Modular Drawers

With our new Color on Demand service we offer custom made colors to make prints that look truly unique. As an example we printed the Modular Drawers 2.0 by Dan O’Connell, aka O3D.

Design: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2539830

The drawers are great to store small things in your workshop and by printing them in unique colors, you can make them stand out and never loose anything again. Or so they say.

We printed these drawers on the Ultimaker 2+ with a 0.4mm nozzle and no support. Printed at a 0.2mm layer height and with 45mm/s. The nozzle temperature was 215C and we kept the bed at 55C.

The colors we used for these prints were:

  • RAL 4001 – red lilac
  • RAL 7001 – silver grey
  • RAL 1018 – zinc yellow
  • RAL 2002 – vermillion
  • RAL 6001 – emerald green
  • RAL 9003 – signal white
  • RAL 6027 – light green
  • RAL 7021 – black grey

As you can see there are many options and there is no reason you are not printing in your favorite color.

With Color on Demand you can request a RAL reference which will be matched in PLA by colorFabb’s team. With an MOQ of 2kg, the threshold is lower than ever for 3D printing users to create with their very own color!

The idea of Color on Demand goes back to the essence of why colorFabb was started. Back in 2012 founder and current CEO Ruud Rouleaux had the idea to produce a filament tailor-made for the end user. He says, “Back in the early days producing custom colors presented us with high additional costs and inefficient production issues, eventually leading to a more general portfolio of standard colors.”

In June we launched this new service where we can produce custom made colors in a more efficient way.

 

How does it work?

A special section has been created in our webshop. You can go there directly by clicking here. We have already matched a lot of colors:

The colors above can be ordered immediately and you can order these like any other product in our webshop. The catch? We don’t stock it. All products in Color on Demand are made to order.

If a color has not been matched by us already, you can choose a RAL color (click here) or request a custom color (click here).

The team of specialists at colorFabb then go to work to start matching this color request. You can opt to receive an injected molded plaque to verify the color first, before the spool is produced. This is optional.

Expected lead times are:

All Color on Demand spools are produced on XL spools, containing 2kg of filament in your prefered color. It does not stop there. At the same time Color on Demand is being offered for granulates as an extra supply option besides filament.

Important: If you order a Color on Demand spool, as well as regular stocked products, we will ship these together as one shipment.

How is color matching being done?

Check our disclaimer! We use the RAL Classic references as our guide. All filaments produced are optically checked by our specialized production and QA team. You can order an injected molded plaque before commiting to order a full spool. Please check in the webshop!

Please be aware that we use the actual RAL reference. Colors on a computer screen, printed images and promotional art can give a misrepresentation of the actual color. Injection molded color plaques can be ordered for a quality check before ordering a full spool.

If the color is then accepted production is started on the custom made spool, which is a single spool containing 2kg (MOQ) of PLA in either 1.75mm or 2.85mm – or more spools, of course. Whenever a color has been matched, it will be added to the colorFabb website for future references.

It does not stop there. At the same time Color on Demand is being offered for granulates as an extra supply option besides filament.

Pricing is as low as € 75 (ex VAT / shipping) for a 2kg spool of custom made filament, with tier pricing available: 10% discount when 4 spools are purchased, 20% when 10 spools are purchased.

 

Color on Demand is a first new step into the direction of customization of filaments for the end users. Starting with PLA and RAL, the possibilities to expand to other materials and color references are plenty and will be implemented at a later stage.

Basically, color on demand will enable the maker / 3D Printer user to pinpoint specific projects and claim a different position in the supply chain with exactly that color that is requested.

Users can send requests to colorFabb or visit our website:

Questions? Check the FAQ section we made first. Or contact us through sales@colorfabb.com

Benchy test print on the Stacker S4 XL

Earlier this week our first Stacker S4 XL arrived in our warehouse:

The Stacker S4 XL, next to the regular S4 and the S2. Spool box for scale.

As Stacker’s European distributor we had been eagerly awaiting this beast of a machine. The Stacker S4 XL is the latest offering in the Stacker portfolio. It is next generation industrial grade 3D printing, based on the technology and experience of the S2 and S4 printers. Featuring unique closed loop servo motor system and a massive 61cm build space (in all directions), the Stacker S4 XL is the ultimate production platform within FDM for large scale and small series 3D printing. You can find more technical specifications in our catalogue.

Of course we had to try the latest addition to our print lab for a test and we combined the latest addition (the printer) with our very first filament: PLA/PHA. As the first print we chose JUN, the Jungle Queen visual benchy by vandragon_de – whose has an exceptional collection of ships in his Thingiverse account.

For these prints we used a 0.4mm nozzle on all 4 nozzles and a 0.16mm layer height – using standard PLA settings on the printer. It took 6 hours to print the ships.

PLA/PHA is our signature PLA filament which we exactly launched 4 years ago this month. The added PHA makes our grade of PLA tougher and less brittle than generic PLA grades in the market. PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate) is like PLA a bio-polyester, so our unique blend is still 100% biodegradeable. This material is available in 30 colors. During the summer of 2018, if you buy 4 spools of PLA/PHA, you only pay 3! Use BUY4PAY3 as the coupon code when checking out.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2811241

As many of you know, we are the distributor of Stacker 3D printers in Europe. We have been working with Stacker ever since their first prototype and now have several in our print lab. In the past 5 years we have seen 3D printing emerging from a hobby market to more professional uses. A lot of our users are using 3D printing to make a living or at least support their business in one way or another. We recently published two blogs about Dutch companies Optima and Mifa and their use of Stacker 3D printers.

The Stacker S2 and S4 are industrial grade FFF 3D printers. Multiple print heads and a large build volume make them versatile printers. Small series production or large scale prototyping are no problem for the Stacker printers! This Minneapolis, USA, based manufacturer produces highly reliable printers and is a perfect match for any professional looking for serious 3D printing. You can find the full product specifications on our dedicated Stacker page (S4 XL will be added soon).

For Stacker the term “industrial grade” is not a hollow marketing term. It means their printers are designed for extra long service life, extremely low maintenance and that the printer will maintain its positional accuracy throughout its life cycle. This printer has been designed to be used in a professional environment, be it for large prototypes or small series production.

Interested? Get a quote or contact us!

Functional Design Challenge – winners!

Recently we challenged our followers to design a functional part and send it to us. You can read the initial announcement right here. The designs are to be printed with our PA-CF Low Warp filament, an engineering grade nylon based filament which can be printed with virtual no warping – even on a non-heated bed.

We received quite a few responses. All entries were judged by three experienced designers and 3D printers:

  • Steve Cox, UK – 3D printing expert when it comes to our metal filled filaments & much more!
  • Brent Wright, US – founder of LifeNabled and changing lifes by using 3D printing. See some of his amazing work here.
  • Gijs Houdijk, NL – technical development manager at colorFabb, knows 3D printing and our filaments better than you know yourself.

They have taken the month of June to judge the designs and chosen five which will be printed by colorFabb. The winners, mentioned below, will receive the print when ready, 2 spools of PA-CF Low Warp and 15% discount for life in our webshop! Thanks to the jury for taking their time!

Here are the winning designs, in no particular order:

 

Brent Heylen / part for the Shell Eco marathon, a school project

Pol Guixe / filter box for a Fiat Panda

Peter Roodenburg / Prusa fan shroud

Oscar Kogenhop / personal shoe stretcher

Jaromir Efler / bashguard for a trail bike

The parts will be printed over the coming weeks and we will keep you updated on the progress! This blog will be updated with the final results once ready, of course.

 

About PA-CF Low Warp

We launched PA-CF Low Warp late last year. It is a one of a kind polyamide formulation with the ability to print nearly warp free on non heated buildplatforms. Low infill prints come out perfectly flat on cold bed for higher infill prints 40/50C temperature is enough to obtain flat prints. The formulation has been modified to reduce the uptake of moisture by half compared to PA6 and it also takes about 4 times longer to reach the saturation point. This makes PA-CF Low Warp less sensitive to moisture than most other nylon filaments available in the market.

This tailormade formulation of polyamide features the mechanical properties of a PA6. Tensile strength was measured at 77,99 MPa and impact strength (notched) was measured at 5,44KJ/m2, test specimens both printed on Ultimaker 2+, 260C 0.1mm layerheight with 100% infill.

PA-CF Low Warp allows continues use at 120°C while retaining sufficient properties for the intended application. For those looking to print with nylon, moisture is a serious topic. PA-CF low warp has been modified to lower the uptake of moisture and slow down the time it takes to fully saturate by 4 times. In practice this means the filament is quite forgiving and user should be able to print with the material without noticing extreme influences of moisture uptake.

Users can now print high strength material without the need of heated chambers. The materials shows very good results for 3D printed parts compared to injection molded data, with only minimal loss in performance. This is a result of the excellent printability of the material, enabling users to acquire optimal performance on desktop FFF 3d printers.

Color on Demand

Make your prints truly unique. As from today we are offering Color on Demand to all our users. With Color on Demand you can request a RAL reference which will be matched in PLA by colorFabb’s team. With an MOQ of 2kg, the threshold is lower than ever for 3D printing users to create with their very own color!

The idea of Color on Demand goes back to the essence of why colorFabb was started. Back in 2012 founder and current CEO Ruud Rouleaux had the idea to produce a filament tailor-made for the end user. He says, “Back in the early days producing custom colors presented us with high additional costs and inefficient production issues, eventually leading to a more general portfolio of standard colors.”

 

Color on Demand, six years in the making, is finally seeing its release now. With the slogan “We make colors happen” colorFabb goes back to its roots as a color specialist.

This ever expanding portfolio of materials and colors have served both colorFabb and its vast number of users very well, but colorFabb received regularly questions about certain custom-made colors. A feasible way to produce was to require an MOQ of 30 or 50kg per color. Not only does the average user not need these quantities, the costs involved would be quite high.

With Color on Demand, we meet that very need by implementing an innovative production method to produce 3D printing filaments. This new production method not only allows more flexibility to produce a great, unlimited amount of colors, but is so efficient that even very small amounts of filament can be produced efficiently at no higher costs compared to ordinary filaments. Color on Demand initially starts with the material most popular in the market right now: PLA.

 

“3D printing has been maturing rapidly in the past two years,” says Ruud Rouleaux, “and as colorFabb we need to meet our customers needs by adapting to the ever changing market. Back in early 2013, when we started, not a lot of colors were available, so we made quite a splash by coming to the market with first 25 and later 30 colors.”  With Color on Demand, the potential colors on offer can be in the thousands.

Of course, producing and warehousing thousands of colors in two diameters is not a realistic scenario. After a full year of intensive testing, colorFabb is confident it can bring a new solution to its customers by producing filament to order. As a proof of concept over sixty RAL references have already been matched and can be ordered straight away.

In the past few weeks we have been sending out some trial orders. For instance, 3D designer Todd Olsen contacted since he was looking for a specific beige color in PLA. As it happened, this was one of the colors we just matched and we could accomodate this request right away:

RAL1001, Beige RAL

Todd said about his Color on Demand experience (actually, the very first we shipped!): “When I needed a filament to print a scan of my friend, colorFabb’s ‘Color on Demand’ was there to assist me with getting the color filament that matched my friend’s skin tone. Awesome quality, with great customer service!”

 

How does it work?

A special section has been created in our webshop. You can go there directly by clicking here. The colors that have been matched already can be seen immediately (examples as shown above) and you can order these like any other product in our webshop. The catch? We don’t stock it. All products in Color on Demand are made to order.

If a color has not been matched by us already, you can choose a RAL color (click here) or request a custom color (click here).

This is you: choosing the right color

The team of specialists at colorFabb then go to work to start matching this color request. You can opt to receive an injected molded plaque to verify the color first, before the spool is produced. This is optional.

Expected lead times are:

All Color on Demand spools are produced on XL spools, containing 2kg of filament in your prefered color. It does not stop there. At the same time Color on Demand is being offered for granulates as an extra supply option besides filament.

Important: If you order a Color on Demand spool, as well as regular stocked products, we will ship these together as one shipment.

 

How is color matching being done?

Check our disclaimer! We use the RAL Classic references as our guide. All filaments produced are optically checked by our specialized production and QA team. You can order an injected molded plaque before commiting to order a full spool. Please check in the webshop!

Please be aware that we use the actual RAL reference. Colors on a computer screen, printed images and promotional art can give a misrepresentation of the actual color. Injection molded color plaques can be ordered for a quality check before ordering a full spool.

If the color is then accepted production is started on the custom made spool, which is a single spool containing 2kg (MOQ) of PLA in either 1.75mm or 2.85mm – or more spools, of course. Whenever a color has been matched, it will be added to the colorFabb website for future references.

It does not stop there. At the same time Color on Demand is being offered for granulates as an extra supply option besides filament.

Pricing is as low as € 75 (ex VAT / shipping) for a 2kg spool of custom made filament, with tier pricing available: 10% discount when 4 spools are purchased, 20% when 10 spools are purchased.

 

Color on Demand is a first new step into the direction of customization of filaments for the end users. Starting with PLA and RAL, the possibilities to expand to other materials and color references are plenty and will be implemented at a later stage.

Basically, color on demand will enable the maker / 3D Printer user to pinpoint specific projects and claim a different position in the supply chain with exactly that color that is requested.

Color on Demand is now live. Users can send your requests to colorFabb or visit our website:

Questions? First check the FAQ section we made. Or contact us through sales@colorfabb.com

 

Mifa: Or how 3D printing helps in production

There are many ways 3D printing can be used: prototyping, final products, gadgets, investment casting, art, etc. But companies, especially the ones where physical products are being made, are increasingly  looking at 3D printing for something else: tools, fixtures and parts in production. Like Mifa does. Mifa is a nearby company specialized in aluminium profiles.

 

Mifa is a leading company in the extrusion of magnesium profiles and aluminium profiles. They produce fully-finished precision products with dimensional tolerances from ± 0.02 mm. This level of aluminium extrusion precision means unprecedented possibilities. It gives designers enormous freedom in design, without the restrictions of standard specifications. As a result of this it is possible to achieve the optimum product.

About a year ago Mifa made the decision to purchase a Stacker S4 printer. Because internally there was not enough capacity in house to have tooling made the conventional way, they started with their first Ultimaker at the end of 2015. We talked with Daan Broeksteeg, project engineer, why they use 3D printing and the Stacker in combination with colorFabb filaments in particular.

Testing 3d printed clamping parts at Mifa

“The primary goal was to print clamping devices for our CNC machines. However, we found that 3D printing has many advantages and is being used in almost all departments of our company one way or another,” says Daan. “For instance, molds to bundle packages in or verification molds.” The Ultimaker printers were a great start for Mifa to get to learn to process of 3D printing and get people familiar with the process, but the need arose for a more industrial printer. With colorFabb as Stacker’s distributor in the vicinity the contacts were easily made.

Daan says: “Stacker has added value because of the tight tolerances that are very important in CNC milling. Because Stacker produces four parts at the same time, the dimensional deviation between the prints is minimal. This is definitely the main advantage of the Stacker.” As from the beginning Mifa uses colorFabb_XT for its parts. colorFabb_XT is made with Amphora AM1800 3D polymer is a low-odor, styrene-free choice that is uniquely suited for 3D printing applications. Daan explains why:

“We have done extensive research for the best material we should use. We found that colorFabb_XT has minimal moisture absorption (<1%) which is a benefit in a CNC environment with coolant nearby.”

It is clear that the Stacker 3D printer in combination with the right materials has advantages for Mifa’s CNC department. And it doesn’t stop there. Daan explains that as 3D printing is used in multiple departments, the printers are moving around a bit. It is the goal to have a dedicated print lab in the near future.

We thank Daan Broeksteeg for his contribution to this blog.

 

After our blog about Optima Staaltechniek Mifa is another great example of how 3D printing brings added value to a company that needs reliability and quality delivered to its customers. The match of the Stacker printer with our range of functional co-polyesters, is a perfect all-in-one solution.

The Stacker S2 and S4 are industrial grade FFF 3D printers. Multiple print heads and a large build volume make them versatile printers. Small series production or large scale prototyping are no problem for the Stacker printers! This US based printer is very reliable and is a perfect match for any professional looking for serious 3D printing. You can find the full product specifications on our dedicated Stacker page.

For Stacker the term “industrial grade” is not a hollow marketing term. It means their printers are designed for extra long service life, extremely low maintenance and that the printer will maintain its positional accuracy throughout its life cycle. This printer has been designed to be used in a professional environment, be it for large prototypes or small series production.

As many of you know, we are the distributor of Stacker 3D printers in Europe. We have been working with Stacker ever since their first prototype and now have several in our print lab. In the past 5 years we have seen 3D printing emerging from a hobby market to more professional uses. A lot of our users are using 3D printing to make a living or at least support their business in one way or another.

Interested? Get a quote or contact us!

Coming Soon: Color on Demand

Color on Demand is a new groundbreaking service by colorFabb that allows users to have their preferred color matched and produced. Starting with RAL color references in PLA, this new service offers unique colors to be printed and to be ordered at a low MOQ. You will be able to order as from 2kg of filament in the color you need.

Due to a new innovative production method we are able to meet the immediate color needs of our users. This allows us to offer more colors than ever, whenever they are needed. To ensure the proof of concept works dozens of RAL colors have already been matched with more to follow on a weekly basis.

 

You can also request a certain color that has not been matched yet and we will start the process for you. We offer this service on spools containing 2kg of filament (the MOQ) or pellets (MOQ 5kg). You will also be able to order a color plaque to approve the color first before ordering a spool.

Pricing will start at € 75 per 2kg spool (ex VAT / shipping) with tier pricing as from 4 and 10 spools.

Lead times will be:
– Existing colors: 5 – 8 business days
– New color matches: 2 – 3 weeks

The full list of colors that have already been approved and will be available as from day one:

PLA 500001 Sky blue RAL 5015
PLA 600001 Pastel green RAL 6019
PLA 200002 Bright red orange RAL 2008
PLA 300001 Raspberry red RAL 3027
PLA 100001 Beige RAL 1001
PLA 200003 Red orange RAL 2001
PLA 300002 Signal red RAL 3001
PLA 100002 Oyster white RAL 1013
PLA 400001 Telemagenta RAL 4010
PLA 500003 Turquoise blue RAL 5018
PLA 500004 Sapphire blue RAL 5003
PLA 600003 Emerald green RAL 6001
PLA 900001 Traffic white RAL 9016
PLA 900002 Pure white RAL 9010
PLA 100003 Melon yellow RAL 1028
PLA 600006 Yellow green RAL 6018
PLA 800001 Nut brown RAL 8011
PLA 700001 Silver grey RAL 7001
PLA 700004 Black grey RAL 7021
PLA 700005 Graphite grey RAL 7024
PLA 700006 Yellow grey RAL 7034
PLA 700008 Quartz grey RAL 7039
PLA 700009 Silk grey RAL 7044
PLA 700010 Telegrey 4 RAL 7047
PLA 300003 Light pink RAL 3015
PLA 400002 Red lilac RAL 4001
PLA 700011 Window grey RAL 7040
PLA 400003 Claret violet RAL 4004
PLA 200005 Vermilion RAL 2002
PLA 800002 Signal brown RAL 8002
PLA 900003 Signal white RAL 9003
PLA 100004 Zinc yellow RAL 1018
PLA 600008 Light green RAL 6027
PLA 600010 Pure green RAL 6037
PLA 500010 Azure blue RAL 5009
PLA 600011 Mint turquoise RAL 6033
PLA 600012 Leaf green RAL 6002
PLA 700012 Signal grey RAL 7004
PLA 700013 Iron grey RAL 7011

Note that all filaments will be specifically produced for you. Color on Demand will be available as from June this year. A full announcement will be made when we launch. Stay tuned…

Spring Break Sale 2018

We’re having our annual spring break sale this week for a limited time. Now it’s time for you to try our latest filament or get back to some of our classics like PLA/PHA, bronzeFill or woodFill!

 

 

Here is the current sale:

10% off on all value packs! – A great deal has just been made greater! We even have a value pack containing all our latest filament… Click here.

 

Some, not all, of our value packs on sale right now.

 

20% off on all spools! – One spool or a dozen: 20% off right away! Go straight to our webshop!

 

10% off on all desktop 3D printers – Both Robo3D and Lulzbot printers, all of them shipping from stock and with free spools of filament!

This sale does not work in combination with other discounts and does not apply to samples. Sale lasts for the entire long weekend until Sunday (May 13th 2018), midnight CET. We ship worldwide and from stock!

Use coupon code SPRINGBREAK in our webshop or simply click here.

Can’t choose? Make life easier by flipping through our updated catalogue. Our filaments, nicely sorted and with all the information, tips and tricks you need:

 

3D Maps

Another application that 3D printing has made more accessible is the creation of 3D maps. We all have seen the 3D maps at tourist attractions and information centers of mountainous regions. Making these maps is quite expensive. We were recently approached by a customer to look into the possibilities of making a 3D map for the region he is active in. We may publish about that project later, but in the meantime we produced a map of our own, using the full print bed of the Stacker S2 and using PLA Economy White. When choosing a mountainous region to print we settled for nothing less than the mountain range on this planet – the Himalayas to be exact.

The black thread indicates the Everest base camp trek, approximately, and in real life takes about 8 days.

The region printed here is the Sagarmatha National Park in Nepal, the region where one can walk the Everest Base Camp trek. From Lukla airport, at the bottom of the print it takes up to 7 or 8 days to reach base camp – a stunning trek in real life and marked in black on this printed model.

We created the file by using Terrain2STL – a great online application to make your own custom 3D maps. We printed on the Stacker S2 at 0.16mm layer height, using a 0.8mm nozzle. The making of the print took 67 hours, using the full print bed size of the S2.

 

For this print we used our trusted PLA Economy, a highly popular filament used for bulk projects by many of our users… and ourselves.

PLA Economy is a fantastic PLA grade which we launched in November of 2016. Initially we released four colors: white, red, black and silver. Recently 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 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. 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.

 

About the Stacker

Both the Stacker S2 and its larger sibling Stacker S4 are industrial grade FFF 3D printers. Multiple print heads and a large build volume make them versatile printers. Small series production or large scale prototyping are no problem for the Stacker printers! This US based printer is very reliable and is a perfect match for any professional looking for serious 3D printing. You can find the full product specifications on our dedicated Stacker page.

For Stacker the term “industrial grade” is not a hollow marketing term. It means their printers are designed for extra long service life, extremely low maintenance and that the printer will maintain its positional accuracy throughout its life cycle. This printer has been designed to be used in a professional environment, be it for large prototypes or small series production.

The Stacker S2 in the middle

As many of you know, we are the distributor of Stacker 3D printers in Europe. We have been working with Stacker ever since their first prototype and now have several in our print lab. In the past 5 years we have seen 3D printing emerging from a hobby market to more professional uses. A lot of our users are using 3D printing to make a living or at least support their business in one way or another.

Interested? Get a quote or contact us!

PA-CF Low Warp Design Challenge

3D printing made functional… by you

We like our challenges and for once we ask you to challenge us. With PA-CF Low Warp we think we have developed one of the most durable and functional filaments in the market. And we want to demonstrate that it. We ask you, the creative community, to send us your designs that we will then print with PA-CF Low Warp.

 

Why PA-CF Low Warp?

We launched PA_CF Low Warp late last year. It is a one of a kind polyamide formulation with the ability to print nearly warp free on non heated buildplatforms. Low infill prints come out perfectly flat on cold bed for higher infill prints 40/50C temperature is enough to obtain flat prints. The formulation has been modified to reduce the uptake of moisture by half compared to PA6 and it also takes about 4 times longer to reach the saturation point. This makes PA-CF Low Warp less sensitive to moisture than most other nylon filaments available in the market.

This tailormade formulation of polyamide features the mechanical properties of a PA6. Tensile strength was measured at 77,99 MPa and impact strength (notched) was measured at 5,44KJ/m2, test specimens both printed on Ultimaker 2+, 260C 0.1mm layerheight with 100% infill.

PA-CF Low Warp allows continues use at 120°C while retaining sufficient properties for the intended application. For those looking to print with nylon, moisture is a serious topic. PA-CF low warp has been modified to lower the uptake of moisture and slow down the time it takes to fully saturate by 4 times. In practice this means the filament is quite forgiving and user should be able to print with the material without noticing extreme influences of moisture uptake.

Users can now print high strength material without the need of heated chambers. The materials shows very good results for 3D printed parts compared to injection molded data, with only minimal loss in performance. This is a result of the excellent printability of the material, enabling users to acquire optimal performance on desktop FFF 3d printers.

 

What are we looking for?

There are filaments for vases and trinkets and there are filaments that need to be functional. This is the latter one. With this design contest we aim for original designs that, when printed, can be used in real life. We’re not going to make it easy for you. Below is a summary what we are looking for:

  • The design needs to be functional
  • The design needs to be for everyday use (in a domestic, business or industrial environment)
  • The design needs to be original (no copy-pasting existing parts without any adjustments – you can however make an existing part “better”)
  • The design needs to be IP-free
  • The design needs to be printable within a day 24-48 hours on a normal printer
  • The application needs to be suitable for the toughness of the filament (nothing that can also be done in, say, PLA)
  • Preferably the application of the print can be done by us, in-house so we can test your design
  • You can send in multiple entries (one by one, please)

 

Who’s judging?

Of all the entries we will receive, a jury will pick out the five best and those will be printed by us. These five winning designs will be picked by a jury of experts and your peers. The jury is:

  • Steve Cox, UK – 3D printing expert when it comes to our metal filled filaments & much more!
  • Brent Wright, US – founder of LifeNabled and changing lifes by using 3D printing. See some of his amazing work here.
  • Gijs Houdijk, NL – technical development manager at colorFabb, knows 3D printing and our filaments better than you know yourself.

Check out our recent blog about printing with PA-CF Low Warp to see some excellent examples of the filament is being used in real life.

What’s in it for you?

For the five entries we choose and will print:

  • You’ll receive the print
  • You’ll receive 2 spools of PA-CF Low Warp filament
  • We’ll share your mad design skills with the world
  • So even if you don’t have a printer, you can have your design(s) printed by our team!
  • All valid entries will receive a 15% discount on colorFabb filaments. For life.

 

How?

The hardest part is desiging… and that is entirely up to you. Remember, we are looking for awesome ideas. After that it’s simple. Click here to go to our form. Fill it out, upload the files and sit back.

You can submit your entry until May 31st 2018. After that we will choose five designs to print and test in real life. We will keep you updated through social media of the progress of the prints, etc.

nGen_LUX on the Builder Extreme

When it comes to printing large and colorful objects, the combination of nGen_LUX on the Builder Extreme is hard to beat. The Extreme series of printers by Dutch printer company Builder are large scale printers for professional, but affordable 3D printing.

nGen_LUX works really well with the color mix tool of the Builder Extreme. Various Builder Extreme customers use nGen_LUX for printing outrageous art which bring the object to life.

How does color mixing work? Exclusive to the Builder printers, Builder has developed software that is able to change the percentage of both extruders in your gcode while printing. For example, printing from 100% yellow (bottom) to 100% pink (top) will create an orange hybrid along the way. On their website they compare it with squeezing out different colors of tooth paste through one opening.

In the words of the Builder team: “nGen_LUX is the perfect material when looking for a shiny finish with almost no visible lines.”

The vases were sliced with Simplify and printed at 0.2mm layer with a 0.4mm nozzle and with general nGen settings. With nGen_LUX we were already able to make amazing prints, but with the color mixing process unique prints are possible that would stun everyone!

When size matters…

 

nGen_LUX is a unique development based on our best-selling co-polyester nGen, made with Eastman Amphora AM3300 3d Polymer. The excellent clarity of the base AM3300 makes this material uniquely suited for the extremely rare pigment used in nGen_LUX. The material uses diffuse reflection to scatter light in all directions. For the eye it’s nearly impossible to spot layering, even at 0.2mm layerheight. nGen_LUX allows users to print visually appealing models without the need of post processing. nGen_LUX features all the characteristics of our regular nGen, good chemical stability, elevated temperature resistance (85C) and thus allows users to print creations that are functional, durable, efficient and attractive.

 

It is now available in 5 awesome colors:

nGen_LUX is our new standard in how a 3D printed object can look. It is the filament for the users who wants to bring something extraordinary their work. It is the filament that needs to give that added value. 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. Believe us when we say that the photos don’t do the prints real justice…

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. It can be printed with the very same settings as nGen.

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