Jun 9, 2015 | By Alec

With an internet full of 3D printable designs, it’s obvious that you can create just about anything with a 3D printer. But in reality, most of us continue to limit ourselves to regular plastic designs made in either PLA or ABS filaments. But did you know that you don’t have to spend thousands on a SLS or SLA 3D printer to add some variety to your prints? There are currently dozens of other types of filament, each with their own unique properties and applications, on the market, and two more are about to appear: the Olive and Ebony EasyWood filaments by FormFutura, which both have a real wood-like feel, smell and look.

Amsterdam-based FormFutura specialize in manufacturing and selling a wide range of interesting filaments for the more unusual 3D printing projects, and these two new EasyWood filaments are no exception. As the FormFutura team explains to us, these two filaments – like the already available Coconut filament – are perfect for 3D printing wood-like structures. ‘All three EasyWood™ type of filaments look, feel and smell like real wood. Because of its low shrinkage factor, EasyWood™ is nearly warp-free and therefore EasyWood™ will not deform after cooling. Due to its low tendency to warp EasyWood™ can be printed without a heated print bed,’ they say.

Olive.

These filaments also feature a very good first and interlayer adhesion, and are easy to post-process. Perhaps most importantly, they are in no way hazardous to your health, as all EasyWood filaments are RoHS certified and compliant with REACH regulations.

However, they also just look very good. ‘EasyWood™ Olive is a beautiful brown greenish wood filament which enables you to 3D print wooden objects with a nature moss-covered appearance. [It’s] a unique mixture of 40% grinded wood particles in combination with the modified and proven easy-to-print binding polymers used for our EasyFil™ filaments. This extraordinary blend has resulted in a high-end and unsurpassed “easy to print” wooden filament,’ the team tells us. The Ebony variety, meanwhile, has the exact same characteristics, but then results in a gorgeous colonial dark brown wood appearance – perfect for classy wooden creations.

Ebony.

And while most ‘unusual’ filaments can be a bit tricky to work with, we are told that these EasyWood filaments are just as easy – if not easier – to use as PLA, as it can be printed without a heated printbed (though you can use one at a temperature of around 35° to 60°C) and can be extruded at a temperature range of between 210°C and 225°C. ‘Next to its “easy to use” features, our Formfutura EasyWood™ filament range has an excellent roundness and very tight diameter tolerances, which makes this filament a perfect match with all common desktop FDM 3D printers,’ the Dutch team says. But of course you should play around with your own nozzle diameter, printing speed settings, and layer height to get the best response from your machine, as with every filament and 3D printer.

The already available Coconut.

And to get that perfect wood-like finish, all you need to do grind the surface of your prints a little bit with fine sandpaper. This will quickly create the beautiful wood-nerve structure, in either olive green or dark brown of course, that we are all looking for. This will simply highlight the rough edges and surfaces, as you would see on actual wood. This works best on the roughest surfaces, so in this case layers might actually be your friend.

In short, the Olive and Ebony EasyWood filaments are looking like an excellent addition to any maker’s arsenal. And with results looking that good and with prices (almost) in the same price range as regular PLA, why shouldn’t we start 3D printing in wood?

The EasyWood Olive / Ebony filament is priced at 32.95 EUR Incl. Tax. If you're interested, go here for more info on ordering


 

Posted in 3D Printing Materials

 

 

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Cults. wrote at 6/17/2015 11:52:11 AM:

Enjoy -10% discount on all Formfutura filaments with the promo code: CULTSFUTURA

Cults. wrote at 6/17/2015 11:51:44 AM:

Enjoy -10% discount on all Formfutura filaments with the promo code: CULTSFUTURA



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