Spring Break

‘Tis the season of public holidays here in the Netherlands. Thursday is Ascension Day and due to this we will be officially closed on Friday as well. We are not the kind of company to leave you all by yourself, so we are having a flash sale on our website: 20% off on all filaments.

Click on the banner below or on this link. You will be re-directed to our webshop and the discount is automatically applied to your order.

This sale cannot be combined with other discounts and is valid only from now on and on Thursday May 25th.

Please note that no orders will be shipped on Thursday. On Friday we will resume shipping webshop orders again.

We have a plethora of filaments to choose from. Recently, our copperFill was mentioned by testing and comparison site 3D Matter as the 3D printing filament with the highest visual quality:

Source: 3D Matter

It is a truly astonishing filament with great post-processing possibilities. copperFill contains 80% copper by weight, but is not conductive in a thermal or electrical sense. This material, similar to bronzeFill, steelFill and brassFill, has been developed for aesthetical purposes only. We are excited this is recognized by the comparison tests that 3D Matter has done.

Check out how to print with copperFill

Original post on this print can be found here.

Another highlight of these tests was their conclusion that our flagship PLA/PHA is in their opinion (and their data supports it), the easiest filament to print with. In an ever expanding market with dozens, if not hundreds of (PLA) filament brand this is of course a great honor!

Source: 3D Matter

You can read our complete write-up on 3D Matter’s testing here.

We have a wide range of filaments. Choose from 30 PLA/PHA colors, from 17 nGen colors, 7  nGen_FLEX colors (including 5 skin tones), 5 colorFabb_HT colors or 14 colorFabb_XT colors! And that’s not even counting the special filaments!

Recently we also released a fifth PLA Economy color: Dark Blue. Why not give that one a try?

 

Please remember: this flash sale is for a very limited time only! Order now to get your 20% discount!

Chair design update

This spring, Niels van Valburg is our intern here at colorFabb. He is currently working on a design for a 3D printed chair. You can read his previous updates here and here. Below is his third update and progress so far...

Hey there!

It has been a while since my last post, and a lot of work has been done since then. At the time of my previous update I was approaching my midterm presentation, during which I received a lot of feedback to continue my project with.

And that feedback has shifted the focus of the entire design so far. My previous chair was meant to be printed as several big parts that would be connected. And after presenting this the question came up on how much material that would actually cost, and if the chair is meant to be built by other people as well. Which lead to changing the design towards efficient material use, easy printing on desktop machines and also easy assembling. By doing that it becomes possible for people to use their machines to make a simple chair, and see how much is possible with a 3D printer and some filament.

The new design is a chair that consists of 3D printed connectors combined with plywood panels. The sketch on the picture shows a basic impression of how it will look. And one of the cool things about it is that it uses the properties of nGen_FLEX to make the connection to the plywood!

On the pictures you can see several printed tests to see which connection to the wood will be the best. I have also designed several different shapes for the connectors themselves and printed these in PLA Economy to see how printable they were, and how the form itself looks in real life instead of my screen.

And now it is time to start with the printing and assembling process of the entire chair, which will take me about two weeks if everything is going as planned.

So untill next time!

Niels

To be continued…

 

More on the materials

nGen_FLEX

nGen_FLEX was released in September 2016 at the TCT Show and is our first semi-flexible material. With a Shore A hardness of 95 it is a material that is ideally suited for functional parts. It is not soft and squishy like other flexible materials in the market, but allows for fast printing and printing on 3D printers using a Bowden tube. nGen_FLEX is a material for users looking for an engineering grade flexible filament with a high temperature resistance (over 120 degrees C) and good chemical resistance.

You can read the initial reception of nGen_FLEX here.

nGen_FLEX is made with Eastman Amphora™ 3D polymers, a range of co-polyesters developed with Eastman Chemical Company for 3D printing. Amphora co-polyesters are low-odor, styrene-free choices that are uniquely suited for 3D printing applications. With Amphora, items can be created that are more functional, more durable, more efficient and attractive. You can find more information about co-polyesters in the article we published last summer: What we talk about when we talk about co-polyesters.

 

PLA Economy

We launched PLA Economy in November last year and has been a best seller ever since. We offer 2.2kg filament on a big spool for a little over € 35 (excluding VAT and shipping) at the best colorFabb quality you are used to. We have extensively tested this PLA grade in our print lab. Since this week we offer a fifth color to our portfolio: Dark Blue, which ships now from stock.

Visit our webshop now.

3D Matter

In the past four years we have been active in the world of 3D printing, we have seen a lot of filament brands coming up. We understand only too well that it is often hard for users to choose the right filament for their respective applications. Luckily there are now review sites like filaments.directory (where colorFabb is the most tested and most awarded brand). One step further goes 3D Matter. With their platform Optimatter, 3D Matter thoroughly tests filaments from all over the world and makes comparisons. Recently they released a list of, what they see, are the best filaments of 2017. Needless to say they test a lot of filaments and for convenience sake 3D Matter has split the results up in 9 categories.

You can read the full test results here.

Of all the filaments tested, colorFabb came out on top or near the top in the 5 categories it participated in (not all our filaments were tested in all categories). Given all the quality brands in the world of 3D printing, we are very proud of the results!

 

Category: Ease of printing

Winner: PLA/PHA

Our very first material is still, over four years after launching, a favorite as an easy-to-print filament. PLA is already seen as an easy to print material in general and it is also still the most common in 3D printing. To come out on top is an honor, to say the least.

Graph courtesy of 3D Matter

When we launched our portfolio of PLA/PHA early 2013 (with currently 30 colors available) our aim was to make a less brittle and easy to use 3D printing filament for visual prototyping. We are happy to find that after four years it is still very well regarded.

 

Category: Visual quality

Winner: copperFill

When we released woodFill as our first special filament, we wanted to make something truly special. Not the first wood filled filament in the world, but it was a truly special filament. Within a few months we released a truly unique filament: bronzeFill and within half a year we came up with a new variety: copperFill. This very copperFill was found by 3D Matter to be the filament with the highest visual quality.

Graph courtesy of 3D Matter

Containing 80% of copper by weight, copperFill truly shines when properly post-processed. Our copperFill has been developed for aesthetical purposes and been a hit since the launch in the fall of 2014. It is a perfect material for, for instance, busts and statues, like this bust of Teddy Roosevelt:

Design: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:274086

After copperFill we launched brassFill and steelFill to our product line of metal filled filaments.

 

Category: High temperature

Runner-up: colorFabb_HT

It is a tough category, but we still came up in the top 4. colorFabb_HT was launched a year ago as the third filament in our range of co-polyesters. After colorFabb_XT and nGen we found that the market was in need of a high temperature resistant filament. colorFabb_HT has a glass temperature of over 100 degrees C and has proven to be a favorite of the high-end professional users.

colorFabb_HT is enabled by Eastman Tritan™ copolyester technology and is uniquely suited for advanced 3D printing users, particular those who need their creations to exhibit excellent durability, toughness and temperature resistance. You can find more information on our dedicated landing page.

Aside from its functionality in practical prints, colorFabb_HT Clear also allows to print near transparent prints. Another feature, as a recent post shows, is the ability to print with extreme detail.

 

Category: Affordable

Runner-up: PLA Economy

colorFabb has never been positioned to be the cheapest filament around. All in-house development, the best raw materials, high quality and our aim to have top after sales support comes at a price. However, we aim to keep the price as low as possible. Last year we listened to your calls for a more economical filament to be available from us and in November of 2016 we launched PLA Economy. We are glad to read that we have made the top of the affordable filaments tested by 3D Matter, especially since we know this is a field which is already well served in terms of the quantity of different filaments and brands that are available.

PLA Economy offers a great value for your money. One spool consists of 2.2kg of filament for a dirt cheap price of a little over € 35 (ex VAT and shipping). It is a different grade than our range of PLA/PHA, but we guarantee the same colorFabb quality. 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.

 

Category: All-round

Runner-up: nGen

What is an all-round filament? There is no such thing as a filament that can do everything and has all the characteristics that everybody needs for every application and print. At 3D Matter they asked themselves:  “If we don’t know what we are going to print, what material would we like?” And we are happy to read that nGen is one of the filaments that come out the best.

nGen is an all-round filament which has many advantages over PLA. The temperature resistance is over 80 degrees C and it works on most printers with a heated build plate.  nGen is a low-odor, styrene-free material uniquely suited for 3D printing enthusiasts, particularly those who need the flexibility to print within a wide processing temperature range.

With nGen you will have good flow properties through the printer nozzle—even at lower temperatures than some other polymers require. These properties make nGen more workable at a wider breadth of temperatures, producing reliable results and resulting in less waste. You can find more information on our dedicated landing page.

 

All filaments are available in our webshop or through our network of distributors and resellers worldwide.

 

 

 

PLA Economy Dark Blue

Yesterday we added a fifth color to our range of PLA Economy filaments: Dark Blue. Recently we held a poll on Twitter and we asked what color our users would prefer next. Dark Blue was the obvious winner and as from today we are shipping PLA Economy Dark Blue:

PLA Economy is a fantastic PLA grade which we launched in November last year. Initially we released four colors: white, red, black and silver.

 

Now we have added the always popular Dark Blue, which is similar to our very own Ultra Marine Blue that we offer in our portfolio of PLA/PHA filaments.

PLA Economy works great with basic PLA settings on a wide range of printers. Below is the first test print, our very own mascot Sir Fill:

Design: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:501831

We printed our Dark Blue Knight on the Prusa i3 Mk 2 with standard PLA settings and a 0.2mm layer height.

The XL spool does not fit on the Prusa itself, so we used one of our spool holders (design can be found here). If you want to know if the PLA Economy XL spool fits on your printer, check out the spool sizes we carry here.

PLA Economy offers a great value for your money. One spool consists of 2.2kg of filament for a dirt cheap price of a little over € 35 (ex VAT and shipping). It is a different grade than our range of PLA/PHA, but we guarantee the same colorFabb quality. Our filaments are readily available from our webshop.

Here are some print settings to get started:

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.

Or: You can use the standard PLA settings if your printer has these pre-defined and these should work fine.

You can also opt for the PLA Economy Value Pack: order four spools as a value pack and receive an immediate 10% discount!

Buy PLA Economy                                      Buy PLA Economy Value Pack

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.

King’s Day

Get your 20% discount on all filaments now! Update: this discount lasts until April 30th – midnight CET.

As annual traditions go, King’s Day (Koningsdag in Dutch) is one of the more fun and carefree public holidays we have here in the Netherlands. It’s the King’s birthday, but most people take the chance to enjoy the sun, a few drinks and all the festivities that are held throughout the country. It is the day that the entire country turns orange (our national color).

That said, we’re closed on Thursday, but we want to celebrate this day with you to give you a whopping 20% discount on all our filaments!

Crown design by colorFabb, exactly : http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:80709

Go to our webshop now. The best thing? You don’t have to do anything! You get your discount right away when checking out your cart. (Yes, we are that nice). The discount, however, does not work with other discounts (for instance: Buy 4 PLA/PHA spools and pay only 3 does not grant an additional 20% discount) and does not apply to the printers that are available. We’re nice, but not that nice.

This discount lasts until Thursday midnight CET, so get yours while you have the chance!

Have you checked if you are entitled to free shipping? For selected European countries we can offer free shipping as from a certain number of spools. Check it out here.

Need inspiration? If course we offer orange filaments (the aptly named Dutch Orange, the more all-round nGen Orange, the functional colorFabb_XT Orange or the translucent PLA Orange).

But we have much more! Choose from 30 PLA/PHA colors, from 17 nGen colors, 7  nGen_FLEX colors (including 5 skin tones), 5 colorFabb_HT colors or 14 colorFabb_XT colors! We are colorFabb after all.

Or why not our range of PLA Economy: four colors available (more on the way!) on 2.2kg spools at a little over € 35 excluding VAT. But with our 20% discount it gets even better in terms of pricing!

XL spool holder: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1862683

Always wanted to try something else and go for an awesome, non-printed look? Go check our special filaments!

colorFabb gift box by Tony Short: https://learn.colorfabb.com/colorfabb-gift-box/

Or try our value packs! Several combinations and great deals possible!

No reason to linger here longer. Click here or on the images above to go directly to the webshop and order with a big discount! Enjoy King’s Day with us (we’ll be back on Friday to ship all your orders!!)

– Team colorFabb

 

Skin tone nGen_FLEX

In September 2016 we launched nGen_FLEX during the TCT Show in Birmingham. This new semi-flexible 3D printing filament was very well received (see the initial reactions here). At the show we showed the use in the field of prosthetics and we also hinted at skin tone colors that were under development.

Design: Fingers: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:387072/#files
Hand and mount: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:380665

Today we announce the availability of nGen_FLEX in five (5!) skin tone colors. These colors were chosen and developed together with several NGOs who are active in East Africa and the Middle East and with the goal to be able to meet local sensitivities in terms of printing prosthetics.

The colors are available are:

  • PANTONE 5Y08 SP – LIGHT BEIGE
  • PANTONE 2Y10 SP – MEDIUM BEIGE
  • PANTONE 4R15 SP – LIGHT BROWN
  • PANTONE 3R14 SP – MEDIUM BROWN
  • PANTONE 1R15 SP – DARK BROWN

We based the colors on the Pantone color chart. Although very close to the Pantone references, these are not exact matches.

These spools are currently only available in our webshop and in limited quantities only.

nGen_FLEX was released in September 2016 at the TCT Show and is our first semi-flexible material. With a Shore A hardness of 95 it is a material that is ideally suited for functional parts. It is not soft and squishy like other flexible materials in the market, but allows for fast printing and printing on 3D printers using a Bowden tube. It is made with Eastman Amphora™ 3D polymer FL6000.

nGen_FLEX is a material for users looking for an engineering grade flexible filament with a high temperature resistance (over 120 degrees C) and good chemical resistance. This makes it a very suitable material for prosthetics as shown on the pictures.

PANTONE 5Y08 SP – LIGHT BEIGE

PANTONE 2Y10 SP – MEDIUM BEIGE

PANTONE 4R15 SP – LIGHT BROWN

PANTONE 3R14 SP – MEDIUM BROWN

PANTONE 1R15 SP – DARK BROWN

Update from our intern

A few weeks ago we introduced our new intern, Niels van Valburg. You can read the previous post here.

Below is the progress on his project he is working on at colorFabb:

 

Hey there!

So last time I explained a bit about what my project is going to be about. For those of you who have not yet read the previous post, I am doing my Bachelor Thesis project for Industrial Product Design at colorFabb. The idea is to print a chair with nGen_FLEX where the material properties are used to an advantage.

So to give an update on how it is going so far. I started researching how I could use metamaterials to make functional parts without having to assemble them. Metamaterials are materials that are engineered in such a way, that they have properties that they normally would not have. A good example are the colorFabb Pliers!

So I have experimented with different designs, and came up with a solution on how to apply it in my concept so far. In the sketches you can see the result.

Some of the test prints made during this study:

So now the real engineering and printing can begin. I still have to figure out how to connect all the parts of the chair together, but I already have some ideas on how it might work.

So until next time!

Niels

Niels is doing a lot of research with nGen_FLEX.

About nGen-FLEX

nGen_FLEX was developed with Eastman chemical company. Based on their work with co-polyesters nGen_FLEX makes a very compatible material with other Amphora grade materials.

With just the right amount of flex, nGen_FLEX is best described as a semi flexible material. Still capable of being fed through a Bowden tube and printed at regular PLA speeds.

Fast printing
nGen_FLEX is engineered as a semi-flexible materials which allows most users to print at regular print speeds, cutting down build times compared to other very flexible filaments. Also bowden style 3D printers, 1.75mm and 2.85mm, will be able to push this filament through without much trouble.

Temperature resistance
nGen_FLEX is temperature resistant to about 125C. That means 3D printed objects can be steam sterilized at 121C.

Flexible and tough
Printed in single perimeters and without infill or very little objects will feel quite flexible, but printed with multiple perimeters and more infill objects will be very firm and tough. The material is rated at a shore hardness of 95A.

Handy links

Lulzbot printers available at colorFabb!

We are proud to announce that we are now official Lulzbot resellers in Europe. Both the Lulzbot Mini and Lulzbot TAZ 6 are available in our webshop.

Both the Mini and the TAZ 6 are very well known in North America and they are now ready to take on Europe! We have been printing with the Mini and TAZ 6 in our print lab for quite some time and you may know that Aleph Objects, producer of the Lulzbot printers, also sells our filaments in the US.

We love printing on the Lulzbot printers. We are confident that they offer added value to our customers looking for a great and reliable printer.

LulzBot is a product line of Aleph Objects, Inc., a Free Software, Libre Innovation, and Open Source Hardware company. Aleph Objects was founded in January 2011 and headquartered in Loveland, Colorado, USA, where they develop, manufacture, and support their products. Aleph Objects was recently named the Fastest-Growing Privately Held Computer Hardware Company in the U.S., ranked at no. 122 in Inc. Magazine’s list of the fastest-growing privately-held companies in the United States.

Lulzbot Mini

The LulzBot Mini was built to work out of the box, with no complicated assembly process getting in the way of you creating. Operating the Mini is the same- straightforward software, easy to read documentation and an army of LulzBot enthusiasts eager to help out people getting started. This printer is not only easy. you will still find flexible, industrial strength capacity from this machine.

Read Make Magazine’s review of the Lulzbot Mini here.

The Lulzbot Mini is now available in our webshop at € 1.573 including VAT / € 1.300 excluding VAT.

 

Lulzbot TAZ 6

Engineers, designers, educators, and makers agree: The LulzBot TAZ 6 is the most reliable, easiest-to-use desktop 3D printer ever, featuring innovative self-leveling and self-cleaning, and a modular tool head design for flexible and multi-material upgrades. With proven 3D printing technology and one of the largest print volumes in its class, the LulzBot TAZ 6 is ready to work.

3D printing is more reliable than ever with the integrated automatic bed leveling system, all metal LulzBot v2 Hot End, and heated PEI print surface.  With the all metal hot end, you can take advantage of the cutting edge market for new materials. Perfect for both large and small objects, the heated PEI build surface keeps your 3D printed objects in place when hot and releases when cool. With Cura LulzBot Edition, you have hundreds of quickprint profiles built in for seamless 3D printing.

The Lulzbot TAZ 6 is now available in our webshop at € 3.025 including VAT / € 2.500 excluding VAT.

Not sold yet? The TAZ 6 was recently reviewed by Richard Horne (RichRap) and Joel Telling (3DPrintingNerd). See their videos below:

You can find Richard’s full blog here.

And of course Joel Telling‘s review:

Richard and Joel have convinced you, we’re sure, but we’ll throw in a bit more:

  • free shipping in Europe
  • 2 (two!) free spools of our nGen filament!

This all-round filament was released a little over a year ago. The big launch of nGen was at the CES 2016 in Las Vegas together with Lulzbot. This filament works like a dream on the Lulzbot printers.

It is has many advantages over, say, a PLA. The temperature resistance is over 80 degrees C and it works on most printers with a heated build plate.

nGen is a low-odor, styrene-free material uniquely suited for 3D printing enthusiasts, particularly those who need the flexibility to print within a wide processing temperature range. With nGen you will have good flow properties through the printer nozzle—even at lower temperatures than some other polymers require. These properties make nGen more workable at a wider breadth of temperatures, producing reliable results and resulting in less waste. Visual prototyping has never been better than with nGen.

nGen is available in our webshop, through Lulzbot and our distributor network worldwide.

You can find more about what co-polyesters are by clicking here.

bambooFill

Update (March 28th): bambooFill spools are now officially sold out. Samples are still available.

It’s always hard to say goodbye and this is time it’s no different. Recently we had to make the decision to take bambooFill out of our portfolio. This was not an easy decision. The last time we discontinued a product was early 2014 when woodFill coarse was taken out of our portfolio.

Launched in the fall of 2014, bambooFill was the second of our bio filled filaments, following woodFill and preceding corkFill.

Last week we have produced our last batch of bambooFill:

The cost price of the raw materials have risen dramatically in the past few months for bambooFill to a point where it was no longer economically viable to produce this filament. Although not a bestseller like woodFill or corkFill, bambooFill had its fair share of fans. As said, it was not an easy decision but this allows us to focus on our current portfolio and development of new filaments as well – which are surely going to please our users!

Sad to see bambooFill go? So are we, but we still have other special filaments that have excellent aesthetic properties.

Raspberry Pi 7 display case, printed with booth bambooFill and woodFill (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1585924)

The current stock we have in our warehouse is the last stock we will have, so if you are a bambooFan (or are a panda who likes to print), we recommend to take action quickly. bambooFill is available in our webshop and at several distributors and resellers. Again, the spools that have been produced now are the last ones ever.

 

Meet Niels, our intern

Today we want to introduce a new member to the team, our intern Niels. Well, we’ll let him introduce himself…

I am Niels van Valburg, and I am a soon to be industrial designer, creator and overall problem solver through design. With 3D printing I can realise my ideas.

For my bachelor thesis I am going to work with nGen_FLEX to print a seating object, like a chair or stool. The end product will be designed for FFF 3D printing!

Through experimenting with different designs and researching the material I want to understand it better in order to make a design for a chair that not only is a next step in 3D printing capabilities, but also showcases the various material characteristics of nGen_Flex.

So I am interested to hear what you think about it!

I am currently going through my own design process at the moment, but feel free to leave a comment to tell me what you think!

Until next time!

Niels

 

This is the first in a series of updates on Niels’  progress. Every few weeks he will publish what he has been doing and share the results.