TCT 2017

Back in Birmingham!! This week we are at the TCT Show again for the fourth consecutive year! If you are at the show or plan to visit, you can find us at stand H39 and we have some exciting new developments to show you!

A cool feature of our stand is that you look directly into our factory where your favorite filaments are made. This backdrop gives you a good look at colorFabb’s new production facility.

Of course there is nGen_LUX. This is our brand new filament we announced last week and will release in November. With nGen_LUX we put years of experience in development, 3D printing, R&D and production into a single 3D printing filament that will bridge the gap to production with unmatched surface quality.

nGen_LUX uniquely features diffuse reflection, which means that the light that shines on the print scatters to many directions and allows for a perfect surface quality that looks like nothing you have ever seen before.

You can now see nGen_LUX today exclusively at the TCT Show before being released later this year. Tomorrow nGen_LUX will also be featured at the Dutch Kunststoffenbeurs in Veldhoven at the stand of our sister company Helian Polymers.

You can read all further information in last week’s blog!

Furthermore we will have four printers continuously running in our stand. We have the Stacker S2 printing with colorFabb’s signature PLA/PHA, making parts for investment casting (more on that soon!) Next to it the Lulzbot TAZ 6 prints with our all-round filament nGen. nGen is a terrific material for every day use and it works flawlessly on the Lulzbot range of printers.

On the other end of the stand you find the brand new Robo R2 and the Prusa i3 mk 2 – both of printing with the aforementioned nGen_LUX.

Both printers have some stellar examples displayed in front of them made with this great new material. Pictures can hardly do justice to the optical quality of nGen_LUX. Seeing is believing!

Aside from the Prusa, all printers in our stand are readily available in our webshop. We ship from stock and with free filaments! Free shipping in the EU to selected countries. Click here to go to our webshop or on the image below:

All printers have been extensively tested by the colorFabb team with our filaments!

During the TCT we offer a 10% discount on all our filaments in our webshop! To get this immediate discount, which lasts all week, use the coupon code TCT2017 when checking out or simply click here!

Overwhelmed with all the choice we have these days? Check out our latest catalogue with all our filaments categorized, the entire color range neatly presented, some beautiful examples of prints plus settings and tips & tricks per filament! You can also find out more about the printers we offer!

COLORFABB.COM                              CATALOGUE

nGen_LUX

Today we proudly announce a new, unique 3D printing filament:

nGen_LUX

With nGen_LUX we put years of experience in development, 3D printing, R&D and production into a single 3D printing filament that will bridge the gap to production with unmatched surface quality.

As the name indicates, nGen_LUX is based on nGen – the highly successful co-polyester based filament we launched nearly 2 years ago. nGen is currently our best-selling filament and go-to material for all your prints. It is a truly all-round filament made with Eastman Amphora™ AM3300.

Years of development, unique light diffusion additives and compounding know-how have lead to nGen_LUX. The “Lux” not only stands for luxurious – which is definitely the look of the prints – but also refers to the unit of illumination used worldwide. And light is what makes this filament truly special.

Raven Skull | design by sprocket1597 | https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2479682
Printed on RoboC2 | 0.2mm layerheight | 230C | with support

nGen_LUX uniquely features diffuse reflection, which means that the light that shines on the print scatters to many directions and allows for a perfect surface quality that looks like nothing you have ever seen before.

colorFabb’s unique special metal filled filaments (bronzeFill, copperFill, steelFill and brassFill) already allow for prints that have a distinctive non-printed look, but for these require post-processing. With nGen_LUX prints look like production parts right off the printer.

eachine tx03 housing | by Lefty9 (Elefterios Karakostas) | https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2380562
Stacker S4 | 0.2mm layerheight | 240C – 80C bed

OpenRC F1 2017 updates | by barspin | https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2123450
Robo C2 | 230c | 0.2mm layerheight

At colorFabb we are always looking to meet our customer’s needs and offer filaments with added value. The aesthetics of nGen_LUX allow for a new step in production and prototyping, especially for cosmetics, packaging, interior parts, electronics housings and many more applications.

nGen_LUX is the first special filament based on nGen and the second one in our range of co-polyesters after XT-CF20, our carbon fibre enforced filament based on colorFabb_XT.

We have been testing the filament in our print lab on the most popular printers in the market right now: the Prusa i3, both the Stacker S2 and S4, the Lulzbot TAZ 6 and Mini, the Robo R2 and C2, the Ultimaker range of printers and the Mass Portal Pharaoh (pictured).

Origami Vase Nr2 | by KRISP3D (Kristaps Politis) | https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2503199
Mass Portal Pharaoh ED | 0.2mm layerheight 230C – 80C bed temp – 85% cooling

Rest assured that if your printer works with nGen (and most of them with a heated bed do) you can achieve the stellar results we have seen so far.

The brand new nGen_LUX fits perfectly in colorFabb’s portfolio that consists of both functional and aesthetical filaments.  Pictures can say more than a thousand words, but prints made with nGen_LUX have to be seen!

Longclaw beer tap handle | by jakkyl | https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2400630
Robo C2 | 230c | 0.2mm layerheight

 

 

See nGen_LUX as soon as next week!

You will have the chance to see nGen_LUX next week. nGen_LUX will be featured in public for the first time at the TCT Show in Birmingham, UK, and at the Kunststoffenbeurs in Veldhoven, NL, next week. At the Kunststoffenbeurs, please look out for Helian Polymers, our sister company specialized in the masterbatches and additives.

At both shows 3D printers will be printing with nGen_LUX on various 3D printers.

Raven Skull Statue | design by kevin dyllong | https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2077239
Printed on the Prusa I3 | 0.2mm layerheight | 230C | with support

Guardian Character Class | by Brendantang | https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2469923
Mass Portal | 230c | 0.2mm layerheight

 

Availability and pricing

nGen_LUX is not available yet. The filament will be available as from early 2018 and pre-ordering will start right before that. Pricing will be announced soon.

 

colorFabb at the TCT Show, Hall 3 stand H39 – Sept. 26 – 28

Helian Polymers at the Kunststoffenbeurs, stand 13, Sept. 27 – 28

 

 

 

Last week we launched our new website and our brand new catalogue, Read more about it in our blog post or click on the links below:

colorFabb.com                              Catalogue

The first injected molded plaques of our color tests

Our new website

It was about time colorFabb got a make over. We are proud to launch our new website today! The new website and catalogue, that has been released today as well, mark the next step for colorFabb.

You immediately peek inside our factory when you get to our page

We started colorFabb back in 2013 with a fairly simple webshop:

Back in the day…

Over a year later we re-designed the webshop to a more professional look. This is the website, basically, that you know and love:

 

But as colorFabb grew we felt the website could do with a make over to truly represent our company and the brand. We are very happy with the result! What strikes immediately is that we made the website more visual. On the landing page you immediately see the three focal points of colorFabb: Filaments, Printers & Services.

It is colorFabb’s vision and strategy to be a provider of complete 3D printing solutions: both in-house developed filament, as well as carefully selected hardware partners added with all our experience creates a unique synergy.

The landing page is not the landing page of the webshop anymore. Fear not! You can still order your favorite filaments with us, but due to our expanding portfolio (with more to come soon!) we needed to approach it a bit differently.

To go to the webshop, go to Materials on the top right corner of the website and a menu expands where you see everything:

From there the ordering process is the same as it ever was.

We also redesigned the product pages. What you notice immediately is that the primary image is a close up of the filament and not of the spool. We did this for a reason: this shows the actual color much better than when a full spool is shown with a white background:

As you can see, the spool picture did not disappear, but we moved it a bit. Ordering is as straight forward as ever from here.

With the launch of the new website we also add a new product: the Robo R2 is available as from today and ships from stock!

We recently announced our partnership with Robo and are happy to celebrate our new website with the availability of this printer. The Robo R2 high-performance smart 3D printer with Wi-Fi lets you tackle large-scale projects and make whatever you can imagine right from your mobile device using the Robo app. Below are some of the features:

  • Built for serious printing
  • Sizable 20 x 20 x 25cm print size
  • 12.7cm built-in color touch screen
  • On-board camera for remote print monitoring
  • Class-leading print speed
  • Removable, heated and automatic self-leveling print bed
  • Ability to add an additional extrusion head and print two materials at once

The Robo R2 ships with a free spool of nGen – our all-round 3D printing filament made with Eastman Amphora AM3300. You can see the Robo R2 printing at the colorFabb stand H39 at the TCT Show on September 26 – 28!

The smaller Robo C2 will be available soon.

Speaking of printers, as with the Robo printers we also sell Lulzbot and Stacker printers. All relevant information regarding these printers are featured on the product pages! Check out the available printers!

 

Our brand new catalogue

Together with our website we are also releasing our brand new catalogue! All our products are represented in our first real catalogue. You can flip through it in your browser or download it as a PDF. In the catalogue you can click on an item in the catalogue and go straight to the webshop!

In the catalogue you can see that we presented the products per article group, the colors clearly visible, a short introduction, specifications and our printing tips and tricks.

 

Both the website and the catalogue have been designed to be expanded and they will. We will add more information, features and products in the weeks and months to come. Keep your eyes open for more!

colorFabb.com

Robo available at colorFabb soon

We are proud to announce our new partnership with Robo and the addition of the Robo C2 and R2 3D printers to the colorFabb portfolio of 3D printing solutions. The Robo printers will be a great addition to the expanding range of printers we offer. This new partnership perfectly fits in colorFabb’s strategy to offer a complete solution to address our customers’ needs. We do this of course by producing a wide variety of high quality filaments, but also increasingly by offering carefully selected hardware solutions.

The Robo line-up consists of the C2 and R2 models.

Robo C2

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

 

 

Robo R2

The Robo R2 high-performance smart 3D printer with Wi-Fi lets you tackle large-scale projects and make whatever you can imagine right from your mobile device using the Robo app.
  • Built for serious printing
  • Sizable 20 x 20 x 25cm print size
  • 12.7cm built-in color touch screen
  • On-board camera for remote print monitoring
  • Class-leading print speed
  • Removable, heated and automatic self-leveling print bed
  • Ability to add an additional extrusion head and print two materials at once

 

 

In the past months we have been testing both the C2 and R2 printers in our print lab, seeing excellent results with nGen, our all-round go-to filament, on the R2 but also PLA/PHA which runs extremely well on the C2.

 

Ryan Legudi, Robo’s Managing Director says: “We are tremendously excited to announce our two-way partnership with colorFabb. We have long admired how Ruud and his team at colorFabb have built a premium brand in the desktop 3D printing segment, constantly innovating their filament product offering to meet the growing demands of users for more sophisticated materials. This is a huge validation for our company, and our printers, as colorFabb has completed the most extensive testing of our printers to date. With an established global distribution footprint extending into 60+ countries, colorFabb will be able to leverage Robo’s products to its already vast customer base.

“Similarly, we are equally excited to be able to re-sell colorFabb’s extensive range of premium filament to our own customer base, who are increasingly demanding higher quality, more specialized materials. With the release of Robo R2, we have activated our strategy to expand deeper into the prosumer and professional segment, which is the fastest growing segment in the industry. By partnering with colorFabb for their filament, we are now positioned to provide professionals with an exceptional 3D printing solution.”

Adds Ruud Rouleaux, CEO of colorFabb:  “At ColorFabb we have had the luxury of testing many desktop printers in the last 6 years, developing valuable experience and know-how along the way. Early this year we started working with the Robo 3D team and have become extremely impressed by the level of professionalism and dedication that Robo 3D is investing in their new line of Desktop 3D Printers.

“We have been in the position to test both the Robo C2 and R2 with various colorFabb filaments and fine tune printing windows and optimize settings. After months of testing we are excited to announce a two-way partnership with Robo 3D enabling colorFabb to enter the desktop 3D printing landscape with a highly-established brand, in the same time enabling Robo 3D with a well-tested hardware/filament combination, of which we believe will enable a perfect user experience.”

Extensive testing has resulted in some really good results with our filaments:

 

The Robo printers will be available in September in our webshop and colorFabb will act as Robo’s distributing partner in the Benelux. Pricing will be € 799 for the Robo3D C2 and € 1.399 for the Robo3D R2.

 

Full design attributions

Big Guardian Dwarf (72mm) by meyo

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:971046

Material: PLA/PHA Pale Gold – 0.2mm layerheigth – C2

 

Right Fractured Lateral Tibial Condyle By Hamish Mead

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/right-fractured-lateral-tibial-condyle

Material: nGen Dark Gray – 0.2mm layerheight – R2

 

Water Jet Drive by benny90

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:153579/#made

Material: PLA/PHA Natural – 0.2mm layerheigth – R2

 

Batman by LeoDDC

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:352540

Material: nGen Dark Gray – 0.2mm layerheight – R2

 

Mini Trash Can with moving wheels by DrLex

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1935572

Material: PLA/PHA Pale Gold / PLA/PHA Shining Silver– 0.2mm layerheigth – C2

Summer sale!

Back to work. Back to school. Back to life… We think it is time for a flash summer sale.

It is that time of the year again. Summer holidays are over or will be soon. (For those reading this and still enjoying their holiday, we apologize, but there is an end to all this summer fun). We hope you have enjoyed your holidays this summer and are ready to head back into the real world again, re-energized.

At colorFabb we would like to make the transition back into the real world as smooth as possible. For this, we have a flash summer sale as from now and which lasts the entire weekend (until Sunday midnight CET):

20% off on all filaments!

Fairly simple and straight forward. Does not work with other discounts and does not apply to the printers we sell, but other than that all filaments, including the samples, apply! Use coupon code SUMMERSALE when checking out or use this link (and the discount will automatically apply).

We also add a free sample of nGen filament to your order (as we do with all orders nowadays) and you can see if you are eligible for free shipping (EU customers only – sorry) on our website.

Find out more about nGen, our all-round 3D printing filament on our dedicated landing page.

Either click here or go to our webshop and use coupon code SUMMERSALE to get that 20% coupon code today!

Enjoy 3D printing!

– Team colorFabb

Free Print+ headphone kits

Update: we are all out of Print+ head phone kits. If you order a value pack now you will receive our awesome filament, but not the Print+ kit.

Earlier today we posted the prints we made with the Print+ head phone kits we received last week.

We used woodFill & PETG Economy for one headphone set and nGen Dark Gray for the other one. Of course, with our variety of 3D printing filaments, you can make a lot of combinations and make your headphones truly unique. You can read the original post here.

The casual observer may have noticed that in that very same post we mentioned we ordered 25 kits during the Kickstarter campaign. We used some ourselves, but what to do with the remaining 20+ kits? Hint: we are not going to use them ourselves…

Yours… soon.

We had decided to give them away. To you! With every value pack ordered (with the exception of PLA Economy and PETG Economy) you will get a free Print+ headphone kit! (Retail value: € 35). The value packs that are eligible for getting a free headset kit are:

Update: Please note that the limited amount of headset kits we had available has run out and therefor this promotion has ended. But if you have a Print+ headset please enter our challenge below for a chance to win 4 free spools of colorFabb filaments.

But that’s not all…

We challenge you to print the coolest and most original headphone set with colorFabb filaments! Then post it on social media (Twitter, Facebook or Instagram) and tag us.

Extra points for an original combination of materials and if photographed in a cool real-life environment. The most original entry will receive 4 free spools of colorFabb filament!!

So there it is: order a value pack and receive a free Print+ DIY headset kit you have a serious chance to get 4 free spools of colorFabb filaments as well!

Head to our website & choose the value pack of your choice!

Survey 2017

Want to get a 20% discount? Sure you do. We only ask a bit of your time. Read on…

At colorFabb we value your opinion. Your opinion helps us to improve our products and services. We read all your emails, value all the feedback on social media and try improve where we can. In May 2016 we held a survey and received very positive feedback. Have a look:

  • 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”!

The most heard replies we received last year were about price and shipping. We took your comments and ran with them. In November we launched PLA Economy, followed two weeks ago by PETG Economy. This Economy line provides the large volume user for a better kg price for the filament, while maintaining the high colorFabb quality.

We also negotiated a better deal with DHL, which went into effect earlier this year. We can now offer cheaper shipping to more countries (unfortunately, not for all of them) and with the EU we have a lot of free shipping options. Check them out here.

But we’re not done yet. The 3D printing industry is moving fast, needs change and we are always eager to what those needs are. We have created a new survey which you can access here:

Click here to take our survey!

It only takes about five minutes. As you can see from the examples above, we actually do something with your feedback. If you receive our news letter you will find this same survey in your inbox as well (no need to fill it out twice).

To thank you, we want to extend a 20% discount for every survey that is filled out complete and correct. We will send you the coupon code soon after completing the survey. Only one per person and the discount code cannot be combined with other discounts (nor does it apply to printers and gift cards).

Thank you for your time!

– Team colorFabb

Introducing Job Windhorst, our new COO

As from this week the colorFabb team is reinforced with Job Windhorst, our new COO. The growth of colorFabb and the 3D printing landscape in general has been tumultuous and very, very exciting.

Job Windhorst, our new COO with added CFO responsibilities. LinkedIn

At colorFabb we have not been sitting still and the organisation grew from an idea in CEO Ruud Rouleaux’ mind with a few dedicated, but part-time, employees to a middle sized company with over 20 employees in four rollercoaster years. You can see the development of colorFabb on our timeline. No growth comes without its specific set of challenges and we are not done growing yet.

It is Job’s focus to manage this growth in a sustainable way and make sure the growth scenarios that colorFabb has envisioned can be realized. His COO job will have added CFO responsibilities as well.

Job Windhorst’s background is in finance, management and HR and his experience in this field makes him a perfect fit within colorFabb’s current team.

Says Job Windhorst: “It’s a fantastic challenge for the Colorfabb team and myself to make the next step and grow up to a fullservice organisation within the dynamic market where we operate.”

Ruud Rouleaux, CEO and founder of colorFabb adds: “With the addition of Job to the colorFabb team, the road has been cleared to start new business development and allocate the necessary time for several high profile market opportunities in terms of materials, 3D Printers and engineering services.”

In a demanding market that is always on the move, the organisation needs to be flexible and at colorFabb we know we have found the right person in Job Windhorst to manage the growth while maintaining the can-do attitude we have had from the very beginning.

We wish Job good luck in his new job!

PETG Economy

In November 2016 we launched our PLA Economy line. PLA Economy filament was the result of many requests for a more cost-conscious filament in the colorFabb portfolio. After a lot of testing we released a brand new PLA grade, available now in 5 colors and only on 2.2kg spools. Today it is time to take the next step and we proudly announce PETG Economy.

We have received a lot of requests for PETG in our portfolio and have added this under our Economy banner as from today. We initially start with 3 colors: Black, White and Red. All of these are available exclusively on 2.2kg spools. Shipping starts on Monday. You can buy PETG Economy here.

 

Material specifications

Material: colorFabb PETG Economy

Diameter Tolerance: ± 0.1 mm

Density: 1.28 g/cm3

Glass Transition Temperature: 70C

Full data sheets will be available as from mid June.

colorFabb Economy: Large volume, High quality, Low price

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.

As with PLA Economy we have extensively tested this filament in our print lab. Both in production and print lab we have adhered to the highest colorFabb quality – this is something we simply do not compromise on.

The idea behind these filaments is to keep it at a very competitive price. Retail price of PETG Economy is € 40 excluding VAT and shipping. This works out to be a little over € 18 per kg for high quality filament.

 

Tips, tricks and settings

At colorFabb we have a well-equipped 3D printing studio with many popular 3d printers. Our grade of Economy PETG has been tested using various 3D printers, which has resulted in the following recommended settings:

Advised 3d printing temperature:
235C-255C

Advised 3d print speed:
30 – 50 mm/s

Advised Heated bed:
70-80C

Cooling fan
75/100% 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.

Attributions designs plus settings used

4040 adjustable feet / stud by Fra Elstak: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1887810

Printed on the Lulzbot Mini, at 0.25 mm layerheight at 235C and 70C bed temp. Cooling at 100%.

 

Filament duck 2.2kg spools by colorFabb: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1862683

Printed on the Stacker S4, at 0.25mm layerheight at 250C and 70C bed temp, 20/30% cooling.

 

Front head Light LED by Nicolas Garnier: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2085081

Printed on the Lulzbot Mini, at 0.25 mm layerheight at 235C and 70C bed temp. Cooling at 100%.

 

 

Garden Wobble Sprinkler by Chris Dalby (a.k.a. moose4621): https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1532652

Printed on MassPortal at 0.2mm layerheight, 240C, 70C bed temp and 75% cooling.

 

Wavy organic bowl, cups, vase and flower pot. by PRATRIK: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2268356

Printed on MassPortal at 0.27mm layerheight, 240C, 70C bed temp and 75% cooling.

 

Blackbelt 3D Printer

Eagle-eyed observers in the Twitterverse may have already deduced that we are closely tied to the new and awesome Blackbelt 3D printer.

This brand new 3D printer company revealed its concept a little over a month ago on Twitter and has gained a following of nearly 700 3D printing enthusiasts ever since. We were among the first followers and strong advocates. And this is not without reason.

The Blackbelt 3D printer’s concept is of producing its printed pieces on a small conveyor belt (made with a unique composite material) and prints at an angle of 45 degrees. This enables production of very long (even endless?) parts that also allow for unsupported overhangs.

Big prints

Production of parts… continuously

The creator of the Blackbelt 3D printer is none other than our former colleague Stephan Schürmann. You may remember him from the 3D printed bike that was released two years ago (you can find the full blog here).

Stephan left colorFabb earlier this year to start Blackbelt 3D BV and spend all his time on the further development of his printer.

The printer has been in development for the better part of the past four years, first in Stephan’s mind and then with a first prototype.

The first prototype

The first prototype

The release of the printer to the market is imminent and in a (by now) time honoured tradition the Blackbelt 3D will be released through Kickstarter. The Kickstarter campaign goes live this Thursday at 3 PM CET. Click here for the page’s preview link.

We are proud to announce that colorFabb is Blackbelt’s official material partner. In the testing phase colorFabb’s materials were used exclusively.

The BlackBelt 3D printer is not just a concept and not just a new prototype. Four years of engineering has lead to proven technology that is now available for you as well.

We will keep you updated on the progress of the printer as we enter this summer, but the easiest way to keep yourself informed is by signing up to the Blackbelt 3D news letter of follow Blackbelt on social media, like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Stephan, your former colleagues at colorFabb wish you good luck with the Blackbelt Kickstarter campaign!