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Multi Material Printing

PLA + PETG + TPU

I had quite a hard time to found the model that I wanted but after long searches I found it. They are from Karel Pěnička Here is his (her ?) Printables Site.

I am using the Flexible Forearm.

In prusa slicer the PLA and the FLEX parts are already automatically setup. They are encoded in the shared files.

I modified the scale of the STL and also used the cut tool to cut the arm part off (so I could get a faster print).

Than I used the Paint on Support and its subfunction Automatic Painting. Than I went to Print Settings > Multiple Extruder > Extruders. Here I changed the head number for the support material so I could print with different filament the support and the model.

Extruder

  • Bones - PETG
  • Joints - TPU
  • Support - PLA

After slicing I got an error where the Wipe tower extruder and Bed temperature by extruder wasn't setup. So I put the head which contained the filament that is going to be most in contact with the bed.

Sliced

And so now I have a file that can be printed in +-2h.

PS: for usage optimisation we printed multiple projects at the same time. PS2: for minimizing print failure I check if Sequential Printing is possible but it is not yet implemented.

I was worried while it was printing of the size. It was smaller than I imagined and was afraid that the TPU links will brake.

while printing

So while printing I was told that the Prusa XL multi head we do not need to have a wipe tower. So I went online and read some articles. This one was the most useful one. So multiheads do not need wipe tower but mono head should have. And for mono head the infill can be used as the wipe tower to save space.

And they did. Some parts broke but other did not.

Printed

If there is time I will reprint it.

Puffin

Multicolor printing with the idea that we place a textile in between two layers.

Puffin

PETG Magnetite 40%

Bibliographic research as we did not have hardened nozzles. So to keep our brass nozzle in shape we only did a small print.

Filament released in December 2024.

The main points are:

  • Pros
    • Paramagnetic material
    • High density (heavy material)
    • Visually appealing matt black surface
  • Cons
    • Requires hardened nozzle
    • Lower layer-to-layer adhesion compared to pure PETG
    • Cannot be transformed into a permanent magnet under home conditions

Usage:

  • Radiation Shielding
  • Paramagnetic hardware parts
  • Electronic parts
    • Various induction sensors, transformers. switches, etc. (examples from Prusa)
    • multimeter continuity test is negative
  • Parts of magnetic boxes
  • Art and design
  • Magnetic puzzles

Magnetite

Potential Usage:

SDS:

  • Not toxic
  • Danger is when in molten state

Documentation research: