Testing 3D Printed Carabiner Strength

MatterHackers crew did a series of strength tests on different 3d printing materials with 3d printed carabiners.




TL:DW: Polycarbonate performed best.

Here is the full test article with all the data:

http://www.matterhackers.com/news/filament-strength-testing

Carabiner 3d printed on MarkForged from Carbon Fiber Nylon

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DIY Polycarbonate Sheet Dehumidifier Chamber for your Filament

Akshay Gupta developed a 3d printing filament dehumidifier you can build yourself. It is made from common polycarbonate sheets and uses an Arduino, a cross flow fan, silica gel desiccant, sensors and a 100W heater to maintain a specific temperature and humidity in the chamber.

As you can see it can hold many spools of filament:

Looks like the great solution to keep your filament dry.

Detailed build guide:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Filament-Dehumidifier/?ALLSTEPS

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Airwolf3D Wolfbite Mega Polycarbonate Adhesive

If you want to print in polycarbonate and ensure that it sticks to the print surface, Airwolf has a product for you. It will prevent warpage and bad prints.




It is priced at USD 19,99

Product page:

http://airwolf3d.com/shop/3d-print-parts-polycarbonate-stick-adhesive

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Cosine AM1 industrial FDM 3d printer

Cosine AM 1 is powerful new 3d printer that is at home in industrial and professional production setting. It has large format, speed and ability to 3d print with many advanced materials including carbon fiber and metal powders.

Here are the technical specifications of their AM1 machine:

• Build Volume:  1100mm * 850mm * 900mm
• Accuracy:  .07mm per 200mm
• Layer Resolution:  .1mm-1mm
• Max Extruder Temperature:  450°C
• Max Bed Temperature:  250°C
• Max Chamber Temperature:  85°C
• Nozzle Sizes:  .5mm, 1mm, 1.5mm
• Max Flow Rate:  3.5 kg / 24hrs
• Machine Weight:  700kg
• Machine Size:  1650mm * 1400mm * 1600mm
• Voltage:  100v-220v 50hz/60hz 3KVA

It can print with wide spectrum of materials:

Normal	Advanced	Additives
PLA	Polycarbonate	Carbon Fiber, chopped
ABS	Nylon	Carbon Fiber, continuous
HIPS	PBT	Carbon Black, ESD
PVA	Acetal	Glass Fiber
PETG		Stainless Steel Powder
		Bronze Powder
		Mica
		Glass spheres

Here you can see AM1 printing:




And here is AM1 printing in carbon fiber and polycarbonate:




Cosine Additive company page:

http://www.cosineadditive.com/

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New Airwolf 3d JRx hot end printing polycarbonate

Here is video from Airwolf 3D showing their new JRx hot end in action printing polycarbonate and other materials in higher temperatures.




http://airwolf3d.com/

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Proto Pasta carbon, high temperature and polycarbonate alloy PLA / ABS filaments

Proto Pasta has some new filaments with enhanced properties then regular PLA / ABS.

Video from their Kickstarter:

Proto Pasta offers:

Carbon Fiber Reinforced PLA

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.

High Temperature PLA

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.

Polycarbonate/ABS Alloy

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.

Proto Pasta filament properties

They also offer Reusable filament Folding Spool

http://www.proto-pasta.com/

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Prusa Nozzle - new full metal 3d printing nozzle

New RepRap hot-end with amazing properties:

• No PTFE or PEEK (can't be molten)
• Food safe Stainless Steel
• Using powerful heat cartridge
• Prints ABS and PLA
• Ready to print Polycarbonate, PEEK & Nylon^[1]
• Easy to mount (M6 thread)
• Open Source once ready to sell
• Made by designer of Prusa Mendel
• 70€ fully assembled including nozzle, heater block with heater cartridge and thermistor, wade compatible ALU mount plate.

http://prusanozzle.org/index.html

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