Interested in a Mk3 with multi material  

Re: Interested in a Mk3 with multi material

Cool idea. I think 3D printing might be suitable for what you want to do, but it's uncertain enough that you may want to invest some time and money exploring the idea before committing full-bore.

1 - Is the metal type filaments really like metal (heavy, cold feeling, solid) ? Specificially for making brass type pen stands

Kind of. The metal filaments are a mixture of metal powder and PLA plastic, so they feel a lot heavier than plastic, but not as heavy as 100% metal.

2 - Can 4 material designs be polished and / or machined ?

Maybe. People have gotten good results polishing prints with metal filament, but machining them may be a challenge. The "metal" plastic isn't nearly as strong as actual metal, and I'm skeptical that you can machine it with regular metal-working tools.

3 - Can the parts be made from durable materials (hard enough to make a pen out of)

The metal plastic is probably strong enough to make a durable pen. Again, it's not going to be as strong as actual metal, or even injection-molded plastic, but if you design it well it should be strong enough. You may have to learn some of the quirks of the mechanical properties of 3D printed parts to get the results you want.

4 - Does this printer have a high enough resolution to make pen parts - including an M11 and M14 thread?

I would expect so. I've 3D printed threads of similar size with good results. There may be visible layer lines if you don't polish it carefully but the threads will still work.

I would love to see the results of printing multiple metal filaments in a single part and polishing them, I think it could look really amazing. One thing to keep in mind is that the Prusa MMU is still a bit of a science project, and some people have had trouble getting theirs to work reliably (this is for the MK2S of course, since the MK3 MMU isn't shipping yet).

You may also want to look into the Palette+ for multi-material printing with the MK3. It's more expensive, but seems to be fairly robust and reliable.

Re: Interested in a Mk3 with multi material

Kind of. The metal filaments are a mixture of metal powder and PLA plastic, so they feel a lot heavier than plastic, but not as heavy as 100% metal.

Do you know what type of metallic powder is added to the plastic. I highly doubt that the extruders reach temperatures anywhere needed to melt/fuse the metal particles together. So, in the end, it's still just metal powder in the part, not a metal part.

I would love to see the results of printing multiple metal filaments in a single part and polishing them, I think it could look really amazing. One thing to keep in mind is that the Prusa MMU is still a bit of a science project, and some people have had trouble getting theirs to work reliably (this is for the MK2S of course, since the MK3 MMU isn't shipping yet).

You may also want to look into the Palette+ for multi-material printing with the MK3. It's more expensive, but seems to be fairly robust and reliable.

It's just a bit sad that the MMU is not really a multi-MATERIAL upgrade but a multi-COLOR upgrade. I really hope that Prusa gets back to developing it into what its intent was.

Re: Interested in a Mk3 with multi material

Something else to keep in mind if you plan on sanding and or machining blanks down: heat. PLA melts very easily (can't handle a hot car, where a lot of pens end up?), so you'd be stuck with PETG or ABS. I don't know that I have seen any hybrid filaments like bronzefill in something besides PLA, but maybe I am wrong. 🙂

Even if this doesn't match up with what you are wanting to create finished products, have you considered a printer for prototyping? A single color MK2S or MK3 would let you test out new blank design shapes on an actual pen before firing up the machining tools to make them out of something more robust.

Re: Interested in a Mk3 with multi material

I would first recommend you look at some of the prints that come off any FDM 3D printer, to give you an idea if you think the resolution will be good enough for your needs. All FDM 3D prints will have layer lines in them without any post processing. Depending on the material, you can get very nice finishes. Use a 3Dhubs service or a local makerspace with a 3D printer to see if you like the output from an FDM printer.

PLA plastic - This is the easiest to print with but not as easy to smooth. Rigid.ink did a how-to on PLA smoothing which is worth a read:
https://rigid.ink/blogs/news/how-to-smooth-pla-to-a-mirror-finish

ABS plastic - This can be smoothed chemically using Acetone vapour smoothing. There are fancy machines to smooth the plastic such as Polysher

or some rather hap-hazard ways of DIY Acetone smoothing (go careful!!)

I would whole heartedly recommend watching Makers Muse, 3D Printing Nerd, Make Anything & Thomas Sanladerer's Youtube channels as well to get an idea of what is possible with home 3D printers and the various techniques possible!

There is no reason why a 4 colour print cannot be smoothed, assuming the same type of material is used for all 4 colours. Durability wise, ABS is quite durable, having a high heat resistance and is more malleable. PLA has a lower melt point and is more brittle, but may still be feasable for something like a pen body. PLA is nicer to print (no smells, typically more colours available, less warping when printing). There are also a variety of other plastics - Rigid.ink have good guides on the pros and cons to each.

As for printing M11 threads - I've never tried before, neither have I printed in any metal fill filaments either. What I have seen though from many metal fill filament reviews is that they are difficult to print (the nozzle can easily clog) and the nozzle wears out quickly, so a hardend or ruby nozzle would be needed for any metal fill filaments. Not the best first filament as a newcommer to 3D printing. Others will have much better experience here.

Re: Interested in a Mk3 with multi material

why not try 3D hubs,

get a couple of test pieces printed and play with them?

see if you like the output and if it polishes up well for you?

regards Joan

Re: Interested in a Mk3 with multi material

Kind of. The metal filaments are a mixture of metal powder and PLA plastic, so they feel a lot heavier than plastic, but not as heavy as 100% metal.

Do you know what type of metallic powder is added to the plastic. I highly doubt that the extruders reach temperatures anywhere needed to melt/fuse the metal particles together. So, in the end, it's still just metal powder in the part, not a metal part.

It really is just a metal-infused plastic part, but they use the metal that's advertised on the tin (i.e. bronze, copper, etc.).

I've not played with it myself, but I've been told that they can be polished up to really look like metal. But it is definitely a cosmetic thing and not functional and not going to give you the strength of metal.

Re: Interested in a Mk3 with multi material

I think you have unrealistic expectations if you thought the multimaterial kit (meaning, multiple different thermoplastics) was going to be sintering metal. That takes energy levels you’re not likely to see on desktop machines in the near future.

You might be able to make some cool pens, but I suspect you will not ever confuse them with machined metal parts.

I’ve made threaded parts,but I would expect they will wear faster than a fine pen owner would expect them to.

Good luck with your experiment. Temper your expectations and be creative. : )

Re: Interested in a Mk3 with multi material

I make fountain pens, and have plans to extend my business and think a 3D printer may be the way to go - the alternative is a 4 axis CNC (3020) or possibly a taig or sherline 3 or 4 axis CNC
3 - Can the parts be made from durable materials (hard enough to make a pen out of)

4 - Does this printer have a high enough resolution to make pen parts - including an M11 and M14 thread?

Thanks for your time!

Mmm, I'd be very wary. The quality of 3D printing isn't good enough to sell for luxury objects. I'd go with a 4 axis cnc and machine & polish resins that you cast yourself. Lots of options out there for embedding interesting objects / materials in clear or tinted resins that look amazing when polished. You could use a cheap 3D printer to make the casts for you.

Metal filaments, such as brass fill, can look like the real deal, particularly if you age them after polishing. I tend to polish brassfill with the back of teaspoon and I can get smooth top layers shiny. Once aged, they look great. So for simple name plates, it's fine. The problems come with rounded objects where layers are very visible (check out the box lid below). As metal fill filaments are PLA based, they don't respond well to sanding and post processing in general. For example, I printed a lovely box in black pla with a brassfill insert. Everyone thinks the brassfill is brass. It feels cold to the touch. Of course, being embedded in another material helps a bit.

But overall I'd say 3D printing doesn't make objects good enough to sell. The amount of post printing work is excessive to get them to the standard that people expect of injection moulded parts. Sometimes an intricate texture can hide the layer artifacts to the point where people like the effect, as in the box I was talking about, but that's a rare case.

In terms of durability, the plastics are fine. Layer adhesion is an issue sometimes where thin walls need structural strength, so for you that could be a problem. Also in terms of accurately cutting a thread, I'd say no. Not fine threads. Large threads (say 1mm pitch) are OK.

Not printed on prusa, but to show the sort of things I was talking about:

Re: Interested in a Mk3 with multi material

3D printing is not ideal for pens unless you figure out how to embrace and market the 3d printing shortcomings to make them a feature.