nGen_LUX on Ultimaker S5

In December we published that the base material of our widely popular nGen 3D printing filament, Eastman Amphora AM3300, had been added to the Ultimaker Market Place. In the Market Place Ultimaker users can download print profiles for tested filaments. We already added woodFill, Color on Demand PLA and XT-CF20 (more about that here) and were glad to have AM3300 added so the all-round nGen was part of the family as well. Read the full posts below:

Some testing over the Christmas holiday found that the amazing nGen_LUX prints excellent with the AM3300 settings as well! And we could not resist and printed everybody’s favorite scoundrel Han Solo with nGen_LUX Diamond Black on the Ultimaker S5:

Design by Toshi Tne: https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/art/han-solo-bust

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. It 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.

At colorFabb we are always looking to meet our customer’s needs and offer filaments with added value. The aesthetics of nGen_LUX allow for a new step in production and prototyping, especially for cosmetics, packaging, interior parts, electronics housings and many more applications.

Choose AM3300 as your prefered print settings for nGen_LUX

The “Lux” not only stands for luxurious – which is definitely the look of the prints – but also refers to the unit of illumination used worldwide. And light is what makes this filament truly special. 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.

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.

Quick facts

Material: colorFabb nGen_LUX

Diameter Tolerance: ± 0.05 mm

Density: 1.2 g•cm-3

Glass Transition Temperature: 85C

Printing with the right settings is easier than ever. Download Cura 3.6 and select the right material profiles to start printing right away. The colorFabb materials have been extensively tested by both colorFabb and Ultimaker, ensuring the best possible experience and results. Now this is something you have been looking for.

Click here to go directly to our webshop.

Christmas Tree

With Christmas around the corner it’s only apt we follow suit with the rest of the world and print a Christmas tree. We chose the design by idig3D for our Christmas print. For the material we chose nGen Green Transparent.

Design: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1913982

Earlier this year we released no less than six transparent nGen colors:



nGen is of course our go-to filament and available in many colors. It is a true all-round material suitable for most day to day 3D printing activities. At the core of its reliability is the special chemical make-up of the Eastman Amphora™ AM3300 3D polymer, which results in a good melt stability. From pellet to filament to 3D print, nGen retains its material properties very well, meaning more stable results with less waste of time and material.

The Christmas tree was printed on the Ultimaker S5 with a 0.8 AA core nozzle and with a 0.4mm layer height. Nozzle temperature was 240C and the bed temp at 80C. We used the spiral vase mode.

nGen works extremely well on the Ultimaker printers. Find out more on the standard settings we recommend here. But one could make life even easier. Only yesterday we posted that nGen (under it’s raw material name AM3300) has been added to the Ultimaker Market Place, making printing with the right settings even easier!

Learn more about printing nGen on the Ultimaker 3 and S5 here.

nGen AM3300 in Ultimaker Market Place

Not long after we announced that XT-CF20 was added to the Ultimaker Market Place in Cura 3.6 in addition to Color on Demand PLA and woodFill we are happy to tell you that nGen now also is a part of the Market Place. Sort of…

Twin RC waterjet by Ewolve

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2752198

The Ultimaker Market Place makes it easier for users of the Ultimaker 3 and S5 to use pre-set profiles for third party filaments which have been tested by both the filaments manufacturers and Ultimaker themselves to achieve the best possible user experience.

Important: To choose the optimal nGen settings in the Market Place head to the Eastman entries and choose AM3300, the base material for nGen.

Three years ago, by the end of 2015, we released a new all-round material called nGen, next Generation, based on Eastman Amphora AM3300. 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.

Printed with nGen Red on the Ultimaker S5 with 0.15mm layer height.

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.

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:

_dsc0029_smaller
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. And with the addition of AM3300 to the Ultimaker Market Place in Cura 3.6, printing with nGen is easier than ever.

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:

_dsc0029_smaller

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/

 

colorfabb_ngen_mixee_wallet-3

On the Ultimaker . Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/mixee-wallet/

 

On the Robo R2. Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/ngen-robo-r2/

turbine_prop

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:

20160912_114524

RC 180 degree camera housing. Original post: https://learn.colorfabb.com/rc-180-degree-hd-camera-printed-ngen/

 

ngen-saturn

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/

 

colorfabb_ngen_flexbot-quadcotper-v2-0-3

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.