Strip of silicone rubber - what's it for?

[LazMech]

What's the strip of silicone rubber that comes with the dual extruder kit for?

I recently got a single extruder M2 but I also purchased the dual extruder kit. I got both of them the same time. I briefly used the single extruder setup and I have a lot to learn but I decided to install the dual extruder setup. Unfortunately the only instructions I have (not sure if I misplaced them or never got them) are from a pdf I found online. That pdf is outdated but it was close enough that I could assemble it BUT now I am done and I have a piece of silicone rubber that I didn't use and can't find any information about. I hope it's not anything I needed in the early steps because I don't want to disassemble.

[insta]

From what I remember of the instructions, there was a line in there something about "here's a strip of silicone if you want to try and make a nozzle wiper". It was not a required piece.

[LazMech]

Ok thanks for the reply; glad to know that I won't have to disassemble.

Off topic but I just want to vent and not create a new thread:
I gotta say that I am a bit disappointed by the quality of printed parts that they include. The outside surfaces are awful, the surface that touches the glass was often bowing at the edges and the infill is very sparse. I had to file some parts and use an exacto knife on others in order for them to fit properly. The unit came with a broken extruder motor mount and I could see how sparse the infill was. By my fourth print on this machine I had produced a much higher quality part than any they included and I used 100% infill which gave me a rock solid part with a strong tapped hole (I modified the extruder motor mount for a gauge attachment). Once I get the dual up and running I will definitely print spares right away. I would have liked high quality, strong printed parts shipped with my order.

[rpollack]

Hi LazMech - please email me photos of the broken part and the poor print quality. The dual has a metal motor mount so I am not sure which parts you mean and would like to get to the bottom of this.

Thank you,
Rick

[insta]

Guessing, either the Z knob, filament drive, or fan octopus (can't think of any other printed parts really). Might have been a ghost shift, mine were in great shape

[LazMech]

Pics sent. The broken part was the extruder motor mount of the single extruder setup and the problematic parts were the fan octopus and one of the filament drives for the dual extruder setup. I did some drilling, filing and exacto knife shaving and was able to set it up properly and seems to be working fine.

[clayinmn]

going back to the thread topic..

how exactly does the little silicone strip amount to a wiper? is there a structure you can print that wipes it off to the side?

Currently, the G Code I've created for my dual setup just purges and wipes for both single and dual extrusion.
I imagine having a wiper, even for signle extrusion, would be an effective method for preparing the nozzle on any print start

[insta]

There probably is, but I'd treat it like I treat 90% of the accessories on my printer -- affix it with a binder clip to the frame. No reason to be more complicated than that