Eearlier this week we printed a head storage for the Stacker 3D printer with XT-CF20. Aside from its stiffness due to 20% of added carbon fibres, the matte finishing of the print is one of the reasons why customers choose this product. It is a terrific filament for visual prototyping as well, if the print needs a tough and industrial look. Like today’s solenoid valve for water and gas:
This print was made for visual prototyping only, but it shows what can be done with 3D printing to showcase a model. This print is based on CAD files from McMaster-Carr Supply Company part 2660K12.
It was printed on the Ultimaker 2+ in our very own printlab in 3 seperate parts and glued together for a HQ visual representation. Due to the abrasive nature of XT-CF20, we printed with the brand new Olsson Ruby nozzle, provided to us by its manufacturer and very own distributor for the Nordic Region: 3DVerkstan.
The print was made with a 0,1mm layer height. For the nozzle we chose the Olsson Ruby nozzle 2,85mm version. The ruby nozzle retains the excellent heat conducting properties of brass, while being extremely resistant to wear. This means that you can print your standard materials as usual, but also very abrasive materials such XT-CF20, but also our steelFill.
The Olsson Ruby is a high-tech nozzle with a carefully designed ruby tip, which makes it have unique properties. The ruby nozzle is designed by Anders Olsson, inventor of the popular Olsson Block that is also part of the Ultimaker 2+ 3D Printers.
This nozzle was generously supplied to us by 3DVerkstan, our distributor and partner in the Nordic regiona and manufacturer of the Olsson Ruby Nozzle. For more information about the nozzle, contact 3DVerkstan: info@3dverkstan.se
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.
A pangolin is a mammal that is covered with touch, overlapping scales. These scales normally offer great defense against predators in the wild. This benign creature however is currently being threatened with extinction. They’re considered the world’s most hunted animal because people believe that the meat is prized for medicinal ingredient.
To get some attention for this little fella we have printed one. We challenged Niels, our new intern, with this multipart design to learn how to use the Ultimaker 2+ and our PLA Economy. It took him only a few days to get flawless quality from the Ultimaker 2+.
This print was made on the Ultimaker 2+ with 0.1mm layer height, using PLA Economy Silver.
Designed by Amao Chan from Taiwan, who has a real heart for the little Pangolin. In Amao’s words: “Pangolins now are facing critical crisis as they are closing to extinct. In fact, humans are the murderers of this disaster, superstition and greed are the main reason to cause this massacre.”
“Nowadays, the numbers of pangolins are less and less, some people eat them only for the reason of showing their ostentatious wealth, what they do to these helpless animals is to make them approach to endangered.”
About the design: “Pangolin is a really skillful and difficult work that I have spent a lot of time on it. It has been passed at least six editions before presenting to all of you. What I was trying to challenge is an artwork with both perfect appearance and function. It was a little struggle for me to share this work at the beginning since I’ve fallen in love with it when it’s first done and stood in front of me. At this moment, what I am wondering more is to let you firsthand it, holding and feeling the variation with actions. Enjoy and I believe you’ll like it.”
Well, we like it a lot! For this print we chose PLA Economy to print with.
PLA Economy was launched November 2016 and it has been a big hit ever since. Only now we are catching up with the demand for this new and great filament! 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 last year 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).
One of the noble applications of 3D printing in general is education. Chris Hallidayhas, with this in mind, designed an educational brake caliper, which we used for a visual demonstration, printed with various nGen colors:
Printed on Ultimaker 2+ with nGen Yellow, Orange, Gray Metallic and Light Green.
This brake caliper is not only a nice visual demonstration to 3D print for yourself, it also comes with detailed documentation with regards to printing, assembly and even how it works. It’s a learning experience which is suitable for grades 8 up to 12. It even comes with it’s own brake caliper quiz & answer sheet! Check out the Thingiverse link for Chris’ detailed tutorial!
nGenwas 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. Visual prototyping has never been better than with nGen.
nGen is made with Eastman Amphora™ 3D polymer AM3300, part of 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. Aside from nGen, we have colorFabb_XT, colorFabb_HT and the semi-flexible nGen_FLEX in our portfolio.
Eastman has done an extensive study about off-gassing during 3D printing. You can find an extract of the results here.
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.
With dual nozzle printers come great possibilities. Two colors, two different materials even. And what if we had a great support material? And what if we already happen to have such a material in our current portfolio? In between moving our entire company our print lab team started testing with using nGen as a support material for colorFabb_XT. A first test resulted in easy break away support with minimal scarring on the model.
For this test we used the GrabCAD’s Drill Case, which was originally designed for injection molding.
We used the dual nozzle Ultimaker 3 with 0.2mm layer height for this print. The surface finish of the colorFabb_XT is fantastic.
Printing a part designed for injection molding is challenging. But with the right settings and some material experimentation we got a great result. To all designers and engineers modeling for injection molding: checkout what you can do with an Ultimaker 3 and colorFabb materials. These results give much more freedom for designing for 3D printing and using functional materials for the best results.
We launched colorFabb_XT over 2 years ago at the London 3D Print Show together with Eastman Chemical Company. Eastman is our material partner for co-polyesters. colorFabb_XT is made with Amphora AM1800 and has a unique formulation for 3D Printing that features excellent properties : High strength and very high toughness, Odor Neutral processing, High Tg / improved temp. resistance, Styrene free formulation, FDA food contact compliance, BPA (Bisphenol A ) free formulation. It will allow the user to produce 3D printed functional products in a safe way.
nGen has proven itself to be a very versatile material that can be used for a lot of applications and now being a support material is one of them!
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.
Both colorFabb_XT and nGen are made with Eastman Amphora™ 3D polymer. With Amphora, items can be created that are more functional, more durable, more efficient, and attractive.
Both nGen and colorFabb_XT are available in our webshop. You can find more information about co-polyesters in general in last year’s blog. Below is a handy chart which explains the differences between the rigid co-polyesters in our current portfolio:
It is the season of giving and we can only imagine the amount of 3D printed items given away. One give away that was printed recently were little commemorative underwater hockey sticks. For this bulk print job we used our new PLA Economy filament.
Scaled at 20% from its original design, these little sticks were all printed on the Ultimaker 2+.
Underwater hockey is a sport that is played on the bottom of a swimming pool where two teams push and move a puck over the bottom of that pool. Although fairly unknown with the mass audiences, it is played worldwide.
PLA Economy was used for these prints since this new filament is a perfect filament to make such a give away, especially when they need to be produced in bulk and small series production. There were 33 little sticks per build plate, taking up approx. 5-6 hours per printer to finish the job. In total, nearly 200 were printed.
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 have released 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).
One application for 3D printing that we are seeing a lot of potential in is the the field of prosthetics. Of course we all know the good work that projects like Enable and 3D Life Prints are doing, but 3D printing is already being used in the field of prosthetics as we speak. We have been following the French company Mathis Orthopédie for some time now on social media and specifically on their Twitter page.
We got in touch with them to know a little bit more about this exciting application for 3D printing. They use 3D printing not for the final application, but instead for the phase before that to make sure the prosthetic is fitting well and make sure the measurements and comfort are perfect.
Customization is one of the key aspects for prosthetics since no body is the same. 3D printing offers this on an unprecedented scale, but of course it doesn’t end there. Skills in both fields of prosthetics and 3D printing are essential in combination with the right materials.
With over 40 years of experience in prosthetics, Mathis Orthopédie is one of the leading companies in their field. 3D printing enables Mathis to customize the prosthetics for each and individual customer. It also significantly reduces waste and increases speed to bring the right prosthetic faster to the person in need by 3D printing the prototypes.
We have already seen 3D printing providing dramatic changes in bringing prototypes to life, products to the market and even finding its way into centuries old technologies like investment casting, but there are few ways where 3D printing can make such a personal impact on people daily lives as with prosthetics. Below is Mathis’ company video where you can see partially printed prosthetics being tested:
The material of choice they have been using is our colorFabb_XT, 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. It allows the user, like Mathis Orthopédie, to produce 3D printed functional products in a safe way.
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.
The functionality that colorFabb_XT offers makes it a great material for prosthetics, as Mathis Orthopédie is using it. For visual prototyping, one of the materials Mathis uses is our colorFabb PLA/PHA natural, which has become a standard in the past 4 years as an extremely reliable filament.
For their printers they use Ultimakers and a Delta Tower.
Mathis Orthopédie strives for excellence in all aspects of the prosthetics they offer and have chosen colorFabb_XT as their primary material for this application. Be sure you visit their website (in French) and follow them on Twitterand Facebook, where they regularly share their works in progress.
This is the third part of an ongoing series of blogs about companies that use colorFabb filaments in unique and exciting ways. Recently we published about AKLIH, the Slovenian design company who use our woodFill filaments for their products, and last week we wrote about Spectra3D‘s use of 3D printing for investment casting. If you are interested in being part of this feature, or know a company who would be suitable, please contact us at sales@colorfabb.com
A few weeks ago 3D Hubs invited us to attend the opening of their new office. As you know, we have been working together with 3D Hubs for quite some time now. All 3D Hubs members are entitled to a discount when ordering from colorFabb.
3D Hubs has its home in Amsterdam and Amsterdam is in the DNA of 3D Hubs. We thought it would be fun to make a variation on the I Amsterdam logo that you can find for real on the Museum Square in the heart of Amsterdam. We adjusted it a bit, we played with it a bit and the result is quite nice:
You can download this very design from our Thingiverse page and print one yourself.
For this print we used bambooFillfor the base plate, nGen Red for “I am” and PLA/PHA Standard White for “3D Hubs”. To make it completely Dutch, we printed all the parts on the Ultimaker 2. This print is a perfect example to use various materials from our portfolio together to create the best result!
3D Hubs is of course the platform that connects 3D printers worldwide and offers it as a service to the ones without a 3D printer. One of the primary forces in 3D printing today, 3D Hubs has seen a stellar growth in the past few years with a few succesfull investment rounds, a necessary move to a bigger office in the heart of Amsterdam and a role to educate the world about 3D printing. Read, for instance, their clear article on what 3D printing is.
We are a proud partner of 3D Hubs and are looking to work together with 3D Hubs and its members in 2017 even more!
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!
About a month ago we gave you a sneak peek of the Moveo Robotic Arm that was designed by BCN 3D Technologies in Barcelona. A fully functional robotic arm, entirely open source, printed with our range of co-polyesters. We are ready to share more and where we are now.
We are now printing with colorFabb_XT Yellow (and some Dark Gray for the details) on various machines: Of course the BCN 3D Sigma, but we are also printing on the Stacker S4 and Ultimaker 2 to speed up the process, since the BCN Sigma is currently being used for multi material testing.
Since we’re using mostly parts from an old 3D printer we modified the CAD files in SolidWorks to accomodate these new parts. BCN3D’s open source working method also applies to this robot arm design, so all the files are available on BCN’s github page. With most parts being printed or already finished we are now starting to assemble this impressive project and rig up the controlling electronics. For this we plan on using an Azteeg X3 Pro Printer Controller that is powered from a 24v power supply.
We will keep you updated on the progress of this project!
Our range of Amphora based co-polyesters are perfectly suited for a project like this. In 2014 colorFabb teamed up with Eastman Chemical Company to develop unique grades of co-polyesters suited for 3D printing. Eastman Amphora™ 3D polymer are a low-odor, styrene-free choice that is uniquely suited for 3D printing applications. With Amphora, items can be created that are more functional, more durable, more efficient, and attractive.
So far we have launched four grades, starting with colorFabb_XT in 2014, which is a fantastic functional engineering material. Late 2015 we follow this up with nGen, our next Generation general purpose filament and a drop in replacement for PLA. A wide processing window and perfect reliability make this filament a very popular one in our portfolio.
Earlier this year we followed that up with colorFabb_HT, a high-temperature resistant filament that allows for functional engineering projects that need lasting parts. Recently at the TCT Show in Birmingham we introduced nGen_FLEX to the market, a flexible filament with a Shora A hardness of 95 allowing for functional and flexible parts to be printed.
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!
Today is December 3rd and traditionally this date is known as 3D Printing Day. It was declared 3D Printing Day by 3D Hubs last year and this year again, so technically we can speak of a tradition.
There will be events all over the world at 3D Hubs. Check them out here. Last year we had an open house day on December 3rd which was fairly well attended. The people who visited us and toured our factory & print lab even saw an early version of the material that was to become nGen_FLEX a full 10 months before it was officially released!
Actually, as you read this our R&D team is working hard testing new materials and making sure the future of 3D printing materials is at least as exciting as it has been in the past four years.
This year we will not have an open day (no use ringing our doorbell – we will not open the door), but instead we have collected some of the coolest prints of the year. Some of them made by us, other prints made by others. We see a wide variety of awesome prints coming by every day on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and what you – our users – send us by email. This is by no means a complete list and we will highlight the most astonishing prints of the year at a later date, but we found that these astonishing showpieces deserved another moment in the spotlight…
From our own print lab, the trick of this print was in the post-processing. Ever since releasing our first metal filled filament, bronzeFill, in 2014 we have received a lot of requests about post-processing these special materials. We finally caved in and set one of our print engineers Jos to work to print the rocket, sand it, polish it and to write about it. You can find the full blog here, but before you read it just look at the image above and wonder if this really looks printed…
“Per aspera ad astra” as they say in Latin. Who said we can’t be pretentious? O, we do love our rockets… One of the biggest eye catchers ever is the Saturn V rocket printed by Korneel Bullens. We had this collossal print (600+ pieces, 3500+ hours of printing on 4 Ultimakers and over 2.5 meters high – thank you very much) on our stand during the AM Show in Amsterdam in June of this year. Korneel is one of our most enthusiastic users with an extremely active 3D Hub here in the Netherlans. Entirely printed with nGen, our all-round co-polyester, made with Amphora™ AM3300 polymer by Eastman Chemical Company. Korneel printed the Toyota Engine with colorFabb_XT earlier and rumors have it that he is working on another ambitious project with colorFabb filaments…
You can read the full blog on the Saturn V rocket here.
colorFabb gift box
Design: custom made by Tony Short
It’s the little things that count. Things like running into one of our users at the TCT Show for the first time. Especially when that user is Tony Short and he has brought a gift! Tony’s background in typography and love for 3D printing (and especially our special filaments) have resulted in this fantastic gift box, based on our very own logo! The box is still a very much admired (and coveted) object in our office. Made with woodFill, bronzeFill and copperFill it was post-processed by Tony. You can find all the details in the blog we wrote about it a little while a go.
Published only yesterday by the Stacker team, this print measures 57.5mm high and was printed on their Stacker S4. Famed for its four nozzles to accommodate small series production, you can also use one nozzle on this versatile printer to create one highly detailed and impressive print like this Medieval Castle. The material of choice is, like the Saturn V rocket, nGen, an excellent material for highly detailed prints like this one. We printed this castle ourselves earlier this year, but the size that the Stacker team achieved is just downright impressive.
colorFabb is the exclusive distributor for Stacker in Europe. Get more information here or get a quote here.
Printing transparent…
Earlier this year we already posted about how to print transparent with colorFabb_HT and recently we came across Daniel Norée’s tweet where he showcased his results. The transparent block was printed by Robert from 3DVerkstan. You know 3DVerkstan as our distributor in the Nordic region, as well as the Baltics. Printing clear products mainly relies on two key aspects: extruding enough material and getting enough heat (energy) into the new material. Optimal settings can lead to some very clear and transparent parts straight from the printer and it seems that Robert has found those optimal settings. You can find our full blog on transparent printing here.
Note: an earlier version of this blog ommited the part where we give credit to Robert from 3DVerkstan and created the impression that Daniel Norée printed this transparent block. Thanks you Daniel for pointing this out and sorry Robert!
Steve Cox’ printing with bronzeFill
Whenever Steve Cox is printing something with bronzeFill, we pay attention. Why? Look at the image above and you know. His work is always exciting and stunning. His work with bronzeFill can be considered a standard in printing and polishing. Steve’s enthusiasm about printing and his prints are contagious and we are always happy when we run into him during shows. We were even allowed to borrow the statue you see during the TCT Show! We have written about Steve’s work before, which you can find here and here.
This comes as no surprise. We love our F1 car. Designed by Daniel Norée (yes, he of the transparent printing earlier) we increased the size with 250% and started printing with all our co-polyesters: nGen, colorFabb_XT, colorFabb_HT, XT-CF20 and the then brand new nGen_FLEX for the tires. The design by Daniel, the materials by colorFabb and printed on the Stacker S4 result in one of our most ambitious print projects. The result is stunning. We leave it to the video below to show the result:
As said, those are just a few of the many great prints of 2016 so far. We love seeing them coming by on social media and by email. Keep sharing them!! We keep printing ourselves as well. You can find regular updates on this very site: https://learn.colorfabb.com/category/featured-print/
Also, don’t forget to check out our collection of tutorials from time to time to get the best results printing with our filaments.
That’s it from colorFabb HQ for now. We hope you enjoy 3D Printing Day this year.
Happy 3D Printing Day and keep sharing your work!
– Team colorFabb
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.
Almost two months ago during the TCT Show we launched our brand new semi flexible nGen_FLEX filament. With a Shore A hardness of 95 and the high glass temperature of 120+ degrees C this is a truly functional 3D printing filament. For today’s featured print we custom designed tubes that needed a certain flexibility.
nGen_FLEX is our first foray in flexible filaments. We aimed for a more functional, semi-flexible filament. The first reactions after launching were unanimously positive and we have seen fantastic prints with nGen_FLEX in the wild ever since.
These tubes were printed on an Ultimaker 2+ on 0.16mm layer height., proving once again that nGen_FLEX can easily be printed on printers working with a Bowden tube.
Printing multiple tubes at once with connecting sections enables us to print the full height of the printer without becoming to flexible to properly print. These tubes are 190mm long and are connected by a single wall thickness of 0,4mm to create the stiffness. After printing these connectors can be easily cut away with a hobby knife.
With an outer diameter of 6mm these tubes are compatible with regular tubing of the same size. Its 2 perimeter thickness ensures a watertight print whilst remaining flexible enough to use in a variaty of applications.
These tubes will be part of a bigger print we are working on. Keep your eyes open in the weeks to come!
nGen_FLEX is a new elastomer material added to our existing range of co-polyester functional 3D printing filaments. It is made from Eastman Amphora™ Flex 3D Polymer FL6000 and the fourth filament in our range of Amphora based co-polyester, following colorFabb_XT, nGenand colorFabb_HT.
nGen_FLEX is available in our webshop: Click here.
nGen_FLEX is best described as a semi-flexible material with good printability on most 3D printers eliminating the use for specialized flex extruders. It’s rated at a Shore A hardness level of 95. By adjusting infill and perimeter settings it’s possible to influence how flexible a part should feel after printing. You can find more information on our dedicated nGen_FLEX landing page.
