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Toolchanger Classes

Annotated toolhead block diagram, with legend
Conventional toolchangers
Full conventional block diagramFull conventionalPrusa XLE3D toolchangerStealthchangerTapchangerMadamDakshLineuxPartial conventional block diagramPartial conventionalU1
Filament path changers
Gear swapping block diagramGear swappingC5 seriesHotend fan swapping block diagramHotend fan swappingM1DA4T-CMedusaHCInductive / pogo changers block diagramInductive / pogo changersMX seriesINDXQuindecumWired block diagramWiredKlitekCX Changer
Hotend changers
AMS-assisted hotend changers block diagramAMS-assisted hotend changersVortekAMS-assisted nozzle changers block diagramAMS-assisted nozzle changersAtomformSwapper3d

Conventional toolchangers

Full conventional

Full conventional

The whole toolhead travels. Each tool carries its own extruder motor, gears, fans, heat break and control board, so the only thing broken at a change is the link back to the mainboard.

Pros

  • One connection to break and remake.
  • Tools are self-contained, so one can be built or debugged on its own.
  • Nothing is shared between tools, so a fault stays in one tool.

Cons

  • A tool costs a whole toolhead.
  • Most mass to accelerate and to dock.
  • Most parts per tool to keep calibrated.
Name Origin
Prusa XL Commercial printer
E3D toolchanger Commercial toolhead
Stealthchanger FOSS design
Tapchanger FOSS design
Madam FOSS design
Daksh FOSS design
Lineux FOSS design
Partial conventional

Partial conventional

The tool keeps the extruder and the hot end but leaves the part cooling fan on the carriage, along with some of the toolhead electronics.

Pros

  • Cheaper per tool than a full toolhead.
  • Part cooling and its duct never have to survive docking.

Cons

  • Part cooling has to reach whatever tool is mounted.
  • More connections cross the joint than in a full conventional.

Note

In the source figure the dashed boundary cuts through the toolhead board rather than around it. Read as: some tool electronics travel, some stay. Worth verifying against the real machine.

Name Origin
U1 Commercial printer

Filament path changers

Gear swapping

Gear swapping

The extruder motor stays on the carriage and the drive gears travel with the tool along with the hot end. The split is in the middle of the extruder.

Pros

  • Motor mass stays off the tool.
  • Cheaper tools than carrying a whole extruder.

Cons

  • The drive coupling has to re-engage accurately every change.
  • Filament stays loaded in the tool between changes.
Name Origin
C5 series Commercial printer
Hotend fan swapping

Hotend fan swapping

The hot end travels with its own heat break fan. The extruder and part cooling stay behind, so filament is cut or retracted at the change.

Pros

  • Small, cheap tools.
  • Each hot end keeps the heat break fan it was designed around.

Cons

  • Filament has to be pulled clear before a change and re-fed after.
  • Fan power and the heater circuit both cross the joint.
Name Origin
M1D Commercial printer
A4T-C FOSS design
MedusaHC FOSS design
Inductive / pogo changers

Inductive / pogo changers

Only the heat break and nozzle travel. The heater and thermistor cross the joint through spring pins or an inductive coupling, so nothing is plugged in by hand.

Pros

  • Smallest and cheapest tools of the filament path changers.
  • No cable to route or manage per tool.

Cons

  • The contact has to carry heater current for thousands of cycles.
  • Dirt or oxide at the interface shows up as a heating fault.
Name Origin
MX series Commercial printer
INDX Commercial toolhead
Quindecum FOSS design
Wired

Wired

The same split as inductive/pogo, but the heater and thermistor stay on a wire back to the board instead of crossing a contact.

Pros

  • A crimped or soldered joint is more predictable than a contact.
  • No pin wear.

Cons

  • Each tool stays tethered, which limits where tools can be parked.
  • Cable management gets harder with every tool added.

Note

Same swap set as inductive/pogo. The difference is how the heater/thermistor circuit crosses the boundary, not which blocks travel.

Name Origin
Klitek Commercial printer
CX Changer FOSS design

Hotend changers

AMS-assisted hotend changers

AMS-assisted hotend changers

A hot end changer paired with an automatic material system. The AMS handles filament, so the tool only carries the heat break and nozzle.

Pros

  • Filament handling and tool changing stay separate problems.
  • Cheap tools.

Cons

  • Depends on the AMS to feed and retract reliably.
  • Purge and load time on every material change.
Name Origin
Vortek Commercial printer
AMS-assisted nozzle changers

AMS-assisted nozzle changers

Only the nozzle is swapped. The heat break, fans and extruder all stay on the machine and the AMS feeds filament.

Pros

  • The smallest and cheapest thing to duplicate per tool.
  • Almost no mass added to the carriage.

Cons

  • The nozzle joint has to seal at temperature every time.
  • Everything upstream is shared, so tools can only differ in nozzle geometry.
Name Origin
Atomform Commercial printer
Swapper3d Commercial toolhead

All systems

Name Origin
Prusa XL Commercial printer
E3D toolchanger Commercial toolhead
Stealthchanger FOSS design
Tapchanger FOSS design
Madam FOSS design
Daksh FOSS design
Lineux FOSS design
U1 Commercial printer
C5 series Commercial printer
M1D Commercial printer
A4T-C FOSS design
MedusaHC FOSS design
MX series Commercial printer
INDX Commercial toolhead
Quindecum FOSS design
Klitek Commercial printer
CX Changer FOSS design
Vortek Commercial printer
Atomform Commercial printer
Swapper3d Commercial toolhead