ColorFabbs new WOODFILL PLA ... hehehe :-)

[ian 32]

this material is really top of my LOVE PLA LIST at the moment.. its a bit of a hard cow to get moving but when it does... MUHHHH ! :-)

Thanks a million for the tips... im going to have to drill out one my nozzles again ;-) and do the next tests tonight..

I spotted the photo of Big Ben in woodfill and i just fell in love with it.... but i wonder could i make an irish version... BIG PADDY ? LOL

Ian :-)

 

[printedsolid 3]

Finally got in some spare nozzles so I could drill out to 0.8mm.

For the right print, an 0.8mm nozzle is pretty awesome. It just goes so fast!

I really loved printing with the fine. Like Ian, I also fought with some clogging, but the material is just so good, that it's worth the battle. Looking back, I had no trouble on my first prints, but let the material sit in the nozzle overnight after the first prints. So, I'm guessing that was probably the issue.

The coarse is pretty awesome as well, and with the 0.8mm presents no clogging issue.

I've been printing up a ton of these letter bowls as gifts for xmas. This one will be filled with candy and given to my daughter's preschool teacher. Layer height on this is a super chunky 0.4mm, but the grain of the wood actually hides it pretty well until you get really close. Source files for my letter bowls are here: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:117513

(I know, I know, I'll get over to youmagine eventually)

 

[sigi 0]

I'd like to bring this topic back to discussion.

Has someone got more experiences with printing colorFabb's WoodFill on a UM2?

Is the WoodFill fine working with the 0.4 nozzle of UM2 or is it necessary to change to a 0.8 nozzle?

I did two testprints with laywoo-d3 but always got a clog.

The first print was done with 0.1 mm layer height (what is too little) and maybe too high printing temperature. For the second print i went up to 0.25 mm layer height and only 205 °C. This time the print started good however after the first 3 or 4 layer I got a clog again.

Sigi

 

[jamboy 0]

Hi Sigi,

i ordered a roll of Woodfill. I will give u a feedback, when it's here.

 

[xeno 108]

My experience is that it prints better at higher temps, I use 230°C, with 0.4 layer height and 0.8 nozzle.

at lower temps it works the first few layers, but after a few layers it starts to go bad.

 

[sigi 0]

My experience is that it prints better at higher temps, I use 230°C, with 0.4 layer height and 0.8 nozzle.

at lower temps it works the first few layers, but after a few layers it starts to go bad.

 

Xeno, you're talking about colorFabb's WoodFill fine?

On their web webpage they're writing that the 'fine' version should also work with a 0,8 nozzle.

 

[SandervG 1,521]

My experience is that it prints better at higher temps, I use 230°C, with 0.4 layer height and 0.8 nozzle.

at lower temps it works the first few layers, but after a few layers it starts to go bad.

 

I will try that.

I haven't yet been very successful.

Also haven't had a lot of time yet to try and in that short period of time mainly focused on the recommended settings (low temp). (except .8 nozzle, I want it to run on regular .4)

 

[printedsolid 3]

I've had a lot of success running the coarse with a 0.8mm nozzle around 220C with layer heights varying between 0.5mm and 0.2mm. I've actually gone through an entire spool with no clogs.

Likewise, with the fine and a 0.8mm nozzle at 215-220, I've had no problems, but haven't run nearly as much.

Like Xeno (assuming he's talking about woodfill and not laywood) I've found the fine with a 0.4mm nozzle seems to be doing better at higher temps (230-235), but was always able to get a single good print after each nozzle cleaning.

After talking with Gijs at colorFabb I believe that leaving that letting the woodfill sit in the nozzle between prints, particularly through the warm up while I'm messing around with the files and getting ready to start, may have resulted in some material drying out in the nozzle. Since then, I've started pushing a little plain PLA through the nozzle after each print to make sure I'm starting clean. I haven't really tried much with 0.4mm since switching to the 0.8mm nozzle because the 0.8 works so well. I love the increased speed and strength. With the grain of the woodfill, you don't really miss the resolution. I've even started using it for most of my regular PLA/PHA prints.

 

[xeno 108]

 

 

After talking with Gijs at colorFabb I believe that leaving that letting the woodfill sit in the nozzle between prints, particularly through the warm up while I'm messing around with the files and getting ready to start, may have resulted in some material drying out in the nozzle. Since then, I've started pushing a little plain PLA through the nozzle after each print to make sure I'm starting clean.

 

Yes I always start the warmup with other PLA, then switch to the Woodfill, and at the end switch back to another PLA,

it clogs the nozzle very easy.

 

[sigi 0]

jamboy, Xeno, Sander, PrintedSolid: Thanks for all this detailed information.

This convinced me to also order a reel of this filament and do some testing.

 

Sander, is there a plan to offer replacement nozzles for UM2? Maybe also a 0,8 version (however it's possible to tweek a 0,4 version to become a 0,8 version)?

 

Sigi

 

[ian 32]

Sigi... buy yourself an extra ultimaker2 nozzle from ultimaker.. then get a .8mm drill bit.... then from the inside. slowly with a straight hand down... drill out the whole.... the metal is actually quite soft and easily drills out... just remember slow... and straight down and dont do this from the outside pointed side... if you move your hand you will distroy your opening...

it took me the best part of 20 seconds to create a .8mm nozzle :-)

Ian

 

[3d-magic 0]

buy yourself an extra ultimaker2 nozzle from ultimaker..

 

Ian, the nozzle which they sell in the Ultimaker store, is it compatible with the UM2 or just suitable for the original? I do not see a nozzle specific for the UM2...

 

[codemaven 0]

How do people change their nozzles on the UM1? I've never managed to change a nozzle once it's been used... I've destroyed 2 in the past trying to get them off. This past weekend I was trying to take my nozzle off to clean it but it wouldn't budge... I heated it to 220 initially and then bumped it up to 250 and tried for over an hour with pliers and wrenches and it just wouldn't move... I just managed to round off the corners of the hex part of the nozzle in trying to turn it.... And yes, I was turning the right way.

In the past I've broken the PEEK and sheered the brass insert tube trying to take a nozzle off for the dual extrusion upgrade... Similarly, I broke my first nozzle when I was trying to replace it with the v2 upgrade.

It seems that the brass parts expand and weld / corrode together after use. I think I need to replace my main nozzle now because I'm just not getting proper extrusion from it anymore... But I've not been able to remove it and now I think I might have to resort to a Dremel grinding wheel to remove it. I've started printing everything using my second (duel) extruder by manually putting a T1 in the g-code before printing.

Regards,

Troy.

 

[xeno 108]

The best way to drill the .8mm nozzle is to go in steps, first 0.6mm then the 0.8mm, less chance of damaging the point of the nozzle

 

[gr5 2,171]

first 0.6mm then the 0.8mm, le

 

A .6mm drill bit is MUCH smaller than a .8mm drill bit and easy to snap off inside the nozzle. Be verycareful and steady. Use a jig if you can instead of your hands so that a little vibration in your hands won't snap the drill bit.

 

[gr5 2,171]

This past weekend I was trying to take my nozzle off to clean it but it wouldn't budge... I heated it to 220 initially and then bumped it up to 250 and tried for over an hour with pliers and wrenches and it just wouldn't move..

 

Sorry to hear this. I swap out a .4mm nozzle and a .65mm nozzle all the time. I only finger tighten it when I put it back together. I always do this at 180C. Never hotter as PLA can kind of boil or something and get extra gunky/sticky.

When I say finger tighten - I mean I wear thin cotton gloves and don't tighten it very hard at all.

I've only ever used PLA filament (and PLA with stone powder) but I can imagine that if you have used ABS even only once it might make it impossible to ever get that nozzle off again.

You can clean the nozzle without taking it off. Get some hypodermic or accupuncture needles that are less than .4mm in diameter but as large as possible. Then follow these directions but modify for UM1 as needed:

http://umforum.ultimaker.com/index.php?/topic/4118-blocked-nozzle/?p=33691

 

[sigi 0]

Is the nozzle in an UM2 the same as the one in UM Original?

 

[jamboy 0]

Hi Sigi,

unfortuanetly not.

At the moment it is not possible to order one over the webshop. But propably over the support of Ultimaker.

 

[jameshs 42]

How do people change their nozzles on the UM1?

 

I have done a little video on nozzle change

 

I probably change the nozzle three or 4 times a week.

I think the key is to warm up and then use a ring spanner - no chance to slip.

I also warm up before I put one back in finger tight for a few turns on the cold nozzle, then when it has picked up the head temp I finger tighten it with the spanner.

When I drilled out my nozzle I screwed it into a piece of MDV tight so it was flat and flush with the MDF and then drilled using a pillar drill and a 'pin' vice for the 0.65 drill. - It is very small and prone to breaking, but steady as she goes and it worked

The noodle looks way bigger than .65 as I think the plastic expands on extrusion.

I also play with different nozzle sizes in cura - more often than not telling it that it is a 0.6mm as that seems to produce more consistent layers for me.

James

 

[jamboy 0]

At the moment i'm making the first test with Woodfill fine and a UM2 with 0,4 mm nozzle.

It's really smelling nice

These settings seems to be nice:

0,27 mm Layer height

50mm / s speed

228° Temp (i have everytime the feeling that you need 10-20°C more than on the UM1 or other printers because of the small nozzle / heating area)

8s layer time

Fans 100%

Heated bed off + some glue stick applied (without its not working on the cold glass, but probably working on blue tape)

Retraction currently not testet.

For Woodfill i needed to relevel the UM2 to 0,2mm. (2 papers)

 

At the first layers i had some underextrussion because of the low temp (205°C recommended.

Also it is not possible to change the color, when you go up to 260° C

 

 

 

 

 

 

[aaronalai 2]

I love the idea of using a 3d printer to print a block of wood!!

 

[gr5 2,171]

The noodle looks way bigger than .65 as I think the plastic expands on extrusion.

 

Yes! This is true of the .4mm nozzle also. They extrude a larger "noodle" than their diameters. At least it appears to be the case.

 

[illuminarti 18]

The expansion is called 'die swell', and it's due to the relaxing of elastic forces in the plastic before it solidifies. (He said, as if he knew anything about it - actually, I'm mostly just repeating what someone else said over on the Qu-BD forums).

 

[sigi 0]

Two days ago I now also received a spool of colorFabb WoodFill 'FINE' (the one that is working with a 0,4 mm nozzle).

The very first impression after a first print: This material is wonderful!

 

However it's not that easy to print as standard PLA.

 

Here are some findings I learned during the first two evenings working with this material:

 

- I first tried to print with a heated bed. That doesn't make sense as WoodFill will not stick better to a heated bed. Set the temperature of the bed to 0°C.

- Printing on the glass plate without any glue doesn't work. Therefore use the UM2 bundled glue stick.

- Layer height: 0,27 mm

- Shell thickness: 0,8 mm

- Initial layer Thickness: 0,3 mm

- Enable retraction: off

I didn't test retraction with WoodFill, I think retraction might be a reason for getting nozzle clogs with Woodfill as the material gets in and out of the nozzle. For my understanding a constant material flow makes more sense to avoid nozzle clogs. It's not a big issue, as the excess material can be easily cut by a knife.

- Bottom/top thickness: 0,8 mm

- Fill Density: 20 %

- Print speed: 60 mm/s

- Nozzle temp: 230 °C

 

At the very beginning I got the problem, that the filament didn't stick as expected to the bed. I never have an issue with standard PLA, therefore I think it's not a bed leveling issue. Maybe this is caused by the 'fluffy' characteristic of WoodFill. I started experimenting with the material flow for the first layer.

It turned out, that increasing the material flow just for the first layer (by using the TUNE menu on UM2) solves this issue. I used values between 120 - 140% for the first layer. I think the exact value depends on how exact the bed is leveled.

 

One word to nozzle clogs: Until now (ok, I'm using this printer only for a few weeks now) I never got a nozzle clog. I changed filament nearly on a daily base, using different vendors. I never printed with temperatures higher than 230°C. The last two days when using WoodFill I always ended the printing session in the evening by changing back to PLA and extruding this until no leftovers of WoodFill were visible. This can be very easily checked by using white PLA.

 

I already showed some pictures of WoodFill printed objects in the "Post your latest print!" thread. However to round this post out, next two pictures of what's possible with colorFabb Woodfill:

 

It's definitely worth to try!

An awesome material! :-P :-P :-P

 

 

[3d-magic 0]

Hi Sigi, thanks for your post! Yesterday I also received the Colorfabb Woodfill 'Fine', so I will give it a go tonight. I will start with your advised settings. :-)