Lyndsey is the co-founder of Reflow, which converts recyclable plastic into 3D print filaments using open source technology.
filament
Two 3D Printer Companies Offer New Innovative Materials Products
There’s much competition in the world of 3D print materials, given the vast number of devices loose in the world. Innovation is key and two companies announced new products along that line.
Is Carbon Fiber Filament a Marketing Gimmick?
Running a small product design and 3D printing business, shookideas.com, I receive questions about carbon fiber filament almost every week.
Hands on With Fiberlogy’s new FiberFlex 40D 3D Printer Filament
We obtained a small sample of Fiberlogy’s new FiberFlex 40D 3D printer filament and performed some basic testing.
An Interview with Filaments.ca
We spoke with a regional 3D printer filament provider to find out the latest.
Proto-Pasta’s Surprising Matte Fiber PLA
Proto-Pasta has introduced a curious new line of PLA-based 3D printer filament: Matte Fiber HTPLA.
What’s a Good Set of 3D Printer Filament?
You have a desktop 3D printer capable of 3D printing many different materials. What should your filament supply look like?
Another Major Player Enters the 3D Printing Filament Market
Nexeo Solutions has begun marketing a line of 3D printer filament, marking the first venture into 3D printing by the global chemical distributor.
Could the Bunker be a Transformational 3D Printing Product?
I’m looking at the Bunker, a 3D printing accessory designed to manage 3D printer filament, but it seems this device is far more than it appears.
Filamentive’s Sustainable 3D Printer Filaments
I met with representatives of Filamentive to find out more about their interesting series of sustainable 3D printer filaments.
Reflow: Recycled 3D Printer Filament System That Works
There have been many aborted attempts at producing recycled 3D printer filament, but Reflow’s approach appears to be successful.
What is the Ideal 3D Printer Material? Is It PLA? ABS?
There is always a discussion taking place: Which is the best 3D print filament material to use? I think this question is distracting from the real question.
ThreeD Materials Offers 3D Printer Filament By Subscription, But is This a Thing You Should Do?
New materials vendor ThreeD Materials has a new subscription-based method for distributing 3D printer filament, but is it something you should do?
BigRep Fine-Tunes Their Large-Scale 3D Print Strategy
We spoke with BigRep CEO Rene Gurkas recently and learned more about the company’s strategy and upcoming moves.
NinjaTek’s Two New 3D Printer Filaments
NinjaTek is most well known for their flexible filament, NinjaFlex, but two new products might change that notion.
Need a Custom 3D Print Material? Call ADVANC3D Materials!
There are many companies producing materials for 3D printing applications, but this one has an interesting speciality: custom materials.
MALPRO Breaks the Filament Price Barrier
I’ve always been suspicious of low-cost 3D printer filament, as it can often be of questionable quality. However, MALPRO may have broken that barrier.
The 3D Printer Filament Stats We Really Want
Buying some 3D printer filament? Did you check anything other than the price and color first? Maybe there’s more you should look at.
colorFabb Announces Steel 3D Printer Filament
True to form, Netherlands-based colorFabb introduced yet another pioneering 3D printer filament, this time based on Steel.
Innofil3D’s Super-Strong PRO1 3D Printer Filament
Netherlands-based Innofil3D has released a video showing their new “Pro1” 3D printer filament that has some very strong characteristics.
The Unusual Properties of PCL 3D Printer Filament
I’m looking at a plastic I haven’t seen before for 3D printing: PCL.
Formfutura’s Almost-Entirely Metal 3D Printer Filaments
Netherlands-based Formfuture announced a pair of new composite metal 3D printer filaments today, but there’s a surprising twist: they’re almost entirely metal!
How To Survive Short Filament Spools: Keep Those Empties!
If you’re like me and 3D print a lot, you may find your work area piling up with empty filament spools. My advice: Keep Them!
Could E3D’s New Edge Material Top PLA and ABS?
The folks at E3D are most well-known for their very popular hot-ends, which are installed on many desktop 3D printers. Now they’ve taken a step out of bounds to produce a pretty amazing filament.
Formfutura Releases Not One, But Three Specialized 3D Printer Filaments
Long-time 3D print filament maker Formfutura announced the availablity of no less than three different specialized filaments, each with some very interesting properties.
Here’s A Twist On “Specialty 3D Printer Filaments”
The market is getting very crowded for 3D print filament marketers and one way to get noticed is to specialize.
PolyMaker’s Slick 3D Print Smoothing System
Shanghai-based Polymaker has developed a combination plastic filament and device to perfectly smooth 3D prints.
Chemically Active 3D Prints To Make Amazing Things Happen
Some interesting research in the journal Science and Technology of Advanced Materials shows how a 3D printed object could be functional in a chemical manner.
A Better Way To Cast 3D Prints
Casting is a way some 3D print operators transform their fragile plastic prints into more durable materials, like metal. But what is the best 3D print material to do this?
Mosaic Manufacturing Finally Ships The Palette
If you’re looking for a fascinating way to coax your monocolor 3D printer into producing multiple colors, you can now obtain a Palette from Mosaic Manufacturing.
How To Compare The Real Costs Of 3D Printing Filaments
Most filament vendors price their filament by weight: pounds or kilograms, but is cost per pound really indicative of how expensive one filament is vs. another?
Kühling&Kühling’s High-Temperature HT500 3D Printer
Germany-based Kühling&Kühling’s new HT500 3D printer is not only reliable, but also offers one of the highest print temperatures I’ve seen.
Filapack Offers A 3D Printer Material Sampling Service
Startup company Filapack has launched a new service the enables inexpensive testing of popular 3D printer filaments.
How To Make An Air-Tight Dry Box For 3D Printer Filament
There’s a very useful Instructable describing how to keep your 3D printer filament from getting spoiled by humidity.
Bowden Style 3D Printing’s Critical Element: The Tube
We’ve been working on some Bowden-style equipment recently and realized an important design aspect.
The Most Bizarre 3D Printer Promo Yet: A Free 3D Printer, With One Big Catch
Zortrax has launched a very unusual sales campaign to promote their popular M200 desktop 3D printer.
What Would A FrankenFilament Be Like?
Just as there are many desktop 3D printers, there are as many different kinds of filament for them. But what might an ideal filament be?
Loose Spools Of Filament: Just Don’t
Recently we attempted to use a loose spool of filament in the lab, but quickly found major problems and suggest vendors adjust their filament packaging methods.
Hands On With 3D-Fuel’s Strong PLA and Algae Filaments. What?
We’re testing several new filaments in the lab lately, and one set comes from 3D-Fuel, who provide a very strange algae-based filament.
Could Lousy Filament Be Condemning Many 3D Printers To The Scrap Heap?
There is a dark secret of desktop 3D printing: many 3D printers are no longer in use. We have a thought as to why that might be.
Finally, An Intelligent Spool Holder: The MonsterFeed
For those using generic 3D printer filament, the issue of spool management is sometimes troublesome. Now those issues could be solved with the MonsterFeed universal spool holder.
Sculptable Filament Coming Soon
A new style of 3D printer filament is being developed by Adam Beane Industries that will enable you to post-process your print by sculpting.
Hands On With Feelcolor’s Fascinating 3D Printer Filaments
We managed to test some really amazing 3D printer filament from newcomer Feelcolor.
New 3D Printer Hot End Could Solve The Filament Dilemma
The “1730 Full Metal Hotend” from ReprapUniverse in The Netherlands is able to handle two different filament diameters.
Need A Different 3D Printer Filament Color? Colorilab Has Over 180
One of the ongoing annoyances with filament-based 3D printing is the lack of suitable colors for prints. Now that may change with Colorilab’s massive color set.
The Multistruder: Core Of Your Future Filament Making System?
We’ve been contacted by the backers of the Multistruder, a new type of extruder, and it’s an interesting design.
Alternative Industrial Filaments
A vendor provides plug-compatible plastic filament for commercial FDM machines, but there could be a risk in using them.
Italian Joint Venture Produces High Quality 3D Printer Filament: Feelcolor
Some very high-quality 3D printer filament from Feelcolor is raising the quality bar for all 3D printer filament vendors.
taulman3D Develops T-Lyne 3D Printer Filament
3D printer filament provider taulman3D has released a new type of copolymer they call “T-Lyne”.
The FilaFab EX’s Sensible Approach To Extrusion
We’re checking out a new filament manufacturing device, D3D Innovation’s FilaFab EX, and it seems they’ve taken this process a lot further than others have.
How Much Does 3D Printer Filament Really Cost?
We got an unexpected glimpse of wholesale pricing from an Asian manufacturer of 3D printer filament.
Rigid.ink Is Feeding Their 3D Print Filament Customers
It seems that filament manufacturers are going all-out to make customers happy.
3DOM’s New Coffee-Flavored 3D Printer Filament Opens Up Possibilities For Unusual Materials
3DOM announced a new 3D printer filament made from coffee grounds. Yes, really, and it actually makes sense. But there’s likely a lot more interesting things to come.
Biodegradable ABS 3D Printer Filament?
We’re looking at an offering from 3DPrintLife, who now sell a peculiar bio-friendly version of ABS plastic they call “Enviro”.
WillowFlex: Flexible, Friendly Filament
Berlin-based BioInspiration has produced a new flexible 3D printer filament that has an unusual property: it’s compostable.
3devo Launches the NEXT 1.0 Filament Recycler
Utrecht-based 3devo’s new filament extruder is now available on their crowdfunding page, but will it be practical?
Do We Need Ultra-Large 3D Printer Filament Spools?
At this time, most sellers offer 3D printer plastic filament in spools weighing 500g to 1kg. But perhaps these sizes are too small.
A Curious Thing About 3.00 vs 1.75mm 3D Printer Filament
In the beginning it was 3.0mm filament for 3D printers, but then things switched to 1.75mm filament. Was this a good idea?
Hands On With Verbatim’s 3D Printer Filaments
We tested samples of several filaments from Verbatim, who have recently entered the market for 3D printer supplies, and were very impressed with the results.
EasyWelder Solves A Common Filament Problem
EasyWelder is a very inexpensive 3D printing accessory that many people might find very useful.
Hands On With FoxSmart’s New Filaments
We’ve been testing some new 3D printer filament from FoxSmart, and it’s pretty interesting.
CarbonFil™ 3D Printer Filament Now Available from Formfutura
Formfutura, makers of fine 3D printer filaments, has joined others in marketing a carbon fiber filament.
Verbatim’s Impressive 3D Printing Materials
Media giant Verbatim now sells a series of very impressive 3D printing materials.
Formfutura Releases Unusual Wood 3D Printer Filaments
Formfutura, a Netherlands-based manufacturer of 3D printer filaments, announced today some very interesting new wood filaments.
3D Printing By The Gram?
A new crowdfunding campaign is attempting what they believe to be a new business model: printing by the gram. We’re not so sure it’s new.
Verbatim Poses a Huge Challenge for 3D Printer Filament Manufacturers
If you’re a vendor of 3D printer filament, you’d better watch out for Verbatim.
Why Good Quality Filament Matters
Sometimes it’s tempting to buy the cheapest possible 3D printer filament, but that’s not always the best idea.
Eco 3D Filament’s Unique Material Offerings
In the increasingly crowded 3D printer plastic filament market, it’s harder for companies to distinguish themselves. Czech-based Eco 3D Filament may have just done that.
Want To Test Some New 3D Printer Filament?
Our friends at Gateway Group have decided to move into the world of 3D printing by producing a new line of 3D printer filaments.
Creadition Seeks Funds To Begin Filament Production
A new company hopes to begin production of an extensive line of 3D printer filaments.
Conductive Graphene Filament for 3D Printing
The long awaited Conductive Graphene Filament from Graphene 3D Lab Inc. (GGG) hit the market today.
Try This Color-Changing Wood Filament
A new project hopes to produce high-quality, color-changing wood filament for personal 3D printers.
What’s the Ante to Play the Filament Game?
For some years now, to market 3D printer filament you merely had to provide good quality filament. That seems to be changing.
Filamet Hopes To Provide Artist-Quality Metal Filament
A small project has launched to provide a new kind of metal filament for personal 3D printers that is specially designed for use by artists.
MyMatSolutions is Developing a New Nylon Filament
Spain-based MyMat Solutions is working on a new type of nylon specifically for 3D printing.
FormFutura Introduces ClearScent ABS Filament
FormFutura has introduced a new ABS plastic variant that apparently has no scent during printing.
Dimension Polymers Launches Recycled 3D Printer Filament
A startup company has developed a way to produce high quality recycled 3D printer filament.
colorFabb Announces Carbon Fiber Filament
Netherlands-based colorFabb introduced an incredibly powerful new 3D printer filament today, based on carbon fiber.
BEETHEFIRST’s New Filament Policy
BEEVERYCREATIVE has changed their filament usage policy – for the better.
ProtoPasta’s Amazing 3D Printer Filaments
We got a closer look at ProtoPasta’s unusual filaments at CES.
MakerBot’s Unusual New Materials
MakerBot did not announce any new machines this week, but they did announce some rather unusual filaments.
Is 3D Printer Filament a Commodity?
While most 3D printer manufacturers would prefer you use their in-house plastic filament in their equipment, we’re wondering whether filament is nearing “commodity” stage.
A Filament AND Resin 3D Printer: The Samba 2 in 1
Hidden in a very obscure corner of EuroMold was a 3D print like no other we’d yet seen: a machine that included a filament extruder AND a DLP resin projector.
Do You 3D Print in HIPS? Perhaps You Should!
FormFutura announced a new line of 3D printer filaments that could prove very useful to personal 3D printer operators.
A Solution to Corrupted Filament?
One 3D printer owner has devised a simple method of solving the “wet filament” problem.
No Proprietary Filament From MakerBot Expected
With many people wondering whether MakerBot is moving towards a proprietary filament solution, we went to the top to get answers.
The Quant 3D Q1000 3D Printer
A new industrial 3D printer from OK International and partner Tiertime could shake things up in company labs.
First Copper and Bronze: There’s Now Brass 3D Printer Filament
The ingenious chemists at colorFabb have developed yet another metal-infused 3D printing filament: brassFill.
Parfait Printing Provides Color Prints
Your Wild World, a curiously named 3D printing startup, hopes to deliver multicolor 3D prints on your existing personal 3D printer.
Mosaic Manufacturing’s Unique Color 3D Printing Solution
We’re checking out a new startup that seems to have invented a very different method of 3D printing colored objects.
The Beauty of Great 3D Printer Filament
Remember we performed some tests on the FoxSmart filament? We did one more test afterwards and found something very interesting.
Concerning the Weight of 3D Print Material
How much filament should you buy for your personal 3D printer? A kilo? Wait, that doesn’t work anymore.
The Strooder Filament Maker
OmniDynamics is a Bristol (UK) based company that launched a Kickstarter campaign this past June to develop a compact, accessible and robust filament extruder.
A Filament Monitor for MakerBots
Have you had a bad experience running out of filament during a print? There’s a solution for that.
The Ewe 3D Printer Filament Extruder
Italy-based Ewe Industries has developed a personal filament extruder.