This week we attended the RapidPro for the fifth consecutive year. It was exactly four years ago that colorFabb started here at this very show and it has been a great ride ever since. We had a great three days in Veldhoven and thank everybody who visited us and took the time to have a chat with us.
Below is a visual recap of this year’s RapidPro
The booth
Our basis and business card. For the first time we positioned ourselves in the Industrial part of the show, showcasing not only our functional co-polyester filaments, made with Eastman Amphora™, but also the Stacker printer which we distribute as well as our new services like modeling for 3D printing, engineering and printing itself.
The visitors
The one factor that makes or breaks a show are the visitors. And we seem to get the best of them every show! Thanks everybody for dropping by.
The Stacker 3D Printer
Featured printer in our booth this year was the recently launched Stacker S2 (available here and on Kickstarter). With two printers in our booth and one at the Mikro Centrum central booth it was easily the best represented printer of the show! Interested in this printer? Contact us at sales@colorfabb.com
Moveo Robotic Arm
The Moveo robotic arm was designed by BCN (and we teased it before). Entirely printed, even the belts, we were proud to finally reveal this project at the RapidPro this year, where it was part of the Mikro Centrum booth in the middle of all the action.
And, of course, the full video of the robotic arm in action:
We had a blast during the show and hope to welcome you again next year. For everybody who couldn’t make it, we will keep the 10% discount on all our spools of filament for the remainder of this weekend (Sunday night midnight CET). Go to http://colorfabb.com/ and use coupon code RAPIDPRO2017 when checking out, or simply click here.
This week, starting today, you can find us at the RapidPro Trade show and conference in Veldhoven on March 7, 8 and 9. It was four years ago that colorFabb debuted at this very show and we are attending again for the fifth consecutive year.
For the first time, we will be at the Industrial part of the show floor. You can find us at stand 16.
Stacker S2
This year the Stacker S2 3D printer will makes it debut at the colorFabb stand. The S2 was launched on Kickstarter last week and reached its goal within 4 hours after the campaign kick-off. The S2 is a two head industrial grade printer specifically built for education, manufacturing and design pro markets.
colorFabb is proud partner of Stacker and is the official distributor for the EMEA region. At colorFabb we have been extensively testing with both the S2 and S4 in our print lab with our entire range of filaments.
Read our previous blog on our experience with the Stacker S2.
The S2 shares most of the same design and engineering of its bigger sibling, the model S4. The larger model S4 has been shipped to customers since August of 2016 and has proven itself as a reliable industrial grade 3D printer.
For Stacker the term “industrial grade” is not a hollow marketing term. It means the S2 was designed for extra long service life, extremely low maintenance and that the printer will maintain its positional accuracy throughout its life cycle. The way “industrial grade” is achieved begins with superior engineering and high-quality components, and ends with an Stacker’s innovative new assembly method.
Come and see for yourself at the RapidPro in the next few days at stand 16. A full product description of the Stacker printers can be found here.
At the show we will be printing on both the Stacker S2 and S4. Materials of choice are the range of co-polyesters we released in the past few years. Co-polyesters are made with Eastman Amphora™ 3D polymer, materials which provide for low-odor and styrene-free options that are uniquely suited for 3D printing applications. With Amphora, items can be created that are more functional, more durable, more efficient, and attractive.
A featured print at the organizer’s booth is the Moveo Robot Arm by BCN3D, entirely printed with co-polyester filaments. Printed with colorFabb_XT Yellow and nGen Dark Gray. For the timing belts, we used nGen_FLEX Black. Printed by our own 3D print engineer Jos Deelen.
We have teased about this project before (here and here), but you can now and we are proud to finally show the results at the RapidPro!
Find out more about Amphora in this blog we posted last year. colorFabb_XT was our first co-polyester based filament, released in 2014. Our portfolio of co-polyester based filaments, made with Eastman Amphora polymers, has since extended with the all-round nGen, the high temperature resistant colorFabb_HT (enabled by Eastman Tritan™ copolyester technology).and semi-flexible nGen_FLEX.
During the entire week you can get a 10% discount on all our spools of filaments (samples and printers excluded) by using the discount code RAPIDPRO2017 in our webshop. (Use this link to immediately get your 10% discount!)
We hope to see you in the next few days in Veldhoven and if you can’t make it, keep an eye out on our social media accounts for the latest updates!
“Buildings should serve people, not the other way around.”
– John Portman, US architect
What is a building but a structure with walls and a roof? It is what you do with a building that gives it added value. We recently moved to a new building, as we announced several weeks ago. One of the most popular posts on social media in recent months was the revelation of our logo on the building last Monday:
As with many start ups in the tech sector, colorFabb started with an idea and a garage. A small office on top of that garage with one extruder running at some times day and night. Within a year we saw the need to move from that garage, expand our production and logistics capacity. We moved.
It was not too long after moving that we found that the vision we had for colorFabb did not fit the building we were in.
We have an ambitious vision and to accomplish this vision we need the right tools. Moving into the new building is important for colorFabb, since it enables us to bring that vision to reality in 2017 and beyond.
That vision not only consists of more and better filaments, but also of 3D printing services, engineering skills, strategic partnerships and more. All of it to bring 3D printing solutions, in the broadest sense of the word, to our customers.
In the next few months we will keep you updated on the latest developments.
We are now located in Belfeld, a small town just south of Venlo, in a state of the art building. We remain in the same region, which has excellent logistic facilities and is close to the German and Belgian borders.
We already gave you a quick sneak peek a few weeks ago, Below you find the first official look inside our new building, which is now being converted into a 3D Printing Centre: developing and production of materials, services like printing, design and engineering as well as customer support and B2B sollutions.
Once you enter the building you immediately see the bike, which was printed with XT-CF20.
Moving on, next to the offices on the lower floor we have another showpiece: the Saturn V Rocket. Designed by Paul Fischer and printed by Korneel Bullens, it was entirely printed with nGen. You can find the original blog on this print here.
It may look small in this building, but the entire print is 2.5 meters tall!
Past the offices are our print labs. Yes, that is plural – we now have two print labs. Here we do all our tests with new materials, material characterizations, the prints we make for this blog, support, etc.
30+ printers (not all shown) are continuously printing and testing.
We have already teased you a bit with images from our production site:
This is the heart of the company where a dedicated production crew works every day to produce the filaments you are using.
Finally, we move on to logistics. Our logistics team ships to 70+ countries – webshop, resellers and distributors alike. DHLpicks up from our warehouse every day to make sure your orders will delivered as soon as possible.
As you can see, we are very proud of our new home. This building gives us the room to expand according to our vision and bring you even better products, improved quality and more services suited to your needs.
Please note that we will be at the RapidPro Trade Fair and Conference in Veldhoven, The Netherlands on March 7, 8 and 9. You can find us at stand 16. Drop by to find out our latests plans and how we can help you with your 3D printing needs.
If you have any questions you can also drop us an email: sales@colorfabb.com
Last week we announced that we had moved to a new state of the art facility to accomodate our vision for the growth of colorFabb. The entire team has worked hard to facilitate this move in a record time. Today, we present you a first sneak peek of our new production facility.
We have completed the first stage of moving to our new plant. Production lines have
been installed and are running.
Less than 3 years ago we moved colorFabb into a new building. Here we could evolve from a pilot project into a standalone company. Our team has grown and our production and logistics facilities have expanded until we could fit no more.
Now it’s time for our next big step.
Another building, state of the art infrastructure and more space to keep up with our company’s ambition, growth and vision for the future. Here we will establish a true innovation center for 3D printing: producing high quality 3D printing filament, developing the best materials and codeveloping applications and products with our partners and customers.
We’re grateful for your support and hope to continue building and shaping the future of 3D printing together.
Our new address:
colorFabb BV
Bremweg 7
5951 DK Belfeld (Venlo)
The Netherlands
51°19’17.0″N 6°07’26.6″E
All the other details (phone numbers, VAT, etc. remain the same).
In the new building we will continue to produce the best materials and deliver the best possible service.
Stay tuned for regular updates by social media and our newsletter.
At colorFabb we always aim for the highest standards and getting the best for our customers. This starts with our products, continues with our customer service and extends to our choice of partners as well. All aspects of getting the filaments into your hands, from the pellet to the packaging, from the testing to the shipping are important. About shipping, we want to announce some changes we are implementing as from today. We will be working with DHL as our dedicated partner for shipping as from now.
We receive a lot of questions about shipping. First and formost we strive for the best quality to make sure the filaments you ordered will be delivered to you as soon and as good as possible. In the past two years we have worked with two partners, both DHL and UPS, to ship all our filaments worldwide. In the past six months we have found that working with one partner would increase efficiency and drastically lower costs. These cost savings can immediately be passed on to you.
We have chosen DHL as our new worldwide partner due to our mutual experience over the past years. We have found in DHL a partner with a commitment to bring the best possible service to our customers. DHL operates worldwide and has a variety of services, which are specified below. We have been able to get the best possible pricing for you, our customers. Not all options are available for all countries.
The services available are:
DHL ECONOMY SELECT (EXPRESS)
The premium Express option for our European customers
DHL EXPRESS (EXPRESS)
The premium Express option for all customers outside the EU. Also available for certain European countries as an overnight option.
DHL ECONOMY PARCEL (EUROPLUS)
The parcel option for certain Eastern European countries.
DHL EUROPACK (EUROPLUS)
One specific option for our German customers.
With the express options (the first two in the short list above) you also have the option to change the delivery address, etc. once you have received the notification that your order has shipped. This gives you complete control of your shipment:
As said, lower pricing for us also means lower pricing for you. For example:
Country
Was
Is
Austria
€ 12,95
€ 9,95
Denmark
€ 12,95
€ 9,95
Switzerland
€ 22,95
€ 12,95
United Kingdom
€ 9,95
€ 3,95
USA
€ 29,95
€ 26,95
Pricing based on one spool
Please note: An XL spool is seen in our system as 2 regular spools (due to the double weight). We have managed to make more free shipping options available. Look in the table below if your country qualifies:
Country
Free shipping from
Austria
5 spools
Belgium
1 spool (not applicable to samples)
Bulgaria
5 spools
Switzerland
5 spools
Czech Republic
4 spools
Germany
1 spool (not applicable to samples)
Denmark
4 spools
Estonia
4 spools
Spain
4 spools
Finland
4 spools
France
4 spools
United Kingdom
4 spools
Greece
6 spools
Croatia
6 spools
Hungary
4 spools
Ireland
4 spools
Italy
4 spools
Lithuania
6 spools
Luxembourg
1 spool (not applicable to samples)
Netherlands
1 spool (or a minimum of 21 samples)
Poland
5 spools
Portugal
4 spools
Romania
5 spools
Sweden
4 spools
Slovenia
5 spools
In the near future we will add more options:
Postal service worldwide
Pick-up at nearby access points
Same day delivery (for The Netherlands to begin with)
We are excited to work with DHL. Having a global partner enables us to explore more options which will benefit you. This essentially means that no shipments will be made with UPS anymore. If you have any questions, please contact us at sales@colorfabb.com
To start this co-operation with DHL, we have re-introduced our Sales page. Up to 8 filaments at 15% discount!
colorFabb’s PLA Economy: Large volume, High quality, Low price
In November we launched a new product line: PLA Economy. This new grade of PLA, with an added impact modifier, has been a hit 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.
So far, we have released PLA Economy in four colors: White (RAL 9010), Black (RAL 9005, Red (RAL 3020) and Silver (RAL 9023). More colors will be made available in 2017.
We advice the following settings:
Adviced 3d printing temperature
195C-220C
Adviced 3d print speed
40 – 100 mm/s
Advised Heated bed (if you have one, not strictly necessary)
50-60C
Cooling fan
100% fan cooling for best aesthetics, this gives best performance on overhangs and small details. For best mechanical performance try printing with the least amount of cooling needed, for optimal layer adhesion.
At a little over €35 (excl. VAT) for 2.2kg pricing for this filament is extremely attractive. That comes basically down to a little less than € 16 per kg for a high quality filament! But wait, there is more….
You can also opt for the PLA Economy Value Pack: order four spools as a value pack and receive an immediate 10% discount!
PLA Economy is very well suited for the maker who needs quality at an affordable price. It is a perfect filament for large volume and small series production, made with the guaranteed colorFabb quality that we are known for.
Another year flew by like it was nothing. Wasn’t it only yesterday that it was 2015? And a little over week from now it’s 2017! It is time for our annual recap. If you want to see what we did before, catch up with 2014 and 2015. Then, get ready for our 2016 recap!
As they say, time flies when you are having fun. What a year it was: here at colorFabb we cannot recall one day that was boring or unexciting. Every day brought something new and exciting and we have no doubt that 2017 will bring even more excitement. To give you a quick overview, here is colorFabb by the numbers right now:
Over 430 stock keeping units (individual articles)
Over 30 printers in two printlabs for testing
Nearly 20 shows so far we have exhibited on (and met a lot of you)
17 distributors worldwide and counting, with a lot more resellers
6 production lines
5 years since the first idea for colorFabb took shape
4 years active!
3 article groups (co-polyesters, PLA/PHA and specials)
2 hours of sleep we get on average every night
1 kick-ass team to bring colorFabb filaments to your printer!
You can find the timeline of the past four years here. Below are the highlights of last year in a more or less chronological order. Grab that cup of coffee, sit back and scroll down! Enjoy!
Let’s start at the beginning: January. As is tradition in the world of tech, the first week of the year all eyes (biological and digital) are focused on Las Vegas. Aleph Objects, producer of the highly rated Lulzbot Mini and Taz 3D printers invited us to join them at the Sands convention centre for the entire show, an invitation we gladly accepted. Aleph’s printers and our then recently launched nGen filament are a great match. nGen is available at the Lulzbot store, as well as other colorFabb filaments.
During this show we also launched nGen in a big way. nGen is of course our all-round filament for 3D printing. We introduced it in a limited capacity at the end of 2015. At the core of its reliability is the special chemical make-up of the Eastman Amphora™ AM3300 3D polymer, which results in a good melt stability. From pellet to filament to 3D print, nGen retains its material properties very well, meaning more stable results with less waste of time and material.
One of the first, widely shared, reviews about nGen was from 3D Printing For Beginners. Click here to re-read this glowing review, which still holds up to this very day. nGen is currently available in 17 exciting colors.
In January and February we also held our time-lapse contest. Over 80 valid entries entered to win the grand prize of 48 spools of filament. You can find the full list with all entries by clicking here. Slovenian company AKLIH won this contest with the following entry:
To learn more about AKLIH and their work, look no further than the blog we recently wrote about them.
And then it was March and we attended the RapidPro show again. This show is where it all started for colorFabb 4 years ago, early 2013. After several months of preparations we announced our first products there. Now, for the fourth time there, we announced another exciting new product at the show: colorFabb_HT.
ColorFabb_HT is a low-odor and styrene-free material uniquely suited for advanced 3D printing users, particularly those who need their models to exhibit excellent durability, toughness and high temperature resistance – which is over 100 degrees C. ColorFabb_HT empowers professional users to create more durable and useful items, making prototyping truly functional. ColorFabb_HT is made with BPA-free Eastman Amphora HT5300 3D polymer. You can read all about this excellent engineering material on our dedicated landing page.
Another feature that can be achieved with colorFabb_HT is a certain degree of transparancy. You can read our blog about this here or marvel at the see-through print we made:
In April we geared up for what is claimed to be the biggest industrial trade show in the world: The Hannover Messe. Like the year before we were there with the Eastman Amphora based filaments and of course the Stacker S4 3D printer. The Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, even visited us!
In May we held a poll to see what you fine people really think of us. The results surprised us! Here are some figures:
Over 86% of our customers rate our products and services a 8 or higher!
Over 95% of our customers would definitely recommend our products to other users!
Over 91% of customers who contacted our support desk rated the service as “Awesome”!
These are quite staggering numbers and we are proud of them. This is by no means a sign that we can sit back and relax. We have taken your feedback and are working on this. One of the issues that we heard most (“Shipping costs!”) are being worked on as we speak. Keep an eye out in the coming weeks to see an exciting announcement regarding shipping of our filaments!
Aside from a lot of work behind the scenes to future-proof colorFabb for the future, all efforts were aimed at the AM Show in Amsterdam. Originally part of the 3D Print Show in London, the AM Show was completely re-branded and held for the first time in the RAI in Amsterdam in the last week of June. Although debates still go on about the quantity of the visitors we can safely say that the quality of the visitors was high.
We announced a new material at the show: steelFill, our fourth metal based filament. After succesfully launching bronzeFill in 2014, copperFill later that year and brassFill in early 2015, steelFill has already seen a rapid adoption. As with these other filaments, the key is post-processing and you can use similar techniques as with our other special metal based filaments (more on that later, keep scrolling).
One of the biggest draws during the AM Show was the huge Saturn V rocket, which was printed by Korneel Bullens. Entirely printed with nGen the total build took over 3500 hours on a total of 4 Ultimaker 2+ printers, 1 of them being a Ultimaker 2+ Extended. The rocket stands at 2.5 meters high. You can read all about this huge print in September’s blog.
After the AM Show summer holidays started all over the northern hemisphere. We took some time off, one by one, and this is also a good place to talk about post-processing (since everybody has a bit more time during their vacation, we think). This year we wrote several blogs about post-processing our materials. Of course, it is our aim to release materials that look awesome straight from the printer but we know there is a need for post-processing in certain cases, especially with our special filaments.
During the summer we also started warehousing filaments in the US. colorFabb USA, Inc provides our distributors in North America with our filaments. It is our aim to have our products faster and more efficiently available in the US through our distributor network.
Early September we also revamped our tutorial site: https://learn.colorfabb.com/ Originally intended as a site for tutorials, we have expanded the scope a bit by adding a News section where all the latest news (including this blog) can be found. The most active part is the Featured Print section where we regularly post prints we make in our print lab or feature prints that we found made from our materials. Keep an eye out on this blog for all the latest and greatest colorFabb related items!
The post-holiday 3D printing season cannot start without attending the TCT Show. You can read the full recap here, but we want to highlight two things from that show.
First of all the release of our first semi-flexible filament: nGen_FLEX. nGen_FLEX is a new elastomer material added to our existing range of co-polyester functional 3D printing filaments. It is made from Eastman Amphora™ Flex 3D Polymer FL6000 and the fourth filament in our range of Amphora based co-polyester, following colorFabb_XT, nGen and colorFabb_HT.
It is best described as a semi-flexible material with good printability on most 3D printers eliminating the use for specialized flex extruders. It’s rated at a Shore A hardness level of 95. By adjusting infill and perimeter settings it’s possible to influence how flexible a part should feel after printing.
It is chemically resistant and has a temperature resistance of over 120 degrees C. We have released this material in two colors: black and dark gray. We are looking at making skintone colors commercially available. nGen_FLEX was very well received. We have assembled the initial reviews.
Another highlight of the show was our Open RC Formula 1 project release. Designed by Daniel Norée (for the design, click here), we scaled his design 250% and used our entire range of co-polyester filaments, including nGen_FLEX for the wheels, to print this beast of a car! Check out the accompanying video:
October was a relatively quiet month, but only because we knew that come the end of the year it would be extremely busy. And we were right.
Starting in November we celebrated our fourth birthday. It had been four years in November since we started with colorFabb. It has been a roller coaster ride ever since and we could never ever have anticipated the success that colorFabb has experienced! We celebrate this with offering a great discount in our webshop: Buy 4, but Pay 3! The the exception of PLA Economy spools and samples, this applies to all other filaments. This promotion lasts until the end of this year, so there is still time to take advantage of this great deal!
Wait, we skipped a beat… We mentioned PLA Economy without properly introducing it here. In recent years we were asked quite regularly if there would be a colorFabb branded filament available in a more competitive price range. We have taken our time to source a raw material that would still be high quality, but which we would be able to offer at a much lower price. We found that PLA formulation with an impact modifier with our new PLA Economy range. Available in 4 colors and on 2.2kg spools only, this new filament offers a great value for your money.
Design: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1862683
As we did last year, we participated in the consumer madness called Black Friday. On top of the Buy 4, Pay 3 promotion we granted a 15% discount on all filaments, which resulted in longer delivery times and some serious overtime for our production and logistics teams.
Let’s take a step back and appreciate the awesome team we work with here. Everybody working at colorFabb – from production to finance, from IT to logistics, from material development to sales and from our team in the print lab to the management team – we all have one single goal: to bring the best possible 3D printing filament to your printer. It’s a simple goal, but also an ambitious one. Every day the entire team improves the processes and tries to find ways to improve our products and services. The result is always a team effort. With the best individual input we can bring in, we accomplish the best possible product and service as Team colorFabb.
It’s a small step from Team colorFabb to Team 3D printing. Of course we are talking about 3D Printing Day, which is becoming an annual event. December 3rd has been announced 3D Printing Day by 3D Hubs for eternity now. 3D Hubs is one of our partners and they recently released a great blog to explain what 3D printing exactly is. Of course you know it, but we find it a very handy tool to explain to new customers the possibilities of 3D printing. In this link you can also find some of the best prints we have made and seen this year so far.
3D Hubs also opened their new office in the middle of Amsterdam recently and we were there during the grand opening. We also made them a little present: The I Amsterdam logo which can be found on the Museum Square. If you are a 3D Hubs, print one yourself! You can find the design on Thingiverse.
As the year is ending, the days are at their shortest and the festive lights are everywhere we found that our filaments are being used in more and more practical ways. We started a series of regular blogs about companies who use our filaments in new and innovative ways. In the past weeks we have written three of them and we have quite a few more lined up. Below is a short summary of the companies we have highlighted so far:
AKLIH Design, making 3D printed design products with woodFill
Spectra3D, using PLA/PHA Natural for investment casting
Mathis Orthopédie, printing with colorFabb_XT to make prototype prosthetics
Almost at the end of the year and this blog. What we want to share is Tom Sanladerer’s video review of our PLA/PHA. This review is part of Tom’s Filaween review series. We started with PLA/PHA four years ago and it is always good to see that a product that is already in the market for four years is still highly appreciated.
It is good to look back sometimes and appreciate what we have.
That said, we are gearing up for 2017. A lot of great things are being prepared and we will keep you updated! For your information, we will not close next week, although some of our staff will be on a short break. Webshop orders will ship daily from Tuesday till Friday and as from January 2nd we are back in full operation again.
If you happen to be in Las Vegas at the CES, please drop by at the Aleph Objects booth in the Sands: Hall A-D, Booth 42524 where we will be as well!
The entire colorFabb team wishes you a merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!!
For one more week, until the end of the year you can benefit from the Buy 4, Pay 3 promotion! Use coupon code colorfabb4you on our website to get the fourth spool you order for free! Some conditions apply though: cheapest spool is for free and samples and PLA Economy are exempt from this part of the promotion.
One application for 3D printing that we are seeing a lot of potential in is the the field of prosthetics. Of course we all know the good work that projects like Enable and 3D Life Prints are doing, but 3D printing is already being used in the field of prosthetics as we speak. We have been following the French company Mathis Orthopédie for some time now on social media and specifically on their Twitter page.
We got in touch with them to know a little bit more about this exciting application for 3D printing. They use 3D printing not for the final application, but instead for the phase before that to make sure the prosthetic is fitting well and make sure the measurements and comfort are perfect.
Customization is one of the key aspects for prosthetics since no body is the same. 3D printing offers this on an unprecedented scale, but of course it doesn’t end there. Skills in both fields of prosthetics and 3D printing are essential in combination with the right materials.
With over 40 years of experience in prosthetics, Mathis Orthopédie is one of the leading companies in their field. 3D printing enables Mathis to customize the prosthetics for each and individual customer. It also significantly reduces waste and increases speed to bring the right prosthetic faster to the person in need by 3D printing the prototypes.
We have already seen 3D printing providing dramatic changes in bringing prototypes to life, products to the market and even finding its way into centuries old technologies like investment casting, but there are few ways where 3D printing can make such a personal impact on people daily lives as with prosthetics. Below is Mathis’ company video where you can see partially printed prosthetics being tested:
The material of choice they have been using is our colorFabb_XT, made with Eastman Amphora™ 3D polymer AM1800. Launched in September 2014, it is a fantastic functional engineering material. With colorFabb_XT we achieved to produce a filament that provides good strength and toughness, as well as certain FDA food contact compliances. It has found a wide audience amongst users looking for extra functionality. with a temperature resistance of 75+ degrees, this filament offers high strength and very high toughness, odor neutral processing, a styrene free formulation, FDA food contact compliance and BPA (Bisphenol A ) free formulation. It allows the user, like Mathis Orthopédie, to produce 3D printed functional products in a safe way.
colorFabb_XT was our first co-polyester based filament. Our portfolio of co-polyester based filaments, made with Eastman Amphora polymers, has since extended with the all-round nGen, the high temperature resistant colorFabb_HT and semi-flexible nGen_FLEX. You can find more about what co-polyesters are by clicking here.
The functionality that colorFabb_XT offers makes it a great material for prosthetics, as Mathis Orthopédie is using it. For visual prototyping, one of the materials Mathis uses is our colorFabb PLA/PHA natural, which has become a standard in the past 4 years as an extremely reliable filament.
For their printers they use Ultimakers and a Delta Tower.
Mathis Orthopédie strives for excellence in all aspects of the prosthetics they offer and have chosen colorFabb_XT as their primary material for this application. Be sure you visit their website (in French) and follow them on Twitterand Facebook, where they regularly share their works in progress.
This is the third part of an ongoing series of blogs about companies that use colorFabb filaments in unique and exciting ways. Recently we published about AKLIH, the Slovenian design company who use our woodFill filaments for their products, and last week we wrote about Spectra3D‘s use of 3D printing for investment casting. If you are interested in being part of this feature, or know a company who would be suitable, please contact us at sales@colorfabb.com
Our special filaments are perfectly suited for special occasions, like awards ceremonies. Last night was such a night and a special night for entrepeneurs in our region in and around the Dutch city Venlo, colorFabb’s home town. Every year the Lodewijk van der Grinten prize is awarded to a local entrepeneur or local business who has done something special for and within the city and the region.
Please note: links in this article mostly link to a Dutch language site.
This year there were three nominees: Cabooter Group, Scelta Mushrooms and Pulse Business Solutions. Being nominated is already an honor and all three nominees were awarded with a special trophy to commemorate their nomination. The trophy was custom designed and printed with colorFabb’s special filaments.
The nominees
The big winner of this evening, receiving the big award was Jan Klerken from Scelta Mushrooms for their work in R&D in the world of mushrooms! We congratulate Jan and his team at Scelta Mushrooms with winning this year’s award!
The trophy for the nominees
A little bit about the award…
The Entrepreneur Award is named after Lodewijkvan der Grinten (1831 – 1895), founder of the current Océ.The name is not chosen without reason.Océ has become one of the biggest economic powers in Venlo and its region. The award is an initiative of the Foundation Lodewijk van der Grinten Business Award, in which LLTB Horst Venlo, Venlo Small and Medium Businesses (MKB), Entrepreneurial Venlo and the city of Venlo participate. It is handed out during a ceremony ever since 2010. The award is also made possible by sponsors, of which colorFabb is one.
The city if Venlo is located in the south of the Netherlands, next to the German border and in between the big harbors of Rotterdam and Antwerpen on one side and the German Ruhr area and Central Europe on the other side. Venlo and its surrounding region has been called one of the (if not the) best logistics hubs of Europe! With so much business in the area it is hard to stand out, which makes winning the award such an achievement!
The trophy
The trophy for the nominees was designed by Van Alles Wat Ontwerp. It was then printed by the colorFabb print lab team on the Ultimaker 3 using both bronzeFilland copperFill with a 0.2mm layer height– which dual nozzle system was especially suited for this task. It took 38 hours to print every trophy.
After that, we have post-processed the prints further by sanding the outer edges roughly and quickly. After that we used a polishing wheel to do the bulk of the polishing and finalized the print by polishing the details manually with some steel wool.
Check the video below for how the print was designed and printed (not in real time, of course):
Our special filaments have proven themselves to be quite award worthy, after seeing our woodFill, bronzeFill and copperFill have been used for the bioPlastics award only 2 weeks ago! You can read the post on that here.
colorFabb’s entire range of special filaments are available in our webshop and through our network of distributors and resellers worldwide. If you are interested in post-processing the metal filled filaments, look no further than the article we wrote earlier this year about post-processing! But if you decide to look further, there is a nice collection of articles and blogs to be found here.
And remember, for the remainder of the year, because it is colorFabb’s fourth anniversary, we continue our Buy 4, Pay 3 promotion. Use coupon code colorfabb4you on our website to get the fourth spool you order for free! Some conditions apply though: cheapest spool is for free and samples and PLA Economy are exempt from this part of the promotion. Since it is less than two weeks before Christmas, don’t forget to order in time!
