It’s all about “San Yang Kai Tai” – or Three Sheep Bring Bliss in a rough English translation – and it heralds the coming of the Chinese New Year in February during this, the year of the Green Wood Sheep.
The phrase can also means “with the advent of spring begins prosperity,” and now a Chinese company, eSun, has created a 3D printing material to reflect that golden hope for a better tomorrow. The team at Shenzhen eSUN Industrial Co. recently took the occasion to 3D print the bronze sculpture from a uniquely strong and metallic-looking filament they’ve just released, Bronze PLA.
The Chinese filament manufacturer offers a variety of 3D printing filaments, and by the looks of it, the bronze material will bring blissful results indeed.
“We aimed to produce a filament, not only with the color of bronze, but also the metallic feel and look of bronze,” says one eSUN R&D engineer. “Just like PLA, it is also easy to use and an environment-friendly filament. Bronze PLA is biodegradable, non toxic and no smell is produced while printing.”
Created for artists and makers looking to produce sculptures with a metallic or antique effect, eSUN Bronze PLA can also be easily recycled.
eSun says this new bronze version of their filament line has been engineered to minimize shrinkage and prevent warping, and as an added bonus, it extrudes at a low processing temperature.
While eSUN says printing with the bronze material for prolonged sessions means frequent nozzle cleaning will be required, they have an answer to that as well. The company makes a unique and transparent cleaning filament to help remove any material residue left behind following print runs with Bronze PLA.
According to eSun, the Bronze PLA filament provides good strength and elasticity, prints at temperatures between 190 and 210℃ and can handle printing speeds from 30 to 60mm per second.
Dutch firm ColorFabb also recently announced the release of their brassFill 3D printing filament based on a proprietary PLA formulation. The brass filament can be polished to produce, shiny golden objects. The company says the brassFill material is undergoing an intensive series of test procedures and the first deliveries are expected to begin by the end of February this year.
There are also a host of other metallic-like filaments on the market or in development. While no pricing information was released immediately for eSun’s Bronze PLA, a kilo of the company’s 1.75mm Gold color filament retails for $49.99.
Have you ever used any eSUN filaments, and if you have, can you tell us what you thought of the product in the Bronze PLA Printer Filament forum thread on 3DPB.com?
