I just got extremely good prints with eSUN clear ePC (0.25 mm nozzle, 2800mm/min,PEI bed@100C). This seems to be a great material for precise drawing/small working parts. No warping at all, great strength.
However, for general use I would prefer something with color.The only colored PC material with some credibility I found was from gizmodorks. Too few reviews to get idea... Any recommendations ?
any recommendation for colored polycarbonate ?
Re: any recommendation for colored polycarbonate ?
Epc isnt straight polycarb. Its a propriatary blend to tame pc to make it printable. Regular pc that you may find around will not have the properties of the epc. Pc warps something fierce to the point of it being mostly unprintable. Unless you find another company who has produced a blend like that then i would stay away.
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willnewton
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Re: any recommendation for colored polycarbonate
I found this. http://www.polymaker.com/shop/polymaker-pc-plus/. No experience with it though.
It seems like William at intservo.com told me at one time eSun was working on black and white ePC. After doing some looking on the Internet, it makes me wonder if the ePC is a polycarbonate/ABS blend for easier printing. It really prints well.
Some interesting testing with PC filament as it relates to the moisture-absorbing properties here. http://www.protoparadigm.com/news-updat ... carbonate/
It seems like William at intservo.com told me at one time eSun was working on black and white ePC. After doing some looking on the Internet, it makes me wonder if the ePC is a polycarbonate/ABS blend for easier printing. It really prints well.
Some interesting testing with PC filament as it relates to the moisture-absorbing properties here. http://www.protoparadigm.com/news-updat ... carbonate/
I'm finally back to where I started two days ago!
A thread with some stuff in it I update every once in a while. viewtopic.php?f=8&t=9
See some of my stuff http://www.thingiverse.com/willnewton/favorites
A thread with some stuff in it I update every once in a while. viewtopic.php?f=8&t=9
See some of my stuff http://www.thingiverse.com/willnewton/favorites
Re: any recommendation for colored polycarbonate ?
A-ha! Polymaker PC has some nice reviews - will try to get one.
Re: any recommendation for colored polycarbonate ?
I've used almost a full spool of PC-plus and am about to order a 2nd.
I'm not usually one for following instructions, and this bit me in the ass with the pc-plus. When they say print on a raft, they mean it. You "have to" print on build tak, and while theres little warping issues, there is however MAJOR issues with getting the print to release. I obliterated the sheet of buildtak within a few prints. My next plan of attack is to adhere the buildtak to a sheet of PEI and clip it down, that way I can remove it and flex it to pop the prints off. Another idea I had was to get some sprint steel and adhere the buildtak to that. I had a bit of issues with large parts pulling up at the front edge of the machine, which I attributed to it being the corner most exposed to ambient cooling since the printer is parked in an inside corner wall. I made a makeshift enclosure with posterboard and cardboard and that seemed to prevent warping while containing some of the heat.
Either way, this stuff is worth the pain in the ass, as its very strong, and very light. Most people that checked out my 95% infill parts thought they were hollow!
I'm not usually one for following instructions, and this bit me in the ass with the pc-plus. When they say print on a raft, they mean it. You "have to" print on build tak, and while theres little warping issues, there is however MAJOR issues with getting the print to release. I obliterated the sheet of buildtak within a few prints. My next plan of attack is to adhere the buildtak to a sheet of PEI and clip it down, that way I can remove it and flex it to pop the prints off. Another idea I had was to get some sprint steel and adhere the buildtak to that. I had a bit of issues with large parts pulling up at the front edge of the machine, which I attributed to it being the corner most exposed to ambient cooling since the printer is parked in an inside corner wall. I made a makeshift enclosure with posterboard and cardboard and that seemed to prevent warping while containing some of the heat.
Either way, this stuff is worth the pain in the ass, as its very strong, and very light. Most people that checked out my 95% infill parts thought they were hollow!
Re: any recommendation for colored polycarbonate ?
A similar discussion about PC-Plus is goin on in the "a stronger material" thread.
Farr0wn3d, I'm about to finish my first spool of PC-Plus too and like it very much. I'm finding it to be a harder material, although it seems to curl worse than ePC. My wholly uneducated speculation is that whatever chemical is added to polycarbonate to make it more printable, more is added in the case of ePC than PC-Plus, meaning PC-Plus seems closer to pure polycarbonate. Some parts I just printed make a wonderful "clank" sound when I touch them to each other. Not something I've heard with other materials, and I like it.
I'm having a somewhat different experience with adhesion though. I've had some good luck printing on Zebra Plate at with the bed temperature at 100C and I never use raft for anything, but larger parts need a lot of brim (12 outlines), and even then they sometimes curl up. Still, I have a whole bunch of good PC-Plus prints with the Zebra Plate.
I've heard that it can be a pain getting parts to release from BuildTak and you're confirming that. I think the BuildTak on PEI idea is great. I'm going to do the same thing but I'll use my Zebra Plate as the flexible substrate (the Zebra is getting old and needs replacement anyway), and I'll order a new Zebra which I'll dedicate to PLA etc. So the Zebra with BuildTak will be dedicated to polycarboante, assuming it goes as planned. And it will be nice printing without the brim.
One thing though, I'm finding the print actually warps the Zebra into a saddle shape (when it's sticking well), so I've had to start putting binder clips along the long edges of the plate to keep the thing flat. I use something other than binder clips on main four corners, but even with binder clips it would be doing this. Seems like it would happen with PEI too.
~Justine
Farr0wn3d, I'm about to finish my first spool of PC-Plus too and like it very much. I'm finding it to be a harder material, although it seems to curl worse than ePC. My wholly uneducated speculation is that whatever chemical is added to polycarbonate to make it more printable, more is added in the case of ePC than PC-Plus, meaning PC-Plus seems closer to pure polycarbonate. Some parts I just printed make a wonderful "clank" sound when I touch them to each other. Not something I've heard with other materials, and I like it.
I'm having a somewhat different experience with adhesion though. I've had some good luck printing on Zebra Plate at with the bed temperature at 100C and I never use raft for anything, but larger parts need a lot of brim (12 outlines), and even then they sometimes curl up. Still, I have a whole bunch of good PC-Plus prints with the Zebra Plate.
I've heard that it can be a pain getting parts to release from BuildTak and you're confirming that. I think the BuildTak on PEI idea is great. I'm going to do the same thing but I'll use my Zebra Plate as the flexible substrate (the Zebra is getting old and needs replacement anyway), and I'll order a new Zebra which I'll dedicate to PLA etc. So the Zebra with BuildTak will be dedicated to polycarboante, assuming it goes as planned. And it will be nice printing without the brim.
One thing though, I'm finding the print actually warps the Zebra into a saddle shape (when it's sticking well), so I've had to start putting binder clips along the long edges of the plate to keep the thing flat. I use something other than binder clips on main four corners, but even with binder clips it would be doing this. Seems like it would happen with PEI too.
~Justine
Re: any recommendation for colored polycarbonate ?
Justine, I opted for larger and much stronger binder clips for my prints and on larger prints I have 2 on every side (total of 8 clips). on smaller prints I only use 6 (2 front, 2 back, 1 on each side)
On a sidenote, I'm really kicking myself now that you say you've had success with zebraplate and Pc-plus. I recently ordered a 2nd m2 (used) that came with zebraplate. The printer arrived damaged and was sent back but the seller said I could keep the zebraplate. Since I knew nothing about it I just returned it with the printer and forgot about the whole thing.... Perhaps I should have kept the free zebraplate..
On a sidenote, I'm really kicking myself now that you say you've had success with zebraplate and Pc-plus. I recently ordered a 2nd m2 (used) that came with zebraplate. The printer arrived damaged and was sent back but the seller said I could keep the zebraplate. Since I knew nothing about it I just returned it with the printer and forgot about the whole thing.... Perhaps I should have kept the free zebraplate..
Re: any recommendation for colored polycarbonate ?
8 clips!
Well, I got my Buildtak and stuck it to the old Zebra, and I'm not as happy with it as I hoped. With the bed at 80 and without brim it still curled up a bit, and where the print didn't release from the BuildTak the BuildTak got pulled up off of the Zebra. After another print of the same part increasing the temperature to 100, I couldn't release the print even with the ability to bend the Zebra and wound up breaking both the print and the BuildTak, and the print was still warped because the BuildTak had been pulled off the Zebra.
I'm thinking of sticking to just the Zebra at 100C and I'll just use an even wider brim (perhaps 15 outlines).
Well, I got my Buildtak and stuck it to the old Zebra, and I'm not as happy with it as I hoped. With the bed at 80 and without brim it still curled up a bit, and where the print didn't release from the BuildTak the BuildTak got pulled up off of the Zebra. After another print of the same part increasing the temperature to 100, I couldn't release the print even with the ability to bend the Zebra and wound up breaking both the print and the BuildTak, and the print was still warped because the BuildTak had been pulled off the Zebra.
I'm thinking of sticking to just the Zebra at 100C and I'll just use an even wider brim (perhaps 15 outlines).
Re: any recommendation for colored polycarbonate ?
Yes i tried buildtak at one point. I thought it was garbage and a big waste of money.....but thats just me. First couple prints bonded so good that they had to be destroyed to be removed then after that nothing would stick at all. I just cant complain about my aluminum plate with hairspray. Every plastic sticks to it great every time, its super flat and has lasted 1000's of hrs if print time.
Re: any recommendation for colored polycarbonate ?
Jims, did you treat the metal surface somehow prior to applying the hairspray ?