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CopperFill

Discussion in 'Printing Filament' started by mark tomlinson, Sep 26, 2014.

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  1. Printed Solid

    Printed Solid Volunteer Admin
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    #21 Printed Solid, Nov 13, 2014
  2. Les Hall

    Les Hall Member

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    Excellent news, Matt - I will buy a full 1.5 kg roll for just over a hundred bucks. I have also placed in my shopping cart some of that glow in the dark ColorFabb and an XXL lcd display to untether my ROBO from the computer. i also need a RAMPS board as my heated bed driver fried itself. I MaGyvered a crude fix but it kept breaking. Aside from that the ROBO is running smooth as silk on printed solid supplies! You're my supplier and I appreciate the extra attention you give to keeping things running properly.

    Les
     
    #22 Les Hall, Nov 13, 2014
    3 people like this.
  3. Les Hall

    Les Hall Member

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    Actually to save cash i will buy several samples of filament and the XXL controller. Shall i get my own RAMPs board?
     
    #23 Les Hall, Nov 14, 2014
  4. Printed Solid

    Printed Solid Volunteer Admin
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    Sounds like a plan. I don't have any plans to stock electronics other than LCDs. If a bunch of people wanted to all go in on something together, I could coordinate it and include it in one of my other orders, but I'm guessing you want to get something sooner than that.
     
    #24 Printed Solid, Nov 14, 2014
  5. Ravindu

    Ravindu Member

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    Can anyone please tell me how should I polish this part made from copper fill.
     

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    #25 Ravindu, Apr 7, 2015
  6. Printed Solid

    Printed Solid Volunteer Admin
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    Hi Ravindu,
    Is that colorFabb copperfill or a different material?
    It doesn't look like colorFabb copperfill to me, but maybe it is just the lighting.

    To polish, you can wet sand it with progressively finer grits of sandpaper until you get a smooth surface. Then polish it with some steel wool and brasso until you get a shiny surface. If you don't want it to oxidize (copper turns green over time) then you can spray it with some laquer while it is still shiny.

    You may want to reprint it with a higher extrusion ratio so that you get a better top infill.

    A tip to save on some $$: use a z-axis filament swap to print only the layers you want to show off in copperfill and print the rest in regular PLA. @designmaketeach on twitter published some nice tutorials on this idea.
     
    #26 Printed Solid, Apr 7, 2015
  7. Ravindu

    Ravindu Member

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    Hi Printed Solid,

    It is the copper fill filament only.

    Thank you for the advice.
     
    #27 Ravindu, Apr 7, 2015
  8. daniel871

    daniel871 Well-Known Member

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    #28 daniel871, Apr 28, 2015
  9. Printed Solid

    Printed Solid Volunteer Admin
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    That's static dissipative at best. I've read a number of reports from users going through some of these early 'conductive filaments' that haven't been able to detect anything other than open with a standard ohm-meter. The protopasta conductive PLA that they kickstarted is conductive enough for some projects with really minimal power. The f-electric and whoever is doing the graphene are the first with low enough resistance to really be in the ballpark of what most people would consider conductive. Not cheap though, but probably worth it for the right projects.
     
    #29 Printed Solid, Apr 28, 2015
  10. daniel871

    daniel871 Well-Known Member

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    I know there aren't any statistics on the material sheet, but what about the various off-brand Copper filaments? I guess it would depend on just how much of the filament percentage was actual copper.
     
    #30 daniel871, Apr 28, 2015
  11. Printed Solid

    Printed Solid Volunteer Admin
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    As of today, 4-28-15, colorFabb does not make a conductive filament. Copperfill doesnt contain close to enough metal.

    They aren't shy with marketing and don't launch a product unless they really believe in it. So, if colorFabb does come out with a conductive filament, we will certainly hear about it and it will be truly conductive.
     
    #31 Printed Solid, Apr 28, 2015
  12. Printed Solid

    Printed Solid Volunteer Admin
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    Ah, i misread.
    I dont know. Filamet claims a really high amount of metal. That might be something.

    The Chinese metal fills are complete junk. They have enough poorly ground metal to horribly clog your nozzle, but barely enough to change the density of the filament.
     
    #32 Printed Solid, Apr 28, 2015
  13. Frankn

    Frankn Member

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    , You can print a PCBoard. You just sketch the circuit lines and print the STL on a copper plated board. Acid dip the board to remove the uncovered copper, then clean off the ABS with thinner.They have been doing it for years. I have done it in a Xerox Standard copier. It uses thermal plastic for the image.
    I use to make the boards for alarm systems I designed.
     
    #33 Frankn, Jun 19, 2015
  14. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Yea, that is just a custom way of masking the board for etching. No reason that would not work wonderfully.
     
    #34 mark tomlinson, Jun 19, 2015
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  15. Ocsff

    Ocsff Active Member

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    Adafruit sales conductive filament and it seems to work well.
     
    #35 Ocsff, Aug 15, 2015
  16. frank r

    frank r New Member

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    I have the Shaxxon Copper PLA and I really like it. It looks darker/more tarnished when printed that the other examples above are. It prints great though. I haven't tried to post process in any way though. I've read that a rock tumbler is the best way to finish it though
     
    #36 frank r, Aug 25, 2015
  17. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Yep. I use a rock tumbler with brass and copper screws in it
     
    #37 mark tomlinson, Aug 25, 2015
  18. BenMac

    BenMac Member

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    If I may, I was wondering if any of you are aware of the thermal characteristics of these metal infused filaments?
    Basically, I am curious if they could work as a heat sink for a voltage regulator. I doubt it, but I would love to know for sure. Not being electrically conductive is a big plus for this purpose.

    Is there a difference in thermal characteristics in the different kinds of metal infused filaments?
    I mean, Copper is usually used for PC heat sinks, so I would figure it would work best. Though the insulating "glue" suspending the metal bits together could work as an insulator.
     
    #38 BenMac, Aug 25, 2015
  19. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    @BenMac simple, too much plastic not enough metal in all those filaments, won't work well or at all as a heatsink.
     
    #39 WheresWaldo, Aug 26, 2015
  20. BenMac

    BenMac Member

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    Ah, I figured that was the case, but it is great to know for sure. Thank you, I really appreciate you answering my question. :)
     
    #40 BenMac, Aug 26, 2015
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