Just bought my first rolls of ColorFabb PHA/PLA

[LePaul 321]

I've been meaning to buy some for a while and finally got around to doing so.

Asides the instructions and suggestions on ColorFabb's website, any tips I should heed on using this filament? I have an Ultimaker Original , no heated bed.

I couldn't resist trying out the Dutch Orange and Shining Silver 2.85 filaments.

[cloakfiend 995]

Youll be fine mate, slap a bit of glue on the glass and off you go. Have been using nothing but colorfabb for the last year. Not sure about the heated bed as i got a um 2

[LePaul 321]

No glass.   Ultimaker Original     Just blue painters...tape wiped down with an alcohol wipe.

Edited September 1, 2015 by Guest

[LePaul 321]

Does this filament tend to print cooler (200?) for most?

[cloakfiend 995]

I print at 208 0.06 35. But thats me.

[LePaul 321]

I've never tried 0.06

Usually 0.10 and 40 and with Ultimaker PLA blue, 210C seems to be the right temp.

[cloakfiend 995]

Youll be fine. You may get splitting issues if you print too low. But 210 should be fine. Have a play. Great quality prints with good details.

[cloakfiend 995]

Im doing 215 um blue with 50 0.06 at the mo. Trying out the new pla to see if its as good as the old one. Had a horror of a time with my coupler though and am only getting good results now.

Mind you i did 213 at 70 0.06 and it turned out fine. So im sure 213 is fine.

With colorfabb i find a little bit hotter is better than a little bit cooler.

Edited September 1, 2015 by Guest

[neotko 1,417]

Can't help with tips since I use 1.75mm but with Orange Dutch So far I had 3 spools with 1.72-1.70mm so I'm quite carefull with that color and always with the caliper at hand.

[LePaul 321]

Thanks for the feedback gents!

[peetersm 124]

I've been printing with ColorFabb for about a year (I have tried ~10 colors-love them all) on my UMO and it's great. Depending on the color I'm printing 190-200 at 0.2 layer and speed between 30-50mm/s

If you want to go faster maybe increase that temp to 210.

So a lot cooler that normal PLA. I use a basic temp test print with each new color I get which helps me decide what temp to print at. which reminds me I should post that somewhere.

[LePaul 321]

Doing a print now....the famous elephant one.   The Dutch Orange is a wonderful color.   Doing 210C, 50mm/s. 0.2 (pretty much default settings) and so far its flowing very smoothly.

Edited September 5, 2015 by Guest

[LePaul 321]

On the Left, at 0.10 , 210C 50mm, no support or raft.

On the Right at 0.20, 210C 50mm support and raft (and I was too lazy to clean up)

I noticed if I started the print colder it didn't flow well, so 210 worked well all around. I did bring it down to 208 a couple minutes into the print.

Overall it looks ok...but curious on how to tweak and improve

[cloakfiend 995]

Agreed, I always start colorfabb hotter and bring it down, it works well, i start at 215-220 for the first few layers and go to 208 or whatever after. If you print too cool, it tends to crack, mind you i have not tried with orange but colorfabb black and red both cracked at too cool temps for me.

Edited September 8, 2015 by Guest

[LePaul 321]

I just ordered more...black and white, so I can start printing the pieces for the Star Wars 7 blaster rifle

I completely see your point about starting warmer.

I may need to replace the blue tape for the next print.

[peetersm 124]

Depending on how fast you're printing I would go even lower, to get the turck strigning to go away.

My "high quality settings" are:

0.1 layer

1.2 shells

30mm/s

190-200 degrees (depending on the color I am using, I print my dutch orange at 190)

NOTE - in the winter I will print 1st layers anywhere from 210-220 and heat the bed to 27 (with blue tape)

general settings for colorfab

0.2 layer

0.8 shells

50mm/s

still using 190-200 degrees (depending on the color I am using)

[LePaul 321]

 

@peetersm Thanks...good tips. Have you found the heated bed to be a big improvement over the Original without? I'm tempted to upgrade the bed...but it is money I could use for an Ultimaker 2 Extended

[peetersm 124]

@peetersm  Have you found the heated bed to be a big improvement over the Original without?

 

I'm so so about the heated bed, I only use it in the winter and just to get it to room temp 25-27 C. I don't print on glass and pva glue and 70C , I still use blue tape. I tried using the heated bed on my M2 and got poor results a lot of edge curling (known issues with heated beds) , also when I am trying to print a lot of items I don't want to wait for cool down to remove items and start another job. I suppose the UM heated bed might be better than the M2 but I'm content to stick with what works really well for me.

But I do like the new lead screw and the metal bed, 3 point leveling system. If those are big selling points maybe it's worth it. But on my UMO I'm happy to use it as is.

I am very happy with the UMO+ It has the new cuircuit borad with no fan! which I love. I've had to replace and fuss with my UMO board fan too many times. Also I love the pt100 since I have issues on the UMO with the temp reading going crazy from fan PWM signal interfereing with the temp readings. Honestly I think the UMO+ is the best value, since the um2 family all need so much TLC, and for a lot more money. But if you need the dimensions of the extend I understand that choice.

The only thing I've been really wanting to do with my UMO+ is add a second hot end fan, or do a shroud since the one side fan can make lopsided prints.

Edited September 9, 2015 by Guest

[yellowshark 153]

I print Dutch orange a lot. On my printer 300 microns at 30 or 40mm/s 0.4mm nozzle is done with a temp of 205

Edited September 22, 2015 by Guest