Sand casting

We have written several times about using 3D printing for investment casting, but we also see an increased use of our filaments for sand casting. It is a metal casting process where sand is being used as the mold material. With around 60% of all metal castings being made with sand casting, it is a very interesting technology for 3D printing.

Design by Slogaholik (Grabcad link)

The sand casting process employs techniques that produces shaped parts of nearly any design, including very large parts and those with internal passageways. The process is referred to as sand casting because the mold that contains the cavity into which metal is poured is made of compressed or compacted sand. The mold cavities and gate system are created by compacting the sand around models called patterns, by carving directly into the sand, or by 3D printing.

We have printed one halve of a pattern for the sand casting process, here using PLA Economy Silver on the Stacker S4 XL. The pattern is used to form the cavity in sand in which metal can be poured afterwards.

The total printing time was 4 days and we used 3.1kg of material for this print, using a 0.8mm nozzle, 0.16mm layer height and 13% infill every 2 layers.

ABOUT THE FILAMENT

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 which lowers the costs per spool immediately.

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. It has been one of colorFabb’s most popular filaments ever since launching 3 years ago.

 

ABOUT STACKER 3D PRINTERS

The Stacker 3D printers are industrial grade FFF 3D printers. Recently the even larger Stacker S4 XL was added to the portfolio. 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 printers on display in our print lab

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 6 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!

Rolling Jack

With a lot of 3D printing tools at our disposal it becomes easier (and more fun!) to print large, multi-material prints. As a visual prototype we printed this rolling jack with various materials in our print lab on the Stacker S4 XL.

Design by Sevatar (Grabcad link)

We printed on the Stacker S4-XL with a 0.6mm nozzle for an optimal balance between speed and quality. It took quite some time to print this one:

  • Main body: 70 hours – 1kg material used
  • Other silver parts: 65 hours – 850 gr. material used
  • Black parts: 20 hours – 280gr
  • White parts: 12 hours – 140gr
  • Handle: 2,5 hours – 30 gr.

The rolling jack is entirely made out of PLA and we used various PLA grades from our portfolio where they would fit best, aesthetically:

All these materials are available in our webshop and ship from stock! All parts of the rolling jack were glued together with Loctite glue, which is now also available in our webshop! Check out the accessories we currently offer by clicking here.

 

ABOUT STACKER 3D PRINTERS

The Stacker 3D printers are industrial grade FFF 3D printers. Recently the even larger Stacker S4 XL was added to the portfolio. 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 printers on display in our print lab

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 6 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!

Jerrycan

Real size prototyping can be a problem on most desktop 3D printers. With build limits of 30cm squared, at best, the size of the print needs to be small – or one has to start chopping up the print and assemble it later. With the Stacker S4- XL one can print prototypes in their real size, like this jerrycan:

Design by Langgeng (Grabcad link)

The 10 liter jerrycan took 77 hours to print on the Stacker S4-XL and consumed 1kg of filament. For the filament, we used our Color on Demand Traffic Red, RAL 3020.

About Stacker 3D Printers

The Stacker 3D printers are industrial grade FFF 3D printers. Recently the even larger Stacker S4 XL was added to the portfolio. 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 printers on display in our print lab

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 6 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!

 

About Color on Demand

With Color on Demand we have already matched hundreds of colors. We have published the RAL references (over 100 already) online which can readily be ordered. But we can match more than only RAL colors. Some customers send us physical references, others send us well-known color references like CMYK, Pantone or other standards which we then try to match as close as possible.

RAL 3020 is one of the brightest and most stunning reds in our portfolio

With Color on Demand we re-invented the way makers can choose colors. No longer you are bound to the colors that have been pre-selected by filament manufacturers anymore. Now you can order the color you actually need and want.

We have already matched over 100 RAL colors, which can easily be ordered online. Click here to see our collection. You can order as from one 750 grams spool! If we have not matched your favorite color, request it by using our online form. Starting from a 2kg spool we match the specific color you want, based on RAL, other well-known color references or a physical reference.

With Color on Demand you can say “yes” to that print job which needs a specific color or a look you have been waiting for. Stun your colleagues, family or other makers with your prints. You could already print one-of-a-kind designs, now you can also make them look unique!

Check out more recent Color on Demand prints by clicking here. Make sure you read our color disclaimer. Want to know more about Color on Demand, check our our FAQ page.

Spring Break Sale 2019

Ah, Spring… The season of new beginnings, growth and of course our annual Spring Break Sale. In short this means the following discounts right now in our webshop:

And the great thing? We lowered our prices already so you don’t have to use a coupon code!

Usual small print: These discounts cannot be combined with other discounts, do not apply to samples or hardware and accessories and is valid until June 3rd 2019.

Since the discount only lasts for a limited time this is your chance to stock up on your favorite filaments!

Important notice

Due to the upcoming long holiday weekend (Ascension Day) we will be closed on Thursday and Friday. No filaments will ship during these days. All orders placed from Wednesday afternoon until Sunday will ship on Monday June 3rd.

With the current discount, why not try our brand new light weight PLA: LW-PLA? LW-PLA is the first filament of its kind using an active foaming technology to achieve lightweight, low density PLA parts. At around 230C this material will start foaming, increasing its volume by nearly 3 times. Users can decrease material flow by 65% to achieve lightweight parts, or use the expanding properties to effectively reduce print time by using big layer heights or single extra thick perimeters. Click here to go to our webshop.

 

Or fan favorite bronzeFill, which turned 5 years young this month! Click on Andreas Mielonen’s ancient Greek helmet to go directly to our webshop.

 

With 10% discount on Color on Demand, this your chance to start printing with your favorite color! You can choose from already matched RAL colors, 100+ options to choose from, or contact us with a custom color request.

The threshold for custom colors has never been this low in the history of 3D filament making. Our new coloring process allows us to efficiently produce starting from a single 750g spool up to any amount you might need. Minimum order quantity for matched RAL colors is as low as one single 750g spool and custom colors will be made starting from a single 2.2kg spool.

You can find out more here.

5 years bronzeFill

Originally posted in May 2019

This week it has been exactly five years that we announced bronzeFill at the Fabcon show in Erfurt. The fantastic material was the first of its kind: our unique PLA/PHA compound with real bronze in it. Straight from the printer parts look almost laser sintered with a matte finish and with a bit of sanding and polishing the bronze particles will start to shine & shimmer unlike any 3d printing filament you have seen before. The weight of the material is something special as well, over 3 times heavier than our regular PLA/PHA.

 

One of the first bronzeFill prints on the Ultimaker Original at Fabcon 2014. Translation from German: 3D Printing with Bronze

The uniqueness of this filament was not lost on our users. The announcement was made in May and we took in a lot of pre-orders. A lot. Finally, once we had produced the first batch and started shipping we were sold immediately.

bronzeFill has been a massive hit ever since that summer five years ago and the one that has been in backorder the most. It is one of those bestsellers which is almost constantly in production. Its continuous popularity is testament to its quality and to celebrate we have collected some of the most amazing prints that we have seen. Mind you, these are only a small collection of all the fantastic prints out there (click on the words “Original post” to go to the blog for more information).

Curious how you can post-process bronzeFill and our other metal filled filaments? Check out our collection of handy tutorials and examples here.

 

Steve Cox

Special mention goes to Steve Cox, who has proven himself to be one of the masters of bronzeFill. He has shared his excellent work over the years. Below a few examples (and we have one in the office as well!)

Original post

 

Original post

 

Awards

Our special filaments are ideally suited for special occasions, like awards. We have printed several ourselves and have seen quite a few popping up online. Below are our examples:

Bio Plastics Award Original post

 

Lodewijk van der Grinten Prijs Original post

 

Scanned and printed carnaval statue Original post

 

Gifts

bronzeFill can also make terrific gifts. The extra weight gives that quality look and feel that normal plastics don’t have.

Tony Short’s amazing colorFabb themed gift box  Original post

 

Rein van der Mast’s fountain pen Original post

 

“It belongs in a museum!”

Even museum pieces, replicas or just awesome prints can be made with bronzeFill.

Andreas Mielonen’s ancient Greek helmet Original post

 

Esteban Pacheco’s epic Octolamp Original post

 

gCreate’s Rocket Ship Original post

 

This is by no means a complete listing of all the amazing prints we have seen, but only a short summary. It has been a fan favorite ever since its launch half a decade ago in 2014 and was followed by copperFill, brassFill (since discontinued) and steelFill in our special filament range.

bronzeFill ships daily, worldwide and from stock (mostly). Click on the image below to go directly to our webshop:

Surfboard fin

3D printing has been used for prototyping since the dawn of mankind. Literally. We have found that with certain prototypes weight is of the essence and with our brand new lightweight filament LW-PLA we have solved the problem of many prototypers: weight reduction. A great example of this is this in-house designed surfboard fin, part of a bigger project. Weight was of the essence and we needed the part to be as light as possible.

As you can see, the weight has been reduced significantly. It is not the weight of the world in absolute terms, but with print jobs where every gram matters, like these foam core parts LW-PLA is the solution for a lot of users.

We printed this surfboard fin on the Stacker S4 with 0.2mm layer height, 250C and 40% flow.

Curious how the print with LW-PLA? Learn more here!

LW-PLA is the first filament of its kind using an active foaming technology to achieve lightweight, low density PLA parts. At around 230C this material will start foaming, increasing its volume by nearly 3 times. Users can decrease material flow by 65% to achieve lightweight parts, or use the expanding properties to effectively reduce print time by using big layer heights or single extra thick perimeters.

“ColorFabb came up with something really special and in my opinion a real game changer.”  – Bart Tangermann

Read Bart’s review of LW-PLA here.

Decreasing flow means using less filament. Therefore users can expect to print 2-3 times more parts using LW-PLA compared to a regular PLA spool. LW-PLA prints in a fantastic matte looking surface finish and is very easy to post process. Any oozing or stringing artifacts rub right off and the surface is easily sanded for a smooth finish.

LW-PLA is available in Black and Natural and is available now. We ship daily, worldwide and from stock.

“We need challenging materials, we need to work with or find ways around the limitations and allow more people to experiment with exciting developments like this foaming PLA.” – Richard Horne

Read Richard’s review of LW-PLA here.

 

Machine clamp

As we have seen before, 3D printing can be used in many production companies to create machine clamps. By using the right filament (and printer) it is easier, faster and cheaper than ever to optimize a production line so it suits your needs. Whereas 3D printing already has proven itself to shorten the prototype stage during product development, in production it can also bring down time to market and costs, while also adding more flexibility in the process.

This machine clamp was designed by our colorFabb team as a demonstrator during the recent Brabantse Metaaldagen, a tradeshow for the metal industry where we had a stand to demonstrate the added value of FDM/FFF 3D printing for various industries.

The clamp was printed on the Ultimaker 2+ using our PA-CF Low Warp with 100% infill. Print settings:

  • Printing temperature: 260C
  • Print speed: 35mm/s
  • Heated bed: –

We printed with a 0.2mm layer height.

Check out our handy tutorial How to Print with PA-CF Low Warp!

About PA-CF Low Warp

PA-CF Low Warp was launched a little over a year ago. It is a one of a kind polyamide formulation with the ability to print nearly warp free on non heated buildplatforms. PA-CF Low Warp excels in tensile and impact strength and allows continues use at 120°C while retaining sufficient mechanical properties.

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. 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.

A special point of attention is the abrasive nature of the carbon fibers. In general these fibers will accelerate the nozzle-wear of brass nozzles, much faster than unfilled filaments. ColorFabb recommends to using wear resistant nozzles, such as E3D hardened steel nozzle or Olsson Ruby nozzle.

PA-CF Low Warp is available now and ships on spools containing either 700gr of 2kg of filament. Click here to go directly to our webshop.

Mosaic Palette

We are happy to announce that as from today we also offer the Mosaic Palette 2 and Palette 2 Pro in our webshop. At colorFabb we believe in a great 3D printing experience and will add more accesories in due time. We only add items we truly believe in and which have been extensively tested by us. Click here to go directly to our accessories portfolio.

The Palette 2 and Palette 2 Pro take up to four filaments and combines them into a single filament strand. This strand is then fed to your printer, enabling your single-extruder printer to create multi-filament prints!

Mosaic is a digital manufacturing company creating the next generation of product delivery systems. Founded in 2014, Mosaic began by enabling 3D printers to create substantially more useful and valuable products. Now, they’re working to scale this technology to help millions of people get value from the upcoming waves of customization and personalization.

We’re proud to be Mosaic’s partner in their quest to increase the flexibility of 3D printing for our users worldwide.

Please note the Palette 2 and Palette 2 Pro only work with 1.75mm filament.

Palette 2

Palette 2 combines four filaments and feeds them into your printer in real time, no modifications required.

  • Print impossible overhangs with water-soluble support.
  • Make heat- and water-resistant models in four colors of durable PETG.
  • Create functional, end-use products by combining PLA with a flexible TPU.
  • Improved hardware design helps to create consistent and reliable bonds between filament.
  • Color touchscreen includes built-in Gradient and Pattern modes.

 

Palette 2 Pro

Palette 2 Pro includes all of the above and:

  • All aluminum Splice Core Pro allows for faster splicing and cooling, improving the overall print time
  • Includes additional parts to ensure optimal performance and maintenance
  • Sleek all-black casing

Multi-color printing, even on your single nozzle printer!

The colorFabb logo, printed with Color on Demand PLA. Original post here.

 

Mosaic keychain, printed with Color on Demand PLA. Original post here.

 

WoodFill – the original

Today’s blog looks back at woodFill, our first special 3D printing filament. Launched back in November 2013 it marked the first step into different materials beyond our standard PLA/PHA filaments. There are already many filaments called woodFill in the world. colorFabb woodFill is the original woodFill.

Achieving amazing results on the Lulzbot Mini: https://learn.colorfabb.com/woodfill-lulzbot/

A bit of history

True story: We produced the first test run of filament late October 2013, put it on the printer and… it worked! Flawlessly! This was mere days before we were off to the 3D Printing Show in London, early November 2013. With the few spools we had we printed a lot of examples, put them in our suitcases and off we went! (By train, it was still the olden days…) We heard the following many, many times during those 3 days:

“It smells like… wood.”

“That’s because there is real wood in the filament.”

“But how did you get the smell in there?”

“Because there is real wood in the filament.”

We admit, the main component is our signature PLA/PHA, but the wood is what makes the filament truly special.

We started with two variations: woodFill Fine and woodFill Coarse. Problem was that the Coarse could only be printed with a 0.8 nozzle and sales reflected that people were not eager to switch nozzles a lot. Only after a few months we discontinued woodFill Coarse and focused entirely on woodFill Fine. But a few times every year someone informs if there are still some spools of the Coarse left. Although we have seen great results with a 0.4mm nozzle, a lot of users would be more comfortable printing with a 0.6mm nozzle.

Printing with woodFill is rather easy:

Adviced 3d printing temperature:

195-220C*

Adviced 3d print speed:

40 – 100 mm/s

Advised Heated bed (if you have one, not strictly necessary)

50-60C

woodFill has been added to the Ultimaker Market Place. You can easily download and use the settings in the latest Cura version for your Ultimaker printer. These settings have been verified by both colorFabb and Ultimaker to ensure a flawless user experience.

Print+ headphone. Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/printplus/

We have literally sent out thousands of woodFill spools all over the world and it has been a solid hit with our customers, old and new. Its ease of printing has really helped, but again: the smell of wood during printing, that authentic woodshop idea has been appealing for a lot of printers. And be honest: the prints look like they have been carved from… wood. Below are some great examples of prints made over the past few years:

Puzzle pieces

 

 

Tony Short’s gift box. Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/colorfabb-gift-box/

 

Megafone amplifiers by AKLIH. Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/aklih/

 

 

 

 

BioPlastics Award. Base plate printed with woodFill: https://learn.colorfabb.com/bioplastics-award/

 

Design by Labern: https://learn.colorfabb.com/steelfill-canon/

Elephant design  Acorn design Both the elephant and acorn were printed on the Ultimaker 2+ with a 0.6mm nozzle and a 0.2mm layer height. Print speed was 40mm/s with 20% infill and a nozzle temperature of 210C. Part of the acorn was printed with corkFill.

 

woodFill is available at all times and ships from stock. It is a very popular filament and altough it sometimes seems to be out of stock we are always in production and ship as soon as possible. Click on the spool below to go directly to the webshop:

 

Light Weight Drone Parts

With our brand new lightweight PLA, LW-PLA, we offer a filament which is ideally suited for prints where weight matters. Drone enthusiasts have embraced 3D printing a long time ago. Replacement parts and customisation are easier than ever when reparing or enhancing ones drone. However, weight is always an issue with drones and with LW-PLA we offer a solution to reduce this with up to 65%!

Design by TheShortCrayon / link

We have printed the 82mm ducted brushless frame by TheShortCrayon for the 82mm Inductrix-style Brushless Quad with both PLA Economy and LW-PLA as a comparison. PLA Economy was printed with standard PLA settings. For the LW-PLA we use the following settings:

  • 0.2mm layer height
  • 245C nozzle temperature
  • 50C bed temperature
  • Printed with 38% flow

As you can see one reduces the weight significantly from 31 to 12 grams for this printed part!

Learn how to print with LW-PLA in our handy tutorial!

Micro FPV drones are all about power and performance. Reducing weight increases flight time and overall performance, which is why LW-PLA is an ideal candidate as a go-to filament.

LW-PLA is the first filament of its kind using an active foaming technology to achieve lightweight, low density PLA parts. At around 230C this material will start foaming, increasing its volume by nearly 3 times. Users can decrease material flow by 65% to achieve light weight parts, or use the expanding properties to effectively reduce print time by using big layer heights or single extra thick perimeters.

Decreasing flow means using less filament. Therefore users can expect to print 2-3 times more parts using LW-PLA compared to a regular PLA spool. LW-PLA prints in a fantastic matte looking surface finish and is very easy to post process. Any oozing or stringing artifacts rub right off and the surface is easily sanded for a smooth finish.

LW-PLA is available in Black and Natural and is available now. We ship daily, worldwide and from stock.

 

“We need challenging materials, we need to work with or find ways around the limitations and allow more people to experiment with exciting developments like this foaming PLA.” – Richard Horne, aka RichRap3D

Read Richard’s review of LW-PLA here.