How to print with colorFabb nGen_FLEX

How to print with colorFabb nGen_FLEX

To get the best possible quality out of any 3D printing material it’s important to match the slicer settings with the material which is used. On this page we’ll run through the most important settings and suggest good starting values for various printers. If your machine isn’t in our list use the general recommended settings.

In the table below you can quickly find values for your machine, scroll a bit further down to read more about each settings.

[table id=12 /]

 

Heated platform – 80/100C

We highly recommend using a BuildTak plate for better adhesion. Parts which are likely to warp, either due to high infill, need for external cooling fans or due to the specific geometry of the model will get better results printed on a buildTak plate.
Advice on Using BuildTak – when printing on a brand new buildTak make sure the first layer is not pressed into the buildTak. There should be enough space between nozzle and buildTak, most likely more then you would normally use on a regular glass build surface.
Part removal from a BuildTak plate – when removing a part from the buildTak plate we advice to cool down completely and reheat to 80C. With a thin spatula, slide underneath the brim from all sides, then carefully continue with the rest of the model.
Build plate adhesion – most slicers will have the option for adding a brim around the printed object. We highly recommend to use this feature, removal after printing is very easy, the brim peals right off after making an initial cut.

 

Printing temperature – 240/260C

nGen_FLEX is processed at 240/260C on most 3D printers. This allows most 3D printers to achieve good flow and reach speeds quite similar to PLA.

To reach higher speed / output of material, you might need to increase temperature. The material handles higher temperatures very well.

 

Cooling

As always, for tough strong parts with excellent layer adhesion we recommend using 0% fan. However to improve overhanging surfaces, small details and top surface quality some cooling will be required. 50% would be a good start point for most 3D printers. If layer adhesion isn’t affected you will be able to increase cooling and maybe gain some print speed at the same time without loss of quality.

 

Minimal layer time

If you’re familiar with the minimal layer time setting then you’ll know this is what causes a printer to slow down when printing fine features on a model. Slowing down the print allows each layer to cool down a minimum amount of time. This is of course different for each material, because it depends on how fast a material can dissipate heat and how much heat needs to be dissipated.

For colorFabb_HT it’s also important to adjust the minimum layer time when you want to print without cooling for best layer adhesion.

 

Retraction

Before you start tweaking the retraction values make sure you’ve found the sweet spot in terms of printing temperature and speed for your machine.

PLA retraction values should be a good starting value for most machines. One can expect slightly higher values of retraction speed and retraction length. For more specific values have a look at our table above.

Coasting is a nice option included in Simplify3D. This is the act of stopping the extrusion just before a travel move is triggered, this helps get rid of the pressure in the hot-end and therefor also making a retraction move more effective.

 

Print speed

Most machines showed good printability of the nGen_FLEX material printing at PLA speeds, but at elevated temperatures of 250/260C. Whether you can print this fast also depends on the model, some models with overhanging surfaces, or small islands / details, can’t be printed fast due the cooling down of the layers.

How to print with colorFabb_HT

How to print with colorFabb_HT

To get the best possible quality out of any 3D printing material it’s important to match the slicer settings with the material which is used. On this page we’ll run through the most important settings and suggest good starting values for various printers. If your machine isn’t in our list use the general recommended settings.

In the table below you can quickly find values for your machine, scroll a bit further down to read more about each settings.

[table id=10 /]

 

Heated platform

ColorFabb_HT is best printed with a heated build plate to preven medium to large sized objects from warping at the bottom layer. You don’t need to worry about layer delamination due to warping, but only about making sure the first layer stays nice and flat.

For printers with glassplate as build surface we recommend high temperatures of 110/120C. For most small to medium sized part this should be sufficient.

For bigger parts with a larger flat surface touching the buildplate you might need more adhesion to keep the part from warping. In this case BuildTak plate can help prevent warping.

Printing temperature

The temperature we set when starting a print really depends on the chosen layerheight and print speed.

Flow of material in mm3/s = (layerheight*nozzle width)*print speed

When considering normal settings such as 0.2mm layerheight and 50 mm/s speed we recommend for most machines a processing temperature of 260/280C.

At 0.1mm and 50mm/s temperature might be lower towards 250/270C.

Make sure your machine can reliably work at these elevated temperatures, not all 3D printers are able to go beyond 250C / 260C.

Cooling

In order to get best possible strength from colorFabb_HT we recommend printing without cooling whenever the model geometry allows for this. If your model doesn’t feature overhanging surfaces or fine positive features  (pointy bits) then it’s likely your model will print fine without cooling.

This will results in better layer adhesion, but also less issues with warping of the material.

We also like the option of only activating layer cooling for the perimeter lines, the infill is not cooled and therefore should maintain best possible layer adhesion.

Bridging

Most slicers will allow users to set special settings when a bridge is printed in a model. Usually we can set bridging speed, bridging cooling and sometimes also bridging perimeter width (or flow).

We recommend slower printing on bridges, since there’s no material to support the printed line we don’t want to ‘break the melt’ by moving too fast. Slowing down the speed when bridging helps retain the melt strength and also allows the printed line to cool down in mid-air.

Cooling can be set at 100% to help the cool down of the first printed lines.

If you can still see the melt break when printing a bridge, try and increase the flow or bridge perimeter width.

Retraction

Before you start tweaking the retraction values make sure you’ve found the sweet spot in terms of printing temperature and speed for your machine.

PLA retraction values should be a good starting value for most machines. One can expect slightly higher values of retraction speed and retraction length. For more specific values have a look at our table above.

Coasting is a nice option included in Simplify3D. This is the act of stopping the extrusion just before a travel move is triggered, this helps get rid of the pressure in the hot-end and therefor also making a retraction move more effective.

Minimal layer time

If you’re familiar with the minimal layer time setting then you’ll know this is what causes a printer to slow down when printing fine features on a model. Slowing down the print allows each layer to cool down a minimum amount of time. This is of course different for each material, because it depends on how fast a material can dissipate heat and  how much heat needs to be dissipated.

For colorFabb_HT it’s also important to adjust the minimum layer time when you want to print without cooling for best layer adhesion.