AMA: Oct 31st | Owens Corning - XSTRAND™

[Brulti 177]

Have you tested your materials in very extreme conditions, ie antarctic-style weather for example?

[Brulti 177]

8 minutes ago, AD_XSTRAND_OC said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That reminds of the fabric dice holders some of my friends use when we do our RPGs. Too bad this one could probably crack a window if I threw it against one... ?

Edited October 31, 2018 by Brulti

[AD_XSTRAND_OC 21]

On ‎10‎/‎29‎/‎2018 at 2:52 PM, Nicolinux said:

How does the addition of glass fibers increase strength (physically)?

The most important factor is to have a perfect adhesion of the glass with the matrix. This is the role of the chemistry that is added to the glass surface. This will provide a strength increase. If adhesion is poor, it will act as a defect in the material and the risk to have crack propagation will increase

[EVQT_XSTRAND_OC 11]

4 minutes ago, Brulti said:

Have you tested your materials in very extreme conditions, ie antarctic-style weather for example?

We have a close relationship with ROSSIGNOL, a famous French ski-slope outerwear and equipment manufacturer that help us to develop and optimize our materials during the development phase last year. They did test GF30-PP in cold room up to -20°C and it passed all the test. Check the case study clicking the following link : 

 

[SandervG 1,521]

14 minutes ago, AD_XSTRAND_OC said:

 

@AD_XSTRAND_OC , can you tell a little bit more about this model? Sure doesn't look like the XSTRAND prints I've seen ?

[kmanstudios 1,120]

How do you select from a spun fibre running throughout the filament vs an assortment of pieces peppered throughout the filament matrix?

 

[EVQT_XSTRAND_OC 11]

1 hour ago, JohnInOttawa said:

One question I have about this, and other new, exotic (my term) filaments centers on the high cost of trying it out.  The only way I can access most filaments here in Canada is to buy the smallest retail roll, which is too much for a trial and has a high risk of being wasted if I don't store it properly or it sits too long before I have a project big enough to consume the whole roll. 

 

This creates a bit of a vicious cycle - I won't quote on a job using filament I'm not sure will work for me, and I can't justify the cost of buying filament to try out unless I have work for the amount I plan to buy.

 

How about a half-retail size (or something like that) trial roll or coil so we can get used to the filament?

Thanks for arranging this AMA!

John

 

XSTRAND materials have the strength and characteristics to set the bar at a much higher level than before, while keeping an excellent printing capability and part quality, justifying a premium price.

GF30-PP is not sensitive to moisture, so it can be reused directly from the shelf. Only GF30-PA6 or Nylon must be re-dried before printing if the material as been exposed outside from its original sealed bag. It is a reversible process that doesn’t affect the material performance. There is no risk to damage or waste the product.

 

[AD_XSTRAND_OC 21]

1 minute ago, SandervG said:

 

@AD_XSTRAND_OC , can you tell a little bit more about this model? Sure doesn't look like the XSTRAND prints I've seen ?

good question. This is a custom mirror housing for a corvette that was designed by Pratt & Miller to use on their racing vehicles. We then had a company called Tru Designs apply a special coating to it.

[Brulti 177]

How long is the whole process of creating a new material, from the idea to testing to the actual product being sold?

Do you run computer simulations being doing actual testing?

How many different iteration of a material do you go through during testing before you find the right mix to achieve whatever objective you had for a material?

[SandervG 1,521]

2 minutes ago, AD_XSTRAND_OC said:

good question. This is a custom mirror housing for a corvette that was designed by Pratt & Miller to use on their racing vehicles. We then had a company called Tru Designs apply a special coating to it.

 

1

Wow, that is pretty amazing! Was it eventually used as an end use part, in the race or just as a prototype? Do you know if they also sanded the model before coating it? I know XSTRAND has a bit of a rougher texture, which can be great depending on your use but since it is so strong, I wonder what they used to sand the surface (if they did). 

[JohnInOttawa 104]

5 minutes ago, EVQT_XSTRAND_OC said:

 

XSTRAND materials have the strength and characteristics to set the bar at a much higher level than before, while keeping an excellent printing capability and part quality, justifying a premium price.

GF30-PP is not sensitive to moisture, so it can be reused directly from the shelf. Only GF30-PA6 or Nylon must be re-dried before printing if the material as been exposed outside from its original sealed bag. It is a reversible process that doesn’t affect the material performance. There is no risk to damage or waste the product.

 

Thanks for your reply.  To be clear, I don't have a problem with the premium price.  It's just an entry barrier to evaluation. 

It might help to understand that there are many, many products that have come out lately with pretty impressive claims.  It's simply impossible to justify buying a full roll of all of them. 

 

I would like to clarify though, is there a shelf life to the GF30-PA6?

Thanks

John

[EVQT_XSTRAND_OC 11]

6 minutes ago, kmanstudios said:

How do you select from a spun fibre running throughout the filament vs an assortment of pieces peppered throughout the filament matrix?

 

 

The most important factor is to have a perfect adhesion of the glass with the matrix. This is the role of the chemistry that is added to the glass surface. This will provide a strength increase. If adhesion is poor, it will act as a defect in the material and the risk to have crack propagation will increase.

 

 

[kmanstudios 1,120]

1 minute ago, EVQT_XSTRAND_OC said:

 

The most important factor is to have a perfect adhesion of the glass with the matrix. This is the role of the chemistry that is added to the glass surface. This will provide a strength increase. If adhesion is poor, it will act as a defect in the material and the risk to have crack propagation will increase.

 

 

While I understand that aspect of things, what is your determination of sun fibre through the length of the filament vs pieces. The adhesion would be the same issue in both cases, yes? Whereas, in thought a spun fibre running the length could provide a more lasting part. But this is just conjecture, but I am sure I am not the only one who has thought of this.

[AD_XSTRAND_OC 21]

2 hours ago, JohnInOttawa said:

One question I have about this, and other new, exotic (my term) filaments centers on the high cost of trying it out.  The only way I can access most filaments here in Canada is to buy the smallest retail roll, which is too much for a trial and has a high risk of being wasted if I don't store it properly or it sits too long before I have a project big enough to consume the whole roll. 

 

This creates a bit of a vicious cycle - I won't quote on a job using filament I'm not sure will work for me, and I can't justify the cost of buying filament to try out unless I have work for the amount I plan to buy.

 

How about a half-retail size (or something like that) trial roll or coil so we can get used to the filament?

Thanks for arranging this AMA!

John

John, we do have 50 Gram samples. I believe Emmanuel can go into more detail into about acquiring them. Would 50 grams be enough or are you thinking more?

[valcrow 144]

Have you tried the various support materials offered by Ultimaker on your materials? Does PVA or Breakaway supports work?

[SandervG 1,521]

I will also add a few questions that came in via different channels. Did you experiment if annealing has any effect on prints made with XSTRAND?

[AD_XSTRAND_OC 21]

1 minute ago, valcrow said:

Have you tried the various support materials offered by Ultimaker on your materials? Does PVA or Breakaway supports work?

For the PA6 Xstrand you can use the PVA or breakaway supports and even HIPS.

[SandervG 1,521]

Have you made any 3D prints with XSTRAND yourself where the properties of XSTRAND were an important factor?

[rajilpahuja 38]

1 minute ago, SandervG said:

I will also add a few questions that came in via different channels. Did you experiment if annealing has any effect on prints made with XSTRAND?

I did a annealing on the PA6GF30, and the result was really nice, the parts become a bit stiffer and stronger ?

[AD_XSTRAND_OC 21]

Just now, AD_XSTRAND_OC said:

For the PA6 Xstrand you can use the PVA or breakaway supports and even HIPS.

For the PP Xstrand I prefer to use PPxstrand as the supports for best results. Set gap between the top support layer and the bottow layer part to 0.10-0.15mm

 

[valcrow 144]

I know there's a lot of properties and factors involved, but in your mind, what is the main factors that would make you choose GFPA6 over GFPP or vice versa?

[AD_XSTRAND_OC 21]

Just now, rajilpahuja said:

I did a annealing on the PA6GF30, and the result was really nice, the parts become a bit stiffer and stronger ?

we have not officially completed annealing testing however I would agree that in personal experience annealing will make a noticeable difference which is true for most 3d printed parts.

[EVQT_XSTRAND_OC 11]

3 minutes ago, Brulti said:

How long is the whole process of creating a new material, from the idea to testing to the actual product being sold?

Do you run computer simulations being doing actual testing?

How many different iteration of a material do you go through during testing before you find the right mix to achieve whatever objective you had for a material?

A new material development requires about 6 to 9 months.

 

We are not using computer simulation for now.

 

XSTRAND filament is a combination of polymer, fiberglass and additives mixed all together to ensure the right material viscosity for a perfect printability, a good processability ( filament manufacturing ) while maximizing the mechanical and thermal performances. All of this requires a lot of iterations and experiments.

[AD_XSTRAND_OC 21]

3 minutes ago, SandervG said:

Have you made any 3D prints with XSTRAND yourself where the properties of XSTRAND were an important factor?

My main role within Owens Corning is to produce line trial prototypes, fixtures, replacement parts, etc within our own manufacturing plants. Because of our line of work the ambient temperature in areas of the plant are elevated where PLA or ABS wouldn't work. Strength is also very important when it comes to testing line trial prototypes.

[EVQT_XSTRAND_OC 11]

16 minutes ago, kmanstudios said:

While I understand that aspect of things, what is your determination of sun fibre through the length of the filament vs pieces. The adhesion would be the same issue in both cases, yes? Whereas, in thought a spun fibre running the length could provide a more lasting part. But this is just conjecture, but I am sure I am not the only one who has thought of this.

A continuous fiber will provide higher strength and stiffness than a short fiber, allowing for printing semi structural to structural parts.