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NinjaFlex filament

Discussion in 'Printing Filament' started by Melody Bliss, Jan 13, 2014.

  1. Melody Bliss

    Melody Bliss New Member

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    Has anyone printed with NinjaFlex filament? I find it kind of interesting. Just saw a video on Adafruit where they used it to print a flexible wristband.
     
  2. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Ohhh.. Also on my wish list. Maybe someone has :)
     
  3. Printed Solid

    Printed Solid Volunteer Admin
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    I haven't printed with it, but I've handled samples. It feels like... polyurethane : )
    Very flexible and strong.
    A local makerspace (nextfab) is a test center for the material. Maybe I'll trade for a sample at the next meetup :)

    This is a material that you want to be a little careful around the fumes though. Melted PU fumes are sensitizers.
     
  4. Melody Bliss

    Melody Bliss New Member

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  5. Melody Bliss

    Melody Bliss New Member

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    So picked up two rolls of NinjaFlex, a roll of black and a roll of white. I'll have to try them out this weekend.
     
  6. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Yes, inquiring minds want to know (how it works).

    :)
     
  7. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Volunteer

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    chris h and Vida10 like this.
  8. Printed Solid

    Printed Solid Volunteer Admin
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    Ninja flex really needs to have a fully supported path from the hobbed bolt to the hot end. I don't know if they say it on their website faq or if they described it in a post somewhere else that I ready, but that is directly from the company.
    You may need to print a little guide block with an opening.
    I'm guessing that the high spots you're seeing are only problematic because it is really not very pushable so when you see a little extra resistance from friction at the high spots it just binds right up.
     
  9. Melody Bliss

    Melody Bliss New Member

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    PS, I haven't tried printing with the NinjaFlex as of yet. The problem I'm having seems to be with various other filaments. It'll start out ok but then fail. :(

    I thought initially it was the hobbed bolt but at this point, I'm not 100% sure. I do have a replacement bolt. I just need washers on hand before I do a swap and see if that helps
     
  10. Printed Solid

    Printed Solid Volunteer Admin
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    Oh, I misunderstood then.
    I've found that with t-glase, at leat the colored varieties, hot end has to stay above 220. If it drops below 220, it stops feeding right away.
     
  11. Pete M

    Pete M New Member

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    I got blue NinjaFlex filament and it just balled up after the hobbed bolt.. Has anyone got it to work in their robo3d printer?
     
  12. Racegrafix

    Racegrafix Active Member

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    I figured thats what would happen. My guess is we will need a machined guide to keep it from doing that.
     
  13. Melody Bliss

    Melody Bliss New Member

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    I haven't tried it yet still. Hopefully this weekend.
     
  14. codeblue

    codeblue New Member

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    I finally got NinjaFlex to print on my Robo3D after finding similar issues with kinking below the hobbed bolt. I am using an E3D hot end with a 0.4mm tip but suspect this work-around will function with the stock hot end as well. I went to my local ACE hardware and purchased a 1/8"x.014" brass tube for $1.50. After cutting a 7/8inch piece off, carefully de-burring it and testing for hang-ups with a piece of NinjaFlex, I inserted this short tubing into the feed hole just below the hobbed bolt. Make sure the tubing doesn't get in the way of the hobbed bolt rotation. The tubing prevents much of the kinking/bending that occurs due to the material's flexibility and allows the hobbed bolt to more effectively push the material through the hot end.

    Some other notes:

    You must clear any previous material such as ABS from the hot tip using a sufficient melting temp. Better to go hotter with this step because the NinjaFlex will have a more difficult time pushing through the harder ABS at first. I recommend feeding the NinjaFlex manually and very slowly with this step to prevent kinking/hobbed bolt slipping. If the hobbed bolt slips, you need to remove the filament, cut the kinked/damaged portions and start again.

    I found reducing all the print speeds to about 9mm/s and disabling retraction helps to keep the feed rate constant and slow, which prevents slipping and binding.

    I hope this helps!
     
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  15. Peter Krska

    Peter Krska Active Member

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    Any pictures to show details?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  16. codeblue

    codeblue New Member

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    Here is a picture of the short 7/8" long brass tubing which is almost fully inserted into the feed hole below the hobbed bolt (only the upper 1/8 inch of the tube can be seen in this pic). White NinjaFlex filament can be seen going through the brass tube. Another thing about printing with this stuff: you can't allow much tension between your spool and the hobbed bolt during printing as it will likely result in hobbed bolt slippage or uneven material extrusion.


    IMG_1787.JPG
     
  17. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Volunteer

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    I get the feeling ninjaflex would have issues on a bowden due to it's compressibility .
     
  18. codeblue

    codeblue New Member

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    I think that's a reasonable assumption although if the feed tube doesn't allow for much play, you might be able to do it.
     
  19. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Volunteer

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    Well even with a 2mm wall OD over 18 inches that still leaves a lot of room for it to compress. Apparently it's a common issue with bowden that you get hysteresis due to compressing the filament, and I feel like ninjaflex would have extrusion issues from it.
     
  20. Printed Solid

    Printed Solid Volunteer Admin
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    Mike, I know people run flex filaments on bowdens, so I think it will work. You just have to run it really slow. Retractions are probably not going to be so great either.
     

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