The fast-paced 3D printing world is now seeing a breakthrough with the printing of advanced materials that go beyond traditional bioplastics.
UK-based @ColorFabb makes 3D printer filament that consists of exotic materials like wood, metal, and carbon fiber. We recently partnered up with 3D Hubs for a colorFabb workshop that took place at TechShop San Francisco. Participants were gifted with a generous sample pack, and we 3D printed the 3D Hubs Marvin mascot on our Series 1 3D Printer using those materials.
In the attached image, from left to right: XT-CF20 (Carbon Fiber), bambooFill, copperFill and XT-copolyester.
The Series 1 3D Printer has a high-quality, all-metal G2 extruder that we’ve developed exclusively in-house. The steel and aluminum component has a hot end with a maximum temperature of 300 degrees Celsius, which allows for high-heat printing and virtually eliminates clogging issues.
In this guide, we’re going to cover the settings we used for the Marvins in each of colorFabb’s sample materials. To replicate our models, follow these instructions below:
1. Download the 3D Hubs Marvin 3D model, which comes as an .STL file.
2. Download Cura for Type A Machines, available for free, on our website.
3. Open Cura for Type A Machines. If you need help setting up the software, read our Quick Start Guide.
4. Load the Marvin .STL file into Cura.
Under Quality, for all four materials, we used
Layer height (mm): 0.15
Shell thickness (mm): 0.8
Enable retraction: Yes
Under Fill, for all four materials, we used
Bottom/Top thickness (mm): 0.8
Fill density (%): 8
XT-CF20
3D printing temperature: 260C
3D print speed: 100mm/s
Heated bed: not used
XT-copolyester
3D printing temperature: 260C
3D print speed: 100mm/s
Heated bed: not used
bambooFIll
3D printing temperature: 210C
3D print speed: 100mm/s
Heated bed: not used
copperFill
3D printing temperature: 210C
3D print speed: 100mm/s
Heated bed: not used
For other models, especially larger prints, your settings will vary, and a heated bed may have to be used.
This event was a great way to introduce colorFabb and their amazing materials to the San Francisco 3D printing community! If you’re interested in learning more about what kind of materials you can print on the Series 1 3D Printer, read up on our Materials Guide, which includes information about each filament and their Cura profile settings.
Please comment with any feedback or questions you have! If you have 3D printed the Marvins on a Series 1 3D Printer, we’d love to see how they turned out!
