PRINTING PURE METAL WITH FILAMET™

Working with Filamet™

Due to its high metal content, Filamet™ will inherently break more easily than standard PLA. Following these instructions will make Filamet™ easy to use.

Bronze is the best material to start with since it is easy to print and sinter. The Getting Started Bundle comes with everything you need to print, debind, and sinter Bronze Filamet™, minus the printer and kiln.

Spool Placement

• Place the spool so that pull and friction are reduced as much as possible. The filament should come off the spool straight into the feeder. For Direct Drive, this means you simply hang the spool right above the printer. For Bowden fed printers, this means placing the spool next to or under the feeder.
• Use a Filawarmer to ease the path from spool to printer.
  • The metal particles in Filamet™ are surrounded by plastic. This plastic keeps the memory of its shape on the spool. As Filamet™ passes through the warmer, the memory of the Filamet™ is reset and prints with ease. This effect lasts for about 24 hours.
  • Caution! Heating the entire spool at once will cause the filament to become extremely brittle. It’s important to heat only the single strand as it goes into the printer.
• To report any issues with Filamet™ after trying a Filawarmer, please contact [email protected].

Filawarmer Setup

The Filawarmer warms, strengthens, relaxes, and anneals the filament as it comes off the spool. It comes pre-programmed to the perfect temperature.

Hang the Filawarmer so that the top of the warming tube is at the same level as the spool center hole.

(Purchase a Filawarmer in our Online Store.)

The Best Nozzle

Use a 0.6mm or larger hardened steel nozzle for the following filaments:

• Aluminum 6061 Filamet™
• Amaco 46-D Ceramic Clay Filamet™
• Bronze Filamet™
• Copper Filamet™
• Inconel® 718 Filamet™
• Stainless Steel 17-4 Filamet™
• Stainless Steel 316L Filamet™

Use a 0.6mm or larger hardened steel nozzle for the following filaments:

• Rapid 3DShield Tungsten Filament
• Pure Iron Filamet™
• Titanium 64-5 Filamet™
• Silicon Carbide Filamet™
• Zirconium Silicate Ceramic Filamet™
• Pyrex® (Borosilicate) Filamet™

Use a 0.8mm or larger hardened steel nozzle for the following filaments:

• High Carbon Iron Filamet™

Printer Heat Settings

Nozzle temperature: Start at 210°C (410°F) and tune in the range of 190-230°C (374-446°F).

Build Plate Preparation

With a glass build plate, clean the build plate with isopropyl alcohol and print directly on the clean glass. To remove the print, remove the hot build plate from the printer and rest it on a cool/cold surface. Do not freeze the entire print. A razor blade can be helpful in removing stubborn prints.

With a powder coated spring steel build plate, no preparation is required.

With a PEI, aluminum, or other build plate type not mentioned, apply a layer of blue painters tape. For easier removal of prints, heat the build plate before removing the print.

Optionally, set the print bed to 40-65°C (104-149°F). For glass, setting the bed to 65°C (149°F) is required.

Note: Do not print Filamet™ directly onto PEI. Prints will weld to the build plate.

Printing Tips

• Set the flow rate to 135% to start and adjust it as you go. All printers will print differently, requiring different flow rates.
• For recommended print settings by filament, checkout the technical data sheets.

NOTE: WITH HEAT, OUR METAL FILAMENT BECOMES CLAY-LIKE. IT CAN BE CARVED, RE-SCULPTED, PIECES CAN BE ADDED AND SEAMS SMOOTHED.

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DEBINDING AND SINTERING FILAMET™

Note: Debinding happens with heat in the same furnace or kiln used to sinter your print. No special debinding equipment is needed.

	Alumina Crucible	Graphite Crucible	Stainless Steel Crucible	Refractory	Debind Temperature	Ramp Time	Sinter Temperature
Bronze	Recommended	Good	Good	AI₂O₃ & Magnesium Silicate Sintering Carbon	482°C (900°F)	7.635 Hours (Step BC20)	885°C (1625°F) (Step BC20)
Copper	Recommended	Good	Good	AI₂O₃ & Magnesium Silicate Sintering Carbon	482°C (900°F)	9.46 Hours (Step BC20)	1052°C (1925°F) (Step BC20)
Stainless Steel 17-4	Recommended	Good	X	Steel Blend Sintering Carbon	427°C (800°F)	–	1287°C (2350°F) (Step S15)
Stainless Steel 316L	Recommended	Good	X	Steel Blend Sintering Carbon	427°C (800°F)	–	1287°C (2350°F) (Step S15)
Inconel 718	Recommended	Good	X	Steel Blend Sintering Carbon	427°C (800°F)	–	1287°C (2350°F) (Step S15)

Stainless Steel Crucibles will be used up after a few cycles.
Al₂O₃ and Steel Blend can be reused for multiple sinter cycles.
Note: Furnaces can vary in temperature by 38°C (100°F) from the furnace readout which can adversely affect results. Test furnace temperature with an independent thermometer.
No sintering support is available for High Carbon Iron, Aluminum 6061, Rapid 3DShield Tungsten and Titanium 64-5 Filamet™ materials. To partner on the development of these processes, contact us.
Aluminum’s Oxides pose a challenge in the sintering process and it needs more than just an oxygen-free environment. Aluminum and its alloys can only be effectively sintered in pure nitrogen or in a vacuum. Argon has been used in the past, but can create some bonding issues between particles. There are conditions that aluminum requires depending on the alloy and geometry. Simple aluminum alloys such as 2014 can be sintered in dry nitrogen, but the furnace needs to be tight (-50 dewpoint) and uniform (±1°F) temperature control. Sintering development for Aluminum 6061 is underway. Current information and updates can be found here, as well as in our discord server here.
Oxygen is damaging to the metal sintering process. Sintering Carbon is used to combat this. Titanium is extra troublesome because it absorbs oxygen like crazy. It will pull oxygen out of a standard kiln’s insulation. Compounding the issue is titanium’s reactivity in the presence of oxygen and heat. The solution that we understand today is to use an all-metal kiln and a chamber thoroughly flooded with ultra high-purity argon.

These sintering cycles were developed using the Starter and Pro kiln. Temperatures may vary based on kiln brand and size.
Note: Furnaces can vary in temperature by 38°C (100°F) from the furnace readout which can adversely affect results. Test furnace temperature with an independent thermometer.
No sintering support is available for Silicon Carbide and Zirconium Silicate (Zircopax®) Ceramic Filamet™ material. To partner on the development of this process, contact us.

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SANDING AND POLISHING YOUR GREEN PRINT

Manipulating prints: With heat, our metal filament becomes clay-like. It can be carved, re-sculpted, pieces can be added and seams smoothed. Soldering irons or wood burning tools work well for this. For best results, use a tip that won’t be used for soldering/wood burning and set the temperature to 200-235°C (392-455°F).

How to avoid melting when sanding metal filament: Important! Constant movement to different areas of the part is necessary when sanding to avoid unintentional melting. Experimenting is worthwhile.

Needle file: To make print lines vanish, sand the surface even. The loose particles from sanding are smashed into the print line gaps with the heat from the friction, fixing them in place. This step is complete once the entire print’s surface is smooth and even.

Sandpaper or 3M Radial Disc: Start with 120 grit sandpaper or 80 grit 3M Radial Disc, and go over every part of the print. The matte surface will become shiny as finer grits are used. Complete the entire surface of the print before moving to the next grit. The Virtual Foundry recommends using 4 grits with 3M and 6 or 7 grits with sandpaper. A nice shine can be achieved with less, but the mirror shine comes closer to the 7, ending around 3000 grit. After sanding, rub the print down with some flannel or a sunshine cloth to clean off loose particles. A mirror shine should be evident at this phase, even before the last step.

Sewn Buffing Wheel and Zam: Place sewn buff on a rotary tool, then liberally apply zam to the buff and to your print. The print will melt if it gets too hot, so it is critical to keep the buffer moving and continue to apply zam liberally. It may be useful to practice this step on a simple print or a “failed print.”

If you will be sintering your print: Polishing before sintering is not necessary. Post-sinter, the print will behave as the metal it’s made of – file it, weld it, polish it.

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Have Questions?

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THE APPLICATIONS FOR FILAMET™ ARE ENDLESS, EVERYTHING FROM JEWELRY TO BLOCKING RADIATION.

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