It’s test time
The tests on Stick Filaments 3mm are on the go, and soon we will have ready version also for 1.75mm. The Styrene, that we’re trying for weeks with excellent results, according to the feedbacks from testers and makers that are using different FFF printer models. In general the Styrene ensures low extrusion temperatures, absence of warping and good quality of the final print (similar to that of PLA). Also remember that the Styrene, unlike the ABS, doesn’t cause harmful emissions (in the form of Ultra Fine Particels) of hydrogen cyanide.
In a short time we’ll be testing PLA Stick Filaments, but the great news for everybody are special plastics. We will be able to propose plastics not currently available on the market of the filaments for 3D printing: surely you’ll be surprised… To keep up with the latest news arrival we invite you to subscribe to our newsletter.
THAT’S ITALIAN
The Rome Maker Faire has ended today. We were part of a relevant event for our country for the first time makers present themselves to the country. 35,000 people have come to know a world that until a few days ago was unknown.
We talked until losing his voice, we met so many interesting people, but above all, people were sincerely amazed and surprised. We bring home the certainty that our country has the power, capacity and will to build a great future for us and for our children. Dale Dougherty, promoter of the Maker Faire, wrote “That’s Italian”. Thanks Dale, we are proud of it.
Rome Maker Faire, next to come
DfC will be at Rome MakerFaire on October 3 to 6, an international event for the makers community (and not only). We will have our stand and we’ll proudly present some new stuff we are working about for months. First, we’ll show some of the plastic filaments for additive 3d printing that we are testing and we commercialize them directly at our stand. We’ll also show to the visitors some popular products, sold in the stores of large industrial groups of furniture design, that we have “hacked”. We’ve re-designed them, changing their functionality and form, improving their functionality, quality and usability. This re-design process (and the following production of finished objects or their components) is called design hacking. We strongly believe that the DIY technology should develop and interact, outside and independently, with industrial mass production.
You could meet us in the MakerFaire and we will be happy to show you our works and materials.
Rome Maker Faire 2013
PET: there’s a new kid in town
Experimentation with new materials continues here in DFC: PET and Nylon are, above all, proving very interesting. Are resistant materials, versatile and that guarantee a good print quality.
In the picture you see we show a comparison of PLA and PET (Polyethylene terephthalate). The latter is very close to the print quality of the PLA and, moreover, without requiring a hot bed! Among the advantages of PET are: high mechanical strength, UV resistance, food safe and, above all, recyclable!
PET and 3d printing: an example
We’re currently testing new kind of filaments for 3d printing with (additive manufacturing). One of this is Polyethylene Terephthalate, aka PET, a thermoplastic polymer resin. It is a very versatile material, commonly known for use in food (eg bottles) but is used in various fields.
We tested the first molded parts for an heavy duty because we want to verify their mechanical strength after undergoing the process of extrusion.
Here are some components for the world sport: guards and protections for sport motorcycles. These components have been stressed, bumped, tried on different bikes and, today, we can be satisfied: they do their job well!
Guards mounted on the motorbikes
We are just beginning and we want to verify the safety of 3dprinting PET for food and beverage industry. Soon more news for you!
ABS V0: a new material for 3D printing
We are working on new plastic materials for 3D printing; we want that new benefits will be available for all those who produce objects with 3D printing. That’s why we are developing new plastic filaments, suitable for most of the 3D printers on the market today, providing new specifications and performance.
For example the ABS is one of the most common materials for 3d printing with fused filaments, so we’ve decided to develop the first filament of ABS flame resistant (V0 flammability class)! We are sure that this will enable the creation of new objects, new possibilities and new functionality.
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Follow us for our latest news about the materials we’re testing and for more informations.
Design e 3D printing
We begin to consider 3D printing with the eyes of designers, and this is one of our first products: a USB pen drive to wear. We called it USBone because the texture on the surface makes it seem like the object made from a natural material: the horn. The texture of additive manufacturing technology’s objects looks like its growth system!
Personal Vase
We use to think that a product made in one piece is defined as “craft” while products manufactured in series are considered “industrial”. This is no longer true because the same machines that repeat the same movements over and over again to create serial pieces (such as the Kuka robot) now come from factories and they enter our homes to produce objects in a process of design and construction that we call “personal production”.
As an example of this new scenario we show you the Personal Vase, an object designed and built specifically for a single person (as is the case for artisans), but made entirely using the technology of 3D printing.
Starting from a simple photo of its silhouette we obtain the line of the profile, then we use it to create a 3D model (solid of revolution). At this point the object created is printed from our PowerWasp; so a form is designed ad personam and physically realized independently by a sole machine.
With a similar process we can produce containers, vases, lamps (maybe the one below) and much more using different materials and techniques. We are at end of the era of customization in industry and we’re starting the beginning of the personal industrialization.
Personal lamp (render by Giorgio De Mattia)
First printing
We’re starting to test our PowerWasp with PLA filaments; all seems to be ok, the printer is fast and reliable. As you can see from the photo the result of the first printings (here you can see a translucent PLA) is good.
Now we’re finding out the best settings for the software (Cura and PrintRun)
Objects with your personal silhouette
We think that the future of 3D printing in both the mix of craftsmanship and technology. In this case we have combined the potential of our PowerWasp with the knowledge of concrete based materials to obtain innovative objects.
Our first design for a “Personal Product” starts with the shilouette of your face: we want to turn it into an object! So we’re developing a design process that starts from your portrait’s profile (that becomes into a path for create a revolution solid in 3D) and transforms it into a formwork for a lamp, or a vase, or… something else.
The production method begins with the 3d printing of the formwork (PLA) that is used for molding the vase with a concrete specifically made for design objects. This molding operation is not a common solution because we’re going to centrifuge the concrete into this formwork! We’re at work.
