LulzBot Unleashes 2 New 3D Printing Products: Dual Extruder & FlexyDually Tool Heads

LulzBot, a company that has the potential of becoming the leader within the open source consumer level 3D printing market, if they aren’t already there, is at it again with yet another new release. Last month they announced the premier of the LulzBot Mini 3D printer which 3DPrint.com got to see first hand at the Inside 3D Printing Conference in Santa Clara. Today they announce, not a new 3D printer, but two new toolheads for their TAZ line of machines.

The Dual Extruder and the FlexyDually can both easily be attached to the TAZ’s modular carriage design. They are compatible with the TAZ 4 as well as later models, and can even be used on the TAZ 1-3, but require a little additional work to get them setup on these.

“We are proud to offer the new LulzBot Dual Extruder and FlexyDually Tool Heads that make the LulzBot TAZ more versatile than ever,” said Jeff Moe, Founder and CEO of Aleph Objects, Inc., makers of the LulzBot 3D printers. “These products are a direct result of collaboration within the thriving Open Source Hardware community, especially on the LulzBot Forum, and we can’t wait to see what our users do with them.”

The Dual Extruder includes two LulzBot standard toolheads which have the ability of heating up to 240 degrees celsius in order to print with a large variety of materials. These include PLA, ABS, PVA, HIPS, LayWood, LayBrick and more. It has the ability to print in two different materials or colors at the same time. This is a great addition for those who already own the TAZ but have always wanted to print in more than one color/material. One of the great things about being able to print in more than one material is the ability to print in both ABS/PLA and HIPS, which is used as a very easy-to-remove support material.

The nozzle size for each extruder is .35mm, which means you can get even finer detail and resolution on your 3D prints. LulzBot recommends this extruder head as well as the FlexDually for advanced users only, as both require more knowledge on the software and hardware ends of things. The new Dual Extruder is priced at $494.95 and it can be purchased starting today.

The other new product is the FlexyDually. It is similar to the Dual Extruder, except it also has the ability to print in NinjaFlex. One of the nozzles is a standard one like those found on the Dual Extruder, but the second one is a Flexystruder which allows users to print using flexible filament such as NinjaFlex. The nozzle diameters on this extruder are .5mm, meaning you won’t get as fine of a resolution as you will with the Dual Extruder. It too is meant for use by advanced users, is compatible with the LulzBot TAZ 3D printers and also is priced at $494.95.

“The LulzBot FlexyDually Tool Head has enabled me to solve some complicated mechanical problems using 3D printing and also develop some interesting creations. Fusing rubber-like and rigid plastic together opens up many possibilities for manufacturing compliant joints for robotics, prosthetics and prop building – it really pushes the envelope in 3D printing innovation,” explained James Bruton, Founder of XRobots

Both of these toolheads are fully open source, meaning you can view the source files, as well as make modifications and improvements upon them. What do you think about these two latest products for the LulzBot line of 3D printers? Discuss in the LulzBot Dual Extruder & FlexyDually forum thread on 3DPB.com.  Check out the video below from XRobots.