The ability to 3D print multi-color FDM objects is becoming increasingly popular, thanks to various multi-filament systems that allow the printer to switch between different filament colors on the fly. Of course, the downside to this method of printing is the limited number of colors and the high filament consumption due to cleaning towers and “waste.” What if you could print colored objects? That’s exactly what the community-driven PolyDye project is doing, adding an inkjet cartridge to existing FDM printers.
The video [Technology Tutorial] demonstrates the PolyDye technology. The technology currently involves several steps: importing a color 3D model from a 3D modeling program into OrcaSlicer (using a special configuration file) and inkjet printing instructions on a PolyDye SD card. The 3D object is then printed as normal, except that each layer is colored with a small amount of ink.
While it’s theoretically compatible with any FDM printer, it’s currently limited to Marlin-based firmware due to some requirements. The PolyDye hardware consists of a main board, a daughter board, printed components (including an inkjet cartridge holder), and some wires. The beta version costs $199, but you can build it yourself using the files that will soon be added to the project on GitHub.
Even at the development stage, the results are impressive, considering that only ready-made translucent threads and inkjet cartridges are used as consumables. After optimization, the performance can be comparable to multi-thread printing.
Many years ago we discussed using Inkshield [1] for the same purpose. It’s nice to see someone trying it again. Some people have discussed (or used?) markers for something similar.
[1]https://reprap.org/wiki/Inkshield https://github.com/NicholasCLewis/InkShield I have one of these too and have been playing around with it for a bit. It’s pretty funny.
In injection molding, we fuse colored pellets with clear ones, creating a wide range of colors. Although color change during production is still a problem, the choice of colors is virtually unlimited.
Will this negatively affect the adhesion of the layers? Does this mean that any plastic you use must be hydrophilic to absorb the dye?
A quick search showed that many inkjet inks are non-aqueous solvent based and seem to work well with compatible materials.
You can buy it at the Da Vinci store. I remember reading about a lot of DIY attempts before Da Vinci came out. However, the DIY version is quite versatile, apart from color printing, because you can mix different components for bioprinting and so on.
Unfortunately, XYZprinting (the makers of the DaVinci) seem to have left the 3D printer market this year. This is unfortunate, as their printers were truly innovative. However, their product quality never reached the level of Bambu Labs, and ultimately they failed to achieve true success.
Since the cartridges cost around £300 and are RFID tagged, you’ll need to hack them to use your own filament. Last year, we threw out one that someone donated to our hackerspace.
Cartridge chips are easy to bypass (they can be reset with an Arduino), or you can replace the printer firmware and get rid of the problem completely.
I’m sure bambu will soon steal it and release a closed source version so that hobbyists can continue to download the projects and sell them without giving credit to anyone.
Bambu is the best invention in the history of 3D printing. Ask the owners of Bambu, and they will tell you this over and over again. All these (stolen) innovations belong to them.
How can this be a problem for bamboo printers? Many people, hobbyists or not, download, print and sell models that they should not download or print. This problem is not limited to non-hobbyists and printers using bamboo printers.
Also, using open source ideas and projects in a closed source system is not stealing if the license allows it. If you tell people what they can and can’t do with it, is it really open source?
Commercial 3D printers have been using inkjet cartridges for color printing for decades, and honestly it’s surprising that it’s taken so long for “home 3D printing” to become a reality, so I’m glad to see it now!
But this is a completely different kind of printing. Inkjet printers spray a matrix of maltodextrin and gypsum with some colored chemical, like vodka. They make beautiful, sometimes very high-resolution, color prints, but they are very fragile unless you put them in a vacuum press and apply superglue. In that case, they become very, very fragile.
Seriously, I’ve been following this and it’s great to see it getting attention. I just hope my previous joke doesn’t become reality.
Bambu just didn’t have any original ideas to patent, they just stole someone else’s. I hope Strarasys wins and Bambu goes bankrupt, and then I’ll watch those Bambu assholes print on their crappy printers.
The patents that Bambu is accused of infringing are used by virtually every printer maker, including Prusa. If Stratasys wins the case, they will be able to easily sue most 3D printing companies.
How can Bambu steal ideas? If it’s open source, it’s not stealing. Prusa and other companies also use a lot of open source ideas, so why wouldn’t you criticize them? They’re not completely open source.
Why do you hate Bambu so much? Why do you think the printer will break if Bambu is turned off? They don’t have to do that, they could just turn off the cloud service and leave only local printers.
Open source projects used by 3D printer companies must remain open to the company using the projects. Otherwise, allowing others to use the open source project is a violation of the agreement. Some companies take open source projects, modify them to suit their needs, and then hide the modified project in their own development. As far as I know, Prusa has not violated the open source agreement, although they have added new components, such as a heated magnetic printing plate. They have also added new features to their slicer, but these features remain open.
I’ve always wondered if we could solve the problem of multi-color 3D printing by using CMYK fillers (mixing problem) or, previously, by using pure particles.
I imagine a dual extrusion model, a bit like the Pallete plugin, but more extreme. Raw plastic pellets are extruded during production, and then the system precisely mixes pigments in real time in CMYK mode. Ideally, any subtle color changes can be achieved without the need for a blow tower.
Or you can have an erasable object if you need to print something else but it doesn’t matter what color it ends up being.
This slicer feature is not exclusive to Prusa printers and can be implemented on any printer. Since the Bambu slicer is a fork of the Prusa slicer, it should also support this feature.
Take a look at Hueforge, it’s pretty good. Not exactly what you’re looking for, but it’s good in its own right. It prints great and seems to be getting a good reputation.
I came up with this idea about two years ago in college as an alternative for my thesis project, but since we weren’t very good at hardware, we decided to develop an app instead. I still want to try making instant dyeable threads because I really like the idea. I imagine that melting and extruding the thread precisely would be very difficult and would require solving complex equations for fluid dynamics and thermodynamics, but I’m not sure it’s even possible.
Without turbulence, different colored filaments will not mix well, turbulence is difficult to control, and is not what you want in the final stage of extrusion.
I haven’t seen anyone else mention what approach they’d like to use, but CMYK filament would definitely require some sorting or mixing area before extrusion, which would almost certainly be difficult to do and difficult to deal with clogging.
It currently has some very strange requirements, probably due to it being in early development (like needing certain acceleration settings), but once they fix some of those issues there’s no reason it couldn’t be implemented on Klipper.
”But you should be able to make your own using the files added to the GitHub project.” The files in the GitHub project appear to be just a few STL files for printing plastic parts that are not included in the $199 kit. No Gerber files, schematics, Kicad/Eagle/Altium, etc. No firmware in the binary or source code either. Basically, “Here are some blurry photos of what we made, we don’t have anything else for sale, and we’re not releasing anything so you can make your own. But we’re obviously open source because we have GitHub!”
Cool! I’m a little worried about the layer lines though. If they aren’t sanded down it’s going to be hard to get a good look.
That’s great, but I’d suggest you look into using an Epson Ecotank or something similar from HP. The ink is much cheaper.
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Post time: Jul-17-2025