What's the strongest material I can print using the UM2/3

[kc-li 0]

So I'm looking to print something that needs to meet a certain strength requirement, namely it has to have to be relatively stiff. I have already tried the typical PLA, ABS and PETG materials but they're all not stiff enough for the purposes I was hoping. Is there any suggestions what materials I should look at and where I can potentially get them?

Thanks in advance.

[kmanstudios 1,120]

The absolute toughest, with the highest tg temp and strength I have found is polycarbonate.

There may be tougher out there though. But if you want to check out the printing needs for PC filament, check HERE and the product page HERE to see the pertinent data sheets.

I have not been printing for long, but this stuff is impressive and following the directions I linked to will make things better. The only thing I could add, if you do not have a door, is to tape some bubble wrap across the front and do it early in a preheat phase so the ambient temp in the build area can come to an equilibrium before printing.

Keep in mind that strength will depend on how many walls and percentage and type of infill. Will also depend on how thin the part is.

Edited May 25, 2017 by Guest

[kc-li 0]

Thanks for the info, will check it out!

[kmanstudios 1,120]

Thanks for the info, will check it out!

 

My pleasure And, keep asking questions as they arise. There are plenty of good people here that will actually answer you with respect and decidedly good information. I actually count on them to correct me, and they have, so that I have a better understanding.

[meduza 191]

If it is stiffness (not necessarily the same thing as strength) you have a demand for, you should look at a CF filled like the Colorfabb XT-CF20, it is insanely stiff (6.2GPa in Flexural Modulus) compared to Polycarbonate that "just" is about 2GPa.

http://colorfabb.com/files/TDS-carbon-en.pdf

Edited May 25, 2017 by Guest

[kmanstudios 1,120]

If it is stiffness (not necessarily the same thing as strength) you have a demand for, you should look at a CF filled like the Colorfabb XT-CF20, it is insanely stiff (6.2GPa in Flexural Modulus) compared to Polycarbonate that "just" is about 2GPa.

http://colorfabb.com/files/TDS-carbon-en.pdf

 

Out of curiosity, and noobness, the CF means Carbon Fibre and is that not abrasive for the brass nozzles that come on the UM Models? Basically, killing the nozzles very quickly.

[meduza 191]

@kmanstudios: Yes, the CF means carbon fibre, and it is extremely abrasive, it kills a brass nozzle in just a few hundred grams.

This is the difference after 300 grams, the nozzle is just trash by this point.

The best solution is to get a ruby tipped nozzle like The Olsson Ruby, but if you only print quite limited amounts and want to spend less you can also go with a hardened steel nozzle.

Edited May 25, 2017 by Guest

[kmanstudios 1,120]

Thanks!!

[eldrick 65]

Carbon-fiber/nylon also exists, and is said to be easier to print than nylon, due to low temperature coefficient of expansion.

[meduza 191]

Yes, CF filled nylons are pretty nice and very strong, not nearly as stiff as the XT-CF20 tough, so if @kc-li mostly is hunting for stiffness, the XT-CF20 is the best bet.

[Collimare 0]

We currently work with CarbonX CFR-ABS and MatterHackers NylonX on our other 3D printers as the materials are fully supported and tested by the 3D printer manufacture who provides tested/approved profiles for use with the specific material on their printers. I cannot find any profiles for CF materials that are supported by Ultimaker. Have any carbon fiber based material profiles been developed and tested for use on the Ultimaker 3?

[gr5 2,265]

Lots of people print CF on Ultimaker 3.  You really should get a ruby core first (I sell these at thegr5store.com) because the cores that Ultimaker sells will get destroyed in just a few hours of printing CF.

 

All of these manufacturers post specifications on their materials - you want to look at the tensile modulus and the tensile strength (or yield).  The first number is how stiff the material is with the larger number being more stiff.  The tensile strength is how much force it takes to pull a block of the material apart if you pull straight outwards in opposite directions (like if you made it in the shape of a rope and hung some large weight).

 

I have graphed these specs here:

http://gr5.org/mat/

 

I don't like CF much - it makes the materials stiffer without being stronger and results in materials that are more brittle.  I prefer plain nylons which are more flexible than most materials and this makes them very tough.  But I'm not sure if you want something stiff like glass or tough like sneakers.  Looking at the graph in the above link you'll see that nylforce CF has amazing specs.  I have a few meters someone just gave me a few days ago and plan to test it as I'm skeptical that it is as good as they say.

 

I'm told to print CF on small layer height so the fibers line up a little better.

 

[Collimare 0]

gr5, Thank you very much for the reply and heads up on the Ruby core. We need the stiffness and dimensional stability that the CF filled materials provide. One printer prints CF Nylon the other CF ABS. We use both materials in our product each for specific application needs. I did buy a Solex HardCore Pro 7 kit prior to realizing there is no advanced material support at Ultimaker. We are manufactures not hobbyists. I do not have the time to develop profiles for each material we use. I need approved/tested printing profiles for the CF materials or I may just need to sell the Ultimaker 3 and buy more of the other brand.

Edited February 27, 2018 by Collimare

[gr5 2,265]

I hear you regarding the stiffness.

 

Ultimaker does a lot of testing to create their profiles - it's really impressive all that they do.  Yet I still don't like them and feel they need even more tweaking.  The manufacturers of these materials have suggested print temperatures and bed temperatures and such but it usually takes a dozen prints to dial in my settings for a new material and to figure out all the new issues (e.g. nylon really needs a door on the front and preferably a box on top to keep the air warmer -- nylon needs to be kept dry until minutes before printing so I print right out of a bag with dessicant -- nylon needs 1% to 3% fan speed on Um3.  ABS also needs all these things.

 

But it seems to me it's worth it to experiment a bit when creating a new product line.  I mean if you were doing injection molding you wouldn't expect to be an expert at CF Nylon on creating the very first mold.   Profiles are a great idea but in my experience every manufacturer is different.  Room temperature or "wind" in the room makes a big difference.  Or maybe a user will do a slightly different layer height or speed and it may end up causing one to modify other parameters to get the profile to work.