# Specific 3D Printers, Scanners, & Hardware > New Matter's MOD-t Forum >  Compatible filaments?

## hsus

Hey!

Can't wait to get my Mod-T, been looking around at different filaments and wanted to see if anyone has tried anything except for the newmatter filament?

Both the regular PLA-types such as Colorfabb PLA with PHA (http://colorfabb.com/pla-pha) - Which lets you smoothen your PLA using acetone (as well as being a high quality, less brittle filament)

But also special stuff like composite filaments - like wood or metal PLA mixes?
e.g.
http://colorfabb.com/woodfill-finehttp://www.formfutura.com/175mm-wood...laywoo-d3.htmlhttp://www.makergeeks.com/stst3dprfi.html

Or if anyone has tried any flexible material?

Also what's the word on warranty if one tries these?

----------


## curious aardvark

the mod t states it can use 3rd party filaments. 

Can't see any issues. And the term 'pla' now applies to hundreds of different materials all with different manufacturing processes and formulas. 
There is a pla filament out there with pretty much any characteristic you need. Abs - not so much :-) 
Flexible pla (I know of at least three companies making this) tends to be much easier to print than ninjaflex or the other rubber based flexi-filaments. 

Your best bet is to get some samples from globalfsd - they have a us branch now as well - and just try it out before committing lots of money to full rolls.
http://www.globalfsdusa.com/?target=main

----------


## Feign

While it's theoretically possible, the filament loading process requires you to jam the filament into the cold end pretty aggressively, so I'd be pretty reluctant to use ninjaflex.  Something semi-flexible rather than rubbery _might_ be able to work though.

Also, depending on how the temperature calibration works, compressible filaments might be completely out of the picture.

----------


## curious aardvark

try some polyflex - like i said much more printer friendly than ninjaflex. 
And if you do try ninjaflex - try green ninjaflex. 
I had no problems printing that - but couldn't even get red nf to feed on the same machine. 
Also had the same issues with filaflex - green - great. red, won't even feed. 

Polyflex - on the other hand loads and prints just like normal pla. It's almost as flexible as ninjaflex - but less compressible.

----------


## hsus

Thanks guys! Great and helpful points!

Will definitely get some samples, I'm curious though, as a newcomer to 3D-printing - How much is 5 or 10 m of 1.75 mm PLA good for, I mean, what can I print? Oh and I just realised that this is a question that is much easier to ask than it is to answer... Maybe be using something from the new matter store and how many of those one could (guesstimately) print

----------


## Feign

At a ballpark guess, the test print might have taken a little over 1 meter of filament.

 5m of filament is certainly good enough to make some trial and error calibration cubes to get the settings for your printer honed in and then a decent handful of parts.

----------


## curious aardvark

10 metres should be enough for several medium sized models - just remember for stronger prints. Use more shells Not more infill. 
That will use a lot less filament and give stronger and quicker prints. 10-15% infill should be fine for most things.

----------


## NewMatter

We have not tested many of the available filament on the market since we've been busy optimizing our own brand of filament. The max recommended temperature that the MOD-t hot end should run at is 220C. The hot end nozzle is made of wear resistant stainless steel so it should resist wear much better than brass nozzles but we can't predict how they will behave with non-New Matter filament. We can only guarantee the best prints with New Matter filament.

----------


## curious aardvark

only 220 ? 
Well that rules out a lot of stuff. But not polyflex - I print that at 220 :-)
So you're pretty much using pla based filaments - doesn't limit you much.

----------


## Feign

220 puts a few of the filaments I have on order from Global FSD just barely out of range (Specifically the Porolay series is recommended to print at 225-235 degrees)

An important part for filament compatibility is how does the MOD-t temperature calibration process work?  Does it run the extruder servo while slowly adjusting the heat up and down until it 'feels' the filament start to push through the nozzle at the right rate through the servo's feedback?  If so then elastic-type filaments might completely throw the process off, even if they would otherwise print fine.

Pretty cool to find out that the nozzle is steel though.

----------


## hsus

> We have not tested many of the available filament on the market since we've been busy optimizing our own brand of filament. The max recommended temperature that the MOD-t hot end should run at is 220C. The hot end nozzle is made of wear resistant stainless steel so it should resist wear much better than brass nozzles but we can't predict how they will behave with non-New Matter filament. We can only guarantee the best prints with New Matter filament.


Thanks for jumping in, I totally get your priorities! Is your filament "pure" PLA? Please correct me if I'm wrong but I've read somewhere that higher end "PLA" filament isn't just PLA but often mixed with something else (like the aforementioned colorfabb PLA with PHA). I'm specifically interested in this as I'm considering different post-print procedures  :Smile:

----------


## NewMatter

> Thanks for jumping in, I totally get your priorities! Is your filament "pure" PLA? Please correct me if I'm wrong but I've read somewhere that higher end "PLA" filament isn't just PLA but often mixed with something else (like the aforementioned colorfabb PLA with PHA). I'm specifically interested in this as I'm considering different post-print procedures


Our filament would be considered pure PLA in that there is not any other plastics mixed in and for any post processing it could be considered pure PLA. 

However there are additives that are used to get the different colors and to make it easier to manufacture as filament. The Midnight Black and the Polar White in particular have fairly high ‘filler’ to get the more opaque color. The Matural color has the least additives.

We can't wait to see how you post process yours!  :Big Grin:

----------


## Doctor Heckle

> Thanks for jumping in, I totally get your priorities! Is your filament "pure" PLA? Please correct me if I'm wrong but I've read somewhere that higher end "PLA" filament isn't just PLA but often mixed with something else (like the aforementioned colorfabb PLA with PHA). I'm specifically interested in this as I'm considering different post-print procedures


As someone who just learned acetone baths don't work with PLA, I too am looking at some post-print treatments to get things a bit smoother.

----------


## Feign

Ethyl Acetate smooths PLA in almost exactly the same way that acetone smooths ABS.

Harder to find and a little more expensive, but significantly less toxic also.

----------


## hsus

> As someone who just learned acetone baths don't work with PLA, I too am looking at some post-print treatments to get things a bit smoother.


It does however work with colorfabb's PLA with PHA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEnz8CWxyjc

----------


## curious aardvark

> Ethyl Acetate smooths PLA in almost exactly the same way that acetone smooths ABS.
> 
> Harder to find and a little more expensive, but significantly less toxic also.





> Overexposure to ethyl acetate may cause irritation of the eyes, nose,  & throat. Severe overexposure may cause weakness, drowsiness, &  unconsciousness.


You still need to take sensible precautions :-)

----------


## Feign

Well, there _is_ a pretty long distance between "less toxic" and "non toxic".   :Stick Out Tongue:

----------


## hsus

Has anyone tried LayBrick? Seems to be the most beautiful filament for ornamental objects, read up on it here http://www.extrudable.me/2013/08/13/...with-laybrick/ and now I'm curious if this (or any other stone/cla/brick etc) is printable with the mod-t?

----------


## curious aardvark

they should all print as they're all pla based so don;'t have high extrusion temps. 

One thing to bear in mind. Filaments like copperfill and anything that's conductive or states it has carbon fibre will wear the nozzle. 

If you want something with a stone like finish. Then the best thing I've used is bronzefill. Unsanded, polished etc it looks and feels like rough stone/ceramic. 

I printed a rather nice ganeesh that looks like it was carved from a piece of rock. 

It's probably abetter use for bronzefill than all the post processing to make it look bronzy. 

If you want abronze finish get some of the reprapper tech bronze filament. Doesn't need post processing.

----------


## Doctor Heckle

> they should all print as they're all pla based so don;'t have high extrusion temps. 
> 
> One thing to bear in mind. Filaments like copperfill and anything that's conductive or states it has carbon fibre will wear the nozzle. 
> 
> If you want something with a stone like finish. Then the best thing I've used is bronzefill. Unsanded, polished etc it looks and feels like rough stone/ceramic. 
> 
> I printed a rather nice ganeesh that looks like it was carved from a piece of rock. 
> 
> It's probably abetter use for bronzefill than all the post processing to make it look bronzy. 
> ...


Thanks! I'll look into it next payday, lol. I saw from another first impressions thread that the printing nozzle for the MOD-t is stainless steel, as opposed to others which look to be brass or some other material. I'd like to avoid having to replace it, despite how simple it looks to swap out, but do you think from your experience that a steel nozzle would be more resilient to wear?

----------


## curious aardvark

a steel nozle would be alot more resistant to wear. 
The mymat carbonfibre reinforced nylon info states that a stainless steel nozzle is preferable. As brass is worn away quite quickly. 

So yeah - you should be fine :-)

----------


## Feign

So while waiting for some filament from ColorFabb to arrive, my wife found that the local hardware store stocked the Dremel branded PLA, and she got me a roll in black and one in white.

The Dremel black filament printed like a dream, we went through the entire 1lb roll (which she had been price comparing to 1kg rolls, whoops) very quickly, but had only two real failures.  The Dremel Cotton White on the other hand is a hot mess.  We're about halfway down the spool with only one successful print, and that one looks pretty awful.  It curls badly as it cools, causing it to catch on the nozzle with each pass until it just tips the plate off the splines.  Granted, curling and splitting is a phenomenon I've seen in every printer, and with as badly as the Dremel 'Cotton White' is doing it I'd imagine the stuff would be a mess on any printer.

So far, the New Matter Pink printed better than either of the Dremel colors...  But it's just _so pink_.

----------


## Robotico

> So while waiting for some filament from ColorFabb to arrive, my wife found that the local hardware store stocked the Dremel branded PLA, and she got me a roll in black and one in white.
> 
> The Dremel black filament printed like a dream, we went through the entire 1lb roll (which she had been price comparing to 1kg rolls, whoops) very quickly, but had only two real failures.  The Dremel Cotton White on the other hand is a hot mess.  We're about halfway down the spool with only one successful print, and that one looks pretty awful.  It curls badly as it cools, causing it to catch on the nozzle with each pass until it just tips the plate off the splines.  Granted, curling and splitting is a phenomenon I've seen in every printer, and with as badly as the Dremel 'Cotton White' is doing it I'd imagine the stuff would be a mess on any printer.
> 
> So far, the New Matter Pink printed better than either of the Dremel colors...  But it's just _so pink_.


Black and white (more so) tend to be the most difficult colors to print well in PLA. I've been told that is the case due to their pigment loads to achieve the color. The gold/yellow, blue, and uncolored (natural) tend to print the best on the MOD-t in my opinion. Pink does too but I got tired of it before I was done with the 1/2 kilo spool.

----------


## curious aardvark

black tend to be a little tricky as the colourant is usually carbon black. So it absorbs heat quicker. try printing at lower temp. 

Only issue I've ever had with printing white pla is that the cheap stuff (and esun lol) tend to break. 
decent white pla  is usually fine.

----------


## Hepta

All my print are made via the web browser, so all default setting.
Im a Canadian, from Montreal, so i used Amazone.ca for my link.
Iv tried:
New Mater: Pink, prints fine as expected
Hatchbox: Black, prints nicly, bit too hot on the default setting on the webslicer
http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00J0ECR5I/r...528420_TE_dp_1
Hatchbox: Orange, Prints amazingly, the package was not entirely scealed so a bit moised, but now evrything is ok! (i recommend this one)
http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00J0EE1D4/r...528420_TE_dp_1
Hatchbox: Silver, My next print
http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00MEZEEJ2/r...528420_TE_dp_2
BootsIndusty: Clear, my next print (the only affortable clear pla, in canada.. well will see, they also have great deals.. when colors are avilable)
http://bootsindustries.com/shop/supe...le-spool-1-kg/

----------


## hsus

I just got some LayBrick filament but can't get it to feed, it grabs the filament and drags it down but nothing out of the nozzle, shouldn't be a temperature issue, seeing as one can print lay brick at lower tempts than the new matter standard PLA 200 c.
Has anyone else encountered this? Any solution? (will contact new matter support live chat when available)

Edit:
So trying to get the filament out it broke off... So going to follow these instructions http://support.newmatter.com/custome...nload-filament
and then try to see if this http://support.newmatter.com/custome...g-installation can help load the filament...

----------


## energywave

For those in Italy like me: I've got this natural PLA filament LINK and I was amazed about the quality of the prints. I don't know if that's because the natural PLA is better than coloured filaments but the prints are so good! The flat parts of the objects are very flat at touch and layers are visible but unnoticeable at touch, at least with objects I've print.
Here a picture of a plug I've print to test the precision of dimension because I've got a hole to fill and that was a test of insertion. It was perfect.
WP_20151229_008 1.jpg

----------


## Doctor Heckle

> Our filament would be considered pure PLA in that there is not any other plastics mixed in and for any post processing it could be considered pure PLA. 
> 
> However there are additives that are used to get the different colors and to make it easier to manufacture as filament. The Midnight Black and the Polar White in particular have fairly high ‘filler’ to get the more opaque color. The Matural color has the least additives.
> 
> We can't wait to see how you post process yours!


You know, looking back, I think I've narrowed down my print quality issues with one post.

Using the initial 0.5kg of pink filament the printer came with, the only issue I had with the printer were wifi connectivity related. I changed filament, and now I'm getting z banding issues and adhesion issues on top of the wifi connectivity issues. Guess which colors I've been trying!

----------


## hsus

> I just got some LayBrick filament but can't get it to feed, it grabs the filament and drags it down but nothing out of the nozzle, shouldn't be a temperature issue, seeing as one can print lay brick at lower tempts than the new matter standard PLA 200 c.
> Has anyone else encountered this? Any solution? (will contact new matter support live chat when available)


Update on this; Seems to be some sort of issue with feeding filament, not specific to LayBrick, or any other filament. In  fact I'm printing with LayBrick right now, will report back with results. I've just printed successfully with LayWoo-D3, posted about it in the showcase prints thread.

----------


## hsus

Tried Semiflex (in black) from Ninjaflex. Couldn't even get it to extrude from the nozzle during the load process... The mod-T is capped at 220 c which is a bit below the recommended temperature for semiflex, but within the temp range, dunno how hot it gets during loading so don't know if that's the issue here or something else. Has anyone else had success with semiflex or any other flexible material? As per a suggestion from Curious Aardvark I'll probably get some polyflex next

Also tried RepRapper Tech Purple to Pink thermochanging PLA. I've made loads of little mood rings, prints very well, used same settings as with the new matter PLA

----------


## curious aardvark

Don't forget polyflex prints best at 220c.
Loads at 200 on up, but cooler loading might give you some gear clicking. You have to be careful loading the flexible stuff.

----------

