The Geeetech Mizar M was my first dual-colour printer at home, and it comes with two different heads: one for printing two separate colours, and one that blends two filaments into a gradient. The gradient vases ended up being my favourite thing it does.
Unboxing and setup
This was my first proper video of 2023. Geeetech sent me a sample for free, and at the time the Mizar M cost 399 euros on Geeetech's website, about the same as a regular single-extruder printer. It's well packed, heavy and feels high quality. In the box there are lots of spares, including extra nozzles and cables, plus some filament. That's rare on a budget printer. Assembly was quick and easy following Geeetech's YouTube videos.
The specs: a 255 × 255 × 260 mm build volume, a dual Z axis to carry the extra weight of the extruders mounted on the X axis, a near-silent 32-bit board, a magnetic build plate, a filament sensor on each extruder and a handy quick belt tensioner.
Two heads, two ways to use colour
The separated colour module prints two independent colours, as with any dual-colour printer. Before every print you have to calibrate the extruders so the printer knows exactly where the filament is, otherwise the purge tower and colour changes won't be balanced. I tried removing the purge tower completely in PrusaSlicer, but that didn't work well. So you will waste quite a bit of PLA.
The gradient (mixing) module blends two filaments. In the menu you set the heights: for example, at layer 0 I wanted 100% AzureFilm Graphite Grey, and at around 130 mm I wanted 100% Pistachio Silk Green. The printer handles the shift by itself. It took some testing, but once you understand it, it opens up more creativity than dual colour. One vase went from pistachio silk to a matte mint pastel, a silk-to-matte finish you can't get on a regular printer.
Prints
A pre-sliced Pikachu in AzureFilm neon pink and mint, a two-part panda I merged in PrusaSlicer, a pastel whale, and logo keyrings with ironing on the top layer that I could hand out to friends all came out well. With one extruder it's also a decent single-colour printer, as shown by a filament astronaut in AzureFilm blue. One warning: the purge towers on the pre-sliced files are huge. The whale's was as tall as the whale. I made mine smaller in PrusaSlicer and it works fine.
What I didn't like
- Cable management: with two extruders on the X axis, it's tricky. After five or six prints I understood how everything moved and fixed my zip ties.
- Filament sensors come deactivated. I didn't know, ran out of filament, and the printer just kept going.
- The X-axis dual extruder isn't clearly explained in the assembly video, and I worry that its weight could stress the Z motors in the long run. That's just my concern, not something I've seen happen.