Help me choose a dual extruder printer please (Page 1 of 2)

I don't have any first hand knowledge. This is a forum mainly for the solidoodle printers but I other users have suggested the Flash Forge with is a replicator clone IIRC.

http://www.ff3dp.com/#!creator/c1txh

I've did find the Flash Forge, but the print area is just a bit small.  It's really close, but not quite there.  Other than that it looks great. 

Any other ideas?

2n2r5... I know this is mostly a Solidoodle forum.  Is there a better forum I should be posting on?

I read through this year and last year's Make 3D Printer Buyer's Guide.  I know the RC Plane magazines are way off a lot of the time with their reviews.  Do you guys thing the Make reviews are pretty accurate?

The leapfrog creatr also has a dual extruder option (also reviewed middle...):
https://www.lpfrg.com/product/creatr/

I read last year's buyers guide before purchasing an SD3.  All I recall is that it solidified my choice (no pun intended) at the time.

Thanks again for the advice guys!  It seems to me like the open, wood printers might be a little less consistent than an enclosed,  metal printer.  Have you guys seen this?

The Printrbot Plus V2.1 has been added to my short list. It seems they will be offering a 2 extruder update kit soon.  Does anyone have any hands on with one of these?

3d-oodler,
It doens't look like the MBOT is a dual.  Am I just missing it?
The Builder looks interesting, but two materials out of one nozzle sounds like a recipe for trouble to me.  What do you guys think? 
The leapfrog looks okay.  Shipped to me it would be almost $2400 USD.  For that money I might be better off with a Replicator 2X.

Thanks again guys!
Michael

Thanks.  That looks interesting.  I would imagine that two different materials found be a problem as the head would have to change temperature twice every layer say between PLA and ABS.

That's a good point.  I imagine the intent is to print two different materials (say two colors or one color and a support material) that can be extruded at the same temperature.

Typically you see beds that move in the Z direction (like Solidoodles) or Y (like Printrbots, with the nozzle moving in X & Z).  I use to think that prints would be more accurate with the bed only moving up and down, but after seeing a bunch of Y-moving beds I don't believe that makes much of a difference.  And with the bed and nozzle moving at the same time it can lead to faster print times.

I believe most popular FFF printer styles can be made to print to a similar detail level, but some printers will take more tinker time than others.

Forgot one

Just like 3d-oodler said you can however if you really want extreme detail such
as the detail you would need from a complex engagement ring or war hammer 40k miniature model
then you can't beat an SLA printer.

Only thing is the cost is enormous compared to a FDM printer such as ours and in order to get the build volume your looking
for at the moment you would have to spend thousands of dollars as your build area requires a larger area then the form 1 which is 4.9 x 4.9 x 6.5 in and you don't get dual extrusion with sla.

The resin for the printers are extremely costly as well which they fail to.

If we have a failed print it will cost 2 dollars or less vs 10 to 30 dollars for a failed print with the resin based printers.

If you are trying to learn a new modeling program, skip sketchup and go for one of the free CAD programs that do solid modeling like 123D Design, Creo Elements or Tinkercad.  Then you won't have to worry about making mistakes with the mesh that will make it unprintable.

So what are you going to buy?
I have SD2 pro at this moment, and have a lot problems with Z wobble, I really hate those waves on printed models. Tried some hardware fixes, but result is not very good.
I am waiting for adrian tool to make software upgrades... with hope that software Z wobble compensation will solve this. It is good that SD is open source and many fixes are possible, but as I want to make small business with printing, then I want to buy second printer.
It should be dual extruders printer to print models with different support material...
And also I would like to have printed models without (Z-Y-X) periodical waves................
Guys,  Flash Forge seems to have thread also for Z... then it will have wobble also like Solidoodle.... are there not expensive models about 1000-1500 $ without wooble and as a result - without waves on model problems? Preferably with dual extruder and stand alone printing possibility..........?

It isn't just threaded rod that causes the wobble, it is cheap inconsistent threaded rod, or a rod that is installed off center.  The more expensive printers use better rods so they are less prone to wobble.  Since the problem doesn't happen to all Solidoodles, I'm inclined to think it is the assembly that is the biggest problem.  They drill a hole in the bottom of the rod and slip it on to the motor shaft.  There have been some rods found to have that hole drilled off center which will create the wobble.

More info on my decision.

My deciding factors:
Dual extruders.  I'm really interested in disolvable support materials.
Ability to print with ABS, HIPS, Nylon, polycarbonate.
8x8x8 build volume.
I like the aluminum frame, and the syncromesh cables.
I won't have to call overseas for support.
They have a brick and mortar retail location.
open source
The more I read into 3D printers the more I want to build it myself. 

Thanks again,
Michael