14 DAY TRIAL // You can get started with 3D printing with as little as $199 (€144) these days. But you're not going to wow anyone with your creations with that kind of money. At the other end of the consumer 3D printing spectrum is the new MH3000 from ORD Solutions, available and already funded on KickStarter.
Printers with two extruders are still considered experimental, the MakerBot Replicator 2X for example gets its name from the "experimental" label.
Which is why the MH3000's five extrusion nozzles can be considered quite outlandish, particularly since the printer isn't that expensive. For $2,199 (€1,593) before taxes and shipping, you get the full five-extruder setup.
It's not just the number of nozzles that's impressive. The ORD Solutions printer works with PLA, ABS, Nylon, Polycarbonate, and other materials thanks to the all-metal hot-end which can support temperatures of up to 350°C. You can also specify the nozzle size. You can get a combination of 0.35mm and 0.7mm, but you can request other sizes if need be.
The printer will only work with 1.7mm filament, but with so many extrusion nozzles and the fact that you can use different materials for any of them, the MH3000 is quite flexible, so you can probably get some quite intricate pieces with a bit of planning.
Combined with a 50-micron layer resolution and a larger print volume, the MH3000 bests both the Replicator 2X and the Alibre Cube X, while also being cheaper. Granted, the retail price of the MH3000 is going to be higher than what it's currently being sold at on Kickstarter, but for a $100 (€73) pledge you can ensure that you'll be able to get a printer at the current KickStarter price at any time until November 30, 2014.
The problem with more than one extruder is that only one will be active at any given time. Meanwhile, the printing material can cool down, and switching from one nozzle to the other on the fly can create problems. But printers with multiple extruders are starting to be more common, even if only in the more expensive models.
