Printing UL94 ertified 3mm Filament with Ultimaker 3?

[lhjordanlh 0]

Hi dear forum,

We are a medical startup company that is looking to certified our product through CSA.

We need the enclosure to be made out of UL94 certified material. To our surprise, it is hard if not impossible to find one for 2.85mm.

Instead we found this one: https://filaments.ca/collections/2-85mm-3d-filaments/products/flame-retardant-abs-filament-natural-3-00mm?variant=1269287036

Wonder if anyone has tried this with Ultimaker, how does it turn out? (since it is 3mm instead of 2.85mm)

Or do you recommend anything else? (We need the filament to be white.)

Cheers,

Jordan YK

[Torgeir 212]

Hi lhjordanlh,

Interesting question and interesting filament.

I've been printing with first gen Verbatim PLA said to be 3.00 mm, but really are 2.95 mm. So for the size issue, I'll see no problem here.

It will really depend of the accurity of the actual size of this brand of filament.

If the tolerance is good, there should be no problem using this type of filament.

Thanks.

Torgeir.

[lhjordanlh 0]

Hi lhjordanlh,

Interesting question and interesting filament.

I've been printing with first gen Verbatim PLA said to be 3.00 mm, but really are 2.95 mm. So for the size issue, I'll see no problem here.

It will really depend of the accurity of the actual size of this brand of filament.

If the tolerance is good, there should be no problem using this type of filament.

Thanks.

Torgeir.

Thank you so much for the information Togeir, so does it mean Ultimaker 3 can in general print 3mm filament without issue even in the long run?

I am asking this because I read from other threads in the forum that people have been saying printing 3mm filament with Ultimaker will in long run stresses the feeder and damages the feeder. Moreover, apparently it squeezes the filament too much, so it affects the print quality.

I wonder what is your experience on printing 3.00mm in terms of that?

Many thanks,

Jordan YK

[Torgeir 212]

Hi Jordan,

Hmm.. Well, I do not have an Ultimaker 3, just a "customized" UM2. For your special requirement with this filament, I'm quite sure that "any" Ultimaker brand can be adapted to use this special filament.

I'll say it is much more easy to adapt one of the printer (or several) to accept this special brand of filament for medical use (if needed), than finding a similar filament that's certified for your purpose.

But if you're lucky, this filament might easily fit..

I'll say, there is no problem, just solutions..

(Medical certification is very difficult, -I'll know.)

Thanks.

Torgeir.

[Torgeir 212]

Hi Jordan,

Was just a little fast here.. Well, the new UM3 is a new 3D printer that no other brands can match in this class. Ofc. have to be used in the right way! If people tend to go outside "the envelope", every printer will fail however advanced the printer is.

Anyway, if you need a printer to do some spesific job, go for an Ultimaker as this is an open source - can be adapted to "anything you want" - and found on every university around.

Well, just to say; I'm just a user of this "great forum", have nothing to do with Ultimaker..

Thanks.

Torgeir.

[krys 206]

Hi @lhjordanlh,

I don't know if you saw this already, or even if this helps, but I was just browsing on filaments.ca and noticed that eSun's ePA Nylon 6 and ePC polycarbonate are both claiming to meet UL94-V2. Here are some links:

https://filaments.ca/collections/2-85mm-3d-filaments/products/epa-nylon-6-natural-3mm

https://filaments.ca/collections/2-85mm-3d-filaments/products/epc-polycarbonate-natural-3mm

I do not know if they are claiming certification, but I thought I would mention these in case they are possible options for you.

Hope it helps!

(Also, Yay Canada!)

[nullroute 0]

With printing medical devices, is there any concern about lead contamination from the brass nozzle?

[gr5 2,004]

Filament that is 3.1mm won't hurt your printer - the problem is it may get clogged in the bowden. If it's PLA you can get it out by removing the bowden at both ends and then heating it in hot water and sliding it out.

The printer itself will not be damaged.

I'm quite confident there will be a 1.75mm conversion kit for the UM3 within a few months so that's another option. Anyway 2.9mm filament should be fine. That leaves you a bit of room to have the feeder warp the filament into a bit of an oval and still fit through the bowden.

Edited December 10, 2016 by Guest

[krys 206]

With printing medical devices, is there any concern about lead contamination from the brass nozzle?

 

Hi!

Its possible to buy hardened and/or stainless steel nozzles. There are also chrome-plated brass nozzles as well (assuming they are also plated inside). They change the settings you have to use to print, but it is not a show stopper, I would guess. I am no expert though!

[nullroute 0]

Hi!

Its possible to buy hardened and/or stainless steel nozzles. There are also chrome-plated brass nozzles as well (assuming they are also plated inside). They change the settings you have to use to print, but it is not a show stopper, I would guess. I am no expert though!

 

But not for the UM3 (yet?)

[krys 206]

But not for the UM3 (yet?)

 

Oh, good point! I do not know UM3. It is still new, but I assume eventually it will be able to do everything the UM2(+) can do and more.

[krys 206]

Hey again,

This new video about testing which filaments catch fire and which do not crossed my feed yesterday:

 

Nothing about certifications, but I thought it might be useful.

(Man, I am not looking for this stuff, but it just seems to be all appearing at the same time! )

Anyway, hope it helps.

[gr5 2,004]

>But not for the UM3 (yet?)

Nope. But probably within a few months they will be available.

[MG1502 0]

I'am about to test 2.85mm ABSpro™ - Flame Retardant Black - with an UM2

Self-extinguishing flammability properties

Engineered to meet UL 94 V-0 standards

Halogen-free

http://www.formfutura.com/formfutura-285mm-abspro-flame-retardant-black.html

Edited January 23, 2017 by Guest

[tomnagel 124]

Did you find any information on the minimum wall thickness to reach UL94-V0?

i cannot find that in the formfutura info on the website.

[yellowshark 153]

Generally speaking filament is specified as 1.75mm or 3mm. Also generally speaking 3mm filament is not, it is 2.85mm. Excellent filament, such as you get from Colorfabb and Faberdashery, is 2.85 guaranteed to be +/- 0.05mm.

With a Bowden tube printer once you get to about 3.00mm you will start to get problems - one printer may hit this below 3.00mm and another printer, the same model from the same manufacturer, may go beyond 3.00mm.

The problem is the filament sticking in the Bowden tube which will cause under extrusion. It could just be minor sticking which corrects itself in real time or it could result in a complete blockage. This will not in itself damage your printer but will require work to unblock the feed system.

I am guessing that ultimately if you keep on blocking the drive system you may end up damaging the plastic cog(s) that the Ultimaker uses.