Ever heard of Colorfab Woodfill? (3D printing)

[Jockos]

Hi all!

as some here use 3D printing for making parts for their cameras, I wanted to show something I found very nice.

I needed a new lens plate for my Szabad, and this time I noticed something called Woodfill when placing my order on 3Dhubs.

Woodfill is a composite material of PLA plastics and wood dust, and has the color of plywood. It's sturdy, and can be colored with wood dyes, the print quality was excellent with sharp corners and straight lines.

In this picture, I tried walnut crystals dissolved in water as dye, worked out pretty well!

I've not tested how effectively it blocks light yet, but am planning on putting on a thick coat of black paint on the back side, which should help with that as well.


I think composite materials like this will be big with home 3D printing, the tactile feeling is much improved compared to cheap glossy plastics, and both materials in the composite are quite environmentally friendly!

[Thebes]

I haven't printed with it, but I understand that it is supposed to be far more sandable than traditional pla's. I guess you can sometimes print to simulate woodgrain with some wood filaments.
I love the idea of these bioplastics, but I think one drawback with all the wood filled pla on the market is that it is not annealable. This means it glasses at between about F125 and F145. Not that we leave our cameras in hot cars intentionally, but as I understand it the normal pla then starts to distort according to the forces on it. There are carbon filled high temperature pla filaments which survive quite high temperatures after tempering in an oven, but I've not seen wood so I think finishability could be a concern. The Colorfab filaments are supposed to be some of the best on the market.

I'm thinking of 3d printing a 4x10 travel/backpacking camera, considering a Folger FT-5 and some mods for printing, I have several other large-ish items in mind as well. I'm thinking that it will come down to a pla of some kind, I really appreciate the eco aspect of it and if I ever sell on etsy etc that is a strong marketing point as well.

I presume you just printed the hole to the correct size? Or did you cut it, and if so how does it cut?

[Jockos]

I love the idea of these bioplastics, but I think one drawback with all the wood filled pla on the market is that it is not annealable. This means it glasses at between about F125 and F145. Not that we leave our cameras in hot cars intentionally, but as I understand it the normal pla then starts to distort according to the forces on it. There are carbon filled high temperature pla filaments which survive quite high temperatures after tempering in an oven, but I've not seen wood so I think finishability could be a concern. The Colorfab filaments are supposed to be some of the best on the market.

That's a very good point!
I'm just a beginner in 3D printing, buti was thinking: what if one covered the print in epoxy or similar? The hard "shell" should allow the print to retain it's shape at above melting point. Of course, one'd loose the nice touch finish.

I presume you just printed the hole to the correct size? Or did you cut it, and if so how does it cut?

I printed to the correct size! The print is not 100% filled with material, but rather has a honeycomb patterned structure inside. I guess if you own your printer, you could print it in a way more suitable for drilling!