Filament & Materialsfor Ultimaker

PLAFlex PLA

ABSU-PET

Official Ultimaker filament• The filaments officially supported by the manufacturer are Ultimaker

PLA, Ultimaker Flex PLA, Ultimaker ABS, and U-PET.• Ultimaker offers an open-filament system so you may use any brand

you choose, but printing with unofficial filament is more at the user’s own risk• Any direct damage resulting from use of third-party filament is not

eligible for warranty claim• Printing profiles and settings vary between materials due to the

different properties of each type of filament

PLA – Polylactic acid

• Bio-degradable• Made from corn starch• Glass transition temperature: 60-65 C• Melting temp: 180-220 degrees C• Color can alter some of its properties• Brittle, firm and holds its shape• Good for prototyping, modeling, non-

functional or aesthetic models

ABS – Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene• Common chemical-based thermoplastic, not

bio-degradable• What Legos are made from• Glass transition temperature: ~105 C• Melting temp: 200-250 degrees C• Lightweight and malleable• Prone to warping• Good for functional parts, technical prints,

models that require supports or finishing

U-PET – Polyethylene terephthalate

• Good at bridging large gaps• What clear plastic water/soda bottles are

made from• Glass transition temperature: 67-81 C• Melting temp: ~250 degrees C• Fairly stiff, strong, impact resistant• Good for complex technical prints

Flex PLA**EXPERIMENTAL - Recommended for experienced users only**• This filament shares many of the

features of standard PLA, but has a small degree of flexibility in the finished print. The shore hardness is about A 92.• Not as flexible as something like

NinjaFlex• Flex filaments are prone to twisting and

bending, which is not optimal for Bowden-fed setups• Only available in black and white

Third-party and experimental filaments• Ultimaker features an open-filament system, so you are still able to use third-

party and experimental filament• Experimental materials are recommended for EXPERIENCED users only• Some popular filament manufacturers include:

• eSun• ColorFabb• Taulman 3D• FormFutura

• Some experimental/specialty materials include:• woodFill, bronzeFill, glowFill• NinjaFlex and other flexible materials• LayBrick, BendLay, and other property-changing materials

woodFill *Experimental material• colorFabb woodFill - PLA/PHA + fine

pinewood fibres• About 70% colorfabb PLA and 30% recycled

woodfibres• Glass Transition Temperature – 55 C• Increase flow rate with about 0-10%. This will

cause the filament to keep going through the hot zone at a steady pace.

Bronze/brass/copper Fill*Experimental material

• colorFabb bronzeFill - PLA/PHA + fine bronze powder• Glass Transition Temperature – 55 C• Might need to increase flow rate a bit, 4-8% was

perfect for UM2• Easy to sand *careful not to lose detail*

• Start sanding with grit 120-180 and make sure all the printed lines vanish. Then start working your way up by following with grit 240-320 and finishing off with grit 600 - or higher. Use a clean soft cloth and some copper polish to really get all of the shine out of the bronze particles.

glowFill*Experimental material• colorFabb glowFill -

PLA/PHA + concentrated phosphorescent pigment• Glass Transition

Temperature – 55 C• Print with100% infill and

charge up your models with some high power lights, or just let them enjoy the sunlight for a bit.

NinjaFlex – Thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer

*Experimental material

• Performs best in printers with direct-drive extruders• Recommended print speed: 30mm/s• NinjaFlex is 85A; NinjaFlex SemiFlex is

98A (50D)• When switching from another polymer

(such as ABS or PLA) purge thoroughly before starting a print.• Should be used in a well-ventilated

area

1=Low 2=Medium 3=High

NinjaFlex continued*Experimental materialFeatures:•Consistent diameter and material properties provide reliable, high quality prints•Patent pending technology allows for smooth feeding•Low friction exterior allows smooth feed through filament guides•High elasticity and excellent abrasion resistance•Excellent build platform adhesion and bonding between layers•Filament hardness of approximately 85A (NinjaFlex) and 98A(50D) SemiFlex•REACH and RoHS 2002/95/EC Directive Compliant•1.75mm filament spool = .50 kg•3.00mm filament spool = .75 kg

Processing Guidelines:•Recommended extruder temperature: 210 - 225°C•Recommended platform temperature: 20 - 50°C

Laybrick*Experimental material• Product surfaces can be adjusted between smooth and rough• Pressure Temperature range: 165 ° C - 190 ° C for smooth surfaces and from 210 °

C for rough surfaces (cooling apply)• Laybrick 3D printed products have a temperature resistance of up to 70 ° C • Warping can almost be considered as excluded • Pressure can be carried out without heating bed • Ingredients: co-polyester, natural minerals such as ground limestone • Products are both colorable and sanded • Pressure layer thicknesses of 0.1 - 0.4 mm recommended • Cooling time after the pressure is between 2-3 hours, depending on Pressure

Temperature (please do not touch or move at this time)

BendLay*Experimental material

• Modified Butadiene, which is safe for your household, food products, and medical devices• Remains 'bendable' after it is printed• Recommended Extrusion Temperatures: 230°C-240°C (Can be printed

as low as 210°C)• Similar to ABS in that it is amorphous and there is no real glass

transition temperature. It has about the same heat resistance as ABS and gets noticeably soft around 140 C.• BendLay is soluble in brake cleaner. Acetone will make Bendlay

crumble

Other property-changing materials*Experimental• POROLAY:• The POROLAY line consists of four different types of filaments: LAY-FELT, LAY-

TEKKKS, LAY-FOMM (40 & 60) and GEL-LAY. LAY-FELT and LAY-TEKKKS are similarly felt-like materials, though LAY-TEKKKS is thinner and more fibrous. LAY-FOMM and GEL-LAY are foamy and gel-like respectively. The composition of the POROLAY filaments consist of two different materials; a functional component, for example an Elastomer (i.e. a rubberlike) and a soluble component (e.g. PVA, sugar, salt, or soluble resins).• LAYceramic:• Meant for firing into hard pottery• Kiln required

and more…

Print settings & tips for Ultimaker• PLA- Print temp: 210°C notes: print with fans on• ABS- Print temp 250°C notes: print with fans off, heated bed at 110°C, don’t print too

fast• Wood- Print temp: 225°C notes: use little or no retraction as the material might break,

speed around 50mm/s, you can vary the temperature to get color variations• FlexPLA- Print temp 230°C: notes: add some oil in the tube, print slow at around

10mm/s - 25mm/s, heated bed at 60°C• BendLay- Print temp 210-240°C notes: great for printing light emitting objects.• LayBrick- Print temp 175-210°C notes: higher temps gives a smoother finish• Nylon- (Taulman 618/645) Print temp 260-265°C notes: very strong and flexible great

for jewelry or high durability printsSource: 3Dhubs.com

Always remember to…

• Do research! Find out:• If the filament is recommended for Bowden setups• How high-quality the filament is – you want a diameter tolerance of no

greater than around ± 0.05mm for common materials, ± 0.10 mm for experimental materials• The recommended print settings for the filament you want to use• What other users have had success with, or what the common issues are

• Be patient and don’t give up!• With 3D printing, it can take some trial and error before you find the right

balance with print settings. Rome wasn’t built in a day – but maybe it would have been if the ancients were printing in Laybrick!