5 years at the TCT Show

This year it’s the fifth consecutive year at the TCT Show, one of the highlights 3D printing shows for us and, we’re sure, in general. We love coming back to Birmingham every year and introduce the latest and greatest we have to offer. This year we focus on the Stacker 3D printers and our recently launched Color on Demand service. In the past we have launched nGen_FLEX, nGen_LUX and other great materials at the TCT Show. Drop by at stand C48!

 

Below are some impressions of our previous stands (inside jokes added – you had to be there):

 

TCT 2014 aka the first year with colorFabb_XT and the finest hotel Birmingham had to offer:

 

TCT 2015 aka the year where we featured XT-CF20, the Stackers and coffee was spilled:

 

TCT 2016 aka the year with the race car and we introduced nGen_FLEX:

 

TCT 2017 aka the year when we announced nGen_LUX:

 

During the week of the TCT Show in 2018 we offer a 15% discount on all our stocked spools of filaments in our webshop. Use coupon code TCT2018 in our webshop to get the discount immediately:

Discount does not apply for Color on Demand, samples, printers, services or parts – only the spools of filaments that are normally offered as being in stock. Not in stock and being stocked again soon? No worries, you will get the discount.

Dual print with nGen and nGen_FLEX

Today’s featured print is a demonstrator model we also used at the recent TCT Show. For this model, which is our own design, we used nGen Gold Metallic for the base and nGen_FLEX Dark Gray for the flexible part.

Printing on the BCN3D Sigma we see how a world of opportunities opens up when you are able to use two different materials in the same print. The layer adhesion between the two materials is downright excellent.

bcn_dual_material-2_text

nGen was released late last year 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 recently 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.

bcn_dual_material-3_text

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 recently published: 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.

colorFabb gift box

Recently at the TCT Show we finally caught up with Tony Short. Tony has been using colorFabb’s special filaments with great effect and we have been following his impressive work for quite a while now. You can find a few examples of his work on Twitter: here, here and here. We are always happy to meet up with our users at shows, but Tony had a surprise for us in store: a printed giftbox made with our special filaments, based on the colorFabb logo. A typographer by trade, Tony put in his best effort and came up with a truly stunning print:

box-2

We’ll let Tony explain in his own words how he made this beautiful gift box:

“Since I began 3D printing I’ve been a big fan of Colorfabb’s more exotic materials. I’ve been creating artworks with them for the last year or so, and I was very pleased to find that colorFabb loved my designs / prints as well. I decided to make one of my printed fancy boxes, using CF’s wood and metal filaments. Normally my work has a typographic flavour (given that’s my background) but in this instance I designed a box using the ‘petal?’ device from the CF logo.”

“I designed the box using Moments of Inspiration (MoI3D) software. Starting with the ‘wooden’ shell first, and creating the holes for the inset ‘metal’ panels.  On my Ulitmaker2 printer the Woodfill filament has always been slightly less than perfect, but I don’t mind that because it gives the finished job some defects, which makes it look more natural. They are printed at 0.3mm layers with a 0.6mm nozzle, so don’t take much time. Afterwards the minimal supports for the inset holes are removed, and because they will be covered with panels I don’t need to worry about the surface finish there.”

“I finish Woodfill prints with multiple passes of sandpaper, usually 120, 180, 400, 1500, 4000 grit, and then a couple of coats of acrylic lacquer.”

box-5

“For the three metal panels I wanted to create patterns that related to CF, ending up with a Dutch townhouse scene, a more traditional tulip pattern and an abstract design based on the CF logo letterforms. I did think that using tulips might be a bit stereotypical, but given that CF use windmills on their packaging I thought I would be fairly safe.”

“All three patterns we built as 3D objects in MOI3D, then repeated, merged and flattened to create the finish 3D files. They were printed in Copperfill and Bronzefill, 0.1 layer height, 0.4 nozzle. No supports are needed, and finishing is a lot easier than the Woodfill sanding!”

“The townhouses and tulips were given a rough sand down to remove any stray bits and blobs. Then sprayed with black matt paint, fairly thick to get into all the nooks and crannies. This is then wiped off with a rag, whilst still wet, to give an aged look. Once dry these are then brushed with a brass wire brush, and finished with some high grit paper. The lettering panel was roughly brushed, but then treated with some oxidising liquid which accelerates the ‘verdigris’ process. Left overnight it was bright green the next day, so some strategic sanding and polishing knocked back the effect to look more realistic.”

img_5140

“The metal panels were simply glued into their holes, and the box given a final coat of lacquer to protect the metal finish, and stop any additional oxidisation. I use a lacquer designed for covering gilding with metal leaf, but I guess any would do.”

“The way the box is printed with Woodfill gives a realistic wood grain effect, and the 3D printing means you can make designs that would be very difficult using traditional techniques.”

box-4

We once again thank Tony for his beautiful gift box and using our materials to such a great effect.

We have seen great use of our special filaments and post-processing possibilities. We have collected several blogs about post-processing metal filled filaments in one place, which you can visit here.

Tony’s work can be followed on Twitter, via his account. Follow him and be amazed by his work.

Our special filaments are available online and throughout our worldwide distributor and reseller network. Enquire locally for availability. We also offer a special filament value pack online, where you can choose 8 special filaments in one package.

TCT Show 2016 recap

Hi all,

We wrapped up the TCT Show 2016. Packed our goods, stacked them on the pallets and everything is heading back to colorFabb HQ again soon. We’re about to board our plane and leave Birmingham once more. It has been a great two days in Birmingham, meeting old friends and making new ones. We were there with our partners Stacker and Eastman Chemical Company, answering all your questions, showing the prints and the printers and giving away a lot of free samples of our co-polyesters.


 img_5139

Two true artists dropped by: Steve Cox and Tony Short. They brought us their finest prints to showcase at our booth. Steve brought a statue, printed with bronzeFill and manually polished:

img_5133

Also, Tony Short dropped by and gave us a fantastic present: a gift box based on the colorFabb logo. You can see it for yourself. This gift is much appreciated and will get a special place at the office.

img_5140

As we said, true artists who not only know how to print, but how to post-process to achieve the highest quality possible.

Of course we had a big announcement at the beginning of the show. We launched nGen_FLEX this week and the initial reactions at show were extremely positive. Our new flexible filament has a Tg of over 125 degrees and is extremely well suited for engineering parts and prosthetics. Based on a co-polyester from Eastman, you can be assured of the high quality of the material. We have created a dedicated landing page for nGen_FLEX, which you can reach by clicking here.

We recently sent a few people spools to test nGen_FLEX and we saw an overwhelming support for our latest filament. Here are a few mentions of our beta testers:

screen-shot-2016-09-29-at-22-17-58

screen-shot-2016-09-29-at-22-16-08

screen-shot-2016-09-29-at-22-14-15

Layer adhesion is great and you can use this semi-flexible material with a Bowden tube, which we showed while printing on an Ultimaker 2+ with nGen_FLEX continuously during the show.

cthitxsxgaa39yo

nGen_FLEX is now available in black and dark gray.

The one feature print everybody talked about was the OpenRC F1 Car, designed by Daniel Norée, we published about last week. If you missed it, you can catch up here. We printed the entire car (a full 107cm long) with co-polyester based filaments: nGen, colorFabb_XT, colorFabb_HT, XT-CF20 and of course our latest nGen_FLEX which we used for the tires.

img_5115

The F1 car was mostly printed on the Stacker S4 during the summer. We had the Stacker on site during the TCT, printing technical parts – 4 at the same time! The Stacker S4 is a perfect printer for large scale projects and small series production. You can find more information by visiting our website: http://stacker.colorfabb.com/

stacker

A final honorable mention goes out to the team of Creat3D, our UK distributor. They built a big colorFabb tower at their stand!

pile

We want to thank everybody who visited us or followed the TCT Show through social media. Special thanks to Ludovic and Richard from Eastman, as well as Norston from Stacker to man the stand with us during these two busy days. It was great meeting everybody again and are too many to mention.

We hope to see you again next year!

(Oh, and don’t forget: the 10% discount code in our webshop will be valid the entire weekend. Use TCT2016 as the coupon code for a 10% discount on all spools of filament!)

TCT Show 2016

 

tctshow-2016

For the third time in a row we will be attending the TCT Show in Birmingham this year. On September 28th and 29th (yes, this is within two weeks and yes, time is indeed flying) we are at stand B36 in the NEC in Birmingham. In 2014, our first time in Birmingham, we showcased our then brand new colorFabb_XT there.

Looking back one year, in 2015, we featured the Stacker on our stand and showcased the then new XT-CF20, as well as the launch of corkFill. And now, in 2016, we are back again to join the other exhibitors at the TCT to show the latest and greatest in the world of 3D printing. You can find us at stand B36.

cqqxuvewgaex3v9

Events like the TCT Show are great since they draw a great crowd and we love meeting the people there. That’s why we are coming back to the TCT Show for the third time and you can find us at stand B36, having varous printers running our best and newest materials. One of the printers will be the Stacker S4, the go-to printer for small series and large volume printing. You can find more information about the Stacker here: http://stacker.colorfabb.com/  Shipping of the Stacker S4 will start mid-October.

stacker1

Keen to know what we are up to next? It is almost a tradition that we announce something at the shows we attend and the TCT Show in no exception. What the announcement is, we’re not telling yet, but we cannot wait to reveal it.

So, we hope to see you soon in Birmingham. Drop by for a chat at stand B36, get some free samples and discuss 3D printing with us! We look forward to a great time at the TCT once again. While you’re at the TCT Show, drop by at Creat3D, our UK distributor, at stand B20 and Aleph Objects, makers of the Lulzbot Mini and the recently launched TAZ 6 printers at stand D36.

In the meantime, check out the teaser of one of the main prints we will be showcasing during the show:

Have a great weekend!

Team colorFabb

 

image-16-09-2016-at-16-18