Using new ColorFabb XT Transparent PLA

[umuser 0]

Here is a PET summary:

 

Also known as polyester

No shrinking or warping

No smell

Does not degrade in water

FDA approved for food contact

Does not absorb water

Not brittle

Is the most recycled plastic

 

 

Made Solid - from Matter Hackers, in California USA:

http://www.matterhackers.com/store/3d-printer-filament/black-pet-175mm

 

Made Solid - from California USA:

http://shop.madesolid.com/products/madesolid-strong-filament-1-75mm-1-lbs

 

Colorfabb XT - from Netherlands:

http://colorfabb.com/xt-black

 

Colorfabb XT - from Printed Solid, in Deleware USA:

http://www.printedsolid.com/shop/175-3/xt-amphora/

 

Taulman T-Glase - from Matter Hackers, in California USA:

http://www.matterhackers.com/store/3d-printer-filament/taulman-black-t-glase-175mm

 

Eco PETG - from China (must email to order):

http://www.ecoreprap.com/pro/petg-filament

 

Reprap PET - from Denmark:

http://reprap.me/plastic/master-filament.html

 

[izo2 0]

i print xt @ 250 with my fan at 100%

unlike abs i have no issue with cooling, and my print is sharper.

personally, i don't buy pla anymore.

XT is far better in any aspect.

the strengh of the mat is stuning.

the material have a better aspect in my opinion, less shiny, kind of ruber

more resistant to heat

acetone polishing compliant

no shrink, even where pla can give me a few expanded base (foot elephant)

bridging and overhang is excellent.

no under extrusion issue unlike pla (not sure why)

 

[umuser 0]

What is the "mat" ?

 

[izo2 0]

sorry, i mean material.

 

[chrisr 18]

/edit:

By the way, I've noticed that in my case, XT prints best at 40mm/s or a little faster. Going slower actually gives worse results (nozzle heats up the lower layers too much).

 

Good advice!

Until I read this I was finding getting the settings right for XT really tricky. I'm using this http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:8757 as my calibration print and fast speeds (70mm/s and 0.2mm layer height) with fans at 30% produces a much better looking print than slower speeds and smaller layer heights. Printing faster as well seems to have got rid off all the stringing I was seeing before as well. I'm using 240C with the glass bed at 80C which seems to help XT stick quite well to the glass without any glue etc., printer is UM2.

Thanks! :smile:

 

[hreedijk 4]

Sometimes I need to print a bunch of small industrial parts with XT that's needs to have very accurate dimensions.

As we all know, you get the best results when printing slow, I'm printing those small parts at 0.12mm layer height, speed 25 to 30mm/s at 232C/234C with fan speed set at 30/35.

 

[chrisr 18]

Sometimes I need to print a bunch of small industrial parts with XT that's needs to have very accurate dimensions.

As we all know, you get the best results when printing slow, I'm printing those small parts at 0.12mm layer height, speed 25 to 30mm/s at 232C/234C with fan speed set at 30/35.

 

Is this with the newer XT? I just don't seem to have any success with printing small parts slowly. In fact, the slower I go the worse they come out... I will give your settings a try though- thanks for posting them.

 

[hreedijk 4]

Yes, with the newer XT transparent and the colored ones, although the colored version needs a bit higher temp.

Below 2 pictures of XT red and orange parts, mention the 2 Euro coin of the Marvin test print.....

 

 

[chrisr 18]

Wow, I've been getting nothing like that for small/detailed parts with XT. The Marvin looks incredible. Was that at 232C/234C ? It's late here but I will definitely be trying your settings tomorrow.

 

[hreedijk 4]

Looked up the Cura profile, temp was 236, layer height 0.1mm, speed 25 and fans at 75% speed (on my UMO with 40mm fans at both sides)

[korneel 176]

i agree with hreedijk..

i have noticed that, although the temperature advise is 240, it would definately go lower when printing slowly, perhaps around 235 as suggested and turn on the fans. i actually have my fans on at 100 percent. you have to be carefull though that the stock feeder for the UM2 might not always provide reliable results with XT..

 

[umuser 0]

Good pointer: Going slower might allow you to use lower temps.

 

[chrisr 18]

I tried your settings Harold and this is the result I got. I watched while it printed. Part of the problem is the overhangs. XT curls up on the edges. So on the next pass of the head this curved up part is forced to flex downward, resulting in that (underside) surface becoming rough looking. Sometimes small blobs are picked off by the head and pushed around.

I've seen this curling on fill with a larger more complex print I did which had 30% fill. The edges of the fill wicked/flexed up and (generally looked terrible) When the head did its travel move over the fill, they had hardened enough for the head to bump into them giving the bed a noticable shake. You could hear the "thump" as well... which was a bit worrying...

Yesterday I printed out a large hollow cylindrical spacer (in XT) at 70mm/s, 240C, 0.2mm height, No fan and it came out absolutely perfectly. There were no overhangs or fill I guess.

I think if I can cure the "curling" I'm seeing I will be closer to getting XT printing more reliably. It seems to be a much fussier material to print with than PLA.

Any suggestions, anyone? :smile:

 

 

[umuser 0]

Can anyone verify if black XT is opaque? I think black T-Glase is translucent, not opaque.

 

[hreedijk 4]

 

I tried your settings Harold and this is the result I got. I watched while it printed. Part of the problem is the overhangs. XT curls up on the edges. So on the next pass of the head this curved up part is forced to flex downward, resulting in that (underside) surface becoming rough looking. Sometimes small blobs are picked off by the head and pushed around.

I've seen this curling on fill with a larger more complex print I did which had 30% fill. The edges of the fill wicked/flexed up and (generally looked terrible) When the head did its travel move over the fill, they had hardened enough for the head to bump into them giving the bed a noticable shake. You could hear the "thump" as well... which was a bit worrying...

Yesterday I printed out a large hollow cylindrical spacer (in XT) at 70mm/s, 240C, 0.2mm height, No fan and it came out absolutely perfectly. There were no overhangs or fill I guess.

I think if I can cure the "curling" I'm seeing I will be closer to getting XT printing more reliably. It seems to be a much fussier material to print with than PLA.

Any suggestions, anyone? :smile:

 

 

I wonder, does the infill touches the outer shell?

My infill overlap in Cura is set at 18% (not the standard 15%), and my travel speed is 150mm/s instead of 250mm/s.

 

[hreedijk 4]

Can anyone verify if black XT is opaque? I think black T-Glase is translucent, not opaque.

 

Yes it is.....

 

[chrisr 18]

I wonder, does the infill touches the outer shell?

My infill overlap in Cura is set at 18% (not the standard 15%), and my travel speed is 150mm/s instead of 250mm/s.

 

I printed Marvin solid, I left the infill overlap at the default 15%. When I've aborted prints, the infil always seemed to be well connected to the walls, so I donlt think it could be that. Thanks for your help by the way. Maybe I just have a dodgy reel of white XT... :???:

 

[hreedijk 4]

No problem at all.

For the record, I don't have an UM2 but an UMO with modified fans.

When I look closely at the photo, and if it would be my print, I would check my nozzle if it is really clean, check if the diameter set in Cura is the same as measured, and set the fan's at full speed.

 

[chrisr 18]

Thanks Harold. I'll try the atomic clean :-) - I did measure the XT with a vernier before I loaded it and it's pretty much spot on 2.85mm which is the setting I have in Cura. But thanks for the heads up!

I'm using the ZETOFF fan shroud (http://umforum.ultimaker.com/index.php?/topic/8003-fan-base-improvement/) fantastic with PLA, and I saw a considerable improvement (for the UM robot especially around the ears) with PLA prints looking generally just "sharper" around the edges.

But I found that anything above a fan speed of ~40% with it and the head had difficulty holding it's temperature. So I tend to stick with 30% as "full on" I'm wondering whether it's something about white, as I had a lot of trouble printing with UM's white PLA. The silver on the other hand was perfect.... ??

Onwards and upwards (or in my case probably sideways) ;-)

 

[apollott 0]

I just received an XT sample pack and it seems as if the colored XT is really printing a little different. I usually printed at 240-247°C, 0.2mm layers at 50 mm/s and had perfect adhesion to the bed between 70-80°C.

The only thing that really gives me a headache is the retraction, I used the standard settings and the recommended settings from ColorFabb. Usually I get hard spots that haven't melted all the way and stick upwards. When the nozzle passes these areas the entire build platform wobbles and printing on these won't produce a nice print either. I usually printed with 100% fan since that was ok for most of my prints. I was actually able to bridge 40 mm without any problems.

I don't use Cura but Simplify3D instead, don't know if that matters at all.

 

[hreedijk 4]

But I found that anything above a fan speed of ~40% with it and the head had difficulty holding it's temperature. So I tend to stick with 30% as "full on" I'm wondering whether it's something about white, as I had a lot of trouble printing with UM's white PLA. The silver on the other hand was perfect.... ??

 

From my experience, white and red needs more attention to print as for other colors.

Hmmm, so if I'm reading it right the nozzle cools off when the fan speed is higher then 40%, that could be an issue.

The flow direction of the outlets are aimed a bit on the nozzle then.

Did a little test on my UMO just now, when I prime my nozzle at 240C with XT, and blow a fan onto the nozzle, the XT curls upwards and sticks to the nozzle.

I use this fan mount on my UMO for XT:

 

It blows air 30 degrees toward the nozzle and straight down.

Did the same test as above, now with the fan I normally use set at full speed, primed the nozzle again with XT at 240C, it doesn't curl.

 

[hreedijk 4]

I just received an XT sample pack and it seems as if the colored XT is really printing a little different. I usually printed at 240-247°C, 0.2mm layers at 50 mm/s and had perfect adhesion to the bed between 70-80°C.

The only thing that really gives me a headache is the retraction, I used the standard settings and the recommended settings from ColorFabb. Usually I get hard spots that haven't melted all the way and stick upwards. When the nozzle passes these areas the entire build platform wobbles and printing on these won't produce a nice print either. I usually printed with 100% fan since that was ok for most of my prints. I was actually able to bridge 40 mm without any problems.

I don't use Cura but Simplify3D instead, don't know if that matters at all.

 

Adding color to filament changes the material and yes, it prints a little bit different then XT transparent.

If you don't need the fan, switch it off or set as low as possible, your retractions will be better then.

About bridging, I've managed to print a bridge of 120mm during my tests with XT yellow, of course the print settings where tweaked for only that purpose.

Slicer shouldn't make a difference relating to the issue's you have.

 

[umuser 0]

Wow... not just the bet PET mechanical part I've seen, but the best mechanical part of any material.

 

Yes it is.....

 

[hreedijk 4]

thanx, jou just found my ego :rolleyes:

 

[chrisr 18]

I just received an XT sample pack and it seems as if the colored XT is really printing a little different. I usually printed at 240-247°C, 0.2mm layers at 50 mm/s and had perfect adhesion to the bed between 70-80°C.

The only thing that really gives me a headache is the retraction, I used the standard settings and the recommended settings from ColorFabb. Usually I get hard spots that haven't melted all the way and stick upwards. When the nozzle passes these areas the entire build platform wobbles and printing on these won't produce a nice print either. I usually printed with 100% fan since that was ok for most of my prints. I was actually able to bridge 40 mm without any problems.

I don't use Cura but Simplify3D instead, don't know if that matters at all.

 

Yes, that's exactly one of the problems I'm having with white XT. Hard blobs on

the print with the head then thumping into them. Bits then get spread/smeared

around and the plate wobbles when they're hit, which doesn't help the area where the head moves to next. My finger at this point is usually (anxiously) hovering over "abort print" :shock:

My main problems with (white) XT seem to be two. Overhangs and fill.

For fill: anything that isn't either hollow or 100% produces blobs especially on larger areas with percentage fill.

For overhangs: The edges curl up, which then makes the surface rough underneath as the head passes over re-melting the area, pushing it down. It may then smear and spread a new blob somewhere else...

PLA is so much nicer (and forgiving) to print with than this material. :sad:

But. I'm after the improved heat resistance, which is why I'm still struggling on. Although a roll of ABS did arrive in the post today... and I've been eyeing

up Nylons as well... both probably an introduction into a whole new world of pain.

On retraction, I'm using 45mm/s length 4.5mm. I found that above 245c or so the

retraction settings by themselves didn't seem to make a huge difference. They

improved things but didn't get rid of the stringing and blobbing completely.

For stringing and blobbing to minimise, slow and cool helped, but that didn't

get rid of the edge curl I'm always seeing. Fans on or not.

I'm starting to wonder whether the clear (transparent) XT may be easier to print

with than coloured versions. If that's so, then it's a step in the right direction. I've had problems with white before. Could it be that particular dye?

I think the "sweet spot" for white XT may perhaps be very narrow for it to print nicely. Trouble being, I haven't found what those settings are. But I suspect they are very fine, and may be unique to each particular print?

Now if someone can come up with the ease of PLA printing but with a material which has a much higher heat tolerance... :wink: