ColorFab Copperfill printed with great success

[brett]

I'm very happy with the result, for me the print came out perfect with the acceptable string at the top. The model weighs about 3 times as much as a regular ABS print (last seconds of the video) because of the heavy copper dust in the filament. With that added weight, a spool of 750g does not contain that many meters of filament. It is quite expensive but depending on the model it will be worth it.

Printed
- at 230deg (higher than recommended 220 but with fans it won't flow with a lower temp)
- at 90micron layer height
- with low support
- sliced in Z-Suite
- added 1000 micron more retraction with raftaway to eliminate stringing

I made a time laps of the printing

https://youtu.be/c6C9hFhxa1Q

[Julia Truchsess]

Nicely done, thanks for sharing!

[nrobb]

Hi brett. Did you use the PTFE ZT-HE, or the all metal one. the Color fab website suggests using an all metal extruder due to the friction of the filament. Although the Z-Temp site says the all metal hot end won't work with PLA? Thanks

[Julia Truchsess]

I don't think colorFabb PLA/PHA will print with an all-metal extruder on the Zortrax, unless maybe you go raftless and slow everything down a lot. Are you sure the colorFabb website recommendation isn't for a steel nozzle vs brass?

[nrobb]

Hi Julia,  Colorfab site says

"*Testing showed reliable results using the all metal hot-ends, such as the E3D and the Makerbot Replicator 2 hotend. Hotends which use a teflon isolator coupler can generate adhesion to the copper filament possibly leading to clogs and is there for not recommended for novice users yet."

I understand about the steel vs brass nozzle, I was going to look at alternative nozzles to fit your hot end, but would like to get the most suitable hot end

Thanks

Nigel

[Julia Truchsess]

Interesting. I think these other hot ends probably have better heat-break cooling than the Zortrax or ZT-HE. ZT-HE has a lot better isolation than the Zortrax hot ends, but it's not perfect. My experience is that colorFabb PLA/PHA tends to swell more under heat than most filaments, and this is what causes jams, but I've had good success with their xxxFill materials using ZT-HE and 0.5mm nozzles. I don't bother with steel or exotic nozzles because the brass ones have better heat conduction and they're so cheap I just toss them after printing abrasive material.

[nrobb]

Thanks for that, I presume you mean the standard PTFE version of the ZT-HE

[Julia Truchsess]

Thanks for that, I presume you mean the standard PTFE version of the ZT-HE

Yes. I use the all-metal only for Z-ABS.

[Julia Truchsess]

Hi brett. Did you use the PTFE ZT-HE, or the all metal one. the Color fab website suggests using an all metal extruder due to the friction of the filament. Although the Z-Temp site says the all metal hot end won't work with PLA? Thanks

Looking closely at Brett's video, I don't see the groove that we machine into the tube in order to distinguish the all-metal from PTFE version, So I think he used the PTFE.