Project Dashboard Accessories and Upgrades LulzBot TAZ FlexyDually Tool Head v2 Installation LulzBot TAZ 5 Workflow

1 Congratulations!

You just upgraded your LulzBot desktop 3D printer with the LulzBot® TAZ FlexyDually Tool Head v2. After following this Quick Start Guide, your LulzBot TAZ 3D printer will be more capable than ever.

Let's get started!

LulzBot TAZ FlexyDually v2 Tool Head
FlexyDually LulzBot key chain

2 Included materials

Included Materials

  • LulzBot TAZ FlexyDually Tool Head v2
  • Midnight Black ABS filament sample
  • LulzBot Green NinjaFlex filament sample
  • Secondary filament guide tube
  • Secondary extruder harness
  • 3D printed secondary filament spool arm
  • 10 mm M5 screw (1) and drop-in T-nut (1) for secondary filament spool arm
  • 8 mm M5 button head screw (1) to replace one control box mounting screw
  • Aluminum bed holster plates (4)
  • Low-profile flat head M3 screws (4)
  • Zip ties (7)
  • 3D printed T-nut jig
  • Glue stick (Elmer's® or UHU® brand)
Included materials

3 Items required

You will also need

  • Metric hex key set 4mm, 3mm, 2.5mm driver, included in your LulzBot TAZ toolkit
  • Scissors or wire cutters for cutting zip ties
  • LulzBot TAZ 5 desktop 3D printer
  • USB cable
  • GNU Linux-based/Windows/Mac computer
  • You may also require an additional tool head adapter if your TAZ 5 was upgraded from an earlier version. Check our Tool Head Adapter Guide for more information.
Additional items needed

4 Position the Z axis

Let's get started!

4A
Power on your LulzBot TAZ 3D printer.

4B
Home your 3D printer by using the Graphical LCD controller to home the printer.

4C
Raise the Z axis through the Graphical LCD controller.

Navigate to:
Prepare > Move Axis > 1.0 > Z axis > Change the value to at least 200.

4D
After the Z axis stops moving, push the X axis carriage over by hand to the middle of the X axis.

Raise Z axis, position X axis

5 Power off your LulzBot 3D printer

Completely power off your LulzBot 3D printer and unplug the power supply before proceeding.

Power off yout TAZ 3D printer, disconnect the USB cable

6 Replace control box screw

Your new tool head has a different hot end length than the standard tool head on your LulzBot TAZ. A screw used to attach the control box to the LulzBot TAZ 3D printer frame will need to be replaced.

6A
The screw is located on the rear, left-hand side vertical extrusion.

6B
Hold the upper T-nut in place with the T-nut jig. Insert the jig into the aluminum extrusion channel prior to removing the screw. If it does fall lift it back up.

6C
Remove the top rear 10mm M5 bolt and replace it with the lower profile 8mm M5 screw.

6D
Remove the jig once the screw has been replaced.

Insert T-nut jig
Remove and replace screw

7 Replace bed clips

Additional clearance is necessary for the extrusion fan ducts on your new dual extruder.

7A
Remove the four original 3D printed bed corner fingers using a 2.5mm hex driver.

7B
Using a 2mm hex driver and the included 3mm flat head screws replace the bed corner fingers with the new lower profile aluminum bed holster plates.

Remove original bed corner screws
Install low profile holster plates and screws

8 Install secondary spool arm

8A
Loosen the existing spool arm and slide it down about 2 inches (50mm), and tighten it.

8B
Insert the new T-nut included with your Dual Extruder Tool Head v2 on the same z-axis vertical frame (the front right extrusion), in the same channel.

8C
Use the M5 screw to install the 3D printed secondary filament spool arm.

8D
Place two spools of filament on the spool arms to ensure they are mounted with sufficient space to rotate during printing.

8E
Attach the secondary filament guide tube included with your new dual extruder, matching the existing feed tube orientation.

Insert T-nut
Spool arm spacing
Spool arm spacing
Attach secondary filament guide tube

9 Connect secondary extruder harness

9A
Unscrew the cap on the second port on top of the electronics box on your LulzBot TAZ 3D printer, then plug in the secondary extruder harness into the uncapped port.

9B
Route the new harness next to existing one on your printer, using zip ties to secure it in the same spots.

9C
Unwrap the tape holding the protective foam off the end of the second extruder harness connector.

9D
Use a zip tie to secure the new secondary extruder harness into the empty harness holder on the top left side of the x-carriage.

Connect secondary extruder harness
Remove tape and protective foam
Recommended zip-tie locations

10 Remove existing tool head

10A
Unplug the connectors for your current tool head.

10B
With one hand support the tool head and unscrew the single M3 screw securing it to the X axis carriage.

10C
Remove the tool head from the 3D printer by lifting the tool head up.

Avoid potential print surface damage by supporting the tool head!
Remove original tool head

11 Record your new tool head E steps

Your new tool head has 2 different Extruder Steps Per Unit (E steps) values. These two important new values can be found on a sticker on the back of the extruder.

11A
Record the first extruder (T0) E steps, and the second extruder (T1) E steps.

Record your new E steps

12 Mount the new tool head

Install the tool head by seating it on the X axis carriage and secure it with the M3 screw that you removed in the previous steps.

Mount tool head

13 Plug in tool head

13A
Connect the two 16 pin connectors, making sure to match them based on the pins in the connectors. Note: You may have one or two spare fan connectors that will not be used.

13B
Use zip ties to secure the second extruder harness to the 3D printer frame, following the existing wire harness.

Verify the connectors are appropriately connected before proceeding

Connect harnesses

14 Install Cura LulzBot Edition

14A
Install the latest version of Cura LulzBot Edition. It is important to have the LulzBot Edition of Cura, as it has preset machine configuration profiles built into it.

14B
Cura LulzBot Edition is available from http://LulzBot.com/Cura.

14C
Plug in your LulzBot TAZ 3D printer to the power supply and power on your 3D printer.

14D
Once powered on connect your 3D printer to your computer using the USB cable.

14E
Open Cura LulzBot Edition.

Power on your 3D printer and plug in USB cable
Cura LulzBot Edition

15 Setup new tool head in Cura

15A
Select Machine > LulzBot TAZ 5

15B
Select Machine > Machine Settings

In the Machine settings window:

15C
Select Change Tool Head

Select LulzBot TAZ 5
Select Machine settings
Press Change Tool Head button

16 Choose your tool head

16A
Select v2 (Hexagon).

16B
Select FlexyDually v2.

16C
Select Next to continue.

Select v2 (Hexagon)
Select FlexyDually v2

17 Update firmware

17A
Make sure your 3D printer is plugged into your computer through USB and that your 3D printer is powered on.

17B
Press the Flash the firmware button.

17C
Press the Finish button once the firmware update process has completed to exit the wizard.

Update the firmware
Press Finish and exit the wizard

18 Monitor the Z axis during the first homing movement

To prevent damage to your 3D printer, power it off immediately if the tool head looks like it is on a course to lower into the print surface before triggering the Z end stop.

If the tool head looks like it will prematurely trigger the Z end stop too high above the print bed, adjust the thumb screw lower and restart this process.

The spring and washer can be removed if needed to achieve the proper Z height.

Remove washer and spring if needed

19 Load models into Cura

Load the calibration models in the following order:

Calibration models loaded

20 Open Printer Interface window

Press the Control button to open the Printer Interface window.

Calibration models

21 Home the Z axis

21A
Once the Printer Interface window opens, home the printer by pressing Home Z.

21B
Adjust the homing height by repeatedly homing the Z axis and turning the Z axis end stop trigger until a sheet of paper folded in half just barely slides under the rear nozzle.

21C
To adjust the level of the T1 (front) extruder push the bed away to have access to the leveling screw. The leveling screw is found on the front dual extruder mount.

21D
Adjust it with the 4mm driver until the two nozzles are the same height above the bed. Turning the screw counter-clockwise raises the front nozzle. Turning the screw clockwise lowers the front nozzle.

Adjust the front and rear nozzle leveling
Check leveling

22 Verify homing height

22A
Home the printer again and check the level of each nozzle with the folded sheet of paper to make sure that the tension felt when moving the paper underneath each nozzle feels the same.

Adjust homing height

23 Calibrate your FlexyDually offsets

In order to get the best performance from your FlexyDually Tool Head v2 you will want to calibrate the following items:

  • Hot end X axis positioning offsets
  • Hot end Y axis positioning offsets.

Recommended Tools:

  • Digital Calipers (A ruler was included with your TAZ 3D printer and can be used)
Cura LulzBot Edition

24 Adjust extruder E steps

24A
Use the Graphical LCD controller to clear the EEPROM settings from the previous firmware.

24B
Navigate to: Configuration and select Restore Failsafe.

24C
Scroll up and select Advanced settings > Esteps/mm to update the extruder steps per unit (E-steps or esteps) to get the best performance from your FlexyDually Tool Head.

24D
Use the control knob on the Graphical LCD controller to adjust the value.

24E
Adjust the E2stps/mm value.

24F
Once set, back out of the menu entries until you can select Store Memory.

24G
Select Store Memory to save the adjusted Extruder Esteps/mm.

Use the Graphical LCD to update the E steps

25 Set printer temperatures

Use the terminal entry box in the lower right hand side of the control window to manually enter the GCODE commands.

25A
Set Extruder 0 (rear) as the active extruder:

T0

Press Enter on your keyboard to send the command.

25B
Set Extruder 0 (rear) hot end temperature to 240°C and the print surface to 100°C by using the Set buttons.

25C
Set extruder 1 (front) hot end as the active extruder:

T1

Press Enter on your keyboard to send the command.

25D
Set Extruder 1 (front) hot end temperature to 220°C by using the Set button.

25E
Set Extruder 0 (rear) as the active extruder:

T0

Manual GCODE terminal
Set temperatures
Send the T1 command to switch to the second extruder, then set the front hot end temperature.
Send the T0 command to switch back to the first extruder

26 Load sample filament

To determine the X and Y axis positioning adjustments needed, we will print the inner and outer square in the next step.

26A
Make sure that both hot ends are at the proper extrusion temperature and that the print surface is at its ideal temperature as well.

26B
Remove the filament used during the factory calibration process.

26C
Load the filament samples into both extruders: ABS into the rear extruder and NinjaFlex into the front extruder.

26D
Purge the calibration filament by rotating each large gear by hand until the extruder transitions to the sample filament.

26E
Close the printer interface window.

Remove ABS filament
Remove NinjaFlex filament
Load ABS filament
Load NinjaFlex filament
Purge filament

27 Merge calibration squares

27A
Left click on the smaller, inner square.

27B
Right click on the smaller, inner square and select dual extrusion merge.

Your merged calibration squares should have the same color and positioning as the sample image

Calibration squares
Left click, then right click on the smaller square and select Dual extrusion merge
Merged model with correct tool head assignments

28 Select your material and quickprint profile

28A
Select your material (ABS & NinjaFlex), and the Standard print profile.

28B
Switch to Full settings mode by selecting Expert > Switch to full settings.

28C
Copy existing settings

28D
Under the Basic tab turn off:
Wipe&prime tower
Ooze shield

Select material and profile
Switch to Full settings mode
Copy existing settings
Turn off Wipe & prime, and ooze shield

29 Open Printer interface and prepare print surface

29A
Press the Control button to open the printer interface window.

The top of the Printer Interface window will display the current printer status.

It will display: Opening, followed by: Connecting, and finally: Operational.

29B
Since NinjaFlex adheres to the PEI print surface exceedingly well, sparingly apply the PVA-based glue stick (included) to the print surface.

Press the Control button to open the Printer Interface window
Apply glue stick to the print surface

30 Set temperatures

Use the terminal entry box in the lower right hand side of the control window to manually enter the GCODE commands.

30A
Set Extruder 0 (rear) as the active extruder:

T0

Press Enter on your keyboard to send the command.

30B Set Extruder 0 (rear) hot end extrusion temperature to 240°C and the print surface to 100°C by using the Set buttons.

Set rear hot end and print surface temperatures

31 Change active tool head

Use the terminal entry box in the lower right hand side of the control window to manually enter the GCODE commands.

31A Set extruder 1 (front) hot end as the active extruder:

T1

Press Enter on your keyboard to send the command.

31B Set Extruder 1 (front) hot end extrusion temperature to 220°C by using the Set button.

31C Set Extruder 0 (rear) hot end as active:

T0

Press Enter on your keyboard to send the command.

Switch active extruder and set temperature

32 Print calibration squares

Press Print to print the calibration squares.

As the print progresses, the prime tower, and the ooze shield will print around the calibration squares, and within the inner calibration square.

After the print completes, remove the prime tower and the ooze shields.

33 Measure the four gaps

28A
Use your digital calipers or ruler to measure the gap between each model from the top & bottom, and the gap between each side.

28B
Record your current values.

Calibration squares
Measure the gap using calipers...
... or measure the gap using a ruler

34 Calculate the offsets

29A
Enter these numbers into our offset calculator found here: https://www.lulzbot.com/dual-extruder-calibration-calculator

29B
This will produce new offsets, that will need to be updated in the Machine Settings menu. Note the new values.

29C
Close the printer interface window.

Offset Calculator

35 Update new offsets

30A
Open the Machine settings window by selecting:

30B
Machine > Machine Settings

30C
Update your__X__ and Y offsets and save the changes by pressing OK.

Update offsets, your values will be different

36 Print calibration squares

Reprint the inner and outer calibration squares using the previous steps to fine tune the offsets until you are satisfied with the results:

  • Measure the gap
  • Close the printer interface window
  • Update offsets
  • Open printer interface window
  • Set print temperatures
  • Print
  • Measure the gap
Print the calibration squares
Verify spacing

37 Your first FlexyDually print

Remember:

  • The rear extruder is Extruder 0. The front extruder is Extruder 1.

  • The command T0 switches to the rear Extruder 0.

  • The command T1 switches to the front Extruder 1.

  • The order that you import STL files into Cura LulzBot Edition matters. For dual color or multi-material parts, import the part that you want printed with Extruder 0 (rear) first, then the part for Extruder 1 (front) second.

FlexyDually LulzBot key chain

38 Getting started

We will be printing a two colored keychain!

33A
Download the following 2 models:

Key chain text and body

39 Load the two models

34A
In Cura LulzBot Edition, press Load Model and select lulzbot_taz_flexydually_keychain_text.stl. The model should now be displayed on the virtual print surface.

34B
Press Load Model again and select lulzbot_taz_flexydually_keychain_body.stl. The model should now be displayed on the virtual print surface next to the other model.

Key chain text
Key chain body
Both models loaded

40 Merge the models

35A
Left click on the key chain body model. Doing this establishes that this portion of the final merged model will be printed with flexible filament in the front (T1) extruder .

35B
Right click on the keychain text model to be printed with the T0 (rear) extruder and select Dual Extrusion Merge.

35C
The models will merge together. Your virtual print surface should look similar to the final image.

Remember:

  • The LulzBot Green portions of the merged model will be printed with the rear (T0), ABS extruder.
  • The Red portions of the merged model will be printed with the front (T1), flexible filament extruder.
Right click on the body model and select Dual Extrusion Merge
Merged key chain models

41 Select your material and quickprint profile

36A
Switch back to quickprint mode by selecting: Expert > Switch to quickprint.

36B
Under Material select ABS & NinjaFlex.

36C
Choose the Standard quickprint profile.

Switch to quickprint mode
Select ABS & NinjaFlex, Standard slicing profile

42 Printing with the FlexyDually Tool Head v2

37A
Press the Control button to open the Printer Interface window.

The top of the Printer Interface window will display the current printer status.

It will display: Opening, followed by: Connecting, and finally: Operational.

37B
Since NinjaFlex adheres to the PEI print surface exceedingly well, sparingly apply the PVA-based glue stick (included) to the print surface.

Press the Control button to open the Printer Interface window
Apply glue stick to the print surface

43 Set temperatures

Use the terminal entry box in the lower right hand side of the control window to manually enter the GCODE commands.

38A
Set Extruder 0 (rear) as the active extruder:

T0

Press Enter on your keyboard to send the command.

38B
Set Extruder 0 (rear) hot end extrusion temperature to 240°C and the print surface to 100°C by using the Set buttons.

Set rear hot end and print surface temperatures

44 Change active tool head

Use the terminal entry box in the lower right hand side of the control window to manually enter the GCODE commands.

39A
Set extruder 1 (front) hot end as the active extruder:

T1

Press Enter on your keyboard to send the command.

39B
Set Extruder 1 (front) hot end extrusion temperature to 220°C by using the Set button.

39C
Set Extruder 0 (rear) hot end as active:

T0

Press Enter on your keyboard to send the command.

Switch active extruder and set temperature

45 Print!

If you notice filament collecting under the hot end nozzles use tweezers to remove the plastic. Be careful as it will be hot.

40A
Once the printer has come up to the proper printing temperature for your filament, press Print!

40B
Your LulzBot TAZ 3D printer will start printing the skirt around your printed object. As the print progresses the extruder will automatically switch between tool heads throughout the printing process.

Print your LulzBot key chain

46 Remove finished key chain

41A
Once the print has finished remove the ooze shield and wiping tower from the print surface.

42B
Use the blue handled part removal tool to lift the key chain from the print surface.

42C
Peel off your key chain

Have questions, or ideas? Share them with your fellow LulzBot 3D printer users by joining our user forum at Forum.LulzBot.com

Finished key chain
Remove ooze shield
Remove key chain
FlexyDually LulzBot Keychain
Flex your LulzBot's muscle!
Done! Take me home