Test printing the Mosaic Palette 2 Pro on the Stacker S4 with Color on Demand colors and PLA Semi-Matte Black!
Continue readingClick here – a collection of handy links
This is the click bait you have been waiting for. If you are going to bookmark one page today, let this one be it. At colorFabb we have quite some information on our website and sub sites. Here is a guide to the most handy links (updated July 2018):
Landing pages
Our most recent products have dedicated landing pages with all relevant information available. You can find them here:
- nGen (also for nGen_LUX)
- nGen_FLEX
- colorFabb_HT
- PA-CF Low Warp
Buying
Our webshop has all products categorized by material. Click on Materials and go to the requested material to see the full selection:
Click here to see where you can purchase colorFabb filaments online (all of them web based, some of them physical stores – please inquire)
We do offer discounts, check out all the options here
Looking for sponsorship? Check out this FAQ entry first.
Color on Demand
Make your prints truly unique. 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! Click here.
Support
Our entire FAQ with all the questions you may have? Click here:
Data sheets of our filaments have been collected and you find them by clicking here
What you need to know about food safety in filaments, clikc here
Post-processing techniques for our metal filled filaments: click here
Curious about the length of our filaments? Click here. Size of our spools? Click here
How to achieve a clear print with colorFabb_HT: Click here
Want to know what co-polyesters are? Click here
Something to read
All our news, blogs & tutorials are gathere in this very place. If you have not arrived here through our blog site, click here:
We regularly update our catalogue. Click on the image below to open it:
Want to see all product reviews in one place? Click here
Eager to read all our news letters again? Click here
5 Years colorFabb: colorFabb_HT revisited
We launched our first filament range, PLA/PHA, in February 2013. In this short, limited series of blogs we look back at some of the materials released in the past five years. Earlier we wrote about woodFill and nGen. This third installment looks back at colorFabb_HT.
Printing near transparent prints with colorFabb_HT. Continue reading…
At colorFabb we always look for the right motivation to release a new filament. In our view you can only stand out in either aesthetics or functionality. Sometimes both. But functionality was what we had in mind when we released colorFabb_HT, three years ago in 2015.
colorFabb_HT is made with Eastman Amphora™ HT5300 and is a low-odor and styrene-free material uniquely suited for advanced 3D printing users, particularly those who need their models to exhibit excellent durability, toughness and high temperature resistance with a Tg of over 100⁰C. Amphora is Eastman’s brand of co-polyesters dedicated for 3D printing. Our nGen, colorFabb_XT and nGen_FLEX are also made with Amphora materials.
Below is a chart how our range of co-polyesters compare to other materials like PLA and ABS:
Learn more about co-polyesters in our previous blog.
colorFabb_HT empowers professional users to create more durable and useful items, making prototyping truly functional. This opens up new areas in which 3D printed applications can be successfully applied. With certain FDA approvals and chemical resistance it is an engineering grade material that has been in high demand with the professional users and hobbyists alike. Another feature is that it is dishwasher proof.
High tech clamps, printed with colorFabb_HT on the Leapfrog Bolt by Peter de Corte
colorFabb_HT 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.
colorFabb_HT is enabled by Eastman Tritan™ copolyester technology. Tritan is Eastman’s flagship product and has been succesfully added to the 3D printing portfolio with colorFabb_HT.
One of the unique features of colorFabb_HT is the ability to print near transparent parts. Due to the high flow characteristics it is now possible to print parts that are almost see-through. Check out the blog we wrote about it previously here.
Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/lets-make-something-clear/
Another aspect of the filament is its ability to print extremely detailed prints, like seen below:
Tiny Hellboy. Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/tiny-hellboy/
Although our range of co-polyesters already look extremely good, there are quite a few way how you can perform so-called secondary operations, like glueing, painting, etc. Click the image below for more information:
Below are some of the prints we made in the past few years with colorFabb_HT:
Old and broken laundry dryer part left, new printed one on the right. Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/laundry-dryer/
Air gun adapter. Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/adapter/
Brushless motor, colorFabb_HT print in combination with steelFill. Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/brushless-motor/
Vertical windmill. Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/vertical-windmill/
Dremel tool holder, printed with colorFabb_HT and woodFill. Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/dremel-tool-holder-colorfabb_ht/
Eager to try out colorFabb_HT? Now is the right time to place your order. During this month, February 2018, we celebrate our fifth anniversary by giving every fifth spool you order in our webshop for free. Click on the banner below for more info:
We also run a contest: post your favorite colorFabb print online, tag us and use hashtag #5yearscolorfabb and maybe you will win a value pack with 16 spools of our filaments! Again, more info by clicking the banner below:
All blogs and articles about our fifth anniversary can be found by clicking here.
5 Years colorFabb: nGen revisited
We launched our first filament range, PLA/PHA, in February 2013. In this short, limited series of blogs we look back at some of the materials released in the past five years. Earlier we wrote about woodFill. This second installment looks back at nGen.
Our range of nGen colors… with more to come soon!
To talk about nGen is to talk about colorFabb_XT and the start of our co-operation with Eastman Chemical Company. Back in 2013 we got in touch with Eastman Chemical Company from Kingsport, TN. We were looking for new exciting (and most of all, functional) materials to turn into filaments and Eastman was looking for a dedicated partner already in the world of 3D printing. Eastman is a worldwide specialist in co-polyesters and has since launched a range of materials specifically for 3D printing, called Amphora. Check out their website for more information. We signed an agreement to co-operate together early 2014 and went to work. The first filament released, colorFabb_XT, was later that year during the 3D Print Show in London.
colorFabb_XT is a great engineering grade filament that can be used for a lot of applications that need to perform. We found however that there was still a gap between our (or any) PLA filament and filaments like colorFabb_XT. In the summer of 2015 we were vigorously testing with a new raw material that came from Eastman, code name AM3300. The more we tested the more we were convinced this was going to be a material that was going to be a hit with users, old and new. We only didn’t know how big a hit it would become.
We decided to call this new filament “nGen” – next Generation. We believed then (and still do) that this filament was a next step for 3D printing materials. It was our goal to bring a filament to the market that has functional properties, looks astonishingly good and prints like a dream.
After a small launch in November of that year we went big and launched with Aleph Objects, makes of the excellent Lulzbot printers, at their stand at the CES Show in January of that year.
Lulzbot stand at the CES 2016, Las Vegas
nGen has been a hit ever since. This is not without reason. It is true all-round material suitable for most day to day 3D printing activities. Its chemical make up ensures a very consistent quality. An advantage over PLA is its elevated temperature resistance: 80 degrees instead of 45 degrees, so even in hotter climates (or a hot summer day) the material holds up extremely well. Below is a comparison chart of several of the Amphora based filaments compared to commodity materials like ABS and PLA.
You can read more on our dedicated landing page or our blog about co-polyesters.
Lulzbot mascotte Rocktopus printed with 21kg of nGen on the CES 2017
nGen is an amazing material which enables users to create parts with gorgeous detail and the benefit of long term stability. Don’t just take our word for it. Below are some of the reviews that our users posted in our webshop:
“Its just the perfect Filament for me!”
“Printing as easy as PLA, but with better material properties.”
“nGen is very predictable and strong.”
“nGen is always my “go to” filament. It just prints beautifully. It’s strong, handles heat well, reliable, and just looks great.”
“… prints like butter 🙂 and the finish is absolutely perfect.”
“The material has good print bed adhesion, low warping and low shrinkage. Easy to print.”
Beyond our initial goals to create a filament that prints well and holds up to every day 3D printing tasks we have since found out more properties of the filament, giving it a great advantage. For instance, we recently came across a business case where a printed object made with nGen has been under water in the ocean for 16 months! And it did not loose its functional properties!
And you can get highly detailed prints as well:
Model balustrade. Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/detailed-balustrade/
Although nGen is a true star in our portfolio, it doesn’t feel too good to perform a supporting role from time to time. Literally. In combination with colorFabb_XT nGen filament can also be used as a breakaway support. Complex designs like the drill case below do need support material and we found that nGen did a great job in that department.
Drill case. Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/drill-case/
Another great material it works extremely well with is our nGen_FLEX:
Pliers (click image for the gif to play). Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/pliers
Coupler (click image for the gif to play). Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/coupler/
It is not only materials nGen plays well with. It also performs extremely well on a wide range of printers.
On the Lulzbot TAZ 6. Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/hyper-soccer-ball/
On the Ultimaker . Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/mixee-wallet/
On the Robo R2. Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/ngen-robo-r2/
On the Leapfrog HS. Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/turbine-prop/
Below is a small selection of varied prints we have posted about in the past two years:
RC 180 degree camera housing. Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/rc-180-degree-hd-camera-printed-ngen/
Saturn V Rocket. Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/ngen-saturn-v-rocket/
Robot arm. Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/robot-arm/
Educational Brake Caliper. Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/caliper/
Eccentrically Cycloidal Drive Mode. Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/eccentrically-cycloidal-drive-model/
Universal Bottle Opener. Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/ubo/
Flexbot quadcopter: https://learn.colorfabb.com/flexbot-quadcopter/
More than once we have heard from our users that after trying nGen they have never looked back at PLA. And why should they? nGen is PLA and more.
And we are not done yet with nGen yet. Next up: nGen_LUX. We have used the basis of nGen to develop a new material that will look like no other 3D printing filament. We will release that one this very month! Stay also tuned for more nGen colors coming soon… We have six more colors lined up for you.
Eager to try out nGen? Now is the right time to place your order. During this month, February 2018, we celebrate our fifth anniversary by giving every fifth spool you order in our webshop for free. Click on the banner below for more info:
We also run a contest: post your favorite colorFabb print online, tag us and use hashtag #5yearscolorfabb and maybe you will win a value pack with 16 spools of our filaments! Again, more info by clicking the banner below:
All blogs and articles about our fifth anniversary can be found by clicking here.
Tiny Hellboy
Before the start of the weekend we printed big. Today, right after the weekend, we go small. We ususally use our colorFabb_HT for technical parts that need excellent functional performance. For the mini Hellboy we went very small to achieve a highly detailed print… without any visible layers:
Design: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:374298
The design is the Hellboy Resculpted by Geoff W. / Hex3D (you can visit his site here). The original design by Raphael Gatt aka Masterclip can be found here.
We printed with colorFabb_HT at 0.06mm layerheight on the Ultimaker 2+ with a 0.25mm nozzle.
colorFabb_HT is made with Eastman Amphora™ HT5300 and is a low-odor and styrene-free material uniquely suited for advanced 3D printing users, particularly those who need their models to exhibit excellent durability, toughness and high temperature resistance with a Tg of over 100⁰C. colorFabb_HT empowers professional users to create more durable and useful items, making prototyping truly functional. This opens up new areas in which 3D printed applications can be successfully applied.
colorFabb_HT 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 today’s post shows, is the ability to print with extreme detail.
Another small model we made is the Impeller Housing by Nick Burns a.k.a. PolyVinalDistillate. Again it shows the details and no visible layers that can be achieved:
Design: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:229657
You can find out more on how to print with colorFabb_HT in our handy tutorial: How To print with colorFabb_HT
colorFabb_HT is available in five varieties: clear, black, white, dark gray and light gray. It is available in our webshop and through our distributors and resellers worldwide.
woodFill on the Lulzbot Mini
Last week we announced our partnership with Aleph Objects and became official reseller of their line of 3D printers.
The Lulzbot Mini has proven itself to be an extremely reliable and easy to use printer in our printlab. We have two now ourselves and see a wide range of our materials printing with stunning results. We have of course printed a lot with nGen on this printer, but also our woodFill shows how beautiful prints can look on the Lulzbot Mini.
Design accreditations:
3D Benchy by Creative Tools: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:763622
Rocktopus – Meet rocktopus, the mascot of the all-new LulzBot Mini desktop 3D printer made by Aleph Objects, Inc. in Loveland, Colorado, USA: https://www.lulzbot.com/content/meet-rocktopus
Stealth Birdhouse by Steve Wood a.k.a. Gyrobot: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:108892
Voronoi Klein Bottle by Robert Woodhead a.k.a. MadOverlord
woodFill was launched exactly 3 years ago this month during the London 3D Print Show and was our first special filament. Other natural filled special filaments have followed, like bambooFill (which we recently discontinued) and more recently corkFill. our woodFill has been a hit from day one due to easy processing and its fantastic looks. Added bonus is that your print room smells like a wood shop when printing with woodFill.
As from this week we became an official reseller for Lulzbot 3D printers. Both the Lulzbot Mini and its bigger sibling, the Lulzbot TAZ6, are available at colorFabb. We have been working with Aleph Objects, the Colorado based producer of the Lulzbot printers, for quite some time now and know them to bring quality products to the market.
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.
woodFill is available in our webshop. You can find a handy tutorial here.
We have brought back the XL woodFill spool, which you can buy in 2.85mm. If you are interested in the 1.75mm variety, please drop us a line: sales@colorfabb.com
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.
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.
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.
Stacker S4 head storage rail
Updated: scroll down for the version in XT-CF20
The Stacker S4 is a fantastic printer. Tough, reliable and industrial grade. We are the distributor of this US made machine in Europe and have printed many hours on it. One of the big advantages of the Stacker printer is its versatility: You can print 4 prints at the same time or print one big print. But what to do with the other print heads if you don’t need them?
Simple: store them!
Design: http://stacker3d.com/stacker-3d-printer-support/
We printed this part, obviously, on the Stacker S4 with colorFabb_XT Light Gray. We used a 0.12mm layer height which resulted in a 16 hour print.
The head storage allows the use of the maximum print volume with the remaining print heads.
Stacker recently launched the Stacker S2 on Kickstarter. You can read more about this printer here. It is the smaller sibling of the S4 with a smaller build volume and two, instead of four, print heads. The technology is the same as the S4, which has already been tested and tried by the market for almost a year.
Check out the Stacker S2 Kickstarter video below.
https://vimeo.com/205107978
For functional materials in such an application, we do not look any further than our colorFabb_XT.
colorFabb_XT is made with Eastman Amphora™ 3D polymer AM1800. Launched in September 2014, it is a fantastic functional engineering material. With colorFabb_XT we achieved to produce a filament that provides good strength and toughness, as well as certain FDA food contact compliances. It has found a wide audience amongst users looking for extra functionality. With a temperature resistance of 75+ degrees, this filament offers (aside from its high strength and very high toughness) odor neutral processing, a styrene free formulation, FDA food contact compliance and BPA (Bisphenol A ) free formulation.
colorFabb_XT is available in various colors. We have released it in Light Gray (RAL 7035) and Dark Gray (RAL 7043) as well for the more functional looking prints.
You can find more about what co-polyesters are by clicking here.
Update: April 6th 2017
We made another version, but now in XT-CF20:
Of course this one was printed on the Stacker S4 at a 0.2mm layer height. The matte surface quality is just plain awesome as you can see and the look fits the industrial grade build of the printer perfectly.
XT-CF20 is our first Amphora based special filament, launched nearly two years ago, made with colorFabb_XT and 20% carbon fibres. More information can be found here. XT-CF20 has received some really good reviews on our website. It may not be the easiest filament to print with, but the results can be stunning. The functionality, stiffness and the matte finish are true selling points of this material.
XT-CF20 is available online.
Prosthetic design
3D printing is a technology that is perfectly suited for prosthetic and orthopedic designs. These applications require a high level of customization as well as complex shapes. We have seen this with companies like Mathis Orthopédie and organisations like Enable and 3D Life Prints.
To understand the needs and the challenges ourselves we have chosen to print a design for a prosthetic leg ourselves, using colorFabb_XT Dark Gray.
Design: https://grabcad.com/library/prosthetic-leg
This part was printed on a Swiss made Delta Tower with 0.15mm layer height. The design was altered slightly for better printing.
Please note that this model and print are made as a case study and not intended to be used in real life with a body’s weight supporting it. As you can see in the original design, the part we printed is meant to be the outer shell.
For this purpose colorFabb_XT is an excellent material.
colorFabb_XT is made with Eastman Amphora™ 3D polymer AM1800. Launched in September 2014, it is a fantastic functional engineering material. With colorFabb_XT we achieved to produce a filament that provides good strength and toughness, as well as certain FDA food contact compliances. It has found a wide audience amongst users looking for extra functionality. With a temperature resistance of 75+ degrees, this filament offers high strength and very high toughness, odor neutral processing, a styrene free formulation, FDA food contact compliance and BPA (Bisphenol A ) free formulation.
colorFabb_XT was our first co-polyester based filament. Our portfolio of co-polyester based filaments, made with Eastman Amphora polymers, has since extended with the all-round nGen, the high temperature resistant colorFabb_HT and semi-flexible nGen_FLEX. You can find more about what co-polyesters are by clicking here.
colorFabb is available in our webshop and through our worldwide network of distributors and resellers.
Keep checking out this site for the latest news regarding colorFabb news, tutorials and the latest prints from our print lab!
Flexible pliers
Or: How to print pliers with two materials in one print. We’re having a lot of fun with our dual nozzle printers here in the brand new colorFabb HQ and today we showcase once again a great print with two different materials. Yesterday we used nGen as a support material for a drill case print in colorFabb_XT (click here for that post). Today we use nGen again in combination with nGen_FLEX. We present you the flexible pliers:
Design by: I-lab Toulon (modified by colorFabb for dual material printing)
The original concept is from a German institute that the I-Lab team re-worked. Originally intended for a single material (which works perfectly fine we found), we thought it would be more interesting to up the ante, print with two materials and use ngen_FLEX Dark Gray where it matters most while printing the rest with the more rigid nGen Silver Metallic.
This original design creates a completely functional part from a single print, straight from the 3D printer. It brings out the functionality of nGen_FLEX to its fullest by using different internal structures to create more rigid and more flexible sections in a single part.
UPDATE: the files to print your very own Flexible Pliers are now online! You can find the I-Lab design on Thingiverse and Youmagine. Our remixed version for dual material can be found here.
For both prints we used the BCN3D Sigma. They took only a couple of hours and we printed with a 0.15mm layer height.
We have printed before with nGen and nGen_FLEX (here) and the (layer) adhesion between these two materials is excellent! Dual extrusion printers like the BCN3D Sigma, the new Ultimaker 3 and the upcoming Stacker S2 (keep your eyes open for that one!) allow for great freedom to design and print truly functional parts.
nGen was released a little over a year ago and is an all-round filament which 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.
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.
Both nGen and nGen_FLEX are 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.
Both nGen and nGen_FLEX are available now in our webshop (click here or here) and via our network of distributors and resellers. Click here for a reseller closest to you.