And so another year has passed. Instead of a chronological recap we will shortly list some of the highlights of 2017 – new materials, a new home, a new mission statement and some of the best prints we have seen in the past 12 months. To catch up with our previous annual recaps:
New materials
This year we worked a lot behind the scenes to improve our operations and settle into our new headquarters. Despite all this we managed to release some new materials. In 2017 we ventured away from the known track and started working on brand new materials – for us.
The summer started great with the release of our brand new PETG Economy. Following PLA Economy we saw a big demand for a PETG variety and in June we announced and started shipping our first PETG.
Released in 3 basic colors, it is a great material for functional prints at a lower cost. It has already seen a rapid adoption amongst our professional users.
Read the original announcement here.
PETG is available online and ships from stock.
As recent as 10 days ago we launched our brand new PA_CF Low Warp and we have not been able to shut up about it. That’s because it is such a great material for the professional user!
The material can be printed on desktop FFF 3D printers, which have a temperature range of at least 260°C on the hot-end and the ability to mount an abrasive resistant nozzle. PA-CF Low Warp excels in tensile and impact strength and allows continues use at 120°C while retaining sufficient properties for the intended application. The formulation has been modified to reduce uptake of moisture and it also takes about 4 times longer to reach the saturation point compared to unmodified PA6. This makes PA-CF Low Warp less affected by moisture then most other nylon filaments available in the market.
The material shows good results when printed at ambient temperature, or cold bed. The advised processing temperature for this material is set between 260C and 280C. You can find more information about the printability of PA-CF Low Warp on our dedicated landing page.
Read the original announcement here.
PETG is available online and ships from stock. Or combine it with the Olsson Ruby nozzle for long lasting high quality prints!
UPCOMING: nGen_LUX
Announced during the TCT Show a few months ago, nGen_LUX has been the filament we have received the most questions about. And it is easy to see why: because it looks so damn good.
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.
However, getting this filament ready for release has been challenging and instead of releasing a filament that did not live up to your and our expectations we decided to wait a bit longer, make it perfect and release it early 2018. Stay tuned, it is almost here (and you are going to love it).
Read the original announcement here.
New HQ, aka the 3D Polymer Application Center
Back in January we moved into our new home and we couldn’t be happier. If clothes make the man (or woman), then the building makes the company. Well sort of, but first impressions count and we got a lot of fantastic great impressions from our visitors in the past year.
The building fits perfectly in our mission to offer added value with high quality material and hardware solutions to meet our customer’s needs by means of interfacing between polymer knowledge and 3D printing know how. And we all do this from our 3D Polymer Application Center located in the south of the Netherlands.
Have a look inside.
Two weeks ago we also released our new company film, highlighting the strengths of colorFabb (as well as Blackbelt 3D and Helian Polymers) as well as our concious efforts to minimize our foot print in regards to the environment. Have a look:
And with our new home we also felt it was time to update our site, as well as releasing our first catalogue with all our filaments. All our products are now easy to find both online and in print.
Printers
Aside from filaments we also expanded our portfolio with more 3D printers. Of course we already partnered with Stacker, but we also offer 2 desktop brands, Lulzbot and Robo, as well as the Sintratec SLS printers! We now offer printers in all ranges and sizes!
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Enquire with us which printer suits your needs best!
The featured prints of this year
We see a lot of prints that are shared online. We love all of them, but some of them stand out like the ones below:
Octolamp by Esteban Pacheco
Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/octolamp/
Ancient Greek Helmet by Andreas Mielonen
Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/helmet/
Moveo Robotic Arm design by BCN 3D, printed by colorFabb
Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/moveo-upgrade/
BB-8 by Dave Bagnall
Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/bb-8/
Engines by Korneel Bullens
Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/engines/
Fountain pen by Rein van der Mast
Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/fountain-pen/
Investment casting
Not a single print per se, but a way of using 3D printing in investment casting. Companies like Spectra 3D and CIREX have been using 3D printing to drastically save time and money.
Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/3d-printing-investment-casting/
That’s it from our side! We are gearing up for the new year with a lot of exciting developments coming up! Have a great 2018 everybody!
– Team colorFabb