This is a blog on 3D printing materials. It’s written by the guy who manages the Ultimaker Materials Store at Ultimaker.com, so you can trust it’s got some authority.
The variety of materials that 3D printing can print with has grown tremendously in recent years. From plastics to metals and even concrete, the materials for 3D printing are rapidly growing in both variety and quality.
This blog is a resource for anyone interested in learning about the different types of materials available for FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) 3D printers and how to choose which material would be best for your project.
In this blog I will be listing all of the materials we carry at Ultimaker.com and discussing their properties, as well as highlighting other interesting materials that I’ve run across on my journeys through the wonderful world of 3D printing!
In the last few years, 3D printing technology has made great strides. More and more people are using it to create art, business models, technologies, and much more.
This guide will help you understand the different types of materials you can use to print with and how they differ from one another.
This article will take a look at the best materials available for non-commercial 3D printers. We have compiled a list of 15 materials and have given them each a star rating out of 5 based on their performance, cost and ease of use.
The 15 materials we have chosen are: ABS, Acrylic, Bamboo Filament, BronzeFill, Carbon Fiber, CopperFill,Crimson Fiber, HIPS, LAYWOO-D3, HDPE, Laybrick, Nylon, PLA Filament and TPU 95A.
It is worth noting that there are some additional materials that are not included in this list such as wood filament filament. This is because wood filament has been around for so long now that it is considered to be more of a standard material than something new.
The best 3D printing materials are the ones that can be used to create a wide variety of objects that are durable and flexible. 3D printing materials can be made in different variations, but there are a few standard categories of materials that you will see most often.
TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) is a flexible, elastic filament that is used for soft sculptures and figures. Also, it can be used for making hinges in architecture models. TPU works well with flexible filaments like NinjaFlex or Filaflex.
TPU is sometimes referred to as having a “cheap” feel, which means it’s not as strong or rigid as some other 3D printing materials. It is also difficult to print with because it requires a heated print bed to melt it properly and keep it from getting stuck to the platform.
TPU is used by companies such as Makerbot and Afinia because it is good at creating flexible objects like clamps and grips when used with the right resin tanks, such as MakerJuice tanks.
PETG (Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol-modified) is similar to ABS filament, but since PETG is made of recycled bottles and food containers, it has no odor during processing and
The more we are exposed to technology, the more rapidly it is changing. With the advent of 3D printing technology, there is a lot of hype as well as confusion. This article will help you understand the different types of materials available and their applications.
The most commonly used material for 3D printing is acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). It is a thermoplastic polymer which is very strong, stable and stiff. It’s easy to process and has good thermal properties. The downside with ABS is that it doesn’t have too much flexibility or toughness.
Tough nylon (PA-747) is another popular material for 3D printing. It was developed specifically for FDM (fused deposition modeling) type machines. PA-747 nylon is ideal for use in prototyping applications where strength, durability and toughness are important considerations.
Aluminum filaments are also used for 3D printing purposes. Aluminum has excellent fatigue resistance making it an excellent choice for aerospace applications. It also has good corrosion resistance and excellent mechanical properties such as tensile strength and elongation at break. However, it degrades under UV light exposure so you should store your components in a dark place when not in use or cover them up with UV stabilizers.
3D printing technology has been around for decades, but it has only been in the last five years or so that it has become a practical choice for the average consumer.
One of the biggest developments in 3D printing came a few years ago with the creation of affordable desktop 3D printers such as MakerBot and RepRap. Nowadays you don’t have to have your own 3D printer to print out a wide range of items.
Thingiverse is an online collection of downloadable 3D printable objects, created by users of the service. The website was founded by Zach Hoeken Smith, creator of the open source RepRap Darwin and co-founder of Makerbot Industries. It is currently run by Brook Drumm and Adam Mayer.
The first 3D printer was invented in the late 80s by Chuck Hull. His 3D Systems Corporation patented the process of stereolithography and sold the first commercial 3D printers in 1988.
The earliest models cost tens of thousands of dollars, but as the technology became more popular, prices came down and printers could be found on many university campuses. Today’s 3D printers are faster, more accurate and more affordable than ever before. 3D printing has gone mainstream: it’s predicted to be worth $10 billion by 2019.
Thingiverse is a search engine for things – a collection of over 700,000 downloadable digital files, created by an online community that includes both professional designers and hobbyists who share their ideas with each other (more info). It’s like an archive of free plans that anyone can use to make things. You can find all kinds of things on Thingiverse – jewelry, toys, electronics cases and even gun parts. The site is used by everyone from independent artists to engineers at Fortune 500 companies.
Thingiverse was founded in 2008 by Zach Hoeken Smith and Jenett Koyen Smith after they met at a meetup for local makers in Brooklyn, NY. Their goal was to build a site where people could share their
