PORO-LAY line (4 filaments)
dedicated for:
LAY-FELT
• 3d-membranes
• filters
• semipermeables
• future cloth
• artificial paper
soft and
stiff fibres possible
note: the filament contain no microfibres !!!
LAY-FOMM
• micro-foam,
• sponges
• ink-reservoirs
• bio-cells
• elastics...
• bendable suits
• soft rubber-like (under Shore A10), different softness possible
GEL-LAY
• objects in water
• marine organism
flow simulation
• biomechanics
muscles
high porosity,
the object is very unstable
LAY-TEKKKSHere is the post on BENDLAY filament:
• orientated fibres
• stacked fibres
• future cloths
• tissue
There are generally two types of thermoplastic that are available for filament type 3D printers, ABS and PLA plastics. These filaments are available in many colors and diameter sizes of 1.75mm & 3mm (0.070 & 0.118 inch). Currently these are pretty much the only sizes that can be used in these 3D printing machines. There are other types of thermoplastic available today that are available as an extruded filament however these have larger cross-sectional diameters of 0.125, 0.156 & 0.188 (3.18mm, 3.96mm and 4.76mm). These are sold as plastic welding rod and are typically used for joining sheets of plastic together. These larger diameter filaments come in many different types of plastic that have for the most part not been used by the 3D printing community. Many types of plastic welding rod are considerably less expensive per pound than the common printer filament of ABS and PLA. So if this material could be made to work in a plastic printer you could have a greater variety of plastics for printing and lower material cost. Our solution is to create a new extruder that can be fitted to existing 3D printers to enable these printers to use all of these different diameters of filament and handle the wider range of processing temperatures for the different thermoplastics.
We have already built 3 versions of our NEMA 23 extruder so far with improvements being incorporated to each new version. We have run the extruders with various materials and are convinced we have a good product here. Our plan is to manufacture our extruders in two sizes. A large extruder driven by a NEMA 23 stepper motor and a smaller version driven by a NEMA 17 stepper motor. The larger version will be able to run all of the filament sizes from 1.75mm to 4.76mm (0.070 to 0.188 inch). The smaller version will run filament sizes 1.75mm to 3mm (0.070 to 0.118 inch). The heater block of our extruders and the nozzles are made from copper for faster and more stable temperature control. Several nozzle sizes will be available for printing various sizes and types of parts.
Our latest version of this extruder is larger than current extruders and has design improvements to allow it to take advantage of the higher temperature ranges required by the various types of thermoplastic available in the larger diameter sizes. These plastics have properties that will greatly enhance a 3D printer's usefulness by allowing it to make parts that can be used in many different environments.
The following are some of the types of common thermoplastic welding rod along with several uses and properties that would make them an attractive candidate for a 3D printed part.
PVDF Chemical restiveness of PVDF and its long lasting strength will make this a popular choice for laboratories or clean-rooms where tanks, tank furniture, fittings or cassettes could be made quickly from a computer library of components or as needed from a 3D CAD drawing for a custom application.
PVC 1, PVC 2 & CPVC with their ability to withstand UV would be great for any sort of outdoor applications or unique PVC pipe fittings. These materials also resist acids and alkalies and are commonly used in chemical processing applications.
Polypropylene makes parts with a hard surface and resists many chemicals and solvents. One interesting use for this material is its ability to make parts that have a living hinge on them, like used on the lid of a Tic-Tac candy box. It is also commonly used in clean rooms for chemical benches, tanks and enclosures.
Polyethylene available in low or high density formulations are very resistant to moisture as well as many chemicals.
HMW makes parts with a slippery surface useful for many industrial applications such as chain guides or rollers. It has excellent impact strength and good wear resistance.
Polycarbonate is synonymous with impact resistance. This transparent material has excellent impact resistance over a wide temperature range. Parts made from this plastic would have great strength and flexibility.
Our extruders, are of course, not limited to these materials and can also extrude ABS, PLA, any of the Taulman filaments, nylon, PETT, HIPS, PVA and others from 1.75mm diameter to 4.75mm diameters (0.070 to 0.188 inch). Many of these materials have previously not been available to the 3D printer community. It is our hope that this extruder will change that and be a benefit to all 3D printer owners who need parts with better strength, chemical resistance, UV resistance or other properties that these various plastics can provide.
Why are we so proud of our extruders?
- Very compact design with a mid mounted, integrated heat sink for better cooling of both filament drive parts and stepper motor.
- Extremely solid one piece aluminum body with mounting options on top, bottom or either side.
- Copper heater block and nozzle for faster, more stable temperature control.
- Plans for making two sizes of extruder, a NEMA 17 stepper motor size for smaller 3D printing machines or the larger, more powerful NEMA 23 stepper motor extruder for larger, faster moving 3D printers.
- Precision quality, our extruders feature a spring loaded dual wheel filament drive mechanism for positive filament control. The drive wheels are made from steel and are hobbed for traction.
- Our NEMA 23 extruders will be able to accommodate 5 filament sizes (1.75mm, 3mm, 1/8, 5/32 and 3/16 inch diameter filaments) and multiple plastic options with nozzle options for various materials and extrude diameters.
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| Hot end made from copper |
Proto-Pasta Carbon Fiber reinforced PLA is made from NatureWorks 4043D PLA Resin compounded with 15% by weight Tenax short chopped Carbon Fibers. It is designed to be stiff, or to resist bending. It is the stiffest material we offer and makes parts with an incredibly solid feel. When printed, this material is a dark glossy black that glitters slightly in direct light from the fine chopped fibers reflecting the light.
Carbon Fiber Reinforced PLA does not require a heated bed and prints much like unreinforced PLA filament. The main difference is that it is brittle and care must be taken when handling the filament and loading the printer.
We have had good results printing at 190C-210C using a .5mm nozzle and direct-drive spring loaded pinch-roll style extrusion head. Layer adhesion is excellent and the material has low warpage.
Proto-Pasta High Temperature PLA is made from a custom compound consisting of mineral filled impact modified PLA with a nucleating agent to help promote crystallization. Crystallization after printing is what gives this material added heat resistance. To fully realize this advantage, parts must be soaked in hot water or an oven after printing at 60C-80C for 3-5 minutes. This crystallizes the material and makes it much more heat resistant. It does not require a heated bed to print well, but this may help crystallize the material after printing and make oven soaking unnecessary for some parts. High Temperature PLA is a glossy off white, or very light gray. Printed parts look good and have slightly more texture than standard PLA. This material is not translucent like standard PLA.
We have had good results printing at 190C-210C using a .5mm nozzle and direct-drive spring loaded pinch-roll style extrusion head.
Layer adhesion is good and the material has low warpage.
Proto-Pasta Polycarbonate-ABS (PC-ABS) Alloy is an incredibly tough material designed for strong, resilient parts. When printed, PC-ABS is bright glossy white.
Proto-Pasta PC-ABS Alloy can print well. It is very moisture sensitive and even if stored bagged with desiccant, drying in an oven for ~ 1hr at 85C-95C may be required for bubble free high strength prints. Layer adhesion can be an issue if the part is large or the temperature is too low. We have had good success printing parts ~60mm long at 260C-280C using a .5mm nozzle and direct-drive spring loaded pinch-roll style extrusion head. A heated bed may help warpage and layer adhesion on larger/thicker parts.
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| Proto Pasta filament properties |
3D Printing Providence leader Matt Stultz gives the lowdown on a variety of some of the new and exciting advanced 3D printing materials and their uses. The range of filaments covered includes: thermochromic, conductive, Laywood, Laybrick, HIPS, nylon, and TGlass.
Extruding natural ABS at 18"/min. The guide limit on the left isn't quite far enough to the edge. The loop seems fairly unstable seen at high speed, but the tolerance was still within .05mm. I fixed the loop near the end by keeping the filament from getting pushed back past the nozzle. As long as the filament leaves the nozzle at a constant angle for the time it takes to get from the extruder to the winder, the shape of the loop will stay consistent for the rest of the job.
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