Soon to launch will be Structr3D Printing’s “universal paste extruder” that could enable many personal 3D printers to extruder some very unusual materials.
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China Filament for your 3D Printer: Yes or No?
Owners of personal 3D printers require a supply of plastic filament to fuel their favorite device, but where should they purchase it from?
The obvious and first answer is to simply buy it from the manufacturer of your printer. Most manufacturers, especially the larger manufacturers, often have a division that will sell you a selection of filament spools that “fit” your machine, both physically and chemically. The thinking is that by controlling the chemistry of the filament, they can tune the machine and software configuration to extrude optimally.
But often the cost of filament is high - and sometimes very high if it’s packaged in proprietary containers. So are there alternatives?
Possibly.
Aside from the usual sources, we took a quick look at going direct to China for filament using the popular manufacturer sales site, Alibaba. As an example, we checked out the offer from Guangzhou Flythinking Macromolecule Material Limited, who sell a variety of ABS and PLA filament.
For PLA, GFMML sells 1kg spools at a cost between USD$5 and USD$15 per spool. This is significantly less expensive than conventional sources, who can charge USD$30, USD$50 or more for a 1kg spool of PLA.
GFMML provides volume discounts, with the highest volume receiving the lowest price: USD$5/kg. However, they do offer the ability to purchase a single spool at USD$15. Note: if you’re looking through such offers at Alibaba, be certain to verify the minimum order requirement. Some manufacturers require minimums of quantity 1000, for example. You might order a shipping container of plastic by accident! You’ll also have to pay for shipping and any import duties imposed by your region.
GFMML offers PLA in a decent set of colors, so why not go ahead? There are a couple of potential concerns:
- Color consistency between batches may be an issue. Sure, the filament is only USD$15 per spool, but you might get surprised after loading the next spool.
- Filament diameter should be very consistent to avoid jams. GFMML specifies pretty good characteristics in this regard, but some manufacturers don’t mention it.
- Colors are sometimes implemented with toxic lead-based pigments. You don’t want lead particles floating around your home. Look for a safety statement from the manufacturer.
And if that isn’t enough, you also may wish to support local plastics manufacturers instead of going overseas.
If you can find a manufacturer that provides a safe and consistent quality filament at low cost, that’s should be your choice. But you may be surprised to find that it’s a local manufacturer.
Stratasys' Nylon Material
A few weeks ago we speculated that Stratasys might begin focusing on new materials to exploit their huge base of installed 3D printers as their FDM patents expire, and it appears they've done so with the announcement of their new Nylon-12 material.
Fred Fisher, Director of Materials at the company explained to Fabbaloo that the company believes the "Factory of the future is tied to materials", and that Stratasys "wants to solve more high requirement applications through materials."
Their first step in this direction is Nylon-12, which is a rather unique material. It's said to be twice as strong as any other nylon material, 5-6x higher impact resistance and 6x elongation to break. Fisher said Nylon-12 "delivers 80% of ULTEM properties for half the price." (ULTEM being Stratasys' premiere high-temperature/high-strength material to date.)
Where would you use this black material? It's ideal for snap-fit parts or those requiring vibration or shatter resistance. We've been testing it with the black iPhone case seen above, and trust us, that case has been on and off many times and the nylon material shows no signs of wearing out. We're hoping this material eventually makes its way to the MakerBot line.
Via Stratasys
Formlabs Releases a New Resin
Formlabs, makers of the popular Form 1 personal 3D printer have released a new resin. Previously, the company offered only two resins: Grey and Clear. The new material is "White".
For a rapid startup company such as Formlabs, it's totally understandable they may take some time before introducing new materials, but now they've done it.
Different resin formulations can produce all manner of material outputs, exhibiting different colors, strengths, temperature endurances, surface textures and other characteristics. We've observed larger, commercial resin-based 3D printer companies spend considerable effort on resin formulations - even hiring their own teams of chemists. We're hoping the release of "White" means Formlabs now has significant chemical expertise on staff.
As for "white", we are very excited because it's our belief that the color white is often the best color to print. Why? Because its light color easily shows off shadows, exhibiting the delicate printed shape in the best way possible.
White resin is available at Formlabs' online store for USD$149 per liter.
Via Formlabs
Development is Underway for a Graphene 3D Printing Material
In a recent press release, Lomiko Metal, a Vancouver based firm, announced its intention to create a laboratory dedicated to the development of “graphene-enhanced” 3D printing materials.
Graphene, which recently proved to be the world’s strongest material, has been of keen interest to a wide range of industries since its first isolation in 2004. One reason for this interest, aside from its strength, is that graphene is both more conductive than copper and the thinnest material known to man.
As part of their announcement, Lomiko Metal outlined their plan to enter into a strategic alliance agreement with Graphene Labs. Together, the two organizations will create a joint venture named Graphene 3D Labs. As part of the agreement Lomiko will be the sole supplier of graphite to the new lab, which will immediately begin researching and engineering graphene-based 3D printing materials.
Read More at ENGINEERING.com
The FilaFab Filament Maker
We had a close look at the FilaFab, a "Desktop Filament Fabricator". It's pretty simple in concept: put in some plastic bits and usable 3D printer filament comes out the nozzle.
But there's a lot more to it than that. The device has been carefully designed to ensure consistent melting temperature and flow rate to produce filament with reliable diameter and appropriate characteristics.
You'll need a source of plastic that's broken down into small bits for deposition in the hopper on the top of the machine. You can obtain bulk plastic pellets at a far lower price than filament, perhaps as much as five times or more less. By the way, FilaFab handles both PLA and ABS plastic. We suspect that they could also handle other plastics with a bit of testing.
Alternatively, you could somehow break up your existing models and failed prints into small enough pieces that would fit into the hopper. FilaFab might work on a "chopper" feature in the future, but for now you'd best get out a big hammer. We think this is pretty important, because, well, we happen to have a great many failed prints in a rather large pile at our lab. And so do you.
One feature we'd like to see on the FilaFab is a spooling mechanism to capture the new filament. Hot, soft filament would wrap very neatly around an empty spool, but not so much after it cools down. Perhaps FilaFab will add a spooler to future models.
The FilaFab is now on sale for £699 (USD$1100), but we understand they are still seeking certification for sales in the USA.
Via FilaFab
The War on 3D Printed ABS
It was the first plastic used in personal 3D printers, but are ABS's days coming to an end?
The once popular plastic seems to be supplanted by PLA. In fact during the recent 3D Printshow in London we encountered many 3D printer manufacturers who simply dismissed ABS as something they didn't want to support any more. "Who prints in that?"
Why is this so? There are some reasons:
- PLA doesn't warp. Much. ABS, on the other hand, is terribly difficult to print with unless you have a heated chamber (currently under patent by Stratasys)
- PLA is a biodegradable substance that disappears over time. You won't find much in a landfill
- PLA is made from renewable sources: typically corn starch is used to create the plastic, not oil
PLA also comes in much cooler colors.
However, one key advantage of ABS is that it is a stronger material capable of withstanding more stress than PLA. In other words, if you're printing gears for a machine, for example, you probably want ABS instead of PLA.
So it's PLA. Until something else shows up.
Move over Michelangelo – 3D Printing with Marble
For millennia marble has been one of the most impressive materials for building and sculpture. However, marble quarrying wastes material and creates plumes of calcium carbonate dust. Unfortunately, this dust represents a major environmental and public health risk.
In an effort to eliminate the negative effects of marble dust, engineers created MarbleEcoDesign. This company has found a way to bind collected marble dust with a photo-reactive polymer creating a 3D printable marble material.
Read more at ENGINEERING.com
MadeSolid's Colored 3D Printer Resins
If you happen to have a Form 1 resin-based 3D printer, you'll likely to have purchased resin from Formlabs, its manufacturer. Formlabs provides resin tuned specifically for their machine, but as of now it comes in only two colors: grey and clear.
That's changing because MadeSolid has launched a new series of resins that just happen to be compatible with the Form 1 - and they come in Black, White, Pink, and Blue. As you can see in the image above, they'll likely be announcing clear sometime soon, too.
Aside from multiple colors, the advantages of this resin are:
- High Definition
- Low to No Odor
- Reasonable Pricing
- Easy to Clean (No More Isopropyl Alcohol)
The last point is very interesting, indicating that MadeSolid's resins are quite a bit different from Formlabs'.
What about "reasonable pricing"? It's always hard to judge such matters on crowdfunding offers, as they are typically lower than prices offered in the future. It's like a "sale". That said, MadeSolid offers 1L of resin for USD$70-75, with discounts for bulk purchases (NOTE: Resins all have a shelf life, be careful how much you purchase). This is around half the price of Formlab's resins.
How will Formlabs react? We suspect they will release additional color resins on a much faster schedule. They may also consider a proprietary mechanism on future 3D printers to ensure only Formlabs material can be used, but time will tell on that.
"Green" 3D Printer Filament
No, no, we don't mean "Green". We mean "Green" as in environmentally responsible. We've been looking at filament supplier GP3D, who sell a decent selection of ABS and PLA plastic filament in 1kg spools.
Their pricing is decent (USD$32-44 per kg depending on the color and choice of material) and their color selection is not bad, either. You can choose from among 24 different options of material and color.
But how is it green? GP3D is a subsidiary of Green Project, Inc., who:
Strive to provide you with a premium filament choice when it comes to 3D printing material. Our products are extensively developed by the best engineers, and passed through heavy quality systems such as ISO 9001. Product development is our strength and that is what our customers look to us for.
The Green Project takes discarded inkjet printer cartridges and "gives them new life". Apparently they want to do the same for 3D printer filament.
We're not exactly certain how they provide greenness, though. Perhaps they recycle spool holders? Do they accept used prints and recycle the plastic? We could not find evidence of either on their site, so they may not be as green as stated.
Via GP3D
Leapfrog Introduces Improved PVA Material
Leapfrog 3D printers introduced a new type of PVA filament for 3D printing that, according to them, "actually works".
PVA is a different kind of plastic. It's not ABS nor PLA, but something different. Because it isn't ABS or PLA it can be used as a support material for both, but it's most interesting property is that it can be quickly dissolved in water. Imagine printing a very complex shape with tons of support material, then simply tossing the print in a bucket of warm water and watching the supports dissolve cleanly away. Check out the spider above, which was printed with PVA and is seen after the PVA dissolved.
Other vendors have offered PVA, including MakerBot, who we believed offered it first some years ago. However, they no longer offer it and instead have something called "MakerBot Dissolvable Filament" that works only with ABS.
Leapfrog says:
After much research and experimentation we now introduce the first PVA that does not get in the way of you and your happy printing by boiling in your nozzle or messing up your print in any other way. PVA dissolves in (hot) water, so it is the perfect support material for your PLA or ABS prints.
Apparently their formula is "100% PVA" and is "not diluted with additives", which apparently occurs on competitive PVA offerings.
The improved PVA can be stored in a safer manner because it does not absorb humidity from the air as fast as other PVA. It dissolves completely in about "half an hour".
If you'd like to try their PVA, it's for sale today at a cost of €69 (USD$94) per 500g.
Via Leapfrog
Found: Inexpensive 3D Printer Filament
For those of you scrambling to find a source for inexpensive filament, we found one: Seacans. They have a reasonable selection of colors that should satisfy most buyers, but the important thing is price. You can buy a 1kg spool of 1.75mm filament in either PLA or ABS plastic for only CA$19.99. That's USD$8.08 per pound for you non-metric folks.
This is one of the least expensive sources of filament we've found, but there are some caveats. We don't know the reliability of this vendor. We don't know the quality and consistency of their products. We also don't have any certification of non-toxicity from them, as filaments from some overseas sources have been known to use lead as a colorant. Shipping costs will be added, and they may vary considerably depending on where you're shipping to.
Nevertheless, the price is low enough to warrant an experimental purchase.
Via Seacans
3D Printer Filament Available at Monoprice
We hadn't noticed it before, but evidently Monoprice has been selling plastic filament suitable for 3D printers for months now.
If you're not familiar with Monoprice, they are a large online retailer of electronic goods, specializing in ultra-inexpensive cables. For example, you can get yourself an HDMI cable as little as USD$4, while you'd pay perhaps five times or more that price from a typical brick-and-mortar retailer. Even better, if you order in quantity you'll qualify for a discount.
So how do they do with filament? Do their filament prices match their low-cost reputation?
First, they sell a rather small set of filaments in 1kg spools. Simply choose: ABS or PLA; 3mm or 1.75mm; Red, White or Black. There's only 12 possibilities.
Each 1kg spool sells for USD$26. You can get a discount if you buy more: 2-9 is USD$25.80 (0.7%), 10-19 is USD$25.1 (3.5%) and over quantity 50 you'd pay USD$24.00 (7.7%) each. These are not terrific quantity discounts, but they are available.
Checking prices at other common suppliers for 1kg 1.75mm PLA shows (if offered at a weight other than 1kg, we've scaled the prices to 1kg equivalents):
- Filaco: USD$44
- Faberdashery: USD$101 (sold by the meter)
- FormFutura: USD$37
- JustPLA: USD$32
- MakerBot: USD$48
- MakerGear: USD$46
- Plastic Web Shop: USD$68
- ProtoParadigm: USD$42
- Ultimachine: USD$46
So it would seem Monoprice is less expensive than many other sources. However, there are a few other things to consider before buying from Monoprice:
- Monoprice has a reputation for switching suppliers; the second time you order you may get a completely different product
- There is no guarantee of safety with their filaments; some filaments have been shown to contain lead for coloring
- There is no guarantee of consistent specifications; you may find the filament has varying diameter, for example
- If you need specific colors, Monoprice has a pretty terrible selection
- Shipping costs may vary considerably
Nevertheless, it does seem like a good price and may be worth an experiment.
Via Monoprice
MakerBot Releases Three Things
All the recent hires at MakerBot have obviously been put to good use: this week MakerBot released not one, not two, but three important new products.
The first is the MakerBot digitizer, their first non-3D printing device. We've covered this item previously, and this release was expected. But now you can actually order one if you have USD$1,550.
The second is a new release of MakerWare. MakerWare is the software used by the company to drive their printers by preparing and converting 3D models into print instructions. The new release includes significant improvements in color handling, which is generally awkward for most color-capable 3D printer manufacturers recently.
The new MakerWare generates support structures that match the color they support. This prevents color contamination in your prints. The software also provides a detailed color print preview so you can understand what's going to happen before committing to a print. Finally, the software includes support for new materials.
The third release is two new materials: a Flexible Filament provides the ability to print bendable objects. The Flexible Filament becomes bendable at 60C, permitting you to heat and reshape a printed object. It's not clear if this material can be printed with ABS or PLA, however.
The other new material is a dissolvable filament. You can use it as a support material for very complex ABS prints, as the print can be submerged in limonene for a day and all the supports will disappear. This filament replaces their previous "PVA" material and is now named "MakerBot Dissolvable Filament".
Via MakerBot
i.Materialise Keeps Their Rubber
Earlier this year 3D print service i.Materialise announced the temporary availability of an experimental flexible 3D print material. Now they say this material will be available permanently.
The material is indeed flexible and permits 3D printing of a new class of objects leveraging the legendary rubber-like property.
But there's one fascinating catch. According to i.Materialise:
We cannot sell or distribute objects made from this material in the United States. We’re still working on this issue and hope to give you some more good news in the future!
We suspect this may have something to do with the chemistry of the material; it could require clearance from one of the very numerous US regulatory agencies.
While that proceeds, the rest of the world will bounce.
Via i.Materialise
TTP's Multimaterial 3D Print Head
Perhaps the most significant technology barrier in 3D printing today is the limitation of materials. Most 3D printers can produce only a single material at a time. Some manufacturers have short-circuited this problem slightly by adding additional print heads to enable more than one material, and only one (Stratasys) has the technology to mix (only two) different materials in a single print job.
But that may change with the announcement by TTP of Cambridge UK of their new Vista 3D print head technology. The Vista 3D is said to be the first 3D print solution that "can print with more than one material". We take that to mean "different materials shoot down the same pipes." If true, this would be an earthshaking development.
TTP says the Vista 3D is able to print "ceramics, and even biological cells, as well as the traditional metals and plastics" by using a newly developed "method in droplet ejection". They say:
Vista 3D print heads can print both organic and inorganic materials including ceramics, biological cells, enzymes, metals, plastics and a broad range of other chemical materials.
We do not have much in the way of technical specifications for this technology, as it is not a printer; it's more of a design. However, the technology can print 0.050mm particles as well as viscous fluids of almost any sort. One can imagine the number of possible materials if it is simply solid particles embedded in a binder fluid. There are many types of particles.
However, this is only a print head. It's NOT a 3D printer. We expect quite a bit of work is yet required to integrate this technology into a working, reliable 3D printer. There will be challenges in developing fluid materials that can be commercially viable and successfully stored and delivered to the printhead. There will be legal challenges - perhaps from competing patents and certainly work required to negotiate deals with 3D printer manufacturers wishing to use Vista 3D.
Once those challenges have been overcome, we expect to finally see entirely new styles of 3D printers; machines that can truly print complex objects with multiple materials.
Via TTP (PDF)
Sculpteo's New Materials
Last week Sculpteo announced the availability of two new materials for their 3D print service: Sterling Silver and Wax.
It's an arms race between 3D print services; each adds new materials and features to keep up with or gain a lead on the others. The most frequent battlefield is materials. This announcement is just another day in that ongoing competitive war.
That said, Silver is a very useful material, not normally accessible by those with personal 3D printing equipment. Typically you'd print jewelry or decorative items in silver, as it isn't the best nor cost effective material for industrial parts. Sculpteo offers three different finishes for your silver prints: Rough (sandblasted), Polished (slightly shiny); and Mirror Polished (jewelry quality). We suspect Mirror Polished will be the most popular.
The more interesting material we think is wax. Wax items are not particularly strong nor are they visually attractive. But they do offer one singularly useful feature: casting. A wax model can be covered in another material that solidifies. Then simply melt the original wax model out and you have a mold capable of duplicating the object. Depending on what you make the mold from, you could potentially cast plastic, plaster or even metal.
Wax is better than Silver.
Via Sculpteo
The Strength of 3D Printed Nylon
One material not often used by personal 3D printers is Nylon. It's a well-known plastic that can be 3D printed by commercial 3D printers and some personal devices, too. What makes nylon so interesting? It's the strength of the material. Nylon can take quite a bit of stress before breaking.
In a fascinating video by Shapeways creator Magic2002 Nylon material is tested to the breaking point. Magic2002 markets a RC car frame on Shapeways and it's critical to determine whether the frame is able to withstand the stresses of actual RC use.
The test showed that the breaking point of the model was likely far above anything a driver would reasonably experience. Shapeways points out that such testing is essential for anyone attempting to market stress-attracting objects. They'd better not break!
https://www.shapeways.com/model/835641/wild-willy-chassis-for-losi-mrc.html
Via Shapeways
BendLay Filament Bends!
The same folks who brought you the hard-to-believe-but-actually-real Wood filament now market a new bendable filament: BendLay, produced by Orbi-Tech and developed by Kai Parthy.
BendLay filament, available in spools of either 3mm or 1.75mm, has the unique property of being able to bend without creating stress marks that you'd quickly see if you tried to bend ABS. If you try to bend PLA prints, well, they'll simply crack. The specs say it can be bent "200%".
The new filament is priced at €32.8 (USD$43) for 750g, more than enough for some very interesting experiments. BendLay is also available at Creative Tools, who produced the bendy cap shown here.
Imagine printing bendable hinges that can be fitted precisely into the doors of your project. Flexible material introduces many potential 3D printed objects that otherwise would be difficult or impossible to consider.
The other thing we noticed about this interesting filament is that it's clear. In fact, it's described as "glass clear". While translucent materials are relatively common, "glass clear" is not. Apparently 91% of visible light passes through BendLay.
Let's put some windows on those doors.
Via Orbi-Tech and Creative Tools
3D Printing Sugru!
You don't know what Sugru is? It's a peculiar substance that is malleable when first exposed to air, but then solidifies into a rubber-like material that can be bent but snaps back to its original shape.
Too bad you can't 3D print it.
But now you can! HYREL has performed an experiments with their Emulsifiable Extruder to prove that it is possible to 3D print Sugru. This specialized extruder is basically a 25cc syringe-type mechanism that can hold a variety of materials not typically 3D printed, such as plasticine, play-doh and now Sugru. The EMO-25 extruder can be installed on a normal HYREL 3D printer to enable printing of alternate materials.
Daniel Hutchison of HYREL says:
We are excited to announce we have a new material to add to our growing collection of 3D printable materials!Sugru, an extremely versitile self-setting Rubber, has been successfully 3D printed with the HYREL Emulsifiable Extruder (EMO-25)! We are the first in the industry to be able to 3D print with this material!
We believe this is an important development. Imagine being able to print, for example, flexible rubber hinges, soft buttons, footpads, bumpers or other flexible items that could make your design safer, more active or attractive.
The sample 3D print in the video below doesn't seem to have particularly fine resolution, but we think that won't matter for the applications possible with this new capability.
Now where can we buy a big load of Sugru?
Via HYREL