Sculpteo Introduces Solid Black Plastic to Their Extensive 3D Printing Material Lineup

Whether they’re providing us with a analysis on the current “State of 3D Printing”, detailing the specs of a few of Carbon’s materials, or simply introducing us to innovative materials of their own, France-based 3D printing service bureau Sculpteo is covering the industry from almost every corner. Already offering over 48 different combinations of 3D printing materials and finishes, from a variety of plastics to silver and brass, the 3D printing service provider’s material line is now expanding once again. For those looking to print their designs in a fine black plastic material, they need not look further than Sculpteo’s newest material, Solid Black Plastic.

The new plastic material is a fine black polyamide powder that is compatible with Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) technology, using the powdered bed fusion process to print solid black objects without the need for dye or paint. The powder itself contains the dark color, which ensures that the 3D printed part will remain solid black throughout its lifetime. The new Solid Black Plastic material is also quite strong, almost reaching the resistance levels that are found in injection plastic parts. The new addition to the material family marks the third plastic powder color offered by Sculpteo, joining the ranks of their white and gray plastic materials.

But, the Solid Black Plastic does have slightly different properties in comparison to the two closely related materials. The newest material is composed of Polyamide 11 (PA 11), while the white powder strictly contains Polyamide 12 (PA 12), and the grey colored material is engineered with a mixture of the two. As Sculpteo notes, the lower the number of PA is, the more resistance the material will offer. However, there is a price to pay for the higher resistance, as the Solid Black Plastic is slightly less prone to accuracy.

It is also slightly more difficult to brush and sand blast the Solid Black Plastic as well, and Sculpteo forewarns that their customers may find some small pieces of powder within the 3D printed part. In accordance to this, the 3D printing service bureau suggests putting extra attention towards where the hole is placed during the object’s design process, which is needed to rid itself of the powder that will inevitably get trapped inside. Sculpteo also states that the diameter and depth of the hole within the design will determine whether or not it can be hollowed completely.

To print in this material, Sculpteo utilizes the EOS FORMIGA P 110, a flexible and cost-efficient professional-grade 3D printing system for creating parts in polymer. Compared to the white and grey colored plastic materials, parts printed in the Solid Black Plastic will be slightly more limited in size, maxing out at 180 x 220 x 300 mm. Depending on the selected delivery plan, Sculpteo can produce the part in their fine black polyamide material in two to three days. According to the blog post detailing the Solid Black Plastic, they are still working towards developing polishing finishes for the material, which will eventually give objects printed in this material the appearance of a plastic injection part.

This newly launched material is being made available by Sculpteo at a 20% discount, encouraging their customers to celebrate their new low-cost and highly precise Solid Black Plastic. The new polyamide powder is ideal for both novice and professional designers, providing a solid black print that is high in precision, low in cost, and has some incredible resistant properties to boot. Thoughts on this latest material release? Discuss over in the Sculpteo Solid Black Plastic 3D Printing Material forum at 3DPB.com.