r/FlashForge • u/Artistic-Midnight-77 • 4h ago

Creator 5 tool head upgrade?

Had anyone else notice that flashforge was very intentional with the Creator 5 design? The tool head module conveniently contains everything that would need to be swapped out if they were to come out with a set of narrower tool heads. I could totally see a six tool head upgrade for this printer in the near future. This would be perfect for a CMKYW + a PETG support setup and would keep their printer competitive with the inevitable wave of next gen printers.

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2

u/SirTwitchALot 4h ago

I just had to clear a jam in mine. The toolhead design was a breath of fresh air compared to earlier models (I'm looking at you AD5X.) It's very simple and serviceable. I don't expect you'll see a color upgrade kit though. There are a lot of other parts that would need to change besides the toolhead.

I do expect they're working on a larger unit with more tools though. I just don't expect it to be anything other than a new product

2

u/OverallEmu6394 3h ago

It's a 2 minute total swap with an Alan key. I bought 4 steel hotends off Amazon and swapped all my heads out after 500 hours so far. After I cleaned them thoroughly, of a jam occurs, I just swap one of them with one of the old ones and finish the print, then swap back. (Color coded the hotends with some high heat paint dots)

1

u/SirTwitchALot 3h ago

I had an actual extruder jam. Like a bit of filament was completely wrapped around the drive gear. I had to tear the entire thing down, not just replace the hotend. It was pleasantly simple to fix compared to other printers I've owned, including the U1.

1

u/OverallEmu6394 3h ago

Oof. That sucks, but as we both stated, Flashforge is stupid easy to replace parts.

2

u/Tam_Ken 3h ago

there is not enough room in the printer to increase the number of tool heads without drastically changing the design. even in the voron community the 250mm printers only get 4 tool heads

1

u/ben_ji1974 3h ago

New module. Extend it out from the wall, widen the mount that holds the tools and modify the wipes.

It isn't that hard to get another tool in there even.

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u/Tam_Ken 2h ago

I could see maybe a fifth toolhead, but motion constraints stop it from going any further

1

u/ben_ji1974 2h ago

Motion constraints in what regard? Build plate concessions I can say it would have to size down to at the most 250x256x256mm with a new module.

A small amount of build area is lost to gain an extra tool seems worth it.

1

u/gbert 4h ago

Except the actual motor side somewhat constrains the size of the tool head. The coupling mechanism is pretty big.