Full color 3d printing

[benjamin barber]

Does anyone know of a full color 3d printing system that is affordable to a hobbyist?

[John Biehler]

Define affordable...I'm not aware of anything under $5k that could do that (other than dualstrusion) and that figure would be my cutoff for affordable, hobbyist level printers.

[Joseph Chiu]

There are some homebrew stuff out there using plaster and color inkjets.  But nothing that is being actively sold.  I believe the Z-Corp system printing is still well covered by patents, hence the lack of marketed ink-colored 3d printers.

I know another approach that has been done was to essentially roll butcher paper a layer at a time and then laser-cut the layer to make 3D objects.  The layers could be colored by inkjets as well.

On Mon, Dec 17, 2012 at 2:50 PM, benjamin barber <starw...@gmail.com> wrote:

Does anyone know of a full color 3d printing system that is affordable to a hobbyist?

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[ddurant]

> dualstrusion

 

Er.. Not likely to ever be able to do full color.

 

Benjamin: google reprap full color - they're the ones making progress here in FDM. If you REALLY want real full color, keep an eye on home powder printers like http://pwdr.github.com/ . Still a ways off but, IMO, probably the future.

[Jetguy]

Just my 2 cents by I got to puts hands on a Stratosys this morning. I
saw the print quality, discussed the costs per object, replacement
parts, resin, etc..

You wouldn't want one of these if you've been doing FDM.

They are about to sell this machine cheap and even then, not sure I
would touch it. The supplies alone are just insane.
I think the quote was over $600 for the binder agent (glue) that has
ultra short shelf life (weeks), printheads that must be used daily or
else they clog and are trashed. We aren't even talking adding color
yet, this is raw white. The parts made from this thing are best
descibed as being made in Italy (AKA Fragiilay, hey, it's the season,
come on) (BTW isn't that leg lamp somewhere on Thingiverse?) The owner
said the resin used to strengthen parts is very agressive to your skin
even through gloves.

So sure, you could make an open source powder printer, but if a
commercial machine has these problems, then I would hate to see long
term use on the DIY kit. Or, maybe the DIY is that good. The thought
of the powder, the resin, clogged nozzles, daily required usage and
cost make me think not a good idea. Add color to the mix and now it's
two disasters, ink and glue nozzles clogging, material costs, and
shelf life.

On Dec 17, 6:04 pm, ddurant <dduran...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > dualstrusion
>
> Er.. Not likely to ever be able to do full color.
>
> Benjamin: google reprap full color - they're the ones making progress here
> in FDM. If you REALLY want real full color, keep an eye on home powder

> printers likehttp://pwdr.github.com/. Still a ways off but, IMO, probably

> the future.
>
>
>
> On Monday, December 17, 2012 6:00:49 PM UTC-5, John Biehler wrote:
> > Define affordable...I'm not aware of anything under $5k that could do that
> > (other than dualstrusion) and that figure would be my cutoff for
> > affordable, hobbyist level printers.
>
> > On Monday, 17 December 2012 14:50:29 UTC-8, benjamin barber wrote:
>
> >> Does anyone know of a full color 3d printing system that is affordable to

> >> a hobbyist?- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Have Blue]

That wouldn't have been a Stratasys, then - I assume you meant zCorp?  The binder agent is just superglue, nothing fancy there.  You can also do a wax dip to strengthen the printed parts.

How much is the machine being sold for?  They may not be able to make structural parts, but they certainly have applications.

[Jetguy]

Your right, Z corp, the other school has the Stratosys. Too many
places, too many printers.

> > > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

[ddurant]

I think that's debatable.. I've handled parts off a commercial color powder printer and I was very impressed. Different than FDM to be sure but still quite nice. And I'm not really easily impressed.

 

As for consumable costs, the folks over at open3dp have me not-so-worried about that..

[benjamin barber]

What would any of you think about adding ink to a PLA or ABS while its in the extruder?

[Andy]

I'm curious as to how we could control the dye bleed into other parts of the model.  

Taulman's 618 filament can be dyed with RIT.  Perhaps there could be an inkjet sitting next to the extruder nozzle, precisely coloring each layer of the print ?  

-Andy

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[Doogiekr]

might wanna check this out... http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:11742

[Cymon]

That doesn't answer the issue at all. That colors the filament as it's going in, but anyone who's changed filament colors knows it takes at least a few layers, sometimes more, to clear out the extruder. There needs to be a solution that colors the filament closer to the exit hole. I've pondered this in the past but never had the time or inclination to peruse the idea, but little needles right next to the exit hole that feed inkjet ink into the exiting plastic should work... theoretically.

[Bottleworks]

If you want full color control, use:  http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:23775 .  But you can't use that on a Replicator.  TOM, maybe?

[hellphish]

The OP is wondering about a full color 3d printing system. I don't think the filament blender is what he is looking for.

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[Bottleworks]

Hmm, a system that can print in the whole color range.  That fits "full color printing" to me.

[hellphish]

Sure, make the filament blender (which does make *cool looking* prints) make something like this or this and you have a viable full color 3d printer. Printing with swirly mixed up colors is NOT the same as a full color 3d printer.

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[Bottleworks]

Read up on it more first.

[Have Blue]

I've also seen prints from newer powder bed printers and they were far more stout than the gypsum powder based ones from a 402C.

Unfortunately, I haven't looked into what powder/binder combo they're using at this point - anyone know?  Or is there some sort of post-process that is being used currently?

[benjamin barber]

I was under the impression that one was using superglue, and that the models weren't very study either, but i havent seen any of it in comsumer tech.

[ddurant]

It looks like open3dp adds maltodextrin to the material itself and the 'binder' sprayed on is actually an alcohol-based solvent. It seems like the print itself, hot off the machine, is fragile (not to mention water-soluable) so some type of post processing is needed - cyanoacrylate/super-glue or wax, I think.

 

Having to post process may be a drag but looking at the recipies (include printing with rice flour and using sake as a binder.. awesome) it seems like the actual materials are nearly as cheap as dirt. Certainly cheaper than PLA/ABS..

[Joseph Chiu]

One university research lab created a recipe for powder beds that creates pottery clay that can be directly fired in a kiln - terracotta, sugar, and pva: http://ceramicartsdaily.org/ceramic-supplies/pottery-clay/the-printed-pot/

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[ddurant]

> One university research lab created a recipe for powder beds that creates pottery clay that can be directly fired in a kiln

 

Yup. That's the open3dp people.. :)

 

They've also printed in things like salt and bone.. Cool stuff.

[Joseph Chiu]

Oh, ha ha.  Didn't realize!  Cool stuff, for sure!

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