Things are Getting Dark at Digits2Widgets

3D print service Digits2Widgets has found a way to produce spectacularly black prints. 

The popular London-based 3D print service uses EOS machines to print exquisite nylon prints, but there was one key problem: EOS nylon is always white. While Digits2Widgets has taken steps to ensure their whites are the “whitest” in the industry, their clients asked for more colorful options. 

The standard practice among 3D print services is to dye white models after printing to achieve the desired color. But there’s issues, particularly with black. They found, based on customer feedback from using other services’ color dyes, three key objectives: 

Consistency of colour across the individual parts. Repeatability across batches, so that customers will receive the same colour time after time. Surface penetration, so when the surface is nicked or worn, the white does not show through.

Digits2Widgets then corralled the requisite expertise and hired a technician to develop a finely tuned dyeing process. After “a couple of months worth of intense testing, using different equipment and techniques”, they achieved a “lovely deep black” that met all three objectives. 

The deep black in fact penetrates the surface consistently to 0.25mm, ensuring abrasions will not easily reveal the underlying white nylon. In the example print above, you can clearly see how deep this black can be. 

Expect more amazing colors from Digits2Widgets. 

Via Digits2Widgets