A European company has produced a hybrid nylon-carbon fiber filament that could shake things up.
Italy-based Fiber Force’s new Nylforce filament can be used in any personal 3D printer capable of printing in nylon. The interesting part is the composition of this filament: it includes 20% carbon fiber as well as nylon. This makes possible very strong prints on many 3D printers.
Usually printing nylon requires a heated bed, but the Fiber Force product is said to be compatible with any PLA-capable 3D printer. In other words, you do not need a heated bed.
How do they get around this requirement? They’ve developed a special sticking-spray (shown here) that ensures their plastic sticks well to your printing surface. Yes, you can print with a cold bed, so long as you use the spray, and it works on not only the carbon fiber-nylon hybrid, but also Fiber Force’s other nylon materials.
Incidentally, the spray will permit over 50 prints per squirt, meaning you’ll likely need only one bottle for the lifetime of your printer. It washes off easily with water if you’d like to print a different material.
The Nylforce nylon-carbon fiber filament is priced at a healthy 50 GBP (USD$77) per 500g, but should provide you with a very unique way to 3D print. Oh, and don’t forget you’ll need the special spray as well, which is priced at 20 GBP (USD$31).
Via Fiber Force
