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May 2015
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May 2015
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MB3D
May '15

Hi there !

I’m planning to upgrade my printer from a proprietary hotend that only accepts brass nozzles, to the e3d chimera in combination with stainless steel nozzles. However I heard, that stainless steel nozzles don’t transfer as much heat/time to the filament, meaning you have to print slower in order to heat the material properly.

Now to my question: How much volume/sec did you use while still getting good results ?

The formular is: layer heigth x layer width x printspeed in mm/s = volume/sec

Also I’d like to know, if the carbon fibre influences the way, that XT handles overhangs and bridges.

For example the metal blends by colorfabb (i love those, have gotten 1,5kg brass recently):

Due to the metal in the material the filament heats up quicker and cools down faster, the faster heating means that higher speed is possible and the faster cooling means, that overhangs of up to 80° (in my testing, small parts managed even 85°) will still work out, also longer bridges are possible.

Wood and bamboo don’t really influence these characteristics of the normal material, however maybe the carbon fibres do.

So the second question is: Do you see differences in printing overhangs/bridges or other specialities when comparing XT to XT CF-20 ?

Lastly I’d like to know, how the material behaves when sanding or drilling it. I’ve printed alot (5kg within 4 months) with XT Clear and it’s sandable, drillable etc. does XT CF-20 behave differently ? Also it would be nice to know how the optic changes when sanding the material.

I hope you can answer some of those questions, if not that’s no problem as I can contact the Colorfabb support, however they want to sell their product so it’s more reliable to ask independent testers, that know the everyday-struggle of 3d printing and have experience with (maybe) other materials, beside the Colorfabb ones.

Those drones look great, good luck with that !

Cheers,

Marius

Roboduck
May '15

We’ve gone through 2 rolls so far and here’s what I’ve learned.

Pros:

  • Love the strength
  • Surface finish and overhang/bridge support is the best of any filament I’ve ever used.
  • Prints well, with almost no warp (70º build plate and glue stick)

Cons:

  • VERY ABRASIVE! If you are using brass you will be constantly re-leveling the bed due to nozzle wear. We made it through a roll with one nozzle and it took off about 0.5mm.
  • It seems a bit “stickier” than PLA or regular XT filament while printing.

I’ve been experimenting with nickel plated nozzles with some success.

https://ultimaker.com/en/community/view/11141-nickel-plating-nozzles-for-carbon-filled-filaments-updated 19

8 days later
7 months later
Bob_Martz
Dec '15

I’m printing the planes found at Home – 3DLabPrint 11

Do you think the carbon filament would work in this configuration. The skin is only 1 layer thick so adhesion is key. My concern would be the noted brittleness as many parts of this aircraft are slightly flexible to the touch but don’t break or split seams in the layers with PLA.

One other thing I’ve been unable to track down on the web. Is this stuff lighter/less density due to the carbon influx? Weight savings is key for that airframe and if the carbon filament is lighter than standard PLA is would be a great advantage.

AlexDick
Dec '15

@Bob_Martz This is a super-cool link! Thanks for sharing!!! I can tell you that Proto-pasta Carbon Fiber has excellent layer adhesion, and while more stiff is also more brittle than standard PLA. The density of CF materials is not really less but something about it gives the perception of less weight (maybe the increased stiffness). Proto-pasta CF is amazingly easy to print and now only $29.99/spool so i encourage you to give it a try. You might also consider our high temp PLA which is more tough than standard PLA and when heat treated thermally out preforms ABS and PET, but with the ease of PLA printing (low temps/warp)!

AlexDick
Dec '15

Hi @TangibleCR -

First, a stainless steel nozzle is not the ideal choice for this material. Your Rep2x already requires near max temps for printing PET-like materials such as XT and the SS does not transfer heat well (or increase wear resistance that much). Instead, can I suggest instead our hard plated nozzles with better wear characteristics than and thermal performance close to the stock brass: Micro Swiss Plated Brass Nozzle | 3D Printer Nozzles – ProtoPlant, makers of Proto-pasta 6

At $14.99, it’s the best, low-cost upgrade you can make to your printer. 0.4mm is the stock Makerbot orfice size, but increasing to 0.6mm can also further improve the reliability of your flow and printing success : Micro Swiss Plated Brass Nozzle | 3D Printer Nozzles – ProtoPlant, makers of Proto-pasta 3

I don’t think you’ll have great luck with Makerware and a non-standard nozzle size, so I also suggest upgrading to Simplify3D. Powerful software for only $150!

Finally, if you want a more straightforward, reliable printing carbon fiber material, please give Proto-pasta a try. It was the first on the market 2 years ago and is still the best printing - and now also the most affordable at $29.99/spool: Black Carbon Fiber Composite | Carbon Fiber PLA Filament – ProtoPlant, makers of Proto-pasta 5

Hoping all this feedback helps! You can use your Hub Perks discount or the code PRINTWITHPASTA for $7 off at Proto-pasta.com :slight_smile:

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