Innovative New 3D Printing Filament Coming From Helian Polymers (colorFabb) & Eastman
During 3D Printshow, in London, this September, the world will be introduced to a brand new 3D printer filament, which resulted from the collaboration between Eastman Chemical Company and Helian Polymers (brand owner of colorFabb). Eastman Chemical Company is one of the world’s leading producers of specialty polyesters, and they employ approximately 14,000 world-wide. Helian Polymers produces many unique and innovative 3D printing filaments through their brand name, ColorFabb. Previous offerings that have been released include bronzeFil, which is a filament that looks and feels like real bronze, and woodFil which looks and feels like real wood.
“Our intensive efforts have resulted in a polymer formulation that has specific advantages for 3D printing,” explained colorFabb
The new 3D printing filament is completely styrene-free, with a very low-odor emission, and is temperature resistant. It will provide 3D printer owners with a high-quality product and will be very consistent to use. More details of this new filament will be released at the London 3D Printshow in September, but the companies truly believe that it will allow consumers to create strong, functional 3D printed objects on their desktop 3D printers.
“3D printing is a fast-growing technology that’s ushering in a new era of manufacturing for health care, transportation and other high-profile industries,” explained Alex Dudal, market development representative, Eastman Chemical Company. “This new, proprietary polymer will bring excellent strength, workability, processing, low-odor and aesthetics to 3D printed products.”
When using a 3D printer, one of the main complaints that I hear from makers, is the fact that filament can be so brittle at times. With this new material, this shouldn’t be a problem. It has several unique features including toughness, clarity, and low-odor (styrene free). Most importantly though is that it is completely food contact compliant. It also features a high transition temperature of 75 C +, and will bring much more functionality to desktop 3D Printing.
“We are very glad to be working with Eastman on this project,” said Ruud Rouleaux, managing director, Helian Polymers. “This new offering will open a huge window of opportunity to the 3D printing industry.”
It should be interesting to see what uses people come up with for this new line of filament. We should get a better idea of what this filament consists of, and what the general appearance looks like this September. What do you think? Discuss in the Eastman / Helian Polymers 3D Printer Filament forum thread on 3DPB.com.
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