The 3D Stuff Your Dreams Are Made Of: Engineering Grade Materials for FFF/FDM Desktop 3D Printers

There are many materials you can process through a desktop 3D printer these days, and a number of 3D printer models engineered specifically to better handle a broad range of material types, properties, and temperatures ranges. Whether you are looking to 3D print a prototype, a part for fit and function testing or an end-use part, a variety of materials are available to you, especially if you are working with an open-source 3D printer.

For all of the opportunities desktop 3D printers offer artists, innovators, designers, and engineers, the ITPcamp community spends far too little time deeply exploring the nature of the eccentric polymers that are themselves “the 3D stuff your dreams are made of.” This session draws from recent filament manufacturer insights into how thermoplastics, thermoelastomers, composite materials, etc, are produced, strategies for how to make better use of standards as well as “exotics,” and why 2017 will be the most exciting year for desktop 3D printing materials to date.

This session aims to address key topics for materials that can be applied to all FFF-style desktop 3D printers -- and help you apply this knowledge with the use of the Ultimaker desktop 3D printers and materials available for your use at ITPCamp this June.

A few of the topics we aim to cover: - What materials work best for which application? - Have you ever wondered what the advantages and disadvantages are of using Nylon versus PLA? - What can you do to prevent ABS from warping? - When to use PC as a print material? - What adhesion methods work best for each material and why? - What post processing options are available? - How can we best leverage the range of dissolveable, breakaway, and otherwise sacrificial materials to print complex parts more easily on a dual extruder machine?

We will discuss technical specifications, tips and tricks, and the best material for a variety of applications, and also look into how to take advantage of open filament systems to print with materials such as Carbon Fiber.