Filkemp introduced a new line of sustainable PLA filament products targeted at makers.
Portugal-based Filkemp is actually quite an old company, having been founded in Germany way back in 1952. After moving to Portugal in 1969, the company changed directions, with a management buyout creating Filkemp in 1998.
Since that time the company has produced a wide range of industrial polymer filaments for a variety of applications, including fishnets, brushes and much more. Later they introduced industrial 3D printing filaments, mainly based on nylon materials.
Now the company has entered the maker space with a new line of PLA filaments they call “PLN”. It’s much more versatile than plain old PLA in both strength and thermal resistance. Filkemp’s Mariana Gallardo explains:
“It is a truly unique product because we make it with an exclusive raw material developed and sold only for us. A PLA-based compound, it can simultaneously replace ABS due to its great resistance to temperature (up to 170C), after annealing at 100C for crystallization, it is also totally machinable. PLN is a biopolymer without the serious environmental contamination problems of ABS and with a very good finish perfect printability.”
They say that PLN is able to substitute for ABS in many applications, but doesn’t have as many issues with the release of VOCs or nanoparticles. This could be quite important for maker workshops, where people are sometimes more exposed to the equipment.
Filkemp has committed to drastically reducing their greenhouse gas production, both directly and indirectly. They’ve taken significant steps towards a net-zero goal, as you can see in this chart:
One of the key steps taken was to reduce the distance from their raw material supplier, cutting out a massive 5200km of shipping for these materials.
They also make use of sustainable packaging approaches, with 95% of the material used being recycled, and this applies to both the box and spool.
Currently, Filkemp offers PLN in both 2.85 and 1.75mm formats, and their 1kg spools come in eleven different colors.
Via Filkemp
