NGEN Clear Copolyester

[tojiero 8]

Does anybody have any tips on printing with Colorfabb NGEN Clear? I can not get it anywhere near transparent. My prints are always of a totally opaque frosted appearance.

[ahoeben 1,852]

Have you read this? https://colorfabb.com/let-s-make-something-clear

 

The material referenced there is slightly different, but most of the tips regarding printing carry over.

[geert_2 556]

Not NGEN, but for other similar products (PET): I have to print them very slow, in very thin layers, and around the lower edge of their temp-range, in order to get them reasonably transparent. After printing, sand and polish to remove layer lines.

 

It is the entrapped air in-between the sausages that causes the whiteness, due to reflections and diffractions. Like sugar crystals look white, although they are transparent.

 

If sitting in the nozzle for too long, due to the slow printing speed and thin layers, PET starts to decompose and discolor brownish. So, lower temp to minimise this effect.

 

Make a simple test block like this below, and print it with various settings.

 

Top row: speed 50mm/s, bottom row 10mm/s.

 

Layer thickness from left to right (out of a standard 0.4mm nozzle), both rows: 0.40mm, 0.30mm, 0.20mm, 0.10mm, 0.06mm.

 

 

 

At 0.06mm and 10mm/s: left as printed, and right after sanding and polishing a bit.

 

The model: 20mm x 10mm x 10mm, with floating watermark halfway (text caps height 3.5mm, legs 0.5mm, thickness 1mm):

 

Printed in 0.40mm layers:

 

 

Edited March 9, 2021 by geert_2
Corrected typos

[tojiero 8]

Thanks for the info.  I've been reading around and printing small test blocks for the last couple of days. So many variables to frustrate ! I'm using Cura, and to be honest I find the interface and presentation of variables poorly defined and very clumsy indeed.