Einführung der 3D-Druckerdüse

Die 3D Drucker Düse wird in FDM Drucker und FFF Drucker verwendet. Sie befindet sich am Extruder und ist dafür verantwortlich, das geschmolzene Filament auf das Druckbett aufzutragen. Die 3D Drucker Düse hat eine kleine Öffnung, durch die das Filament in definierter Menge herauskommt. Die Nozzle wird vom Drucker über dem Druckbett hin- und herbewegt, sodass die 3D Drucker Düse das Filament schichtweise aufträgt. Besonders ist, dass eine hochwertige 3D Drucker Düse das Filament präzise und kontrolliert auf das Druckbett aufträgt.

Klassifizierungen der 3D-Druckerdüse

Nicht jede 3D Drucker Düse ist gleich! Es gibt verschiedenes Material und verschiedene Größen, die die Druckart beeinflussen. Hier spielt auch eine Rolle, welches Filament und welche 3D Druck Düsen verwendet, um bestimmte Ergebnisse beim Objekt zu erzielen. Dazu im Folgenden mehr!

Durchmessergrößen

3D Drucker Düsen können in fast jeder Durchmessergröße gekauft werden. Je nachdem, was mit dem 3D Drucker gedruckt wird, ist eine 3D Drucker Nozzle mit einem kleinen Durchmesser oder eine mit einem größeren Durchmesser sinnvoll.
Hier ein kleiner Überblick:

Auf den zwei Fotos sind Objekte zu sehen, die mit einer 3D Drucker Düse mit unterschiedlichen Durchmessern gedruckt wurden.
Das erste Objekt von links wurde mit einem sehr kleinen Düsendurchmesser gedruckt. Das Objekt ganz rechts dagegen mit einem sehr großen Düsendurchmesser.
Hier sind die 3D-Benchy-Druckparameter im Bild (von links nach rechts):

0.15mm Düse: 8h 4m, 11.75g Filament, 0.07mm Schichtstärke

0.25mm Düse: 5h 22m, 12.15g Filament, 0.10mm Schichtstärke

0.4mm Düse: 1h 56m, 12.85g Filament, 0.15mm Schichtstärke

0.6mm Düse: 52m, 13.90g Filament, 0.30mm Schichtstärke

0.8mm Düse: 33m, 15.14g Filament, 0.40mm Schichtstärke

Es ist deutlich zu sehen, dass, wenn Düsen mit sehr kleinem Durchmesser verwendet werden, die Präzision des Endobjekts wesentlich besser ist als die der Objekte, die mit größerem Düsendurchmesser gedruckt wurden.

Materialien

Bei 3D Drucker Düsen gibt es verschiedene Materialvarianten. Die Frage ist, wann macht welches Material Sinn?

Hier die wichtigsten Materialien:

1. Messingdüse:
   Der Klassiker ist Messing, denn Messing hat eine gute Wärmeleitfähigkeit, wodurch das Filament gleichmäßig aufgetragen werden kann. Die relativ günstigen Messingdüsen eignen sich sehr gut für Drucke mittlerer und niedrigerer Temperaturen. Sehr gut können PLA, ABS und PETG gedruckt werden.
   
2. Edelstahl:
   Edelstahl ist weniger wärmeleitfähig als Messing. Dafür ist es sehr robust und abriebfest, was es zu einer sehr langlebigen Option macht. Auch ist es eine gute Wahl für Drucke, bei denen Rostbeständigkeit wichtig ist. Edelstahldüsen werden vor allem für sehr präzise Drucke genutzt und für Drucke mit hohen Drucktemperaturen.
   
3. Gehärteter Stahl:
   Gehärteter Stahl ist sehr abriebfest und langlebig bei abrasiven Materialien wie Carbonfaser, Glasfaser oder metallverstärkten Filamenten.
   
4. Vernickelt:
   Vernickelte Düsen sind Messingdüsen, die eine dicke Schicht von Nickel haben. Verwendet werden vernickelte Düsen beim Standard-3D-Druck, wenn eine höhere Langlebigkeit gewünscht wird. Die Schicht von Nickel ist ein Schutzmantel gegen Korrosion und Abrieb.
   Vernickelte Düsen sind etwas teurer als klassische Messingdüsen, haben aber eine wesentlich längere Lebensdauer.
   
5. Kupfer:
   Kupfer ist der beste Wärmeleiter und empfiehlt sich für Hochpräzisionsdrucke bei hoher Druckgeschwindigkeit. Mit Kupferdüsen erhält man eine perfekte Druckqualität. Nachteil ist, dass Kupfer relativ weich ist und dadurch anfälliger für Abrieb und Korrosion ist.
   
6. Wolframkarbid:
   Wolframkarbid ist sehr abriebfest, langlebig und stabil, was es zu einer perfekten Wahl für Drucke mit Carbon, Keramik und Metallen macht. Die Abnutzung von Wolframkarbid ist sehr gering. Wolframkarbid ist in der Anschaffung teuer, steht aber mit seiner Langlebigkeit deutlich heraus.
   

Wie tauscht man die Düse eines 3D-Druckers aus?

Ist die 3D Drucker Düse deines 3D Druckers beschädigt, hat starken Abrieb erlitten oder druckt einfach nicht mehr präzise, so muss man diese gegen eine neue austauschen. Auch kann es sein, dass du für bestimmte Drucke eine andere 3D Drucker Düse benutzen möchtest und die 3D Drucker Düse wechseln musst.

Hier unsere Kurzanleitung!

1. Erhitze das Hotend

2. Entferne das Filament

3. Halte den Heizblock fest

4. Schraube die alte Düse ab

5. Installiere die neue Düse

6. Abkühlen und testen

Schau dir hier unser Video zum Düsenwechsel an:

Warum verstopft die Düse beim 3D-Druck?

Es gibt viele Gründe, warum eine 3D Drucker Düse verstopft. Hier haben wir typische Szenarien, die Grund für das Verstopfen sein können:

1. Falsche Temperatureinstellungen
Ist die Temperatur zu hoch oder zu niedrig, kann die Düse verstopfen oder eine unregelmäßige Extrusion stattfinden.
Was tun?
->Überprüfe regelmäßig die Temperatur des Hotends. Auch solltest du sicher sein, dass du die empfohlene Temperatur für das entsprechende Filament eingestellt hast. Es kann sinnvoll sein, ein Thermometer am Hotend zu verwenden, falls dein Computer nicht ganz korrekt misst.

2. Verwendung von minderwertigem oder kontaminiertem Filament
Wird Filament falsch aufbewahrt und hat Feuchtigkeit oder Schmutz aufgenommen oder handelt es sich ganz einfach um ein minderwertiges Filament, sollte dies nicht verwendet werden, denn das Risiko ist hoch, dass die Druckqualität sinkt und die Nozzle verstopft.
Was tun?
-> Du solltest einen vertrauenswürdigen Hersteller haben und eine sichere (Luft und Schmutzgeschützt) Aufbewahrung vom Filament garantieren. Bei feuchtem Filament kannst du einen Filamenttrockner verwenden, denn sonst können Blasen und Verstopfungen an der Düse entstehen.

3. Überextrusion oder Unterextrusion
Ist deine Extrusionsrate nicht richtig eingestellt kann die 3D Drucker Düse verstopfen.
Was tun?
-> Kalibriere deinen Extruder regelmäßig und verwende gegebenenfalls ein Kalibriertool, um die optimale Extrusionsrate sicherzustellen.

4. Drucken mit zu hoher Geschwindigkeit
Möchte man sehr schnell drucken, erhöht man das Risiko, dass die 3D Drucker Düse verstopft.
Was tun?
->Reduziere die Druckgeschwindigkeit oder passe andere Druckeinstellungen an, sodass keine Verstopfungen auftreten.

5. Falsche Retraction
Die Rückzugseinstellungen (Retraction) müssen optimal eingestellt werden, da auch hier sonst die Düse verstopfen kann.
Was tun?
-> Optimiere Länge und Geschwindigkeit von Retraction und überprüfe, ob der Rückzug richtig funktioniert.

6. Verwendung der falschen Düse für bestimmte Filamente
Bestimmte Düsen werden für bestimmte 3D Drucker Filamente genutzt. Wird dies nicht berücksichtigt, so können Verstopfungen entstehen.
Was tun?
-> Stelle sicher, dass du die richtige Düse für dein Filament verwendest. Im gegebenen Fall solltest du deine Düse mit einer passenden 3D Drucker Düse austauschen.

7. Unzureichende Kühl- oder Heizeinstellungen
Der Druckfluss kann von falschen Kühl und Heizeinstellungen beeinflusst werden.
Was tun?

-> Eine kontinuierliche Überprüfung deiner Kühl und Heizeinstellungen während des Druckprozesses ist sehr wichtig. Das Hotend sollte eine konstante Temperatur haben. Bei Schwankungen kann es zu Verstopfungen kommen. Achte also darauf, dass der Lüfter des Hotends richtig funktioniert.

8. Alte oder abgenutzte Düse
Ist deine 3D Drucker Düse verstopft, kann das daran liegen, dass die Düse alt oder abgenutzt ist.
Was tun?
-> Tausche deine alte oder abgenutzte Düse gegen eine neue Düse aus

9. Ausgefallener oder schlecht kalibrierter Extruder
Ist der Extruder schlecht kalibriert, so kann es zu Verstopfungen in der Düse kommen.
Was tun?
-> Kalibriere deinen Extruder regelmäßig und überprüfe deinen Extrudermotor auf Fehlfunktionen und Blockaden.

10. Verstopfungen am Hotend (Hitzekriechen)
Das sogenannte Hitzekriechen bezeichnet die Situation, in der das Filament bereits bis zum oberen Ende des Extruders geschmolzen ist.
Was tun?
-> Hotend und Extruder müssen gut isoliert sein, sodass die Wärme das Filament nicht bereits zu früh erhitzt. Stelle sicher, dass der Extruder während des Druckvorgangs nicht überhitzt. Gegebenenfalls solltest du die Isolierung vom Hotend und die Kühlung vom Extruder verbessern.

Fazit

3D Drucker Düsen sind ein essenzieller Bestandteil von 3D Druckern. Es gibt 3D Druck Düsen in verschiedenen Größen und Materialien. Je nach Druckart, Material und gewünschtem Endprodukt muss eine spezielle Düse gewählt werden.
Wenn eine 3D Drucker Düse verstopft, so müssen verschiedene Aspekte des Extruders, Hotends und der verschiedenen Einstellungen berücksichtigt bzw. überprüft werden, sodass man das Verstopfen der Nozzle verhindern kann und hochwertige 3D Drucke machen kann.

1. Why does mixed color printing produce stringing or oozing?

We can go to the Cura official website to report similar slicing problems. Some reasons may not be a problem with the machine. Issues related to stringing: 1. Different manufacturers and types of consumables 2. Slicing setting temperature 3. Slicing retraction length. It may also be the difference between the structure of the mixer cavity of the A30T print head and single-head printing. Please confirm the usage age of the 3d printer. If you want to replace accessories, you can search our Geeetech official website to purchase new accessories.

2. Why do those colors mix on the printing results?

We collected the real experience of fans. One of them shared as follows:

A30T prints fine in pla with 4mm retraction while pla+ always strings no matter what settings are used. If you want it to print better, you can try to replace the Boden tubes with a direct drive extruder. The only reason for these usages and this style extruder is so it can print faster without the extra weight at the hot end. But anytime it slows down in the print movements without extruding filament will keep expanding and will leave blobs or thick strings. So his fix was extra retraction and speed up the whole printer he used 5500.0mm/min and raised the allowed minimum speed reductions to 30% instead of 20% the slicer. He has used every printer he owned Simplify3D through USB.

3. How to correctly print mixed-color or color-separated models？

Here are some solutions that we offer to you.

A. For multi-extrusion printers to print mixed color or gradient models, you can operate in the following three ways:

1. Just slice the monochrome model through the slicing software, and operate the start color mixing ratio, end color mixing ratio, and color mixing height on the printer. This method is simple and direct.

2. Geeetech official provides EasyPrint slicing software, which can meet the user’s color mixing requirements through visual interactive operations. This method is more flexible and interesting.

3. Using Marlin Gcode instructions M163/M164/M166, you can print models with any color mixing requirements. For details, please refer to Marlin’s official website instruction usage format https://marlinfw.org/meta/gcode/. This method requires users to be familiar with the Usage of Marlin code.

B. For multi-extrusion printers printing color separation models, a wiper tower needs to be set up to ensure that the residual filament inside the nozzle is fully extruded onto the wiper tower after the filament is withdrawn. To achieve the best cleaning effect, you can try the size and volume of the wiper tower.

Whereas 3D printers using the same technology and marketed for about the same price usually do not vary much(theoretically) in terms of print quality, the results of post-processing can vary greatly depending on your expertise and skills. Simply put, you take either 100 percent blame or credit for your finished 3D prints.

So, what processes are involved in post-processing?

•Cleaning

In FDM, cleaning usually means to remove support structures from the object.

As we know, there are two types of support material: soluble and insoluble. Insoluble material is relatively strong and can only be removed with a spatula,knife or sheer brute force,leaving the model and print platform vulnerable from possible damage.

If you are lucky enough to own a dual extrusion setup, you may want to use soluble material for your supports. Soluble materials such as HIPS and PVA, can be dissolved in water or Limonene.

Check out our previous blog on how set up your 2 extruder 3D printer.

•Fixing

One way to circumvent supports is to have your model printed separately. This means you will have to manually attach together your parts. ABS prints can be welded or glued together using acetone. Here is a tip you should heed: when creating joints or keys for a model, make sure to create joining features large enough for the 3D printer to create them cleanly. Thumb of rule is that features should be larger than 4-5mm in diameter. Glued components should be secured together using rubber bands, and cyanoacrylate glue should be used to spot glue around the connecting areas. If seams are rough or have gaps, bondo or filler can be used to smoothen them.

•Surface finishing

Sanding

Layer lines are the bane of models printed using FDM technology. Carefully sanding the surface of the model with paper should get rid of the lines. This process requires delicate skills and great attention. Start with higher grit to lower as you go. Do not sand in one place for too long as friction-generated heat could melt the material. The downside to manual sanding is inconsistent results, as well as being laborious.

Smoothing

To give the print a glossy finish, chemicals are sometimes used. For example, Acetone and THF are used to smoothen the surfaces of objects printed with PLA and ABS. The problem with this technique is that it can not be controlled: sometimes features are melted off that should remain. On top of that, vapours can be harmful when inhaled.This can be avoided using closed chemical cleaning machines.

•Coloring

Coating and Painting

Surface finishing is often followed by painting. Parts need colouring would ideally be printed using white material. A layer of primer is usually applied before the model is painted,followed by another stage of sanding. Painting is usually done manually using a brush or spray(at an arms length). It is highly recommended that you hang the object in an open, dust-free,well ventilated space. This will allow you to paint all surfaces evenly without having to handle the model while paint is drying. The painted object should be ready to polish after 1-2 days.

Credit: beamler, 3der

Before reading this article, please make sure you have already read the setup guide of the version of the 13B single extruder and that you are able to use it to print 3D models. If not, please learn how to operate the single extruder. Of course, you can take this one as the single extruder version to get started.

Step 1

Open Repetier Host, and click Config/Printer Settings to set up the connection.

1. Name your printer.

2. Select the corresponding COM port and baud rate. The baud rate is generally 115200 or 250000.

3. If you are not sure about the COM port, you can check it in your device manager.

Step 2

Set up your extruder

1. Choose the number of extruders, here we choose
2. Select the diameter and color of the filament
3. Offset X/Y refers to the distance between the two extruders, which can be adjusted based on real situations. You can leave it alone now.

Step 3

Set up the shape of the printer

Choose Classic printer as the printer type.

Home X: min Home Y: min Home Z: min

Print height: 150

Now you can click the Connection button on the left corner to check whether it can connect with your printer. If it fails, please recheck the COM port and Baud rate.

Step 4

Manual control

1. X home

Click X home to home the X axis, or you can click the right/left arrow to move the axis to check whether the direction and distance are correct or not；

2. Check Y axis and Z axis respectively in the same way

3. Click the icon of the heated bed on RH to heat the bed. observe whether the temperature is rising to a pre-set value

4. Click the icon of the heated bed and extruder, observe whether it is heating up to the pre-set temperature, and keep it at that value

5. When the temperature for the extruder surpasses 170 °C , choose extruder1 and extruder2 respectively, you can move them and check their directions

Step 5

Leveling the two extruders.

Leveling the two extruders is very important if you want to print with two extruders at the same time.

First, you can adjust one extruder to make it parallel with the surface of the heated bed (the same way you level for a single extruder setup), click the button of Z home to adjust the distance between the nozzle and the heated bed, make sure the vertical distances of the nozzle to the four corners of the bed are the same.

After that, tweak the distance between the second extruder and the heated bed by adjusting the screws, as shown in the following picture: Loose the screws, and then you can move on to get the right distance between the two extruders and the heated bed.

you may need to repeat this step to get it all right.

But it’s worth it. Once you get it done correctly, you won’t need to do it again.

The settings mentioned above are on Repetier Host, which only involves the control of the 3D printer and the preview of the model.

All the settings do not concern the print result but the slicing. So we will continue with the slicing setting. The slicer is independent of Repetier Host. So, should we set up the slicer now? Take it easy. Let’s see whether our printer can run normally.

Step 6

If the printer goes well. We can go on with the slicing. First, let’s get a quick view of the slicer.

RepetierHost supports many slicers, with Slic3r and CuraEngine being the most popular; Slic3r is more powerful in terms of functionality, but CuraEngine comes with more optimized slice velocity.

You can choose a slicer here. Upon selecting the slicer, please click Configuration.RepetierHost will bring up a wizard of the corresponding slicer that will walk you through the configuration.

Here we take Slic3r as a demonstration. As to the configuration in CuraEngine, we will pick it up in the follow-up study in our forum www.geeetech.com/forum/, so, please stay tuned. If you are experienced in CuraEngine, we would appreciate it if you could.ld share your insights with us.

Next, download the file:two_color_cube.zip, unzip the file, and save it somewhere. You will need it later.

Step 7

Click Configuration， open Slic3r

Step 8

We have prepared a set of parameters for I3B_2E dual extruder, that is, I3B_2E_config_bundle.ini. You will need to import those parameters to slic3r from here.

In Slic3r, under file> Load Config Bundle.. navigate to the folder we just downloaded and unzipped, open I3B_2E_config_bundle.ini,

Step 9

After loading, you can find the option of Geeetech_I3B_2E in the drop-down menu.

In my case, I use the Geeetech pro-C model,(I refer to the I3B_2E in this article)， the extruder is MK8(1.75cm-0.4mm)， PLA filament, so we choose Geee_I3B_2E, PLA 1.75mm, and Geeetech_I3B_2E respectively.

All the parameters you set can be saved in RepetierHost for future reference.

Step 10

Unzip two_color_cube.zip， click Load to import the .stl files，choose two_color_cube_1.stl and two_color_cube_2.stl respectively.

Actually, two_color_cube is composed of two .stl files. each printed by one nozzle.

After loading, you can preview it. The two files are separated. Now you need to adjust the locations to combine them together.

Select Object Group 2 and click center, then Object Group 1 and center. Now the two models are combined as one.

Assign printing tasks for both extruders respectively.

Step 11: Slice

If this warning pops up, choose NO

G-code is generated successfully

Step 12: you can print directly via serial port (USB connector）or save the G-code to an SD card, and print stand-alone.

Step 13′: The end

This post was originally published on the Geeetech wiki page and is edited in this blog.

Please be noted this article was last modified on 11 August 2015, and hence is subject to changes, due to software updates and hardware upgrades over the years.

If you already have a dual extrusion system, we would like to hear from you. Share your story/experience with us by joining our forum or Facebook user club. You are also welcome to write on our blog to reach a larger audience.

3D printing stringing can be a common problem especially if you are a newbie or when dealing with a new machine or material. But luckily, it is a problem that is fairly easy to solve. Let’s look at some causes and the corresponding solutions:

Retraction distance

Retraction distance is the most important retraction setting as it determines how much consumables is pulled back from the 3D printer nozzle. Generally speaking, the further your nozzle retracts, the less likely oozing is to happen. But if the distance is set too high, the plastic may not be able to to reach the hot end and may cause under extrusion. In general, Bowden extruders require a higher retraction distance than direct drive extruders.The optimal value falls in somewhere between 4-7mm(most likely to be 6mm) for most Bowden extruders and 0.5-2.0mm for most direct drive extruders. Some trial and error is probably going to be required to get the retraction distance right.

Retraction speed.

Retraction speed determines how fast the material is retracted from the nozzle. Generally, a quicker retraction will reduce the chances of leaking. But again, it could also be problematic: first, it may cause the plastic to separate from the melted filament inside the nozzle; second, the fast movement of the drive gear could grind parts of your filament away. A sweet spot is usually found somewhere between 25-40mm/s. Again, you will need to experiment to get the optimal value.

Temperature

If stringing persists after you have tweaked around the retraction settings, go on to check the extruder temperature. As the temperature goes up, the plastic inside the nozzle becomes more liquefied and less viscous, and therefore, more likely to drip out of the nozzle. On the other hand, if the temperature is too low, the filament may not be properly heated and melted,creating problems with extrusion. To fix excessive stringing and avoid issues with extrusion, start out by lowering the temperature by 5-10 degrees to see if the print quality improves.

Temperature setting for filaments:

• PLA 185°C – 215°C, hot bed 25°C – 60°C
• Silk PLA  200-230°C, hot bed 40-60°C
• ABS 230-240°C, hot bed 100-110°C
• PETG 220-240°C, hot bed 80-90°C
• TPU 200-230℃, hot bed 50-60℃

Travel distance and speed

Another possible solution to stringing is to reduce the distance between points/locations the extruder travels. As we already know, stringing occurs while the extruder is moving to the next point. Therefore, the reduced travel distance will slash the chances of leaking. By the same token, increasing the movement speed of the extruder can also prevent stringing from happening.

Maintenance

To avoid stringing, you are also suggested to do the following :

1. clean your nozzle. Necessary tools for cleaning nozzle: tweezers, wrench, cleaner rod, needle and allen key. Firstly you need to preheat nozzle and use tweezers to remove extra filament from nozzle. Then you need to unload the filament and pull out the PTFE tube from hotend. Next, use a cleaner rod to push in and out nozzle for several times to clean it thoroughly with proper strength.

2. keep your filament clean and dry. We recommend you to use vacuum bag or dryer box to stock your filaments. If you keep it expose to some extent humid air and dust for a long time then it will certainly affect heating process and more likely to break during printing process.

Reminder: performing a routine maintenance on your 3D printer always helps with your print quality.

I hope you all enjoyed the 1st episode of 3D Maker Salon by “Andreas Braun” who is well-experienced in 3D printing and worked with them for a quite long period. And also known as Co-owner at Geeetech. So I hope it was great listening to him through his journey in the 3D Printing World, skills, tricks and turns with his experience. If you have missed to watch it then here is the link just click on it and enjoy him speaking. Live streaming link of 1st episode: Click to watch

Here comes 2nd episode of 3D Maker Salon with a new speaker “Jens West”. I already mentioned he is being worked for a long period with 3D printers. He is going to share a lot about the 3D printer filaments and his experience with them isn’t it interesting. Then what are you waiting to mark the date and time on your calendar, complete all your works before he is LIVE? Enjoy listening to him and try them out, let us know was it worth watching.

Live Stream: 8:00 pm-9:00 pm Dec 27 -EU Time
Live link: https://bit.ly/2PlgWC9

Merry Christmas to all and here comes a big surprise from Geeetech for Merry Christmas & New Year. Aren’t you guys excited to know what is your surprise gift. Then let me tell you, come close so that no one should hear it and grab the special gift from you.

There will be a Lucky Draw from the audience who is watching the whole event. The lucky audience will get a New Year Special gifts then what are you waiting to mark the date and time of the Live streaming event on your calendar. Hence, complete all your works before it starts and win exciting gifts.

You can also be a speaker if you’re interested to share your experience, skills or innovations related to 3D printing. Therefore, it is a platform for 3D hobbyists and to encourage them. There is also a surprise gift for the Speaker than there is only one step. That can get you a gift, you just need to fill the form.

?Be the speaker, get one A10T
For more information, please visit: https://bit.ly/2PMYgdA

Now let me thanks the audience for making this event a grand success and help us to provide the knowledge related to 3D printing. In the same way without any hurdle in the upcoming episodes of 3D Maker Salon- Geeetech.

Make the best of Geeetech 3D printer only @ Geeetech official site

Can filament be recycled?

Nowadays plastic is one of the important sources required for the living, but plastics are non-biodegradable materials. Some of them might decompose after 10 t0 1000 years or may require more. So it is necessary to recycle the filaments and use it to safeguard the earth, water bodies and animals die due to ingestion and injury after intaking it.

3D printing is expensive but can be managed by recycling the filaments, using recycled filaments. Also, it reduces the cost and helps in the protection of the environment. Now let’s discuss all the methods and equipment used for recycling the filament.

To recycle the filaments mainly requires 2 things one is the Shredder and the other is Extruder. Before starting with these 2 you need to collect all the waste 3D filaments, old prints that are of no use. Therefore start recycling of these products that would result in a new spool of the 3D printer filament.

Why Shredder is required?

If the 3D printer hobbyist is more enthusiastic then shredder can built-in home or can buy ready-made that might cost around  $250. Some of the best shredder’s are  SHR3DIT  and Filabot Reclaimer. These are both compatible with all the filaments especially great with HIPS, ABS and PLA.

When the old prints or waste filament is fed into the shredder it breaks the printers into smaller pieces and then grinders it the fed to the extruder. It is a bit tricky processes for the DIYer’s.

Why Extruder is required?

After shredder completes its work extruder comes into the picture. There is any number of extruder: DIY as well as ready-made extruders that might cost around $300. The extruder heats up the filament then provides the shape that can form a spool. Some of the best extruders are Recyclebot or Lyman/Mulier Filament extruder open-source extruders, Filastruder Kit, Strooder, Filabot EX2 filament extruder, FilaFab Extruders, and  Noztek Pro. 

The Protocycler is the combination of both shredder and the extruder it also comes with computer controls that help to maintain consistency.

Some tips that might help you while recycling process

• Don’t mix out all the filaments of different compositions doing so may result in undesirable prints.
• Don’t mix filaments of different brands, they should be clean and separated before the recycling process.

Now let’s discuss the other main topic that is the storage of 3D printer filament.

How to store a 3D printer filament?

Storing a filament is a big headache because it shouldn’t catch moisture. Why storage is important?  In this case, it will become more brittle, they break down when heated up at the extrusion temperature, and makes the filament weaker. The filaments may not provide an elegant, polished, and intact look as before when they come in contact with moisture. Due to this also creates a sizzling sound while printing and clog the nozzle.

Also, filaments should be kept away from the dust so that it shouldn’t result in bad, fail in print and clog the nozzle. Here are some solutions to how to store the 3D printer filaments. I guess these might help you while printing after along time.

Storage boxes

Storage boxes with transparency appearances help to store 3D printer filaments more effectively. The filaments can be protected to overcome outside moisture. And also, transparency helps in determining which color filaments are in which box. To store the filaments it might require huge boxes so that you can at least store more than 2 filaments in a stack. The diameter and height should be more than 40cm each.

Filament Clips

The filament spools can also be stored using filament clips end tip of the filament is clipped so that it shouldn’t catch moist. There are several types of filament clips the most effective will be the one that is clipped to the edge of the filament.

Silica Gel Packets

These packets are the most suitable desiccant packets that are used to remove excess moisture from the filaments also, these can be quickly dried in the microwave and can be reused anytime. The packets are available in different sizes and for single spool around 50grams is enough, for the larger quantity it requires more.

There are color indicators present in it that help to know whether it is saturated or not if saturated than has to be recharged.

Ziplock and Vacuum Bags

Ziplock and Vacuum bags are the most effective airtight container that is cheapest and easiest to store the filaments. These bags also come with double-zipper mechanisms. That assures there will be no excess air and filaments are well protected. Within a single vacuum bag, around 4 filaments can fit.

PrintDry filament container

These are well-known to store a single filament spool and lid of it assure the box is airtight and keeps moist out of the box. A vacuum hand pump is also provided with these boxes to remove excess air and boxes can be stacked to save space.

Polymaker polybox edition 2

The hero among all the storage solutions is polybox from polymaker it can withstand at least 2 spools weighing 750gms or a 3kg  spool which also has a hygrometer that checks the moisture inside the container. The spools are mounted on the ball bearing axles and fed to the feeder with rubber coupling on the side and the top of the container. The bottom of the container consisting of 2 desiccant packets that absorb the excess moisture from the container.

The polybox is more advantageous for hygroscopic materials such as nylon or PVA because of these intakes moist quickly. The filaments should be used from inside the while printing need not take out so due to this unique property the filaments can be stored for long.

Lock & Lock container HSM952

Lock & lock containers are very similar to PrintDry solution even its lid is intact with rubber so there will be no moisture inside the box and can contain a 750gm spool with a desiccant packet. These also can be stacked for more space.

DIY filament storage

There are several DIY storage solutions that can be used for both storing and to print directly from the container. These can be modified using any equipment or features you require at that point. But don’t forget to install the spool holding and a coupling for a Bowden Tube. Also, make sure that the containers are huge enough and coupling is airtight to keep the spool safe when not printing.

Filament dust filter

The nozzle should also be cared for, not only for the filament. But it may also catch dirt and dust due to which clog may occur while printing. The dust filter is placed between the spool and the feeder to remove the dust that is also clipped on to the filament. The dust filter needs to be printed and put 2 small pieces of sponge on both sides of the dust filter.

Dehumidifiers

A dehumidifier has the name that prevents the humidity. These should be renewed once in every month after the indication. How to renew the dehumidifier? It’s a very simple and easy process it just needs to plug to the power outlet. Therefore, when the silica gel beads change the color. Eva Dry E-333 is the best example of the dehumidifier.

Oven-Drying

The king of the kitchen oven can also be used as the solution for the filament drying. There is one important thing that is when to oven-dry the filament that depends on the Glass Transition Temperature(Tg) of the material. This is the temperature when the filament changes from hard, glassy nature to soft and rubbery material. For example, PLA has a Tg of 60 degrees Celius. If the Tg is greater or higher than 80 it should be kept for an hour at 60-70 degrees, less than 80 than about 30-40 is fine.

I hope the guide to 3D printer filament was helpful and informative. If there is anything you want to know, do comment in the section. If it’s related to 3D printing and stuff I will surely write a blog on it.

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Flexible filaments

As the name indicates these more flexible than any other filaments. Due to flexibility these are soft and can be molded into any shape and size with ease.

Pro Series Flex

The filament is the one among TPE which is popular for its elasticity and flexibility and behaves like a real rubber which can bend and mold in any shape and size easily. Therefore, these are made of tightest tolerance with high precision for3D printing. The filament can be best experienced with slower print speeds to avoid filament binding in the extruder.
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 Advantages/properties

• The filament is like a soft rubber making it more flexible and elastic than the popular PLA and ABS filaments
• The filament is good for high-quality objects with large objects because it bonds well between layers
• The heated bed is not needed and it is a durable material with little shrinkage while cooling.

Disadvantages/Issues 

• The printer should be modified otherwise can extrude from the nozzle inconsistency due to its flexible property.
• Hence, needs experienced hands for printing the filament is not for beginners
• For optimal performance the printer nozzle needs fine-tuning.

Applications

• Stoppers, belts, caps, phone cases, bumpers and more can be made from this filament due to its 2 important properties.
• The filament can be used in various fields due to its flexible nature i.e., home appliances, automotive, medical, electrical insulation, weather seals for windows and doors, Kid’s toys and wearable’s and soles of the footwear.

Price Starting from : $30 to $ 50 for 1.75mm/1kg spool

Extrusion Temperature: Vary between 220 to 230 °C.

TPE

This filament is well-know for its flexibility and elasticity. Also helpful in the making of extremely flexible 3D printer material that will have the properties of soft rubber. As the name the Thermoplastic elastomers the filament is superbly flexible and elastic. The less infill you use, the more flexible your finished print will be.
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 Advantages/properties

• Great to use with most of the FDM filaments.
• The filament is like a soft rubber making it more flexible and elastic than the popular PLA and ABS filaments,
• Good for high-quality objects(bonds well between layers).
• The heated bed is not needed.
• Hence, it is a durable material with little shrinkage while cooling.

Disadvantages/Issues

• The printer should be modified otherwise can extrude from the nozzle inconsistency due to its flexible property.
• Hence, needs experienced hands for printing the filament is not for beginners
• For optimal performance the printer nozzle needs fine-tuning.

Applications

• Stoppers, belts, caps, phone cases, bumpers and more can be made from this filament due to its 2 important properties.
• The filament can be used in various fields due to its flexible nature i.e., home appliances, automotive, medical, electrical insulation, weather seals for windows and doors, Kid’s toys and wearable’s and soles of the footwear.

Price Starting from : $30 to $ 50 for 1.75mm/1kg spool

Extrusion Temperature: Vary between 225 to 235 °C.

PCTPE

Plasticized Copolyamide TPE is the combination of synthetic polymer Nylon and flexible filament TPE. Due to the mixture of these 2 filaments the properties and settings are almost the same. Synthetic fabrics are used to dye your prints of any color.

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 Advantages/properties

• Nylon makes it easy to print.
• Flexible like TPE and can be dyed into any color due to Nylon.
• Can work better in critical setup
• Low shrinkage

Disadvantages/Issues

• The filament needs to be dyed in various colors that require an extra step, consumes more time and highly expensive.
• Difficult to print needs experienced hands.
• While printing may lead to blobs and stringing
• Not good with Bowden extruders
• Poor bridging characteristics

Applications

• The main applications are, helps in printing cosplay armor, phone enclosures, and industrial parts.

Price Starting from : $30 for 1.75mm/1kg spool

Extrusion Temperature: Vary between 235 to 245 °C.

Soft PLA

The Soft PLA has similar characteristics as that of normal PLA with one unique property that is flexible like rubber. Due to this it is also, called “Flexible PLA“. Hence, it is compatible with all the 3D printers.
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Advantages/properties

• Soft PLA is flexible, rubbery, elastic and has impact resistance.
• Hence, it acts like a biodegradable PLA due to its low carbon footprints.
• Therefore, it has good vibration dampening characteristics.

Disadvantages/Issues

• It creates clogging, bubbling, and bunching in the nozzle while printing.
• Can’t shape in the desired form due to extremely adhesive nature.
• Hence, need to slow down the printing speed for best results
• A direct extruder is required for the smooth journey of the filament to the bed.
• Not good for objects with more gaps and overhangs.

Applications

• Best for stoppers, belts, caps, phone cases, bumpers and more.
• Unique ergonomic nature helps in printing pen grips, shoe sole inserts.
• The materials which need to be strong such has tires, cell phone covers, and other things with flexible in nature.

Price Starting from : $30 for 1.75mm/1kg spool

Extrusion Temperature: Vary between 220 to 230°C.

TPU

Thermoplastic Polyurethane is the filament that belongs to the class of polyurethane that has unique properties namely elasticity, transparency, and resistance to grease, oil, and abrasion with a shore hardness of 95A. There are various types of TPU namely polyester TPU used to resist oil and hydrocarbons, polyether TPU used in wet environments, and polycaprolactone TPU performs with low-temperature and comparatively more resistant to hydrolysis.
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Advantages/properties

• Resistant to oil, grease, and abrasion.
• Printed parts have low-temperature resistants
• Ease to work
• With the right settings, there will be no curling or delamination.
• Excellent layer to layer adhesion.
• No warping issues.

Disadvantages/Issues

• It creates clogging, bubbling, and bunching in the nozzle while printing.
• A well-polished and smooth look can’t be obtained.
• We need to slow down the printing speed for the results.
• Hence, it doesn’t dissolve in simple chemicals.

Applications

• Best for stoppers, belts, caps, phone cases, bumpers and more.
• Used in automotive instrument panels, caster wheels, power tools, sporting goods, medical devices, drive belts, footwear, inflatable rafts, and a variety of extruded film, sheet, and profile applications.
• The materials which need to be strong such has cell phone covers and other things with flexible in nature.
• Therefore, it helps in the outer casing of antennas for efficient performance even after many wash cycles.

Price Starting from : $30 for 1.75mm/1kg spool

Extrusion Temperature: Vary between 220 to 250°C.

Composite filaments

These are the filaments made up of 2 or more individual components whose combined physical strength exceeds their individual properties as per the name.

Laybrick

Lay-Brick is the 3D material that almost as similar features as LAYWOOD-D3,  Kai Parthy is the inventor of these 2 filaments which are quite amazing, the filament is rough apart from that gives a look and feel of grey stone retaining the flexibility and elasticity of the plastic. The filament should be used with maxi-sized 3D printers. Therefore, it gives the ” Non-plastic look“. The temperature above 210°C the filament produces rough and sandstone result otherwise it will produce a smoother finish.
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Advantages/properties

• The filament is stiff and brittle in nature
• Gives sandstone look rather than plastic
• No warping
• No heated bed required
• Get a different variety of textures depending on the extruder temperature.

Disadvantages/Issues

• Temperature above 210 makes the print rough.

Applications

• Best for landscape and architectural designs.
• Fux-stone, model train scenery can be printed with this filament.

Price Starting from : $40 for 1.75mm/1kg spool

Extrusion Temperature: Vary between 165 to 190°C.

Wooden PLA

The wood filament is a fusion of standard PLA and finely powered wood materials that provide the print with the natural texture of wood. The mixture may contain bamboo, cork, wood dust, and other wooden by-products,  come in the ratio of 70:30 of PLA and wood. Therefore, best used with desktop 3D printers that provide the wooden-like finish. They are various types of wood filaments namely LAYWOO-D3, ColorFabb’s Woodfill series, and Timberfill.
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Advantages/properties

• The natural look of wood and a biodegradable filament
• Similar PLA properties
• Different extruder temperature provide different colors, hotter the darker
• No warp and shrink
• Less abrasive compared to other composite filaments.
• Therefore, as pleasant wood-like smell.

Disadvantages/Issues

• Less strength than natural wood.
• Hence, it is inflexible and brittle makes PLA better filament
• Easily breakable material
• There should not be any sharp turns while working with the filament.

Applications

• Best for landscape and architectural designs.
• Fux-stone, model train scenery can be printed with this filament.
• Wood burns when exposed to high temperature
• Filaments are more expensive than PLA
• Use large-sized nozzles to reduce wear and tear.

Price Starting from : $25 for 1.75mm/1kg spool

Extrusion Temperature: Vary between 220 to 250°C.

Conductive filament

The filament is modified PLA with a conductive carbon particulate with low voltage and low current circuitry not being that technical. The filament helps in making smaller circuit boards on the printer bed. These filaments may consist of sensors and some LEDs( Light-emitting diode). The filament is present for both PLA and ABS users. As the name, it has a conductive nature. Hence, works well with all the 3D printers.

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Advantages/properties

• More flexible than the PLA
• Conductive in nature with small power circuitry.
• No heated bed is required but gives better results with it.

Disadvantages/Issues

• As less layer adhesion
• The filament is more expensive
• Less flexible and durable compared to PLA
• Repeated binding may break the material and shrinks during cooling.

Applications

• Most of its applications may come in the field of electronics i.e., small circuit boards.
• Best for functional prototypes, integrated circuits and electronic components like sensors, LED, and low voltage projects
• Best for Arduino projects.

Price Starting from : $17.99 for 1.75mm/1kg spool

Extrusion Temperature: Vary between 215 to 230°C.

Lay ceramic

As the name gives ceramic or clay finish to the print. The filament has similar properties that of the natural clay when burned and glazed provides strength and gives the elegant look to the object. While using this filament requires extra settings or additional upgrades to the printer for a better print.

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Advantages/properties

• The filament is durable and brittle in its nature
• Can be fired in the kiln to get that ceramic look and can apply glaze
• The Kiln can take the filament to make more amazing objects

Disadvantages/Issues

• Takes more time to heat and cool
• The printed objects are hard in nature
• More expensive

Applications

• Therefore, best used for making mugs, flower pots, model roofing tiles, ashtrays, sculptures, or pottery.

Price Starting from : $200 for 3.mm/1kg

Extrusion Temperature: Vary between 265 to 275°C.

Carbon Fiber Reinforced PLA

As the name, the filament is a mixture of PLA and small carbon fiber strands, designed to fit through the nozzle easily. The carbon contained in the filament provides more rigidity and enhances the structural support to the object to be printed. The 3D printer user who requires stiff and rocky like nature of the objects can use this filament. Drone builders and RC Hobbyists may fall in love with this filament.

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Advantages/properties

• No warp and excellent layer adhesion property
• Provides better print quality and no heated bed is required
• High strength, durable, ductile and stiff
• Little string during the cooling process

Disadvantages/Issues

• Not flexible in nature
• Contains abrasive strands
• Wear and tear of printer nozzles more with brass
• Requires investment in a printer nozzle

Applications

• Drone bodies, propellers, and RC car frames can be made with great ease.
• Frames, supports, and tools can also be made,
• Various materials like protective casing, mechanical parts, and highly durable objects can be formed.

Price Starting from : $60 for 1.75mm/1kg

Extrusion Temperature: Vary between 190 to 230°C.

ColorFabb BrassFill, CopperFill, and BronzeFill

The filament is metal combined with PLA gives absolutely the metal finish look. Therefore, these are tougher to print than MH build PLA filaments, due to metal integrated with plastic prints are heavier but are more authentic in nature. The objects printed can be polished, painted, and sanded that gives a beautiful, unique and elegant look even unpolished objects are classy, matte, with a dull appearance and dusky look amaze people. Therefore, what’s in your mind that can be a desired outcome when polished. The temperature can reach to 14oo °C or above.

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Advantages/properties

• An aesthetically appealing metal finish.
• Therefore, no heated bed is required.
• Heavier than other filaments due to its metallic nature.
• High durable and strength
• Hence, no, shrink while cooling

Disadvantages/Issues

• Expensive filament
• Therefore, require a wear-resistant nozzle
• Printed parts are very brittle in nature.
• Very poor overhangs and bridging property.
• Over-time partial clogging can be seen.
• Heavy objects when printed with it.
• To obtain a smooth finish need to rock tumbling, polishing, or wet sanding needs to be done.

Applications

• Used for cosmetic prints of busts, jewelry, or sculptures.
• Perfect for printing props, costumes, figurines, and robots.
• The filament can also be used by designers as well other than hobbyists looking to make faux metal prints.
• Replicas for Museums
• Best for hardware products.

Price Starting from : $25 to 50 for 1.75mm/1kg

Extrusion Temperature: Vary between 190 to 220°C.

Proto-Pasta Stainless Steel and ColorFabb SteelFill

The filament is a mixture of the steel strands and PLA, thus these are tougher than the MH build filament. Even these can be sanded and painted to get a better look like the above filaments even with an unpolished look the prints get the cast metal from the mold. Therefore, it has high abrasion to brass nozzle you will need to install a hardened steel nozzle before printing. They print like PLA but slower than PLA.

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Advantages/properties

• An aesthetically appealing steel finish.
• Therefore, no heated bed is required.
• Heavier than other filaments due to its metallic nature.
• High durable and strength
• Hence, no, shrink while cooling

Disadvantages/Issues

• Expensive filament
• Printed parts are very brittle in nature.
• Very poor overhangs and bridging property.
• Over-time partial clogging can be seen.
• Heavy objects when printed with it.
• To obtain a smooth finish need to rock tumbling, polishing, or wet sanding needs to be done.
• Not easy to print with for the inexperienced

Applications

• Used for cosmetic prints of busts, jewelry, or sculptures.
• Perfect for printing props, costumes, figurines, and robots.
• The filament can also be used by designers as well other than hobbyists looking to make faux metal prints.
• Replicas for Museums

Price Starting from : $25 to 50 for 1.75mm/1kg

Extrusion Temperature: Vary between 200 to 220°C.

Magnetic Iron PLA

As the name, it has all the magnetic properties as that of the magnet. The filament is a mixture of standard filaments and iron powered due to which magnetics stick to the filament and provide a dusty and gunmetal look to the printed objects. The temperature needs to be 10-20 degrees lesser than what is required for the MH build PLA filament. To get a rusty look you need to spray several times the mixture of hydrogen peroxide of 16oz, the vinegar of 20oz and 1Tbs of salt let it dry and you will get the desired look.

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Advantages/properties

• It provides a rusty and worn look to any print.
• Therefore, no, shrink while cooling
• Extremely durable and has great strength
• The filament is not soluble in nature.
• Hard and heavy prints can be achieved.

Disadvantages/Issues

• Expensive filament
• Due to high abrasion needs to install hardened steel nozzle.
• Heavy objects when printed with it.
• To obtain a smooth finish need to rock tumbling, polishing, or wet sanding needs to be done.
• Hence, not easy to print with it for inexperienced

Applications

• Used for cosmetic prints of busts, accessories, or aged-metal props.
• Therefore, best used for various DIY projects, sensors, and educational tools, etc.
• Home uses it is just like a novelty material.

Price Starting from : $70 for 1.75mm/1kg

Extrusion Temperature: Vary between 195 to 220°C.

PORO-LAY Series

The filament is made from a rubber-elastomeric polymer and a PVA-component. Therefore, there are various types of filaments namely Lay-Felt, Gel-Lay, and Lay-Fomm 40 and 60. These filaments can be characterized as highly porous and flexible filaments.

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Advantages/properties

• These filaments are highly flexible and porous in nature
• Also, have a sponge, jelly, foamy and soft in nature.
• When soaked in water dissolves PVA material and left with the rubber-elastomer.
• Unique and experimental uses.
• Lightweight objects even they are large in size.

Disadvantages/Issues

• Printed objects will be soft and sponge in nature.
• Not used for hard and stiff prints
• Hardware components can not be printed
• Expensive filament.

Applications

• Therefore, best used in filters, permeable membranes, jellyfish models, stamps, or intricate sponges depending on the material.
• Can be used in making of artificial paper and future cloths
• Used for the rubber-like, sponge in nature applications such as ink-reservoirs, bio-cells, micro-foam, and elastics.
• Also used for tissue and orientated objects making.

Price Starting from : $160 for 1.75mm/1kg

Extrusion Temperature: Vary between 220 to 230°C.

Specialty filaments

Like the name, these are special kinds of filaments. Now let’s look at the various types of specialty filaments and their special features.

Polycarbonate(PC)

The filament is more strong, impact and highly resistant in nature. Polycarbonate is a tough and highly durable thermoplastic.

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Advantages/properties

• Hence, very resistant to any temperature
• It is flexible and can bend without crack
• Transparent in nature
• No soluble

Disadvantages/Issues

• Should store in a dry place
• Above all not for food components
• Expensive than standard filaments.

Applications

• Most commonly used in RC parts or drone parts.
• Therefore, it can be used in applications related to electrical, mechanical, or automotive components.
• Due to its optical clarity can be used in lighting projects or for screens.

Price Starting from : $120  for 1.75mm/1kg

Extrusion Temperature: Vary between 210 to 290°C.

Bendlay

The filament as exciting new features and that is extremely translucent and flexible in nature. Hence, 91% of light passes through the filament. Therefore, it is also flexible and elastic. The other modified version of it is Butadiene.

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Advantages/properties

• Flexible, transparent and provides strength to the material.
• Absorbs less water compared to ABS
• Food safe
• High interlayer adhesion
• Less warping
• Unbreakable and easy to print

Disadvantages/Issues

• Acetone will make it crushy.
• Suffer from whitening when bend.
• Harder than ABS

Applications

• Best used in food packing and food industry.
• Best used ornate cups, containers, or translucent objects.
• Therefore, it can also be used in medical devices.
• Hence, it can be used in the making of containers and utensils.

Price Starting from : $100  for 1.75mm/1kg

Extrusion Temperature: Vary between 225 to 245°C.

Moldlay

As the name, it is mainly used for molding which as wax-like properties. The filament is stiff and rigid at the room temperature when heated with 170 10 180 degrees starts to extrude. The prints can be made not only for permanent mold but also for lost wax molding purposes. Therefore print takes the long process usually in the traditional form but thanks to Moldlay it consumes time.

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Advantages/properties

• No warping
• No heated bed required
• Easy to print
• Inexpensive to print the objects

Disadvantages/Issues

• Softer than any other filament
• Feed gear may not work
• Melted wax is runny in nature so won’t deposit correctly

Applications

• Therefore, it can be used for molding purpose
• Designed for silicone molding or completely vaporizing for investment casting.

Price Starting from : $80  for 1.75mm/1kg

Extrusion Temperature: Vary between 175 to 195°C.

Continuous Fiber 

Continuous fiber filaments are designed for the ready to use products other than most 3D printing materials are meant for rapid prototyping and testing models.

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Advantages/properties

• Strong, durable and ready to take abuse.
• When comes in contact with a strong base filament like Nylon with Continuous fiber provide a professional and beautiful finish

Applications

• Best used for production parts, drone bodies, or even manufacturing molds.

Price Starting from : $50 to $100  for 1.75mm/1kg

Extrusion Temperature: Vary between 245 to 265°C.

Support filaments

These filaments are water-soluble and also act as support filaments with other filaments while using dual extruders. Support filaments are necessary to obtain the best prints or prefect without any overhangs.

PVA filament

The filament is a well-known support material when printing with ABS or PLA filament. The full name of PVA filament is Polyvinyl Alcohol. The filament is transparent with slightly yellow in color and most often used with dual extrusion printers one with the primary material and on the other hand, this dissolve filament provides support to avoid overhangs.

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Advantages/properties

• Acts as a support material
• Biodegradable, durable and non-toxic
• Water-soluble
• Best with PLA due to similar heating temperatures
• Difficult printing makes easy

Disadvantages/Issues

• Dissolves in water easily
• Should be kept in a dry place
• Expensive material than other filaments.

Applications

• Best used for models with internal supports or supports for incredibly detailed models with many overhangs.
• It can be used in thickener in paper adhesives, in personal hygiene products, as a mold-release agent, kid’s putty, and freshwater fishing products.

Price Starting from : $80  for 1.75mm/1kg

Extrusion Temperature: Vary between 190 to 220°C.

HIPS

High Impact Polystyrene is similar to ABS and best support material. It is bright, white and biodegradable in nature. It also acts as secondary as that of PVA and liquid hydrocarbon dissolves the filament as soon as possible. The filament is well dissolved in limonene.

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Advantages/properties

• Acts as a support material
• Biodegradable, durable and non-toxic
• Best with ABS

Disadvantages/Issues

• A heated bed is required without it difficult to print.
• Common issue while printing is curling and adhesion.

Applications

• Used for models with internal supports or supports for models with many overhangs.
• The food industry uses for packing, medicinal trays, signs, all kinds of kid’s toys, and much more.
• The filament can be manipulated in many ways as required.

Price Starting from : $25  for 1.75mm/1kg

Extrusion Temperature: Vary between 220 to 250°C.

LAYaPVA

The filament is a support material that quickly dissolves in water. And as best viscosity when heated at a temperature of 230-degrees. Of the LAY-AWAY Support Series, LAYaPVA dissolves the fastest.

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Advantages/properties

• Therefore, it is stiff and water-soluble
• Act as support material
• Dissolves quicker than normal PVA

Disadvantages/Issues

• Dissolves in water easily
• Should be kept in a dry place
• Expensive material than other filaments

Applications

• Therefore, best used for models with internal supports or supports for incredibly detailed models with many overhangs.

Price Starting from : $160 for 1.75mm/1kg

Extrusion Temperature: Vary between 220 to 250°C.

LAY-CLOUD

Hence, the best support material for flexible filaments and when overexposed to water it becomes gelly and soft. Therefore, when heated with a 240-degree temperature to achieve the best viscosity.

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Advantages/properties

• The filament is stiff and water-soluble
• Therefore, act as the best support material for flexible filaments.

Disadvantages/Issues

• Hence, dissolves in water easily
• Should be kept in a dry place
• Therefore, expensive material than other filaments

Applications

• Therefore, best used for models with internal supports or supports for incredibly detailed models with many overhangs.

This guide to 3D Printing is about the remaining filaments which were left in the previous guide. Hence, it is all about the guide to 3D printer filaments. There is one more upcoming part of this that will help you choose better.

3d printing involves different stages and processes of designing and printing. 3d designers use different software, different print in materials and printers, and sometimes most of them using a different printing technology suited to the product or item they’re printing. So it’s perfectly normal to feel lost until such a time where we feel like it seems difficult to design a perfect 3D model for 3D printing. Common mistakes 3D printing while designing and modeling to be avoided.

But not to worry! I’ve arranged a list to spot out the most common mistakes in designing and printing a 3d model and how to avoid these mistakes. Common mistakes 3D printing to be avoided are mentioned below.

Material Guidelines Ignorance:

The most important thing to keep in mind is that all the materials have different qualities like some are brittle, stiff, flexible, solid, dark or lightweight so on and so forth. At the time of designing, these qualities should be considered while using any particular material. So before starting anything, first you have to carefully examine or identify the design and the materials you need to use for the specific 3d model. For e.g., if you want to print your 3D model in Ceramics, there will be specific material-related design recommendations that you need to take into account such as supporting overhanging parts, strengthening elements that are sticking out, rounding off corners, etc.

For developing a successful 3d printing model, it’s essential to follow material guidelines.

Solution:

Before you start to work on your model, it’s essential to read the design guides. You can set a filter for specific materials on our site to get a better understanding of what designs other artists have created in what materials.

Software Guidelines of Ignorance:

The 3d Printing group of people uses different 3d modeling software packages. Some software is specially integrated to make 3d prints, while others are mostly used for 3d artists and designers so they can offer a great 3d printed model. In some cases, software programs offer automatic wall thickness application while the others you need to manually set it.

Each and every software has its own different functions and processes. Depending on which software you are using, shells must be joined together, models must be made watertight, and wall thicknesses need to be applied. For this, use software like Blender, Sketch Up, or ZBrush, however additional file preparation will need to be done.

Solution:

Before using any software, stick to software guidelines for creating a model into a 3D print. You can also use the free software, Meshmixer or Tinkercad for creating a hollow model if you’re a beginner in 3d Designing.

Printing Technology Ignorance:

After checking the materials needed for your 3d model, it’s time to check the 3d printing technology you need to use to print your model. For example, if you are using materials like ABS, Polyamide, Alumide, and Rubberlike, you can print the interlocking parts while the others are impossible. The reason behind this is not the material itself, but the technology that is used for printing each of these materials.

ABS we used Fused Deposition Modeling. Polyamide, Alumide and Rubberlike we use Selective Laser Sintering. The printing precious metals we use lost wax casting. While for Resin we use Stereolithography (liquid polymer-based).

Solution:

You need to remember that the designing stage is the key. Check the materials you’re going to use and see its equivalent printing technology. Also, keep in mind that the maximum printing sizes differ when you use different printers and technologies.

Wall Thickness Ignorance:

Wall thickness Problems are the basic common reasons why some 3D models are not printed. If the walls of 3D model are thick, then it causes internal stress, and there is a bad effect on the item also. On the other side, if the wall thickness is too thin, then it’s not able to print small parts on the model.

Wall thickness ignorance can cause trouble while printing products for your client. It is essential to check always on the wall think of the model that you want to get printed.

Solution:

https://youtu.be/NRb6cRTCXkU

Read some blogs and watch tutorials about getting the perfect wall thickness for your 3D model. It will help you to get rid out of this problem.

File Resolution Ignorance:

Read the design guides? Know your material? Clear what software you will need? Is Wall thickness ok? Great, but now there is another important thing to discuss: File resolution.

As we all are aware, we save our 3D printing design in STL format. While exporting your designs to STL format, you have the check on the resolutions. Too high or too low resolutions can cause troubles. The best solution to file resolution – at the time of exporting a file defines the tolerance for the export.

Solution:

It is wise to choose 0.01 mm for good file export. Because exporting with a tolerance smaller than 0.01 mm does not make sense because the 3D printers cannot print at this level of detail. When exporting with a tolerance larger than 0.01 mm, triangles might become visible in the 3D print. I hope the article related to common mistakes 3D printing to avoid while designing and modeling is helpful.

Credits: youtube.com, Pinterest.com, Linkedln. 

Nerdforge Youtuber, he has shown the simple things. That you can do to make your 3d prints look the best and yes they won’t even look like they are 3D printed coz the finishing is that fine. Also in addition to the above video, you can use these extra tips to help you out.

What do you need to do for proper finishing 3D Prints?

Everything lies in the slicer settings

Your slicer settings deal with how your final product looks. For example, the layer height gives the details to the specific height of each layer in the design. If the layer height is thick than the final object won’t have many details and layers become visible. If it is thin the details of the final object are visible enough blending the layers into each other. Thus this setting is necessary.

Also, the printing speed is a  necessary factor and it depends on which object you are printing. If it’s a complex object with too many details that keep the speed slow. Else if not many details are needed than a faster printing speed would do no harm.

Shell thickness refers to the number of layers. That the outer wall will have before infill printing will begin. The higher the setting is for shell thickness. The thicker the outer walls of your object will be. So if you are going to finish the object by sanding, you want to increase the shell thickness to account for the material. You will be removed later.

Get more information about the slicer settings here.

Support structures

If your 3d printed objects have overhangs than you need a support structure. Also to be printed for it which has to be removed later after the 3d printed object is complete. Now it depends whether your support structure is soluble or insoluble.

If it is insoluble you need a knife or a cutter that helps you get rid of the extra filament your object has and if it is soluble. You’re likely dealing with either PVA or HIPS. In this case, simply submerge the object in the solvent in question – water for PVA and Limonene for HIPS. The water should completely dissolve the PVA support structure within several hours.

Clean it with Fillers

A quick fix for the lazy man to improve the quality of the 3d printed object is using fillers. If the object gets printed unevenly or there is a small amendment to be done to cover a small space, fillers always do help.

We recommend using XTC-3D which you can get here. You’ll notice you can even use it for smoothing out 3D prints just by brushing it over as a 3D print coating. Fill the gaps neatly so that you don’t have to waste your time on sanding the object later.

You’ll also need to leave it to cure for at least a few hours after filling.

 Sand and Polish them

Sanding can be used for materials like PLA and ABS but not for hard materials like polycarbonate and PMMA. If you want to make your 3d print shine and it cannot be vapor smoothed than sanding is what has to be done.

Chose a good quality filament so that sanding doesn’t result in ruining the object. PLA ‘s lower melting temperature can make the object soft and gummy if you sand it roughly. Use a circular motion with a slow-moderate pressure to remove unwanted material. The idea is to get rid of what you don’t want while leaving absolutely no trace that you’ve done any finishing work.

Vapor smoothing

Vapor smoothing requires some instruments. But if you are good with it then you can use simple materials found around the house. Remember not all filaments are the same, so while using this method I would suggest you test out the filament first and then apply the method to your 3D Printed object. In addition, testing a piece of the filament may also give you an idea of how much time it might take for the materials to start to dissolve.

Watch the video for more knowing the Vapor Smoothing process in detail.

Bead Blasting

Another process that needs equipment but takes a shorter duration of just 5 to 10 minutes.

It includes spraying tiny, plastic particles at a part of a closed chamber to produce. A smooth finish and is flexible which goes better with FDM materials. It also can be used in parts throughout their product development and manufacturing lifecycle, from the initial to the final stage.

Paint it well

Along with many other essential tools that can help you while 3D Printing and finishing the products. Also painting the product is quite essential. It is the last step and you need to be careful with it. It’s best to first mount it on what’s known as a painting block using a dowel.

A painting block is nothing more than a block of wood that supports the object while it is being primed and painted. Also, remember that priming and painting an object can be a messy business. You want to stop the paint from getting on objects that it shouldn’t and you want to keep foreign objects, like dust, from settling on your printed object while it dries. Therefore, work in a well-ventilated area that is clean and well lit.

I hope these methods help you in proper finishing 3D Prints your designs perfectly…

HAPPY PRINTING!!!

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