3D Printing Samples

Models in polyamide are constructed from a white, very fine, granular powder. The result is a strong, somewhat flexible material that can take small impacts and resist some pressure while being bent. The surface has a sandy, granular look, and is slightly porous.

Material samples

Pricing info

• All designs that fit within a bounding box of 125 cm3 and have a maximum dimension of 200 mm comes at 12,5€ a piece.
• If your design fits within a bounding box of 27 cm3 (for example 30 x 30 x 30 mm) and has a maximum dimension of 100 mm, you’ll only pay 5€ per copy of that same design (for example you’ll pay 32,5€ for 5 copies as 12,5+5+5+5+5 = 32,5)
• For copies of any other design that still fits within the 125 cm3 and have a maximum dimension of 200 mm, you will pay 10€ per copy (for example, you’ll pay 52,5€ for 5 copies as 12,5+10+10+10+10 = 52,5)

Typical use

Polyamide can be used for complex models, concept models, small series of models (several copies of a model), lamps, and functional models. This technique allows the greatest freedom of design of all 3D printing techniques.

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Technology

Selective laser sintering is used to build your design with this material. The models are printed layer by layer by a laser that draws thin lines in the powder, which melts and bonds it together in order to form a thin layer of the model. After a layer is printed, a new layer of fresh powder is spread over the surface by a roller. The printer has a print chamber that is heated to just below the melting point of the powder; the laser beam adds the extra energy to melt the powder, forming a solid model. After a print job is finished, the result is a big block of heated powder with the printed models contained inside.

The surface of your 3D printed model is defined by the material and technology. In addition, the number of post-finishing steps also determines the cost and quality of your polyamide model.

The natural surface of your polyamide model is perfect if you just want a physical model in your hands. You get to see and feel the basic material your model was built from because all we need to do is print your model, clean it up and ship it to you. The natural surface option is always the cheapest option.

Additional information

• Polyamide is a material that is perfect for beginning-designers who want a well-priced model, a maximum freedom of creation, and who don’t want to be bothered with the limitations of the printing process.
• Polyamide models are not suited for outdoor use as they absorb moisture. However, in some cases the material can be treated to make it watertight.
• Be careful for models with large, flat surfaces or plates (<25 cm). When such a model cools down, it can deform. The deformation process is known as warping.

Polished models

Polishing, also referred to as mechanical smoothing, is a special finishing process for polyamide. Your model is put into a tumbler with small "rocks" that smooth your model while the tumbler vibrates at a high frequency.

Things to keep in mind for polished models:

• We can only polish models that are between 10 x 10x 10 mm and 
  200 x 200 x 200 mm
• We can only smooth the A side (the outside of your models), it’s not possible to completely smooth the inside
• Polishing will take 0.1 mm of material off your model, so add extra wall thickness to avoid any problems.
• Small details could be worn away and may even disappear.
• Edges will be rounded and your model will become less’ crisp’ once polished.
• Applying the polishing adds 2 extra working days to the delivery time.
• Pricing: 0.2 € per cm³ (±$0.28 /cm3) per model on top of the natural white color price + a startup of 1€ (± $1.38 ) with a maximum of 3 € (± $4.5) extra in total.*

* Price in Dollars may vary due to exchange rate with Euro

Dyed Models

Although the outside surfaces are easily paintable, unfortunately, not all surfaces are easily reached with a spray gun. To color models with such surfaces, we use a dying process where your model is submerged into a bath containing color pigment. Dyeing is also referred to as pigmentation or impregnating. Like with most post-finishing processes, a lot of manual labor is required.

• Dimensions max 200 x 150 x 150 mm
• Pricing: 0.2 € per cm³ (±$0.28 /cm3) per model on top of the natural white color price + a startup of 1€ (± $1.38 ) with a maximum of 3 € (± $4.5) extra in total.*
• Dying adds 2 extra working days to the delivery time.

The dyeing process itself consists of several steps:

1. First, your model is washed by hand to make sure no contaminants influence the dyeing and to make sure the color pigment can properly penetrate the model.
2. Then, we mix the color pigment in the right ratio. In principle we can create any color but as each batch is a manual process it would be very expensive to do this only for one model. That’s the reason why we currently only offer black, dark gray, blue, and red, to keep prices as low as possible.
3. Afterwards, the pigments are put in warm water; at this point additional materials are added so the color pigment can better the impregnate the polyamide material.
4. Finally the mixture is heated and your model is added, your model remains in the mixture for at least 20 minutes so that the color can penetrate the surface(although it does not go through the entire model).
5. Your model is taken out and washed. Done!

* Price in Dollars may vary due to exchange rate with Euro

Polished and Dyed Models

It is possible to polish and dye your 3D printed model to create objects that are smooth and colored. Polishing and Dying is one finishing technique that includes 2 consecutive steps, namely polishing and dying, respectively. To polish models, we use a mechanical smoothing process. Your model is put into a tumbler with pebbles that smooth your model while the tumbler vibrates at a high frequency. To color models, we use a dying process where your model is submerged into a bath containing color pigment. Like with most post-finishing processes, a lot of manual labor is required. It’s important to keep the rules below in mind:

• We can only polish and color models that are between 10 x 10 x 10 mm and 200 x 150 x 150 mm.
• We can only smooth the A side (the outside of your model), it’s not possible to completely polish the inside.
• Sharp corners are hard to reach and will be polished less.
• Color variation may occur due to difference in level of smoothness (e.g. inside and inside of corners - see above) and production processes**.
• Polishing will take 0.1 mm of material off your model, so add extra wall thickness to avoid any problems.
• Small details could be worn away and may even disappear.
• Edges will be rounded and your model will become less “crisp” once polished.
• Colors will appear lighter than regular-dyed models.
• Polishing and dying adds 3 extra working days to the delivery time.
• Pricing: 0.4 € per cm³ (±$0.55 /cm3) per model on top of the natural white color price + a startup of 2€ (± $2.8 ) with a maximum of 3 € (± $8.3) extra in total.*

* Price in Dollars may vary due to exchange rate with Euro

** Because of the unique nature of this production process regarding parameters, building position, light deflection and mechanical polish can cause variation in the intensity of the colors.

Velvet models

Go beyond painting your model and discover a special finishing option that not only changes the way the model looks, but also how it feels.

The process of adding a velvet finish to your models is called flocking, a fairly straight forward process. First, a suitable adhesive is applied to the surface to be flocked. The flock is then applied, penetrating the surface of the adhesive to create the desired velvet finish.

Electrostatic flock applicators charge the flock particles which are then attracted to the grounded surface that is to be flocked. Electrostatic application ensures that the fibers all end up standing at right angles to the surface resulting in a velvet finish.

Things to keep in mind for velvet models:

• The minimum bounding box measurements are 3 x 3 x 10 mm
• The maximum bounding box measurements are 150 x 150 x 150 mm
• We can only add velvet fur to the A side of your models, the side that is facing outwards
• It’s not possible to add velvet fur to the inside of your models
• Velvet finish cannot be added to interlinked or moving parts
• The fiber applied is about 1 mm in length
• Velvet fur is pretty resistant against friction
• Applying velvet fur adds 2 days extra to the delivery time
• Applying velvet adds 10€ on top of the natural white color price for each model

Painting

When the natural color of polyamide doesn’t meet your needs, we can paint your model with a can of spray paint. You could also do this at home yourself if you prefer.

You can also have your model painted in a professional spraying booth. There are 4 types of paint (only available through an offline price request): dead matt, matt, satin, and high gloss. The difference lies in the gloss factor. In other words, how "shiny" your model looks when it’s painted. The higher the gloss factor, the more light will be reflected from the model. The bigger the surface is on which the paint is sprayed, the bigger the visual difference between the different paint options .

As an example we have painted 4 metal plates in the 4 types of paint and placed a small polyamide ball on top of it. The more the ball is reflected, the higher the gloss factor.

Dead matt paint degree of reflection 10%.

Matt paint degree of reflection 30%.

Satin paint degree of reflection 50%.

High gloss paint degree of reflection 90%.
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