Every time I go to Kickstarter I feel like a kid in a candy store, delighted by the vast array of technological treats. The latest innovative idea to catch my eye comes in the form of a flexible filament that’s not only enticing, but affordable.
Filastic is a newly introduced filament that you can try out with a pledge of only $35 (if you are one of 100 backers getting in early enough) through their campaign running up until May 26th in hopes to raise $10K.
Produced by BotFeeder of Taiwan, Filastic just looks like too much fun not to check out. See the video below if you are wondering what I mean. The texture and flexibility are inspiring in themselves, giving a whole new thought process to what we can create with 3D printing.
A classic problem with 3D printing material is that often flexibility and strength don’t go together for the long run. With that challenge in mind, the team at BotFeeder set out not only to offer the strength needed, but also even more flexibility—as well as offering a safe and reliable product.
This is always a great indicator: BotFeeder is made up of a company of makers. I find that these tend to be the companies coming out with the most useful and reliable products because they were motivated to create them out of their own need, and due to that they also want the products to be great.
Because the team at BotFeeder 3D prints all the time and is aware of and experiencing the same challenges everyone else is, they decided to attack the central issue for failed prints: failing material.
“Even when we operate with the best 3D printer, the print is nowhere near perfect,” states the BotFeeder team. “The problem [has been] filament quality – consistency, tolerance, contamination, and resin grade.”
BotFeeder employed use of a stronger molecular bonding so the TPE material, available in 1.75mm and natural white only, does not break under considerable stress and compression. It’s ‘plug and print’ and go, with no calibrations required, and should operate on any 3D printer.
With a tolerance of better than 0.05mm, the BotFeeder team is aiming to offer ‘tight tolerance’ for high quality 3D prints.
Recommended settings:
- Print Speed: 30mm/sec
- Layer Thickness: 0.3mm
- Extrusion Temperature: 230° C
- Print Bed Temperature: 100° C
Infill and hardness:
- 100% infill, 88A to 90A (10s)
- 50% infill, 83A
- 25% infill, 75A to 77A
- 15% infill, 65A to 67A
BotFeeder assures us that this filament is unlike any other. If you can get in for the earliest bird discount pledge of $35, that’s a great deal—but even so, there are many spots open to purchase it a still-low price of $55 for one 700g spool. There are also packages available for ordering larger quantities.
Once the Kickstarter campaign is complete, BotFeeder’s plan is to add additional team members, finalize supply agreements, and begin production. Are you planning to support this campaign? Have you been searching for a stronger and more flexible 3D printing material? Discuss in the BotFeeder’s Filastic 3D Printing Filament forum thread over at 3DPB.com.
