BASICS-TYPES OF MATERIALS2 | creativex-ignit3d

3D PRINTING BASICS

Nylon

Sources:

http://3dprintingfromscratch.com/common/3d-printing-materials/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fused_deposition_modeling

http://3dprintingindustry.com/3d-printing-basics-free-beginners-guide/

Nylon is another great material to try for your projects. It is known for its great biocompatibility, which is widely used in medical industry. Majority of cartilage replacements and quite a big number of prosthetics are made using this material. There are several types of Nylon material used in 3D printing, the most popular of them are Nylon 618, which has natural white color, and Nylon 645, which is fairly clear but very difficult to work with.

Meanwhile Nylon filaments are not so popular and well-spread comparing to such filaments as ABS and PLA, that is why it is not so easy to find them. But it definitely has a lot of good features that are worth trying. Check out some videos from RichRap to find out more about Nylon filaments.

Nylon 618 does not require a heated bed, it also has low warp. In addition, you don’t need to cool down your tiny or big items after printing, which is very convenient. This material has great self-bonding properties, that makes it quite strong and resistant from delimitation.

Another great feature of Nylon 618 is that you can dye your own material in a color and shade you want. An usual fabric dye can be used for these purposes. Manufactures recommend to print with filaments of natural color and then dye on preferred color. But you can try to change the color of your filament first and then print with one you have got. That is especially convenient if you’d like to have multicolor printed objects. Just put a part of coil in dyeing liquid for a required period of time, then wash coil with water and dye another part of coil with another shade or color. Please make sure to dry your nylon filament after dyeing. The results are quite impressive.

Besides Nylon 618 and 645 you can also try Nylon PA6Polymer (Polyamide 6), which is very durable material and is used to print extremely robust and heavy duty parts. Fibres of Nylon PA6 are tough, possessing high tensile strength, gloss and elasticity. This material is widely used by automobile manufactures due to its great durability. 3D printer settings for this material are similar to ones that are used for ABS filaments. The adhesion to the print bed increases with higher extrusion temperatures. Recommended temperature for printing is 260°C.

Another feature of all types of Nylon materials is that they absorb water from air so it needs to be stored in dry places.

Commonly Used in FDM.

Wood

Sources:

http://3dprintingfromscratch.com/common/3d-printing-materials/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fused_deposition_modeling

http://3dprintingindustry.com/3d-printing-basics-free-beginners-guide/

For those who would like to create an object that looks and smells like wood the best idea is to use FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) filament, named also Wood Filament. This filament contains a mixture of recycled wood with a binding polymer. The parts printed with this material do not look like typical 3D prints because of its wood nature. Printing process with Wood is very similar to the one with thermoplastic filaments like ABS and PLA. However with Wood filament you could get this unrepeatable wooden-like appearance. Printers with RepRap technology need to be used for processing and there is no heated bed necessary as it sticks to print bed. Temperature to be set for printing of object with Wood filament is between 175°C and 250°C. Check out the video wood filament features made by Barnacules Nerdgasm.

As this material contains real wood fibers, when printing objects with different temperature they would have different shades of brown wooden-like surface. The higher temperature used during printing the darker brown shade print you’ll get. When the printing is done your print will look and smell like real wood. It can be decorated and post-processed like other objects from wood. For example, you can cut, grind and paint your item. Another great idea to keep in mind when using this filament type is that changing of printing temperature during processing of your item can simulate a tree’s growth ring effect.

This material is more prone to curling than PLA. The drawback of wood filament is that prints are softer and weaker than PLA ones so they easily can be broken. 3D experts advise to set perimeter speed as low as 20mm/s for the best strength, as well as consider turning off PLA cooling fan.

Commonly Used in FDM.

PET (PolyEthylene Terephthalate)

Sources:

http://3dprintingfromscratch.com/common/3d-printing-materials/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fused_deposition_modeling

http://3dprintingindustry.com/3d-printing-basics-free-beginners-guide/

PET (PolyEthylene Terephthalate) has become well known from plastic bottles. In its original state PET filamentis a colorless and crystal clear material. But when you heat or cool down the material changes its transparency. The material has more crystalline structure when allowed to cool down slowly after printing. The filament is fairly hard and shockproof, so it makes it ideal for lightweight items.

There are different versions of PET, for example filament PETG is the modification of the one, that is clear thermoplastic with possibility to thermoform and mold the item after being printed. It is also possible to polish the material with flame. Also the thicker layer height the better clarity would have the material.

Generally PET is nice and easy material to print with quite wide temperature range from 160°C to 210°C without any problems. But it needs to be stored in a place where it would not absorb water from air.

PETT (PETT “T-glase”)

Sources:

http://3dprintingfromscratch.com/common/3d-printing-materials/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fused_deposition_modeling

http://3dprintingindustry.com/3d-printing-basics-free-beginners-guide/

PETT “T-glase” which is short for tough glass is another right, clear and stiff filament to try. It is tougher than PET material and can be compared with PLA. Suggested range of print temperature is from 212°C to 224°C. There can be some curling during printing, than can be reduced by turning off cooling fan. There are no unpleasant fumes during printing. This material as well as PET absorbs water from air so needs to be stored accordingly. Moist filament has a reduced strength value. The main characteristics of PETT t-glase are strength especially with the larger nozzles used, biocompatibility and FDA approved to be used for food containers, clarity and shrinkage.