Router attachment

Recently we released PA-CF Low Warp. This is a filament developed with one single purpose and that’s to create functional prints on a wide range of 3D printers. For today’s print we move further into the DIY world by printing a router attachment for a rotary tool, the Dremel in this case.

Original design: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:17105

Designed by Lenbok, we printed this part of the Ultimaker 2+ with a 0.8mm Olsson Ruby nozzle. We chose 0.2mm layer height and printed at 260C nozzle temp. As the designer says on his Thingiverse page: “Screw this puppy onto your dremel, adjust your bit depth, and route away to your heart’s content.”

As the name indicates, PA-CF Low Warp is a polyamide (nylon) with carbon fiber. An added bonus is that, unlike many other engineering grade filaments, it has very little warping when printing large objects! Low infill prints come out perfectly flat on cold bed for higher infill prints 40/50C temperature is enough to obtain flat prints. It is an engineering grade filament for a wide range of printers and users alike.

We have printed a lot with PA-CF Low Warp recently. Below are a few examples:

As said, functionality is key with this filament and it is a material that suits the needs of the professional user perfectly.

The PA-CF Low Warp 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.

PA-CF Low Warp allows continuous use at 120°C while retaining sufficient properties for the intended application. Most high heat resistant materials will be difficult to print and require heated chambers and / or heated platforms to keep parts from warping the bottom layer. PA-CF Low Warp shows a very low tendency to warp, even at ambient temperature platform.

PA-CF Low Warp is a material that has a lot of practical applications. One of them is within the automotive industry. The unique combination of high strength, good temperature resistance and good chemical stability makes this material a good choice for parts in and around the car. It’s used a lot already for brackets and covers.
In general it can be used for functional prototyping and final part manufacturing. For functional prototyping users are often looking for materials which have good toughness, strength and resistance to abrasion. Because of the excellent mechanical strength and heat resistance het material can even be considers for use in final applications. PA-CF low warp has great dimensional stability, because of extremely low warp. The material is therefor unique suited for applications such as jigs & fixtures which require parts with accurate dimensions.

Eager to get started? Click here to get the basics on how to print with PA_CF Low Warp.

PA-CF Low Warp is available now in our webshop and ships from stock.

 

The Olsson Ruby Nozzle – One nozzle for all materials

Due to the abrassive nature of the filament we recommend the use of hardened nozzles for the best performance of the material and printer. For this reason we are offering the Olsson Ruby Nozzles with the purchase of PA-CF Low Warp. You can find the combined offer here.

We have published about the use of the Olsson Ruby Nozzle before and we are very enthusiastic about the use of this filament combined with abrassive materials like PA-CF Low Warp, but also XT-CF20 and steelFill.

The ruby mounted at the tip assures that even the toughest materials will be printable. It was originally designed for printing with a composite of Boron Carbide (B4C), the third hardest known material in the world. Since most of the Olsson Ruby is made from brass, with its excellent heat conductivity, performance and throughput is first-class.

This nozzle, soon on your printer!

The Olsson Ruby is manufactured, assembled and tested in a high-quality facility in Sweden. This is why 3DVerkstan – also colorFabb’s partner in the region – guarantees the very best quality and tolerances.

As from now you can purchase the Olsson Ruby Nozzle 0.4mm in combination with PA-CF Low Warp in our webshop.

Free Print+ headphone kits

Update: we are all out of Print+ head phone kits. If you order a value pack now you will receive our awesome filament, but not the Print+ kit.

Earlier today we posted the prints we made with the Print+ head phone kits we received last week.

We used woodFill & PETG Economy for one headphone set and nGen Dark Gray for the other one. Of course, with our variety of 3D printing filaments, you can make a lot of combinations and make your headphones truly unique. You can read the original post here.

The casual observer may have noticed that in that very same post we mentioned we ordered 25 kits during the Kickstarter campaign. We used some ourselves, but what to do with the remaining 20+ kits? Hint: we are not going to use them ourselves…

Yours… soon.

We had decided to give them away. To you! With every value pack ordered (with the exception of PLA Economy and PETG Economy) you will get a free Print+ headphone kit! (Retail value: € 35). The value packs that are eligible for getting a free headset kit are:

Update: Please note that the limited amount of headset kits we had available has run out and therefor this promotion has ended. But if you have a Print+ headset please enter our challenge below for a chance to win 4 free spools of colorFabb filaments.

But that’s not all…

We challenge you to print the coolest and most original headphone set with colorFabb filaments! Then post it on social media (Twitter, Facebook or Instagram) and tag us.

Extra points for an original combination of materials and if photographed in a cool real-life environment. The most original entry will receive 4 free spools of colorFabb filament!!

So there it is: order a value pack and receive a free Print+ DIY headset kit you have a serious chance to get 4 free spools of colorFabb filaments as well!

Head to our website & choose the value pack of your choice!

Print+ headphone

After a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2015, the Print+ headphones have finally started shipping! At colorFabb we saw the potential of these DIY headphones immediately and backed the campaign by buying 25 of these headphone kits. We even made one of the headphone a featured print during the launch of our nGen filament:

From our nGen landing page. Print+ headphone printed with nGen Purple

We were also among the first to showcase the Print+ headphones during the 2015 TCT Show in Birmingham:

Source: colorFabb Vine account

Last week we received Print+ DIY Headphone kits. The kit contains all the necessary components such as speakers, cables and a remote. The remaining parts, to customize your headphone and make it truly yours, can be printed after downloading the files from their site. The Kickstarter campaign ended many moons ago, but the kit is available from their site now.

The variety in our colorFabb portfolio allows for some really cool combinations & unique headsets to be printed. Make it yours!

We have printed and assembled two of these headphones. One has been made in woodFill and our brand new PETG Economy Black filament:

Print+ headphone printed with woodFill and PETG Economy

We chose woodFill for the visual quality of the material and PETG Economy since it is strong enough, which is necessary for the headphone frame. The woodFill was printed on the Lulzbot Mini with standard woodFill profile settings (provided by Lulzbot) at 0.2mm layer height and a standard nozzle.

Another headphone was printed with nGen Dark Gray:

And for the other headphone nGen was chosen because of the visual quality and the layer on layer adhesion of the material. Aside from functionality, the nGen portfolio contains the brightest and some unique colors to really stand out.

This nGen print was made Ultimaker 2+ with a 0.4mm nozzle and printed at a 0.2mm layer height.

The Print+ project is not only a very cool idea, it is also a sustainable one. You don’t need to buy new headphones if one part breaks. You print one or two new parts right away! You can read the Print+ vision here or contact them directly if you have any further questions: https://www.print.plus/contact/

 

About the materials

woodFill

woodFill was launched in November 2013 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. Check it out online: it has received nothing but 5 star reviews on our site!

PETG Economy

Earlier this month we released PETG Economy, a high quality filament for functional prototyping. It is available exclusively on 2.2kg spools and in three colors: black, white and red. We currently ship from stock and the PETG Economy range is also available as a value pack.

nGen

nGen has proven itself to be a very versatile material that can be used for a lot of applications, visual prototyping being one of them! It has become our default, all-round filament for printing all sorts of prototypes and prints just have to look damn good!

nGen is an all-round filament which has many advantages over 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. You can find more information on our dedicated landing page.

Ever since launching in november 2015 (and later in a big way during the CES Show early 2016), nGen has been a bestseller and a material that has been adopted by users worldwide very rapidly.

nGen is available through our webshop and our network of distributors and resellers worldwide as well as our partner Lulzbot.

Speaking of the Lulzbot Mini printer… Did you know we have it available on our website and ship from stock? Better even: we ship for free in Europe and send out two free spools of nGen with the printer!

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.

Replacement pedal

3D printing allows for a lot of applications, DIY repairing being one of them. This weekend we wrote about replacing a part for a laundy dryer, which was printed with colorFabb_HT. Today we have another case, made with colorFabb_XT, which started in our very own print lab!

A couple of weeks ago the pedal of the garbage bin in our printing lab broke. One of the pins that is used as a rotation point broke off. So we decided to model and print it ourselves!

On top: the printed version, below the original broken version.

Printed with colorFabb_XT Dark Gray, this model has been designed in SolidWorks, during which the printing orientation has been kept in mind.

When you print parts for mechanical or functional use, the direction of the printed layers is important in order to maximize the mechanical properties of the print. It also incorporates the original foot pedal, which snaps on nicely. The part itself also fitted to our bin without any problems.

colorFabb_XT is a perfect material for functional prints like this, due to the excellent mechanical and printing properties of the material. The printed parts also show a high glossy finish which can also be used for visual aspects in functional prototypes.

Printed on the Lulzbot TAZ 6 with the standard nozzle on 0,2mm layerheight.  Scroll down for more information on the Lulzbot TAZ 6.

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 14 colors (including clear) and we ship from stock. Order yours now!

 

Lulzbot TAZ 6

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
  • 4 (four!) free spools of our nGen filament!

 

Laundry dryer part

Last week we posted about a real-life problem (although not a problem on a global scale). It is an annoyance that every household encounters: a part of, say, a laundry dryer breaks. And that is exactly what happened.

Normally what happens next: you call the service guy (or girl), they take their good time to come over, try to fix the problem, have to order in a spare part, etc. etc. But we prefer not to be stuck in the 20th century mechanics of everyday life. Let’s get disruptive. Let’s design the part ourselves, print it and replace it.

Original broken part on the left, newly printed part with colorFabb_HT Dark Gray on the right.

First, of course, we needed to model it in Solidworks and then we set out to print it.

Printed on the Ultimaker 2 we made this part with colorFabb_HT Dark Gray (printing at 260 degrees and the heated bed at 100 degrees at a 0.1mm layer height).

3D printing has allowed for the creation of gadgets, cosplay and other fun stuff, but materials like colorFabb_HT, enabled by Eastman Tritan™ co-polyester technology, allow for truly disruptive uses in day to day life.

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 a recent post shows, is the ability to print with extreme detail.

colorFabb_HT is available in our webshop.

Small Part Storage Crates

With so many projects going on in our print lab it is sometimes hard to keep track of all the parts that we use to finish prints. Especially big prints like the Formula 1 car we printed a few months ago or the Moveo Robotic Arm we are working on right now. To organize all the screws, the nuts, the bolts and fasteners we need, we print our own little storage things. Earlier this summer we posted about the little hinged boxes but now we have printed little drawers: the Scifi Small Part Storage Crates, designed by Andrew Bougie.

Design: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1489606

We printed these small crates on the MakerBot Replicator 2 in our print lab, using standard print settings. We used our new PLA Economy filament for these prints.

PLA Economy was launched only a month ago and we’ve been sold out ever since. With all the back orders having shipped now, we are creating a stock situation. We have been printing quite a lot with our new PLA Economy line. A few examples are:

We have been testing this material for the better part of the summer and have found this filament a great alternative those customers who need a lot of PLA. We are initially releasing PLA Economy in four colors: White (RAL 9010), Black (RAL 9005, Red (RAL 3020) and Silver (RAL 9023). This PLA grade has been tested extensively and is being produced and shipped by the same colorFabb team you are used to so you know we are not compromising on quality. You can rely with this filament on the same high standards that colorFabb is known for. It is available only on 2.2kg spools.

PLA Economy is an addition to our range of PLA/PHA, which is available in 30 colors (and on 750 grams spools).

 

And remember, for the remainder of the year, because it is colorFabb’s fourth anniversary, we continue our Buy 4, Pay 3 promotion. Use coupon code colorfabb4you on our website to get the fourth spool you order for free! Some conditions apply though: cheapest spool is for free and samples and PLA Economy are exempt from this part of the promotion. Since it is less than two weeks before Christmas, don’t forget to order in time!