You won’t believe what these Eco-Friendly filaments are made of!

3D Printing has come a long way and along with it so has its filaments! From printing with metal to fabric, we’re constantly surprised with new materials.

But what about the environmental impact?

Though we’re quick to chose the same old PLA and ABS, there are many more filaments that you probably weren’t even aware of which are much cooler and eco-friendly! These materials are made either made from renewable fibers or recycled from some else and processed into new and improved bioplastics that are safe for you and safe for the environment.

From potatoes and coffee grounds to wood and bamboo, we bring to you some of the best environment-friendly filaments that are sustainable, biodegradable and even better than your current filament when it comes to performance.

Check them out-

Coffee

Your basic cup of coffee just got wayyy more interesting! Developed by C2renew, this filament has been named ‘Wound Up’ and is a PLA composite consisting of coffee waste byproducts.

How is it made? The unused or left-overs parts of the coffee bean are blended with PLA to create this incredible new coffee filament which has a rich brown color.  The end results look spectacular and you can even notice natural grain in your 3d printed models.

Beer

When it comes to the “cool” quotient, we doubt any filament can even come close! Who would have thought you could 3D print objects using a filament made from beer? But that’s exactly what C2renew did by creating a filament using waste byproducts from the beer making process.

With a rich golden color and a noticeable natural grain, we’re definitely a big fan of this filament. You can use with any printer that’s capable of printing with PLA using standard PLA settings.

Hemp

How about printing with eco-friendly hemp? This hemp filament is made from natural hemp fibers and you can use it on any 3D printer that is compatible with PLA. Its earthy brown color is 100% natural and there are no artificial dyes added to it.

As an added bonus, the industrial hemp used in these filaments are grown without the use of any herbicides and pesticides which adds to its appeal. You’ll even notice your print object having a certain iridescence because of the filaments ability to showcase different shades and densities within the same printed object.

Algae

Apart from helping reduce the CO2 presence in the atmosphere, algae make for awesome filaments!

It’s a great substitute for plastic and can be used to print bottles, tableware and many other products that are traditionally comprised of plastic. It is also stronger than most other PLA filaments and the end results feel similar to sandstone. Since the printing temperature is lower than regular PLA it needs less energy to 3D print this material.

Apart from this, the algae used for these filaments are harvested from areas where its excess threatens the environment. It couldn’t get more environment-friendly than this!

Wood

That’s right, printing with wood! And just like the real thing, you can cut or sand it after your print is ready.

You can even control the shade of brown in your final print by changing the extrusion temperature. While 3D printing at lower temperatures will give you a very light shade, high temperatures will result in a strong, dark brown. Depending on the brand of filament, your design will also smell like real wood too!

A slight drawback is that though it looks amazing, it lacks the strength and flexibility of real wood so don’t use it to print furniture!

Bamboo

Bamboo filaments are essential a blend of polylactic acid and bamboo fibers. Compatible with printers that use PLA, you’ll find that your designs are stronger than normal PLA filament. Using this recycled bamboo you can create amazing 3D printed objects that feel just like you’ve carved them from real bamboo!

Apart from its organic aesthetic, your designs will also smell just like the real thing.

Cork 

You’ll be happy to know, all those corks from wine bottles are put to good use! Made from cork, this filament is lightweight and has a deep brown color and rich finish. The filament is created by mixing cork fibers with biodegradable polylactic acid which is perfect for printing figurines, household items and many more.

And since it’s PLA based, you can print use filament on any printer that can handle PLA filament!

Potatoes

The multi-functional potato has finally made its way into 3d printing! This filament is a new type of bioplastic made from starch or potato which could eliminate the use of fossil fuel/petroleum-based filaments like ABS in the near future.

Not only is the starch-based filament at par with ABS in terms of quality and performance but it is also non-toxic and biodegradable. You even get a much higher print speed and the filament itself is stronger than PLA!

Garbage

Yup, you read that right! Known as Landfillament, this is yet another creation of C2renew made from garbage! Let’s explain- The garbage which is essentially solid waste without any metals is through a process called pyrolysis where it further decomposes and a char byproduct is left behind. This black char byproduct is then turned into plastic 3D printing filament.

You can use all these awesome filaments on 3D Printers compatible with PLA so why not take a look at our Store and find yourself the perfect 3D Printer!

Credits: 3dprint.com, youtube.com, inhabitat.com, 3dfuel.com, ambalaj.se, filaments.ca

Why These 3D Printing Filaments Are The Best – Part II

This is the continuation of the previous article. 3D Printing requires a passion and little knowledge about the software used. Choosing a 3D Printing filament is a difficult task, you need to do a little bit research about it, like what you are going to print, which type of material can help in printing the design you made more precisely, your budget, do you wanna print the parts differently and then join it or printing it altogether as one print.

Know these different filaments which can help you decide which one to choose :

Ceramic (Clay)

Ceramic 3D printing is rather costly and it requires a special printer which itself transforms the ceramic powder to build the model layer by layer from bottom to top.  .Ceramic 3D Printing is gaining popularity due to its versatility, certain advantages and safety of the material. A basic 3D printer for ceramic printing has to be used where the ceramic powder is used as the filament. Ceramic clay is basically food-safe, recyclable, and water-tight, ceramic is a great material to use for cups, plates, statues, or figurines. You also need to use different 3D Printing tools that are developed specially for ceramic 3D Printing.  Even if you are a rookie in ceramic printing don’t worry, there are various services that make your experience a better one like Shapeways or iMaterialise.

 Wax (Moldlay)

Dominating the wax 3D Printer with conventional material like wax which is lay developed by Kai. Her innovations in the 3D printing material industry us fascinating with all the Laywood and Laybrick being the most popular to consumers and copycats. Moldlay is the new development. Moldlay is designed specifically for the use of creating positives for investment casting molds.

When using this material Wax 3D printing and lost wax casting is used to build your design. The wax printing process is a type of stereolithography that uses a wax-like resin. Support structures are printed along with the model to make sure your model doesn’t fall apart. These support structures are automatically generated and manually removed after the printing process. After support structures are removed and your model is cleaned, the model can be prepared for casting.   You can make any metal mould by using Moldlay as your 3D printing material, like gold an silver for jewellery.

This  process is  mostly called “lost-wax” or “investment” casting, and it works like this:

1. Create a wax replica of what you want the final metal product to look like.Just draw out your imagination.
2. Dip the mold into the plaster and let it dry.
3. Put this wax-plaster object in an oven. At a high enough temperature, the wax will melt away, leaving a negative space within the plaster, in which the metal product can be cast.

You need to keep certain things in mind while printing out with this material as the wax objects are too soft.

PVA (Polyvinyl alcohol)

When you are about to print complex objects a strong material for support is required not only from outside but also from inside where reaching is hard. In such case Enter Polyvinyl Alcohol, a water-soluble support material that dissolves away in a water bath to leave only your perfectly printed part. PVA and PLA area perfect match as they share a very similar printing temperature and are both very easy to print.

Like nylon, PVA is hygroscopic, which means it absorbs water from the air easily. When you first open your roll of PVA filament, stash the desiccant that it came with so you can store it in a sealed container when you aren’t using it. If you happen to forget to store it and the roll sits out for too long, you will notice your PVA hissing and be popping as you print, indicating it absorbed water. All is not lost, simply dry it in the oven for a couple hours to pull all the moisture out and then store in a sealed container.PVA is a great support material when paired with another 3D printer filament in a dual extrusion printer. The advantage of using PVA is that it can be used with ABS, PLA and nylon.

ASA (acrylonitrile styrene acrylate)

ABS also has its flaws, therefore, all the filament manufacturers are always looking for other alternatives. ASA is more resistant to the weather effects. ASA is being primarily used in the automotive industry. ASA is extremely resistant to chemical exposure, heat, and most importantly, changes in shape and colour. It is also strong, durable and easy to print with.  Prints made of ABS have a tendency to erode or to yellow if left outdoors. Such is not the case with ASA. For anything from birdhouses to custom garden gnomes, look no further than this 3D printer filament.

ASA can easily crack when the environment is too windy so please do take care of the products you make with it.

PP (Polypropylene)

Polypropylene is used in a wide variety of applications including textiles, ropes, carpets, stationery, packaging, containers (including most plastic living hinges), loudspeakers, automotive components and polymer banknotes.
PP is mostly hard to print with due to the poor layer adhesion and heavy warping.  Since many household items are made from PP,it’s too easy to recycle the items to make the  3D printing filament.

Acetal (POM)

Items with high precision like gears, camera, bearing, focusing mechanisms, and zippers are prepared from POM.Due to its strength, rigidity, resistance to wear, and most importantly, its low coefficient of friction.  it is used in engineered objects. As this material is too slippery it can be only used in manufacturing units where there are mass parts to be produced.

Thus Acetal( POM ) is basically an industrial 3D printing material.

Thus all the above filaments are a must and also have their unique uses.  You can’t use nylon as a material to print the strongest parts like gears and bearing. That is why you need to know about the 3D printing materials and filaments and then use the knowledge properly while you are 3D printing.

How does 3D Printing impact the environment? Everything you NEED to know!

3d printing has proven to be very exciting for the manufacturing world but could it also help us solve our environmental woes also? Read on to find out!

3D Printing Uses Less Material

One of the main perks is that 3D printers use less material as compared to other manufacturing methods. It processes allow you to melt/fuse only the amount of filament you need to produce a part.

This method differs from traditional subtractive manufacturing where you often must cut away the excess material instead of adding only the necessary material as is done in 3D printing. Some argue that this difference means that 3D printing actually uses a comparable amount of or less energy than other methods because you don’t need to use energy to produce that extra material and also remove it when subtractive processes take place.

Lower Distribution Emission

 

The great thing about 3D Printing is that you can use it anywhere, even in a store or in your home. This theoretically could significantly reduce the need to transport items and therefore lowers the emissions associated with that transportation.

3D-printed products can also be up to 50 percent lighter than those produced with standard methods by using “sparse interior structures” that are impossible to produce using alternative manufacturing methods. This means these 3D printed parts would require less energy to transport. Even the very aircraft and vehicles performing the transportation could be 3D printed themselves, resulting in lighter vehicles that don’t need as much energy to operate.

The benefit of decreased distribution is currently limited by the fact that 3D printing isn’t widely used for mass-production, so the emission decreases happen on a smaller scale. That could change, however, as 3D printing technology improves and usage becomes more widespread.

It uses recyclable materials

The filaments used in 3D Printing are made of thermoplastic and though this material isn’t the greenest, it can be recycled in most cases. There are currently several machines on the market that recycle thermoplastics — such as the material from failed prototypes — for use in 3D printers.

This recycled plastic, though, tends to become more brittle the more you recycle it, which may make users hesitant to try it.  However, the industry is working on improving recycling technologies.

Eco-friendly materials 

(eco-friendly and biodegradable hemp filament)

Another road to more environmentally-friendly 3D printing practices has also recently emerged. It involves the use of biodegradable and renewable plant-based sources, as opposed to traditional petroleum-based materials.

One of the two main plastics used in 3D printing comes from corn. Polylactic acid or PLA is biodegradable, renewable, non-toxic and creates little waste, which has made it a popular choice in the industry. While PLA is unsuitable for many applications due to its rather low melt temperature, companies are developing even batter renewable materials.

Engineers at MIT have also recently developed a way to use cellulose as an alternative 3D printing material that they believe could be stronger and more economical than today’s standard petroleum-based materials. The researchers used cellulose acetate, added an optional sodium hydroxide treatment for extra strength and used a dye with antimicrobial, which may make this material of particular interest to the food and health sectors.

The drawback? Higher energy use

Additive manufacturing certainly has potential in the environmental realm, but we’re not quite there yet. The main reason? 3D printing uses a lot of energy.

We need more research in this area, but one study found that 3D printers utilizing heat or lasers use 50 to 100 times more electricity than traditional production methods to make an object of equal weight.

Since many countries still generate most of their electricity from fossil fuel sources, this can have a significant impact on the environment.

Will 3D Printing Become Greener?

Since researchers are constantly working on improving materials for 3D printing, its safe to say that 3D printing could eventually implement greener methods.

Apart from this, the latest innovations are sure to improve the material efficiency, energy consumption and effectiveness of 3D printers in the near future. 3D printing definitely has a long way to go but its here to stay especially as a more sustainable manufacturing source. We can’t wait to see what’s coming!

Credits: 3ders.org, inhabitat.com, learn.plus, shapeways.com, 3dprint.com, library.ndsu.edu

Unbelievable: These 3D Printing Materials Are Out Of This World!

If you think glow in the dark and magnetic filaments were cool then you’ll definitely be blown away by these materials! Check out some of the craziest filaments which are available and some that are soon to come!

Moon-dust and Mars dirt

Looks like science fiction ideas are soon becoming a reality this year! Researchers from the Northwestern University have managed to 3D print structures made out of dust from Mars and the Moon!

The unique 3D paint used for this project was created using NASA-approved lunar and Martian dust simulant. And the 3D printed structures themselves are made of more than 90% dust but it’s impossible to tell.

In fact, it may be made out of space rocks but this 3D printed material is flexible, elastic, and tough, and shares a lot of characteristics with rubber. After being printed, it can be cut, rolled, folded, and more.

Edible Cannabis

3D Printing seems to be reaching all new highs(see what we did there?) thanks to the latest innovation. Named as Potent Rope, it is a new edible 3D printing material made out of cannabis! This could be a big boon for cannabis users who prefer edibles to other forms of consumption!

That means you can print AND consume your design! HOW COOL!

The creators of this Print Rope- Ashley and Paige have been working on this idea for almost three years now and) are now looking to produce their “green” filament on large-scale. The timing seems to be perfect, with legalization occurring across the U.S. and elsewhere.

The other advantages to using Potent Rope are that users can try out different combinations of ingredients and create a new strain of their own, choosing from Sativa, Indica, CBD, or THC oils.

Ash

Fly ash is a residue left over from burning coal and has long been dumped in landfills In India and China where burning of coal serves as a source of energy. So why not take full advantage of burning coal and everything that comes with it?

Researchers in  Singapore have come up with a 3D printable geopolymer mortar (concrete) which is created from fly ash. The mixture also contains steel slag and various secret chemicals.

What can this be used for you ask? In 3D printing construction! And you could even build houses with it.

The best thing about this 3D printable concrete is that no materials need to be made from scratch would  and so it would reduce its carbon footprint.

Food Waste

Have you heard of the BARBARA project? Funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020, this initiative plans to make 3D printed parts from food waste!

“Food waste and agricultural by-products will be used to purify pigments, fragrances, reinforcing agents or biocide compounds, which will be incorporated into engineered bioplastic derived from corn processing industries. “

Wouldn’t it be nice if the three-year project resulted in an effective method for turning organic waste into 3D printing materials? We wish the project a lot of success.

Sculptable filament

If you are an artist, you probably want to get your hands on this material!

Unitika, a Japanese advanced materials company, is trying to make a 3D printing material that can be sculpted after printing. With the help of thermosensitive materials, the material should be malleable and soften in order to be sculpted.

Of course, it would be a disaster for most use cases if your 3D printed part changed shape after you touched it. But for certain applications like medicine and art, this material could be a huge boon.

What’s even better, the material can be permanently fixed into shape by treating it with higher temperatures, e.g., with boiling water.

The material, which Unitika plans to launch next year, will be available in 1.75 mm diameter and should be printed at 190-220°C, on a print bed heated no higher than 45°C. Unheated print beds are also fine.

While waiting for these materials to become widely available why not take a look at a variety of filaments available at our Store?

Credits- news.com.au, 3ders.org, youtube.com, leafly.com, inhabitat.com, cornerstonemag.net, northstarrecycling.com

ABS vs PLA: Everything You Need To Know About The Two Most Popular 3D Printing Filaments

PLA and ABS are no doubt the two most popular filaments and you’ve definitely heard their names thrown about in most 3D printing conversations. Though there is not much of a difference in terms of their efficiency, there are certain factors which separate these filaments in terms of storage, rigidity, smell, and application.

If you’re new to 3D printing(or just generally curious) here’s a rundown of all the comparisons between the two and when you should use them. Happy Printing!

PLA 

Polylactic Acid (PLA), one of the most preferred and popular filaments in the 3D printing industry is a biodegradable thermoplastic, made from renewable resources like corn starch or sugarcane. The main benefit of PLA? It’s extremely easy to print. So easy that it is sought after by professionals and beginners alike!

Outside of 3D printing, it’s typically used in medical implants, food packaging, and disposable tableware.

ABS

Another commonly used filament for 3D printing is Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). What’s so special about it? Its ability to resist high temperatures. Objects printed with ABS boast slightly higher strength, flexibility, and durability than those made of PLA, at the cost of a slightly more complicated print process. What’s not so special about it is the nasty fumes that are released while printing!

Commonly found in (DWV) pipe systems, automotive trim, protective headgear, and toys like Lego, it is a little more tough in terms of texture!

Both PLA and ABS are thermoplastics i.e. when heated, they become soft and ductile and consequently return to their solid state when cooled. This ability to soften and be processed again is one of the main reason for their demand worldwide.

Storage

You can store both these filaments for a good amount of time. However, under humid and damp conditions, both filaments are bound to lose its efficiency.

ABS – ABS, when exposed to excess moisture, will tend to foam and jet from the tip of the nozzle when printing. This kind of bubbling which occurs at the nozzle can leave it clogged and unfit for use. When it comes to the final print, the results are foggy with a reduced part accuracy which lacks in clarity and quality.

PLA – PLA reacts a little differently to moisture. Apart from the foaming, a slight discoloration can be seen and a cutback in the properties of the printed part. It dries with room temperature and there won’t be a need for an external source. The simple solution? Don’t expose your filaments to air and store them correctly.

For more information on how to store your filaments safely, check out our easy guide- An Easy Way To Store Your 3D Printing Filament

Fumes

ABS – You may have already heard this, but we’ll tell you again-ABS gives out a horrible smell while printing it. Properly ventilated rooms are the solution if you want to rise above the smell. Also, the extruder temperature must be properly set before printing any object.

PLA – PLA being an environmental-friendly material, does not release as many fumes as ABS and the odor is more bearable. The smell, in fact, is a mild and sweet since the filament is derived from sugar and almost smells like candy. A definite improvement over other heating plastic materials!

Accuracy

Dimension wise, both the filaments are able to create distinct perfect parts.

ABS– One of the cons of working with ABS is that if the temperature is not perfectly set it won’t stick to the bed and will end up curling upwards. Apart from this, mixing the mixture with Acetone or a shot of hairspray could help. When it comes to printing sharp objects there may be some inconsistencies in print, but a small cooling fan near the printer will help fix this problem!

PLA – In comparison to ABS, it is resistant towards warping and you don’t need a heated bed since the room temperature is enough for the printing process. Even then, the absence of the heated bed can still allow the plastic to curl up a little on bigger printed parts.

Overall,

ABS – Because ABS is stronger, more flexible and rigid, this filament is undoubtedly preferred by a lot of engineers and professionals from other fields. Unlike PLA, it is resistant to the external factors like heat and distortion. One thing to consider is that while using ABS a heated bed is an important requirement for printers and some printers cannot support ABS without a heated bed.

PLA – Beginner 3D printing enthusiasts and hobbyists will find PLA much more agreeable for small-scale models and designs. Its wide variety of attractive colors also makes PLA popular for 3D printing experiments.After the post-processing, PLA is said to have sharp corners, low layer heights, and increased printing speed.

Doesn’t all this talk about filaments and 3D Printing just make you want to make your own? Check out our Store for a variety of 3D and filaments to suit your need!

Credits- coexllc.com, my3Dmatter.com, pixabay.com, 3dengr.com