ChromaSet Brings Multi-Color Printing to Any 3D Printer
Co Print just launched an entire multi-color printing ecosystem on Kickstarter.
Multi-color and multi-material 3D printing have seen a recent resurgence thanks to the popularity of Bambu Lab printers and AMS units. But if you own a 3D printer from any other manufacturer, your options for multi-color printing are going to be very limited. That may soon change, because ChromaSet is a new system from Co Print that promises to bring multi-color printing to any 3D printer on the market.
ChromaSet just launched on Kickstarter and the campaign has already raised more than $300,000 in funding. Co Print previously launched a multi-filament unit (also called Co Print) through Kickstarter, so we're confident that ChromaSet isn't vaporware.
This system includes several different hardware components. Those include the ChromaPad, ChromaHead, KCM (Klipper Chroma Module), ECM (Extended Chroma Module), and CX-1 Extruder. Users can mix and match those, depending on their needs.
Starting at the bottom, the ChromaHead contains the ChromaHotend, a filament cutter, and a dual drive extruder. This is a hybrid Bowden/direct drive system, with up to eight filaments feeding from separate Bowden CX-1 Extruders into the ChromaHead's direct drive extruder. The ChromaHead cuts filament as necessary to allow a new color or material to feed into the hot end.
The ChromaHead and CX-1 Extruders operate under the control of either a KCM or ChromaPad. The former is for printers that already run Klipper firmware and this setup is called "KCM Set." The latter is for printers that don't already run Klipper and for printer farms, and is is called "ChromaSet." That gives you the tablet-like ChromaPad, which has a GUI interface you can use to manage up to eight printers.
The terminology here is a little confusing, but Co Print has a wizard that will help you select the right hardware for your printer(s).
Finally, the ECM lets you expand the number of extruders you can have feeding into a single ChromaHead. You can use multiple ECM units to work with up to 20 different spools of filament in a single print job.
This ecosystem is far from intuitive, but it looks promising. Klipper is the current gold standard for 3D printer firmware and Co Print's new line of products seem to make the most of it.
If you want to get in on the action, the ChromaSet Kickstarter campaign will run until December 2nd. Super early birds can get a KCM Set with four CX-1 Extruders for about $353 USD, or a ChromaSet with four CX-1 Extruders for about $505 USD. Rewards should be delivered in March of 2024.