Inventure Open to External Materials In Both Single and Dual-Extrusion due to New Z-SUITE

Newly released Z-SUITE 2.11.2 along with the latest firmware for Zortrax Inventure enables this printer to work with dedicated and third-party filaments available on standard spools in both single and dual-extrusion modes.

New Single-Extrusion Mode

Apart from dual-extrusion, Zortrax Inventure can now also work in single-extrusion mode. In the single-extrusion mode, the Inventure prints both the model and support structures with model filament alone. This feature has been introduced for two reasons. First, printing with one material is usually slightly faster and more cost-efficient than printing interchangeably with two. Users seeking to fabricate models with relatively simple geometries can thus speed up their work and cut costs. Second, since the Inventure has been opened to third-party filaments, it is now possible to use it for printing with special-purpose materials that do not necessarily work well with soluble support structures, nylon being one of the most notable examples.

External Materials Support

Enclosed, heated printing chamber and an advanced extrusion system make the Inventure capable of working with a wide range of technologically demanding polymers. To further enhance this capability, the latest firmware update makes it possible to load filaments from standard spools like those compatible with the M200 Plus printers. All a user needs to do is download, print, and install appropriate spool holders. On the software side of things, the “external materials” functionality is now available in Z-SUITE for the Inventure, and works just like it does with the M300 Dual. This way, users are no longer limited to filaments available on cartridges and are now free to choose the best materials for their projects from among all 1.75 mm filaments available on the market. Smart cartridges are still supported as well.

Dedicated filaments supported in single and dual-extrusion modes on Zortrax Inventure: 

Advanced Raft and First Layer Settings

In both single and dual-extrusion modes, users are enabled to make various adjustments to their models prior to printing. Among other things, it is possible to choose how many layers a raft should consist of, with what speed it should be printed and with what density, and a gap between a raft and the first layer. Also, in single-extrusion mode exclusively, support structures can be manually added to or removed from the chosen places on the model. It is also possible to customize the first layer of the model in by defining the printing speed and density. Printing raft-free is also supported. Customizing rafts and first layers is covered in more detail here. Editable supports are discussed in this post.

Other Changes and Improvements

Z-SUITE 2.11.2 comes with a number of performance boosts and stability improvements. To name a few, Rotation Optimization Tool for Zortrax Inkspire has been improved to ensure smoother surfaces on models. A new “Force Print” option allows starting a print even when .zcodex settings do not match the loaded material or the nozzle actually installed in the printer. It is also easier to inspect the model from different angles in the Preview Step, as rotating it in Z-SUITE now works smoother due to better optimized algorithms.

Z-SUITE 2.11.2 is optimized for Windows and Mac OS operating systems up to Mojave. Using this software on Mac OS Catalina is not recommended.

Full Z-SUITE 2.11.2 and Inventure 1.4.0 firmware changelogs can be found below. 

• Z-SUITE 2.11.2 changelog

-Introduces new features and modes for Inventure – the device can now print in both single and dual extrusion modes; you can edit supports in the single extrusion mode; new materials are now supported; it is now possible to adjust raft and first layer settings,

-Improves the optimal rotation angle in the Rotation Optimization tool for resin printers,

-Adds new profiles for the 0.6 mm nozzle in the single extrusion mode with Z-ULTRAT (M300 Dual),

-It is now possible to start a print even when the .zcodex settings do not match the loaded material or the installed nozzle,

-Adds the Antialiasing option in the External LCD Printer menu for the .photon file format,

-The preview of zcodex now runs more smoothly in the Preview step,

Bug fixes:

-empty infill should no longer occur with ABS-based materials with 0.39 layer thickness on the M300,

-loaded external materials should no longer be displayed as unknown in the My Devices panel with M Series Plus printers,

-saving projects for Inkspire in the Print Settings step should no longer cause problems,

-Wi-Fi connection should no longer cause the program to freeze when switching tabs, performing actions, or using the Auto-arrange option,

-slicing time for models with a lot of details has been shortened (FDM printers),

-keyboard shortcuts Shift + 3 and Shift + 4 should no longer cause problems.

• Inventure 1.4.0 firmware changelog

-It is now possible to load materials both from the cartridge and from the spool,

-The single-extrusion mode is now available,

-Both the single- and dual-extrusion modes allow you to use external materials,

-A new option:  Ignore material endstops  is available in the Settings menu.