AXILOOP Opens Crowdfunding for Its Eight-Toolhead Quick-Change MC8, MC8 Pro FFF 3D Printers

3D printing specialist AXILOOP has opened crowdfunding for the MC8 and MC8 Pro fused filament fabrication (FFF, also known as FDM) 3D printers, offering eight independent toolheads for minimal-waste multi-material and multi-color printing — though they launch in direct competition with the significantly cheaper InfiMech MX and MX Pro.

"When we were young, we built whatever we had — cardboard, wood, clay, and imagination. The ideas were always bigger than the tools," says AXILOOP's Zhi Geng of the company's thinking behind the new printer family. "Now, it's time to bring those ideas to life. AXILOOP MC8 combines eight independent tool heads, near-zero waste switching, and a spacious 300×300×300mm build volume to help creators turn every idea into something complete."

The desktop printer is designed to loaded with eight spools of filament at once, four to a side with an automatic loading system that threads it into the hotend for you, which feed into eight independent toolheads — meaning that, unlike automatic material switchers (AMSes) installed on single-head printers, switching between materials takes just four seconds and doesn't require a full purge-and-wipe cycle each time.

The base MC8 printer includes the eight toolheads in an open-frame chassis designed for standard materials like PLA, PETG, TPU, and PVA, which don't require a heated chamber; the MC8 Pro switches to an enclosed frame with an up-to 65°C (149°F) chamber heater and air recirculation, making it suitable for materials like ABS and ASA.

Both feature the same print 300×300×300mm print volume, 300mm/s maximum printing speed, and 600mm/s maximum toolhead movement speed, and come with hardened steel nozzles as standard. Both include a 4" touchscreen and an on-board controller with 16GB of internal storage, automatic calbiration, and built-in fault and anomaly detection.

AXILOOP, however, opens crowdfunding for the MC8 and MC8 Pro hot on the heels of the InfiMech MX and MX Pro. While the base-level InfiMech MX has only six toolheads, the fully-enclosed InfiMech MX Pro has the full eight — and is priced at $639 for "early bird" backers, making it considerably cheaper than AXILOOP's base MC8.

The AXILOOP MC8 and MC8 Pro are currently funding on Kickstarter, with "super early bird" tiers starting at $1,099 for the MC8 and $1.499 for the MC8 Pro; both models are expected to ship in March next year, though as with all crowdfunding campaigns fulfillment is not guaranteed.