By Spectrum Filaments
Ecology has been an important trend at the consumer and industrial level for several years. Every year the world is flooded with tons of plastic, the vast majority of which will remain with us forever. This problem is noticed by leading companies in the 3D printing industry, which are successively implementing solutions that follow a new, pro-ecological direction. One of them is Spectrum Filaments, which announces the premiere of new products in its offer as well as a significant change in the area of their packaging.
Spectrum Filaments announces the premiere of 2 new eco-materials that will be presented at the Formnext 2022 fair in Frankfurt am Main: the innovative GreenyHT biopolymer, which is fully biodegradable, ensures high temperature resistance, and Spectrum ecoPET 9021 – a 90% recycled material. Additionally, Spectrum will present new cardboard spools and sets of 5 materials on 250gr spools, offered as one product.
Spectrum GreenyHT
Spectrum GreenyHT is based on a high-performance biopolymer with a softening point (VICAT) of 100°C and thermal resistance (HDT B) of up to 90°C. The material also does not contain additional plasticizers, which ensures the purity of the mixture. In addition to high temperature resistance, in terms of stiffness and hardness, it significantly exceeds the popular alternatives on the market of biodegradable plastics, such as PLA.
Spectrum GreenyHT is fully biodegradable and compostable under industrial conditions defined by the EN 13432 standard. The bio-base comes from non-genetically modified (GMO-free) sources and meets the conditions for contact with food. In the visual sphere, the new filament is distinguished by the characteristic roughness of the 3D printed surface. The irregularity and mattness of the surface effectively mask the layers, significantly increasing the aesthetic value of the printed models.
The filament is wound on an ecological, cardboard spool. The spool contains information about the type of material, diameter, color and recommended 3D printing temperature.
Advantages of Spectrum GreenyHT:
- VICAT softening temperature – up to 100°C
- HDT B thermal resistance – up to 90°C
- rough, matte surface finish
- no plasticizers
- biodegradable and compostable
- increased stiffness and hardness
Spectrum ecoPET 9021
Spectrum ecoPET 9021 is based on polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is not modified with glycol (as in the popular PET-G filaments). The lack of glycol translates into much greater stiffness and resistance to stretching. However, the most important information is that the source of Spectrum ecoPET 9021 is recyclate. However, in contrast to the classic recycling, which consists in granulating flakes from cut bottles, a more advanced raw material was used here, resulting from chemical depolymerization and re-polymerization of waste.
In the case of classic methods of recycling plastics, it is extremely difficult to obtain adequate purity and homogeneity of the material, because the packaging is made of various types of PET. The mix of various materials and the specific chemical randomness of such a mixture translate into problems during 3D printing of the filament. The use of granules formed in the process of depolymerization and re-polymerization of the Spectrum precipitation guarantees the quality and ease of prints from ecoPET 9021. It is also worth to emphasize that the share of recyclate in the mixture accounts for over 90% of the filament composition.
This approach has resulted in the creation of repeatable, ecological and print-friendly filament, the advantage of which over classic PETG is not only its impressive temperature resistance up to 125 ° C (max. 200h) and low water absorption, but also greater tensile strength and stiffness.
Advantages of the Spectrum ecoPET 9021
- 90% recycled content
- thermal resistance up to 125 ° C (max. 200h)
- tensile strength increased by 20% compared to classic PET-G
- stiffness increased by 50% compared to classic PET-G
- good chemical resistance
- high surface quality after printing
- good impact strength.
Spectrum 5Pack
Another novelty in the Spectrum offer is 5Pack – sets of five colors of a given type of filament or a mix of materials in the form of five spools of 250 gr each. The materials are already wound on new cardboard spools. Spectrum 5Pack sets have been prepared so that each customer can create various elements in a wide range of colors and materials without the need to purchase more of a single type of filament.
Cardboard spools
Heading towards greener future, Spectrum Filaments has made a strategic decision to begin the process of partially switching its products to cardboard spools. Due to the fact that the company has over 60 catalog items in terms of the same types of materials, which translates into hundreds of items (taking into account colors and diameters), this process will be progressive. The benefits of the new spool can already be seen at its source – unlike plastic spools that come from non-renewable sources, cardboard spools are environmentally friendly and have a lower carbon footprint. The new Spectrum Filaments spools are made of pressed and die-cut cardboard, thanks to which they are strong and easily withstand the loads they are subjected to.
