2. Official Ultimaker filament
• The filaments officially supported by the manufacturer are Ultimaker
PLA, Ultimaker Flex PLA, Ultimaker ABS, and U-PET.
• Ultimaker offers an open-filament system so you may use any brand
you choose, but printing with unofficial filament is more at the user’s
own risk
• Any direct damage resulting from use of third-party filament is not
eligible for warranty claim
• Printing profiles and settings vary between materials due to the
different properties of each type of filament
3. PLA – Polylactic acid
• Bio-degradable
• Made from corn starch
• Glass transition temperature: 60-65 C
• Melting temp: 180-220 degrees C
• Color can alter some of its properties
• Brittle, firm and holds its shape
• Good for prototyping, modeling, non-
functional or aesthetic models
4. ABS – Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene
• Common chemical-based thermoplastic, not
bio-degradable
• What Legos are made from
• Glass transition temperature: ~105 C
• Melting temp: 200-250 degrees C
• Lightweight and malleable
• Prone to warping
• Good for functional parts, technical prints,
models that require supports or finishing
5. U-PET – Polyethylene terephthalate
• Good at bridging large gaps
• What clear plastic water/soda bottles are
made from
• Glass transition temperature: 67-81 C
• Melting temp: ~250 degrees C
• Fairly stiff, strong, impact resistant
• Good for complex technical prints
6. Flex PLA
**EXPERIMENTAL - Recommended for experienced users only**
• This filament shares many of the
features of standard PLA, but has a
small degree of flexibility in the finished
print. The shore hardness is about A 92.
• Not as flexible as something like
NinjaFlex
• Flex filaments are prone to twisting and
bending, which is not optimal for
Bowden-fed setups
• Only available in black and white
7. Third-party and experimental filaments
• Ultimaker features an open-filament system, so you are still able to use
third-party and experimental filament
• Experimental materials are recommended for EXPERIENCED users only
• Some popular filament manufacturers include:
• eSun
• ColorFabb
• Taulman 3D
• FormFutura
• Some experimental/specialty materials include:
• woodFill, bronzeFill, glowFill
• NinjaFlex and other flexible materials
• LayBrick, BendLay, and other property-changing materials
8. woodFill
*Experimental material
• colorFabb woodFill - PLA/PHA + fine
pinewood fibres
• About 70% colorfabb PLA and 30% recycled
woodfibres
• Glass Transition Temperature – 55 C
• Increase flow rate with about 0-10%. This will
cause the filament to keep going through the
hot zone at a steady pace.
9. Bronze/brass/copper Fill
*Experimental material
• colorFabb bronzeFill - PLA/PHA + fine bronze
powder
• Glass Transition Temperature – 55 C
• Might need to increase flow rate a bit, 4-8% was
perfect for UM2
• Easy to sand *careful not to lose detail*
• Start sanding with grit 120-180 and make sure all the
printed lines vanish. Then start working your way up
by following with grit 240-320 and finishing off with
grit 600 - or higher. Use a clean soft cloth and some
copper polish to really get all of the shine out of the
bronze particles.
10. glowFill
*Experimental material
• colorFabb glowFill -
PLA/PHA + concentrated
phosphorescent pigment
• Glass Transition
Temperature – 55 C
• Print with100% infill and
charge up your models
with some high power
lights, or just let them
enjoy the sunlight for a bit.
11. NinjaFlex – Thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer
*Experimental material
• Performs best in printers with direct-
drive extruders
• Recommended print speed: 30mm/s
• NinjaFlex is 85A; NinjaFlex SemiFlex is
98A (50D)
• When switching from another polymer
(such as ABS or PLA) purge thoroughly
before starting a print.
• Should be used in a well-ventilated
area
1=Low 2=Medium 3=High
12. NinjaFlex continued
*Experimental material
Features:
•Consistent diameter and material properties
provide reliable, high quality prints
•Patent pending technology allows for smooth
feeding
•Low friction exterior allows smooth feed through
filament guides
•High elasticity and excellent abrasion resistance
•Excellent build platform adhesion and bonding
between layers
•Filament hardness of approximately 85A
(NinjaFlex) and 98A(50D) SemiFlex
•REACH and RoHS 2002/95/EC Directive Compliant
•1.75mm filament spool = .50 kg
•3.00mm filament spool = .75 kg
Processing Guidelines:
•Recommended extruder temperature: 210 -
225°C
•Recommended platform temperature: 20 - 50°C
13. Laybrick
*Experimental material
• Product surfaces can be adjusted between smooth and rough
• Pressure Temperature range: 165 ° C - 190 ° C for smooth surfaces and from 210
° C for rough surfaces (cooling apply)
• Laybrick 3D printed products have a temperature resistance of up to 70 ° C
• Warping can almost be considered as excluded
• Pressure can be carried out without heating bed
• Ingredients: co-polyester, natural minerals such as ground limestone
• Products are both colorable and sanded
• Pressure layer thicknesses of 0.1 - 0.4 mm recommended
• Cooling time after the pressure is between 2-3 hours, depending on Pressure
Temperature (please do not touch or move at this time)
14. BendLay
*Experimental material
• Modified Butadiene, which is safe for your household, food products,
and medical devices
• Remains 'bendable' after it is printed
• Recommended Extrusion Temperatures: 230°C-240°C (Can be printed
as low as 210°C)
• Similar to ABS in that it is amorphous and there is no real glass
transition temperature. It has about the same heat resistance as ABS
and gets noticeably soft around 140 C.
• BendLay is soluble in brake cleaner. Acetone will make Bendlay
crumble
15. Other property-changing materials
*Experimental
• POROLAY:
• The POROLAY line consists of four different types of filaments: LAY-FELT, LAY-
TEKKKS, LAY-FOMM (40 & 60) and GEL-LAY. LAY-FELT and LAY-TEKKKS are
similarly felt-like materials, though LAY-TEKKKS is thinner and more fibrous.
LAY-FOMM and GEL-LAY are foamy and gel-like respectively. The composition
of the POROLAY filaments consist of two different materials; a functional
component, for example an Elastomer (i.e. a rubberlike) and a soluble
component (e.g. PVA, sugar, salt, or soluble resins).
• LAYceramic:
• Meant for firing into hard pottery
• Kiln required
and more…
16. Print settings & tips for Ultimaker
• PLA- Print temp: 210°C notes: print with fans on
• ABS- Print temp 250°C notes: print with fans off, heated bed at 110°C, don’t print
too fast
• Wood- Print temp: 225°C notes: use little or no retraction as the material might
break, speed around 50mm/s, you can vary the temperature to get color
variations
• FlexPLA- Print temp 230°C: notes: add some oil in the tube, print slow at around
10mm/s - 25mm/s, heated bed at 60°C
• BendLay- Print temp 210-240°C notes: great for printing light emitting objects.
• LayBrick- Print temp 175-210°C notes: higher temps gives a smoother finish
• Nylon- (Taulman 618/645) Print temp 260-265°C notes: very strong and flexible
great for jewelry or high durability prints
Source: 3Dhubs.com
17. Always remember to…
• Do research! Find out:
• If the filament is recommended for Bowden setups
• How high-quality the filament is – you want a diameter tolerance of no
greater than around ± 0.05mm for common materials, ± 0.10 mm for
experimental materials
• The recommended print settings for the filament you want to use
• What other users have had success with, or what the common issues are
• Be patient and don’t give up!
• With 3D printing, it can take some trial and error before you find the right
balance with print settings. Rome wasn’t built in a day – but maybe it would
have been if the ancients were printing in Laybrick!
