Dual Extruder Weight

Im going to put a dual extruder on my printer. But....

A bowden would reduce weight, which i like, but ive heard bad thing about them with retract, compression, etc

So i really like the idea of a geared or direct drive extruder with motors and all ON the X carriage... I would likley design it myself.

My main beef with having two motors on the carriage is weight... how bad is it to have 2 NEMAs and 2 hotends moving around? Anyone have theorys, opinions, suggestions, or experience?

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-Nick

Many of the problems with bowden have been reduced, Sublime with his tantillus is a nice example. Very little stringing.

If you want direct drive a lot of people are using PG35L motors, which are very light and deliver adequate torque but may be more speed limited.
[www.thingiverse.com]

Im not necessarily asking what will work, but more this is what I have, and will this work.

Ill have to take a look at sublimes bowden.

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-Nick

It will work, it just won't be able to accelerate as hard as lighter print heads in the same machine. There are a number of ways to compensate with belt arrangements or higher voltage to the steppers. That sort of thing.

The inertia of two Nema 17's being flung around would likely affect print quality and speed. It's worth pursuing but those light weight motors I linked are cheaper and lighter and probably adequate (no experience with them myself). I have dual bowden and am very thankful that I don't have to throw around an extra kilo of weight when making sharp turns.

yydoctt: how are your bowdens working? Did you have a geared/direct drive with a motor on the carriage before? Do you see much of a difference in print quality with bowdens?

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-Nick