The five-bay AuruMMU is designed for “larger scale” machines, including Klipper and RepRap devices, with a drying function and filament rewinding.
A new Kickstarter campaign is promoting the AuruMMU, a five-bay AMS-style multi-material unit (MMU) that would allow users to print with multiple materials or colors on “most open source Klipper and RepRap based 3D printers”.
The AuruMMU is described as a “true multi material unit” compatible with everything from PLA to carbon-fiber to flexibles like TPU. Working with flexibles is a particularly notable claim, given the lack of other MMU systems that do. We’re skeptical. The MMU also features built-in 200W active heaters that function as filament dryers, and integrated filament sensors.
It’s also technically expandable, according to Aurimas Karosas, the Australian-based engineer who designed the AuruMMU, who says multiple units can be connected to provide a single printer with access to up to 30 material bays.
The device is not without its caveats, however. Users will need to install a filament cutter on their extruders “as close to the nozzle as possible” to minimize material change waste – another of the product’s USPs. While it may be possible to go without, that will increase filament waste and decrease the AuruMMU’s reliability, so it is not recommended.
So far, our experiences with AMS alternatives have been mixed, and Karosas’ comparisons to Bambu Lab’s AMS in the campaign copy cause us to raise an eyebrow. In a table, he says the popular material changer is “limited by automatic [filament] recognition system” and “requires specific filament profiles for non-Bambu filaments”. You would think the AMS was practically locked into proprietary filaments and lacked generic material profiles – it isn’t and doesn’t.
Still, the possibility of a third-party MMU with these features is very tempting.
Super early bird pledges for the AuruMMU start at about $632. Backers can request either a Klipper or RepRap version. Klipper versions connect to the unit via CAN Bus or USB, while RepRap versions require a Duet3 board (or similar) with CAN Bus support. The Kickstart campaign ends October 20th and provides an estimated delivery of December 2024.
For full specs and additional information, check out the AuruMMU’s Kickstarter page.