Prusa CORE One INDX: Near-Zero Waste Multi-Material Toolchanger Now on Sale
3D PrintingThe Prusa CORE One INDX produces 0.013 grams of waste per nozzle swap — 13 milligrams, roughly the weight of a staple. For multi-material desktop 3D printing, a category defined by purge towers and material waste, that number represents a different architecture. Orders opened April 23, 2026.
Context
Multi-material 3D printing has historically required a compromise between simplicity and waste. Filament-switching systems like the Prusa MMU3 and Bambu Lab AMS work by flushing the previous material out of a single nozzle before loading the next. On large prints with frequent color or material changes, purge waste can reach tens of grams. Single-nozzle systems are inexpensive and reliable, but their waste overhead limits practical use for projects requiring many distinct materials.
True toolchangers — printers that physically swap between independent nozzle assemblies — have existed in professional and open-source form for years, but remained complex to build, calibrate, and maintain. The INDX is Prusa Research’s first commercial toolchanger system, developed in collaboration with Bondtech, targeting the gap between consumer multi-material systems and industrial toolchangers.
The Detail
The INDX converts a Prusa CORE One or CORE One+ into a toolchanger by replacing the standard printhead with a dock-and-swap mechanism that accommodates up to eight independent tools. Each tool is a complete nozzle assembly with its own hotend; induction heating brings a cold nozzle to printing temperature in seconds. Calibration runs at approximately 15 seconds per tool — a figure Prusa contrasts against “hundreds” of seconds on competitor systems.
The 0.013g waste figure refers to plastic shed during tool pickup, not any purge. Because each tool retains its own nozzle and has its own material path, there is no color mixing to flush — only incidental stringing on the nozzle tip as the toolhead docks. Prusa cites 20–30 grams of total waste for a large multi-material print, compared to much higher figures from purge-based systems at equivalent print complexity.
The 8-tool conversion kit ships with hardened high-flow 0.4mm nozzles and supports diverse materials including TPU and rigid fiber-filled filaments — materials that typically require specialized drive systems. Self-adjusting drive gear tension handles material variations automatically. Independent power control per tool and a 2.4GHz wireless receiver allow INDX tools to participate in multi-light setups — though the primary use is filament, not flash.
Pricing is tiered: the 4-tool kit runs $749/€669; the 8-tool kit is $999/€899. The Bondtech Founders Edition ships in early May 2026; the standard Prusa Edition in June 2026. CORE One L support and fully-assembled INDX printers follow later in the year. Order direct from Prusa Research.
The So What
The INDX makes a specific claim worth tracking: that near-zero waste is achievable on a consumer-accessible platform without the complexity penalty of previous toolchanger designs. If the calibration speed and waste figures hold in production, the multi-material shift in desktop 3D printing accelerates significantly — not through incremental improvements to existing purge systems but through a different approach to the problem.
The practical question for makers is whether the $749–$999 conversion cost pencils out relative to the filament savings and print quality improvements at the print volumes they run. For production-oriented makers, small fabrication shops, and researchers running mixed-material parts regularly, the math closes quickly. For hobbyists with occasional multi-material needs, the MMU3 and AMS remain the more cost-efficient path.
Photo by Jakub Zerdzicki on Pexels
Source: Prusa Research Blog
Content created with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy.
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