ColorFabb Learn - Featured Print Archives

Football trophy

It is the season of gift giving and one of the more peculiar traditions in the Netherlands is to be creative with how to present the actual gift. Simple gift wrapping paper does not suffice anymore and people go at great lengths to make something special of the gift. A request came into our print lab to print a football trophy with a hollow ball on top so the present can fit in.

So we went to work:

Design: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:439592

Designed by BadDevices this football trophy makes for a truly special gift for all football fans. And football (soccer for our North American readers) is still part of the Dutch DNA, despite the abysmal performance of the national team of late.

We went full PLA for this print! For the ball we used PLA/PHA Standard White and PLA Economy Black on the Ultimaker 3 with a layer height of 0.2mm. For the standard we utilized the Stacker S4 and used PLA Economy Silver, again printing a 0.2mm layer height.

3D printing proofs once again to have a lot of diverse applications. Investment casting, model making, museum pieces, pens, head phones, chairs, signs, housings, lamps and gifts!

The materials we used…

PLA/PHA Standard White

And what a standard it is! We started with this modified grade of PLA almost 5 years ago and this filament remains one of our biggest hits. The unique blend of PLA with PHA make it a fantastic filament to print with on a wide variety of printers.

PLA Economy

About a year ago we listened to you – our users – and brought a more economic version of PLA to the market. This new grade of PLA, with an added impact modifier, has been in huge demand from the moment of release. We developed this new PLA, separate from our lauded PLA/PHA, as a filament for large volume users. Because it’s made with the same processing technology used for other premium colorFabb products, this PLA Economy filament is just as reliable. PLA Economy is available on 2.2kg spools only, delivering a whopping 740 meters of 1.75mm filament and 270 meters of 2.85mm filament.

Utility Ship

Here at colorFabb we regularly have interns hard at work in the print lab, creating awesome things. As you may remember, Stephan Schürmann designed and printed a bike during his internship here (and is now about to ship his very own Blackbelt 3D printer!). Earlier this year Niels van Valburg made the FLEX_Link chair. And former current co-worker Jos Deelen worked on the early concepts of the biofoam spool during his internship here. Our current intern is Mike Baetsen and to get him more acquainted with 3D printing and designing he printed the Utility Ship, originally designed by Petersripol:

Original design: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2192118

As you can see, we put it in the lobby of our new building right away! Mike used the Ultimaker 2 and 2+ for this print (or various prints, if you will) with various settings. Several items on the boat he designed himself using SolidWorks.

3D printing has always been a great tool for model work and this once again proofs that the best results can be achieved with a variety of materials.

The materials (all colorFabb’s, of course), where:

PLA/PHA Standard White for the hull
PETG Economy Red
woodFill for the deck
PLA Economy Black

Mike mentions that he wanted to use a variety of materials (two kinds of PLA, our PETG and a special filament) to see how well they work on the Ultimaker printers as well and of course for the aesthetical aspect.

As showcased in the lobby, together with the Subaru and Chevy engines, printed by Korneel Bullens.

About the materials

PLA/PHA Standard White

PLA Economy

PETG Economy

Not long after PLA Economy we released PETG Economy this summer. This is our first PETG and has already found a large group of devoted users. colorFabb’s Economy line is developed for users who need a lot of filament. By adding a specifically sourced PETG to our portfolio we are adding more functionality and diversity to our range of filaments.

woodFill

What can be said about woodFill that has not been said already? woodFill was launched exactly 4 years ago this month during the London 3D Print Show and was our first special filament. Other natural filled special filaments have followed, like bambooFill (which we discontinued earlier this year) and corkFill. Our woodFill has been a hit from day one due to easy processing and its fantastic looks. Added bonus is that your print room smells like a wood shop when printing with woodFill.

Eager to try our filaments? At the time of writing we are in the middle of our Black Friday discount. Click here for the details. Basically: you get a 25% discount on all filaments! Use discount code BLACKFRIDAY when shopping online.

Sale lasts until Monday November 27th.

Looking for a new printer? The desktop 3D printers in our portfolio ship with a 10% discount during the Black Friday campaign. No discount code needed – we already lowered the price! Of course you get a free spool of filament with every printer and for selected European countries we offer free shipping!

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Can’t choose? Check out our catalogue:

3d printing colorfabb economy pla intern petg economy pla/pha ship ultimaker woodfill

Acorn Planter

To stay in the autumn theme we have printed an acorn planter. Designed by and printed on the Makerbot with corkFill.

Design: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:292854

Printed on the Makerbot Replicator+ using the Experimental Extruder with the 0.6mm brass nozzle. “Sow a seed within a seed with the Acorn Planter.”

Recently we have been testing a lot with the brand new Experimental Extruder. The Makerbot Experimental Extruder was recently announced and allows for more experimenting on the existing Makerbot printers. Over the course of several months, we participated in a beta-test program that included a select group of MakerBot’s Thingiverse power users. During this time the new Experimental Extruder was tested using a range of colorFabb specialty materials – including the corkFill, copperFill, bronzeFill, and woodFill.

After woodFill was launched exactly 4 years ago this week during the London 3D Print Show and was our first special filament we saw the need for more biofilled filaments. Other natural filled special filaments have followed, like bambooFill (which we discontinued earlier this year) and corkFill. corkFill has been a hit from the moment we launched due to easy processing and its fantastic looks.

As it happens, corkFill is on sale now. Click here to get corkFill with a 15% discount (for a limited time only).

3d printing acorn colorfabb corkfill experimental extruder makerbot

Poly Cup

Low Poly designs have been 3D print favorites for many years. And with good reason: Nice and clean designs that allow for great prints. Designers like Flowalistik specialize in low poly designs. For today’s print we used the Low Poly Cup by HummusBird.

Design: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2548981

Printed on the Makerbot Replicator+ using the Experimental Extruder with the 0.6mm nozzle. We used corkFill and woodFill and combined it with our transparent PLA. Simply use the change filament routine during print to conveniently switch between materials during print.

The Makerbot Experimental Extruder was recently announced and allows for more experimenting on the existing Makerbot printers. Over the course of several months, we participated in a beta-test program that included a select group of MakerBot’s Thingiverse power users. During this time the new Experimental Extruder was tested using a range of colorFabb specialty materials – including the corkFill, copperFill, bronzeFill, and woodFill.

woodFill was launched exactly 4 years ago this week during the London 3D Print Show and was our first special filament. Other natural filled special filaments have followed, like bambooFill (which we discontinued earlier this year) and corkFill. Our woodFill has been a hit from day one due to easy processing and its fantastic looks. Added bonus is that your print room smells like a wood shop when printing with woodFill.

As it happens, corkFill is on sale now. Click here to get corkFill with a 15% discount (for a limited time only).

It is not said often enough, but the transparent and translucent colors we offer in our PLA range offer stunning results. You can choose from Red, Green, Yellow, Orange and Violet. All these filaments ship from stock!

3d printing colorfabb corkfill experimental extruder low poly makerbot woodfill

corkFill Experimental Extruder Jig

Makerbot designed a simple jig which makes it easier to swap nozzles on the Experimental Extruder. It also has three slots to store the nozzles, making it easy to keep everything together.

Experimental Extruder Jig
by MakerBot

This model was printed using corkFill filament and the 0.6mm brass nozzle. At 0.2mm layerheight and 200C printing temperature we got a beautifull finish.

These new nozzles are the key to printing in this range of materials. We recommend that users use the 0.6 mm brass nozzle for woodFill and corkFill, and the 0.6mm steel nozzle for bronzeFill and copperFill.

corkFill was one of our special filaments we launched 2 years ago, after woodFill and bambooFill (the latter one has been discontinued), that allow for a truly special look of any print. The unique look and finish have made this filament a great success ever since and found a large audience of fans ever since launching.

The Fish Vase is another print we recently made with corkFill on the Makerbot Replicator+.

If you have not tried it, you can find the tips and tricks to print with this filament in our handy tutorial.

corkFill is available in our webshop and ships from stock. Incidentally, at the time of writing corkFill is on sale. Get this awesome filament now at a great price!

corkfill experimental extruder jig makerbot

Making miniature furniture with the Robo C2

Model making has always been a great use for 3D printers all over the world. To all model makers looking to enter 3D printing with an efficient plug&play 3D printer, we present to you the Robo C2 which we used for today’s print in combination with woodFill and corkFill!

28mm Round Table
by Curufin

Making tiny furniture on the Robo C2 is a breeze, combined with colorFabb special materials such as woodFill and corkFill the results look very convincing. One great benefit of these materials is that the final part looks not at all like a plastic part.

Since woodFill and corkFill are PLA based materials the cold build platform of the Robo C2 is not a problem. Printing with a raft works beautifull and parts stay flat and seperate easily.

Miniature Queen Anne Coffee Tables
by PrettySmallThings

woodFill was launched exactly 3 years ago this month during the London 3D Print Show and was our first special filament. Other natural filled special filaments have followed, like bambooFill (which we discontinued earlier this year) and corkFill. Our woodFill has been a hit from day one due to easy processing and its fantastic looks. Added bonus is that your print room smells like a wood shop when printing with woodFill.

The Robo C2 retails for €799.00 excl. Tax (€966.79 incl tax) + 1 FREE SPOOL

The Robo C2 compact smart 3D printer with Wi-Fi gives you the freedom to make whatever you can imagine right from your mobile device using the Robo app.

Engineered to fit anywhere in your home or workplace
Efficient 12.7 x 12.7 x 15.2cm print size
8.9cm built-in color touch screen
Class-leading print speed
Automatic self-leveling

GET ONE TODAY

corkfill miniature furniture robo c2 woodfill

nGen_LUX excellence on the Robo R2

When thinking about applications for nGen_LUX one of the first area’s we see huge potential for this material is 3D printed awards and trophies. A quick search for examples on Thingiverse resulted in many cool models, but we specifically liked the YouTube Diamond Play Button reward designed by Jeffrey122. When Youtube creators get 10 miljoen subscribers, Youtube will reward them a “diamond play button” as recognition for being one of the most popular channels.

YouTube Diamond Play Button
by Jeffrey122

The facets on this model will work really well with the reflective surface quality of nGen_LUX. We printed this model on the Robo R2 at a 0.2mm layerheight. The model was positioned upwards and at a slight angle so the front facing plane could be printed without supports.

nGen_LUX was announced recently as the brand new high quality filament that we will launch later this year. Stay tuned for this new material that we first showcased during the TCT Show in Birmingham about a month ago.

The Robo R2 printer is available at colorFabb and ships from stock. As recently announced we act as Robo’s distributing partner in the Benelux and you can order the Robo R2 now with a free spool of nGen! We feel that the right combination of hardware and material makes for a great user experience and with the Robo R2 combined with our nGen we have once more found this synergy.

With a printer like the new Robo R2 you have a reliable machine that works flawlessly with our nGen filament, enabling end users to make durable and good-looking parts! The compact, but professional looking printer allows for prints of 20x20x25cm & accepts a lot of different materials. Together with Robo we are currently testing all of our materials on this printer.

The Robo R2 is currently available in our brand new webshop and we ship from stock. For € 1399 (excluding VAT) you get a terrific printer with a free spool of nGen filament to make that awesome print right away!

The Robo R2 retails for €1399.00 excl. tax (€1692.79 incl. tax) + 1 FREE SPOOL

GET ONE TODAY

ngen_lux robo r2

A wooden cup barrel on the Replicator+

We’ve been searching Thingiverse for great models to show the aesthetic quality of woodFill filament. One model we particularly liked is this Cup Barrel. It’s a cool model and we can see this being used for many different purposes. It could be used as a dice cup, a desk organizer for pens and pencils and perhaps even a planter.

Cup Barrel
design by kevin Grijalva

This model is printed on the Replicator+ using the Makerbot Labs Experimental Extruder equipped with a 0.6mmm brass nozzle.

The Makerbot Labs Experimental Extruder

As a leader in the 3D printing materials space, we at colorFabb were excited to be part of the beta-test program that included a select group of MakerBot’s Thingiverse power users. During this time the new Experimental Extruder was tested using a range of colorFabb specialty materials – including the corkFill, copperFill, bronzeFill, and woodFill.

makerbot woodfill

Robo C2 3D printing transparent PLA colors

Yesterday we posted the faceted vase, designed by billbo1958, today we continue with the faceted bowl on the Robo C2.

Faceted Bowl and Vase
by billbo1958

Awesome layering on the Robo C2 with transparent Orange PLA.

The transparent colors work really well on this design. As the designer also states, he was going for the cut glass look when creating the vase and bowl models.

The Robo C2 retails for €799.00 excl. Tax (€966.79 incl tax) + 1 FREE SPOOL

GET ONE TODAY

pla robo c2

corkFill Fish vase

Makerbot recently announced the new Experimental Extruder and surfaced various colorFabb materials on their landing page for Makerbot labs. We’re excited to be working with Makerbot on this endeavour.

Meanwhile at colorFabb 3D printing lab we’re busy with printing more models which show the potential of our materials using the new Makerbot Labs Experimental Extruder.

Fish Sculpture Vase
by 3DWP

Printed with the 0.6mm brass nozzle using our one of a kind corkFill filament. The texture of the print is smooth and silky and shows a great surface finish.