3D4Makers and Perstorp Introduce Strong, Smooth New Facilan C8 3D Printing Filament

When a new 3D printing material is developed, it doesn’t always mean new applications; it sometimes just means there’s a new material option for the same applications. Other times, however, a new material is introduced that enables entirely new uses of 3D printing technology. 3D printing continues to grow and spread throughout new industries and applications, and it’s materials that are unlocking the doors to those new areas. Filament developers and manufacturers 3D4Makers and chemical company Perstorp believe that their new filament, Facilan C8, is one of those materials that will allow previously unprintable products to be 3D printed.

Facilan C8 is a strong new material that prints without any visible layers. It’s designed as a functional material for manufacturing, and optimized for high throughput, high reliability applications. It has higher impact strength and tensile strength than ABS and is easier to print than PLA. It’s soft to the touch and, according to 3D4Makers and Perstorp, outshines all other FDM materials in terms of layer adhesion and surface quality. It’s also compostable.

The two companies saw an opportunity in the frustration of customers trying to use FDM 3D printing for manufacturing applications. Customers were reporting issues not only with the mechanical qualities of the 3D printed parts, but the printability of the materials themselves. Those issues included layer adhesion, warping, surface quality and failed prints. 3D4Makers and Perstorp set out to address all of those issues when they developed Facilan C8, which is the first in an entire family of Facilan materials.

“Together with 3D4makers unique process technology for high quality filament production, we are enabling fit-for-purpose filaments for 3D additive manufacturing,” said David James, VP Innovation at Perstorp. “It is all about chemistry and engineering at their best, and for satisfying today’s demand for more reliable 3D FDM printing quality.”

3D4Makers has a customer base that includes more than 40 universities across the world conducting research in bioprinting, aviation, soft robotics and orthopedics. The company develops its materials for a range of applications including drug-loaded implants, artificial trachea, smart materials, scaffolds, and end-use industrial parts. Its biggest customers include companies making commercial aircraft, precision machinery, race cars and consumer electronics, and they were all kept in mind when 3D4Makers and Perstorp developed Facilan C8.

“We’re incredibly proud to be working with such an innovative company as Perstorp,” said Andy Struijk, Sales Manager at 3D4Makers. “Their deep understanding of polymer chemistry and high-performance materials dovetails well with our understanding of 3D printing. Their diligence and expertise in testing and data collection and analysis have brought hereto unknown scientific rigor to the development of 3D printing materials.”

Facilan C8 is available in a 750-gram spool at 1.75 mm for €39. It can be purchased here. Additional materials in the Facilan family are also forthcoming, including Facilan HT and Facilan Ortho.

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[Images: 3D4Makers]