problem printing colorfabb PLA

[braddock 1]

Hey guys, so... I wanted to try the spool of while colorfabb PLA I bought a few weeks ago. It's been sealed up until today.

I just cannot get it to print, at first, I thought I was just having a bad day of under extrusion issues, but as a last resort, I switched back to old faithful orange ultimaker PLA, and there's no under extrusion.,

Check out the pics, am I missing something?

ultimaker orange PLA

colorfabb white

 

 

[Dim3nsioneer 557]

I found the Colorfabb filament to be quite temperature-sensitive. At what temperature did you print it?

Did you check the diameter and adjust it in Cura? I remember Colorfabb filament to be thinner than other filament I have.

 

[xeno 108]

I also noticed the problems with the white Colorfabb PLA, and it just needs higher temperatures then regular PLA,

Try 220C and higher to get better results, it worked for me.

 

[braddock 1]

I tried upping the temp as it went, all the way up to 240 and it made no difference.

As far as I can tell with my regular calipers, it's the same as Ultimaker PLA, a shade under 3mm, probably 2.85mm

 

[braddock 1]

I found the Colorfabb filament to be quite temperature-sensitive. At what temperature did you print it?

Did you check the diameter and adjust it in Cura? I remember Colorfabb filament to be thinner than other filament I have.

 

where is the diameter setting in cura? all I see is the nozzle size.

 

[Dim3nsioneer 557]

where is the diameter setting in cura? all I see is the nozzle size.

 

at the bottom of the basic settings tab

 

[3dcase 37]

Hi.

Running a UM2 might give you a different layout but for Um org. it is in the basic tab at the bottom left.

It's easier to turn up the Flow on the ulticontroller and see what happens. If It is a UM1.

 

[Dim3nsioneer 557]

Hi.

Running a UM2 might give you a different layout but for Um org. it is in the basic tab at the bottom left.

It's easier to turn up the Flow on the ulticontroller and see what happens. If It is a UM1.

 

It's correct. There is no filament diameter for an UM2. You would have to switch the GCODE flavor to RepRap.

Edit: I was only referring to Cura...

 

[IRobertI 520]

where is the diameter setting in cura? all I see is the nozzle size.

 

On the UM2 you set your filament diameter (as well as temperatures) in the Material menu on the printer. You can save up to three (I think) custom profiles if you don't want to edit the standard "PLA" preset.

 

[shurik 87]

I also had noticed that Colorfabb White doesn't stick as good as UM Blue, giving the same mess as you get, at a times.

The solution for me, at least, is to wipe the glass with a window cleaner-wet cloth until the glass is dry and, well, clean. Works like a charm.

 

[nallath 1,120]

Colorfab PLA has some additives, it's temperature profile is quite different. The stuff they sold at the beginning needed lower temperatures as it was rather stringy.

 

[foehnsturm 969]

@nallath

Interesting, does that mean, they changed the composition over time?

I have some early Colorfabb stuff which was stringy like hell. Impossible to use for parts with heavy retraction until I switched to a different hotend with a smaller hot zone (Merlin).

 

[Dim3nsioneer 557]

What time range are we talking of by 'early' or 'at the beginning'?

 

[nallath 1,120]

I wouldn't exactly know when they changed it. I do know that they are still experimenting with different additives and compositions.

But there has been very little innovation in the area of PLA for printers. UM has only recently started research in that area, mostly due to the difficulties in actually finding people with the right knowhow (as it turns out, chemists are rare ).

 

[colorfabb 3]

Check out the pics, am I missing something?

 

Hi Braddock,

Have you had any luck printing with our material yet? Can you tell me a little about printing temperature? Layerheight and speed that you are using? Also PM me your address so we can replace your spool with our new and better quality filament.

I really like the projects that you are working on with you Ultimaker, stunning results!

To clear a few things up:

- yes colorFabb has switched it's base PLA material, somewhere near november / december 2013. The processing window of the first type of PLA we used was quite small, so we switched to a PLA type that is easier to work with. Less stringing and similar to other types of PLA that are used for 3d printing.

- we haven't made any changes to our master batches (color)

- we still add PHA to the mix, resulting in a tougher filament.

- we have made changes in production which I can't say much about, but the result is a much better homogeneous base material

 

[braddock 1]

Thanks for the reply and feedback.

I've not attempted to use the filament again since.

Layer height was 0.06mm, speed was 40mm /s and temperature started at 220, but in my attempt to get things going, I tried upping it to 250 I think, which didn't help.

I switched back to the orange you see above, and things were normal.

Cheers,

Paul.

 

[yellowshark 153]

Dutch orange is my favourite filament, it lays down so well. If I have a problem with a filament I will load Dutch orange to check whether the problem is with the filament or the printer.

I would run Colorfabb with .06 at 40m/s at no more than 210, quite possibly 200-205 - no idea about a UM2 though.

 

[braddock 1]

I just recieved a replacement spool from Colorfabb! Big thanks for the quick response and service! I'll it tonight.

 

 

[DidierKlein 729]

I received some PLA from colorfabb this weekend. Fluorescent Pink, Chocolate Brown and Black.

I've only tested the pink and Black.

Correct me if i'm wrong:

It's seems that the temperature must be not to high? I had good results at around 200°c - 210°c.

The bed temp of 60°c seems to high also as the bottom of the piece seems to melt a bit. I tried 50°c but i had some sticking to the glass issues. 55°c seems to be better.

I don't think i found the correct settings for the moment but overall i like the quality of the filament, it also seems to be better for post-processing. If you cut a bit the color stays more uniform i think.

 

[Dim3nsioneer 557]

I found that 200°C for 50mm/s is ok on my UM1 for Colorfabb PLA/PHA. This is a setting which is actually a bit too cool and hardly works (I have to artificially increase the flow). However, if I go above that temperature, I immediately get very strong stringing. I have to mention that my Colorfabb material is from last year; I think the changes the mixtures in the meantime.

Personally, I prefer pure PLA without the admixture of PHA.

 

[braddock 1]

Guys, The replacement spool from colorfabb is fine, I've been getting perfect prints with it at 220

Thanks for the replies.

 

 

[shurik 87]

OK, let me continue this topic.

It's the 4th time my Colorfabb White bought somewhere in February fails midnight. Let the pictures talk.

Failed at almost the same point I left it at the evening:

Left: simply pulled the grinded end out of the extruder. Right: Pulled out effortlessly out of the printhead.

Printhead:

 

You can probably see that the head albeit unblocked, is covered with some darkish ooze. Sometimes, it is transparent clear. There's also bad smell of burnt stuff, which is not surprising.

 

Right now, the other end of the filament is firmly stuck in the extruder and I wasn't able to remove it so far. That will be solved, of course, with due amounts of brutal force.

It only happens with the Colorfabb White XL I have, maybe, because I use it the most. UM Blue never gave me this trouble. There's the chance it's not the filament but no idea what then.

Why does it happen? What is the reason for this and how it can be prevented?

UM2, 220C, 0.06mm, 50mm/s, nothing special.

 

[Nicolinux 288]

Did you measure the filament diameter? Also make sure your nozzle is clear and there is no partial blockage.

 

[braddock 1]

What caused the grind?, are you printing retractions? if so, make sure your bowden tube is seated all the way into the white coupler that feeds into the nozzle and make sure there's no play, can't pull out at all.

 

 

[yellowshark 153]

I had as similar occurrence about a month ago, in terms of under extrusion and filament sticking in the extruder assembly that I could not solve – learned quite a lot that week!

I even went to the extent of removing my entire extruder #2 extruder and Bowden tube assembly and swapped it into extruder #1. No change.

Finally I thought well the only thing I have not done is change the filament. No need of course because I had Colorfabb Dutch orange loaded, my benchmark filament. Anyway I took it out and started to feed it into the Bowden tube I had removed – and it started to stick. I took some measurements, which I always find difficult to get exact but I had lots of 2.95+s and some 3.00+s.

I emailed Colorfabb with all the details and a week later I had a replacement reel.

So do carefully check your filament.

(the replacement reel is fine )J