Has anyone printed Bound Powder Filament?
So I recently stumbled upon this concept of metal printing using my Core One. The filament I'm looking at is Forward AM Ultrafuse 17-4 PH Metal 3D Printing Filament - 1.75mm (3kg) for $450 ($150/kg). Note, this is for work, not personal use. My question is does anybody have any experience with this type of filament?
From the cut sheet, the nozzle needs to hit 230-250°C and looks like the stock Core One can hit 290°C, so I'd be good to go there. The bed temp of 120°C is also within the capabilities of the Core One as well, although I'm wondering which bed might be best or if they'd all need some type of treatment.
There seem to be a couple different companies you can send these parts off to in order to have them sintered and such after printing, unless my company wants to drop some money to buy all the equipment (I don't see that happening right now).
Here's a Youtube video on it: How to Succeed with 3D Printing Metal on a Desktop 3D Printer using BASF Ultrafuse 316L Filament - YouTube
Thank you!
"I can change, if I have to, I guess."-Red Green Prusa Core One + MMU3
RE:
In hindsight, if this could be moved to the Filaments and Techniques portion of the forum, that would likely be more appropriate.
"I can change, if I have to, I guess."-Red Green Prusa Core One + MMU3
RE:
According to the Virtual Foundry, a filament warmer is also needed to prevent their material from cracking or breaking as it goes through the extruder. I can only imagine what sort of fiddling around it would require to get this to work with the filament sensor on a core one (+ / L):
Getting Started with Filamet™ - The Virtual Foundry, inc
Filawarmer | The Virtual Foundry
Filamet™ Printers: Trusted Metal 3D Printing Solutions - Spoiler, only the Prusa i3 MK3 is on the list:
And I quote...
- 0.6mm E3D V6 Style nozzle required.
- Blue painter’s tape recommended on stock build plates.
- Upgrade to a textured spring steel PEI build plate recommended (no tape or glue required).
- Direct drive out of the box!Spools should be hung 12 – 18 inches above the highest point your part will reach when complete.
- This printer is compatible with our materials; however, some users encounter printing challenges that can be difficult to resolve.
- Use this profile to get started (profile generated in Orca Slicer)
Partner Innovator Tested
It seems like the Virtual Foundry filament is more brittle vs the Ultrafuse material, but it's also coming in at $90/kg less than the Ultrafuse, which nearly pays for the filawarmer. Buy it as part of the kit and there's likely more savings.
All that said, the Marked Forge 17-4 material is even cheaper! With a packaged weight of 4.5kg and a price of $260, well that's either a really heavy box and reel that it's sitting on or the 400cc of material weighs more than 1kg. I have more researching to do to determine the details on this stuff.
"I can change, if I have to, I guess."-Red Green Prusa Core One + MMU3