base Profile Template pull down, well, sometimes it shows all my Profiles and sometimes it shows only the Dual Extrusion Profiles. In the cases where it shows the single-extruder profiles as well, selecting one gives a message that I must select a Dual Extrusion profile.
However, I can then go into Edit Process Settings and select Single-Extruder profiles. Needless to say the Dual Extrusion won't work with two Single-Extrusion profiles selected.

3. Then I go to "Edit Process Settings" which brings up the FFF Settings menu for the selected process, lets call it Color 1.
Under "Auto Configure for Material" I select ABS, and make changes to the Nozzle Diameter. Now that nozzle setting is changed under all the materials - PLA, Nylon, etc. What is the point of even having a material selection if any change to one changes all the others?

4. Now, if I jump back up to "Auto-Configure Extruders" I would think that you would set the Color 1 process to Left Extruder and Color 2 process to right extruder, but that didn't work right, so it has to stay at "Both Extruders." Again, not sure what the purpose of this is.

5. Then there is more confusion in Temperature Settings. So there are two processes, Color 1 and Color 2. They both have independent settings for Extruder 1 and Extruder 2 temperatures. Color 1 uses Extruder 1 and Color 2 uses Extruder 2. So under the Color 1 process I set Extruder 1 to 200° and Extruder 2 to 0°. I go to the Color 2 process and set Extruder 1 to 0° and Extruder 2 to 220°, but when I tried to print, Extruder 2 was trying to print at 0°. So I set both extruder temperatures in Color 1 and THAT worked!?! So does it only look at the first process for temperatures?

If it pulls all the settings from the first profile anyways, then why the need for a Dual Extrusion profile to begin with?

I could continue, but, I'll leave it at that. Any and all input, recommendations, and explanations are appreciated!

Thanks,

Innovatorator

[Innovatorator]

OK, I found the answer to #3 in this article:

https://www.simplify3d.com/support/arti ... extruders/

If both processes share a same value (which they will since you select ONE process in the dual extrusion wizard), updating one will update them all.
You have to ungroup the processes to change one without changing the other.

Also, in reference to #1 it states: "Material Configuration: Select the material that you will be using to print, which will apply to both extruders."
Again, I believe that in MOST circumstances, people will want different filaments on each nozzle. The only situation I can think of where you would use the same filament on both extruders is when printing arrays. So this means that every other scenario - dissolvable supports, dual color prints, etc. - you have to go through and change all the settings manually for the second process?

[brian442]

1. If you want to use some kind of combined material settings (like PLA + PVA), then you have to add that combination first. So just click "edit process settings", and then click the "+" beside the material options and configure it how you want. This is an important step, since there are a lot of settings that are shared between both extruders like the fan speeds, heated bed temperature, etc. So you really have to choose what combination of settings you want.

2. I believe it only shows profiles that are setup for 2 extruders. I've never seen it show anything but profiles that are capable of printing with 2 extruders at once.

4. You have to make sure that all your processes are set to "Both Extruders" since that tells the program that you want to make sure you heat up both extruders at the beginning of the print. So the "auto-configure extruders" option should always match the number of extruders you plan to use for the entire print (if you were only using one extruder, you could select "right extruder only" or something like that). All dual extrusion should have "both extruders" selected here, and I think the dual extrusion wizard does that for you automatically.

5. Your temperatures should be the same between both processes, since you are doing a dual extrusion print and you need to make sure both extruders are heated up and primed correctly. So just leave extruder 1 set to 200C and extruder 2 set to 220C in both processes.