What Beats bronzeFill? copperFill, Obviously

By on September 28th, 2014 in materials

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ColorFabb announced a new experimental material: copperFill. 

Itā€™s made in a manner similar to their previous metal-infused filament, bronzeFill. However, instead of bronze particles, theyā€™ve mixed in copper particles with the standard filament PLA polymer. 

The result is very copper-like prints, as you can see in the image above, which compares a bronzeFill print (left) with a new copperFill print (right). Both materials require a bit of polishing to bring out the shine you see in the image, but thatā€™s a small price to pay to obtain very metal-like objects. 

According to ColorFabb, the material is approximately three times as heavy as bronzeFill, meaning your prints are not going to be easily blown over, particularly for hollow prints. The weight should significantly enhance the ā€œhold-abilityā€ of printed objects, as weight is an important factor in the objectā€™s ā€œfeelā€. 

We’re wondering how the application of an oxider might work with this stuff. You might get some very interesting results. 

The material has been tested on various all-metal hot ends, such as the MakerBot Replicator and E3D units. However, ColorFabb cautions that hot ends using Teflon may clog up because the copper particles can stick. 

Sold only on ColorFabbā€™s website for now, the experimental filament goes for ā‚¬50 (USD$63) per 750g, with a 1500g option for ā‚¬80 (USD$100). If sufficient sales and good user feedback achieved, then it’s likely ColorFabb will make copperFill a permanent item on their product shelf. 

Via ColorFabb

By Kerry Stevenson

Kerry Stevenson, aka "General Fabb" has written over 8,000 stories on 3D printing at Fabbaloo since he launched the venture in 2007, with an intention to promote and grow the incredible technology of 3D printing across the world. So far, it seems to be working!