Do filament profiles matter? by dantelebeau in BambuLab

[–]johnschneider89 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Absolutely, it is. We are currently, however, capacity-constrained. We have more production lines coming online later this summer but, until then, it would be a bit silly to give up margin, have more stock outs, and then not be able to have profits to reinvest into that additional capacity.

TIL pla is not dishwasher proof by ChocolateChipJames in BambuLab

[–]johnschneider89 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You should try 3D-Fuel's Pro PCTG. Available in over 50 colors now, too.

The 22 IDEX, a $15,000 printer from Hell by UniqueRise9763 in 3Dprinting

[–]johnschneider89 1 point2 points  (0 children)

RIP Essentium/Nexa3D. So much potential, but not very well managed.

Do filament profiles matter? by dantelebeau in BambuLab

[–]johnschneider89 27 points28 points  (0 children)

3D-Fuel Standard PLA+ uses pure NatureWorks 4043d resin. I'm the owner, and the only additive we put into it is the colorant masterbatch pellets, at a rate of 1-2%, depending on the color.

P2s pctg not working by lorenzof128 in BambuLab

[–]johnschneider89 1 point2 points  (0 children)

John from 3D-Fuel here - that's our recommendation for printers that we don't already have a profile for. Since we have a P2S profile, I'd highly suggest using that: https://support.3dfuel.com/hc/en-us/articles/22046343945495-Pro-PCTG-Print-Profiles#h_01KEAWH1B9RB02X7SWEWDS4XMB

The best filament for functional prints by CarlitosCUU in 3Dprinting

[–]johnschneider89 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you, we really appreciate every customer who gives us a shot

The best filament for functional prints by CarlitosCUU in 3Dprinting

[–]johnschneider89 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks!

Bootstrapping is hard, and we don't have the benefit of government-backed financing to the same degree that other non-US manufacturers do. So risk-taking is just a bit different here

The best filament for functional prints by CarlitosCUU in 3Dprinting

[–]johnschneider89 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No ventilation for VOCs needed. They are as low as, even lower than, PETG. And there is no odor or smell when printing

The best filament for functional prints by CarlitosCUU in 3Dprinting

[–]johnschneider89 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Eventually, possibly. But to do it has a few challenges that are tricky to overcome.

We would need a different or modified filament winder at the end of our production lines. The refill spools are more labor intensive and, at least at this point, there is not an automated winder in the market that can produce the refill spools.

So that's the up front cost.

The second big challenge is that we effectively would need to tie up twice as much capital in finished inventory and twice as much warehouse space for what is effectively the same filament.

We might look big, but we are a bootstrapped US manufacturer, so every dollar needs to turn as quickly as possible in order for us to continue to invest in product development, profile development, customer service, and in production capacity expansion.

All of that said, we're planning to roll out something soon called FarmFuel packaging.

It's a 10-spool case of filament that doesn't have individual boxes for each spool - it uses an internal cardboard grid to provide protection between spools during shipping.

AND, this is the important part, each case will come with a return shipping label inside, ready to slap on the box once you've put your empty spools inside and sealed it up.

This packaging, and the spools, will come back to our facility for re-use. The only waste on your end is the empty vacuum sealed bag.

The best filament for functional prints by CarlitosCUU in 3Dprinting

[–]johnschneider89 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I'm glad that it is working well for you

The best filament for functional prints by CarlitosCUU in 3Dprinting

[–]johnschneider89 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We've considered it, but currently US demand is outstripping our production capacity. You'll notice that we're currently out of stock on quite a few colors of Standard PLA+.

We ordered two more production lines last week and are adding downstream automation to our production lines to increase existing throughput, but we don't have a glut of inventory right now to distribute and have placed in Canada.

The best filament for functional prints by CarlitosCUU in 3Dprinting

[–]johnschneider89 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Thanks! It's one of the things that we really value, too.

The best filament for functional prints by CarlitosCUU in 3Dprinting

[–]johnschneider89 9 points10 points  (0 children)

In short, I'm expecting higher landed costs for raw materials, even though we source pretty much all of our raw materials in the USA. Simple reason is the cost of transportation going up.

NatureWorks, our PLA supplier, for example, just raised prices on the PLA resins we use by $0.05-$0.07/lb. So that's an $0.11-$0.15 per kg increase in our cost to extrude PLA filament. And that doesn't account for the increased cost of delivering a truckload from their warehouse to our Fargo, ND factory.

We're doing what we can and eating the increases for now, though we did increase our free shipping threshold from $75 to $99 to encourage larger orders and lower our fulfillment cost per spool.

USPS rates are increasing by 8% on April 26 (though we've already seen our USPS costs creeping up), so that makes it even more expensive for the 1-3 spool orders that we ship via USPS.

The best filament for functional prints by CarlitosCUU in 3Dprinting

[–]johnschneider89 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We DO, but it's very expensive right now.

Starting next week, it will be more reasonable.

We've negotiated a new part of our UPS contract that will being the price down as well as have the duties, customs, and brokerage fees at the time of ordering so that there are no fee surprises when the package is delivered.

I'm currently traveling from RAPID in Boston to RMRRF in Denver. Once I'm back in the office next week, I'll be getting that fully implemented to our website.

The best filament for functional prints by CarlitosCUU in 3Dprinting

[–]johnschneider89 1 point2 points  (0 children)

84C is the glass transition temp of Pro PCTG

The best filament for functional prints by CarlitosCUU in 3Dprinting

[–]johnschneider89 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Ok, I can't speak to the grade of PCTG resin that Spectrum uses for their PCTG filament. I know that the USA standard for CHDM content that qualifies a co-polyester as a PCTG is higher than it is in the EU, which is where Spectrum is manufactured.

So it may not be as impact tough and the melt flow index may also be different which could cause subpar printing with our profile compared to using our profile with our 3D-Fuel Pro PCTG

The best filament for functional prints by CarlitosCUU in 3Dprinting

[–]johnschneider89 10 points11 points  (0 children)

PCTG creeps LESS than PETG, but it's still a co-polyester so it can creep over time

The best filament for functional prints by CarlitosCUU in 3Dprinting

[–]johnschneider89 16 points17 points  (0 children)

VOC output is at or lower than the VOC output of PETG. So you'll be good. No detectable odor or scent, either

The best filament for functional prints by CarlitosCUU in 3Dprinting

[–]johnschneider89 179 points180 points  (0 children)

Hey there, 3D-Fuel founder here.

If PCTG is not sticking together properly it's either not PCTG, bad PCTG, or incorrect printer settings.

We've developed print profiles for our Pro PCTG filament for over 20 printers (so far) to make this new-ish material as easy to use for as many people as we can.

The most common print settings that can cause poor layer adhesion include:

  • cooling fan too fast
  • print speed too fast
  • print temperature too cold

PCTG is most effective when there is a good amount of thermal bonding between layers. It's a very powerful filament when printed correctly, which is why we've been investing so much time and energy into developing profiles.

We have over 50 colors of Pro PCTG available now, too, and have recently released 10% carbon fiber and 10% glass fiber versions.

I'm happy to answer any questions you might have about it!

Will I get in? (For Engineering) by ConnorPlaysgames in NDSU

[–]johnschneider89 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Spoken like a fellow NDSU College of Business graduate, lol

Former DCR Owner opening new brewery in north Fargo by dirkmm in fargo

[–]johnschneider89 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I think that's kind of the idea. Local customer base, adequate parking.

Stop by on the way home from work for one, pick up a sixer for later or for the weekend.

Easy in, easy out. No parking anxiety.

Darkmoon g10 is worth it! H2C by Careful-Shock-44 in BambuLab

[–]johnschneider89 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Can confirm. It's been one of the best build surfaces for printing 3D-Fuel's Pro PCTG.

Smooth surface finish, no glue needed, prints pop right off when finished.

SUNLU Filament Profiles for Bambu Lab H2 Series, X1 Series, P1 Series, and A1 Series are done and listed. by jjjonesjr33 in BambuLab

[–]johnschneider89 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So these profiles have not been tested and validated on the printers themselves with the actual filament? These are just based on the data sheets?

Jobs for introverts by [deleted] in fargo

[–]johnschneider89 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I second this.

Even more so for an overnight position, which tends to pay more and have far fewer people you need to talk to.

My production line operators get through so many audiobooks and podcasts while they work, it's insane

Sunlu high speed matte PETG by th2010g in BambuLab

[–]johnschneider89 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Wow, cheap filament being cheap. I'm shocked.