ColorFabb XT-CF20 Carbon Fiber Filament

[nilrog]

Yup, plastic is plastic even if it is injection molded.

Thanks for your input. It's always nice to get input from someone who has tried what you want to do

[Amedee]

In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is.

[LePaul]

Yes...

I do have a couple of 3D printed parts on the 1:5 scale car, but no critical pieces (cable holders, ...) and that's fine.
On the 1:10th I printed some spares (in XT), they do brake, but the injection-molded original parts are breaking as well

For things like spacers etc, it does the job...

XT-CF20 Vs. Carbon

What's the sample on the right? I see the left is CF20

[Amedee]

A Euro coin

In the center it is a milled carbon plate -- Wanted to compare 'real' carbon parts with printed ones

[LePaul]

Money laundering!

No no....the two printed pieces

[Amedee]

read the small prints

[Anders Olsson]

So, the XT-CF20 is not about being stronger (higher load before breaking). It is not stronger in that sense than pure XT.
What Colorfabb claims is that it is more rigid (bends less under a certain load, higher flexural modulus).

We did some comparisons with torque wrenches as I mentioned.
ABS and XT (PETG) gives about 0.3 Nm of torque and PLA about 0.5 Nm, which corresponds fairly well to the flexural modulus of these plastics.
The XT-CF20 gave about 0.6 Nm, which is certainly higher than pure XT, but not three times as high as the flexural modulus would suggest.
It is also uncertain if the carbon fibers cause additional friction in the torque wrench that affects the result.

But anyway, XT-CF20 certainly appears more stiff than pure XT, which is interesting for example for drones, where you don't want things to flex too much under load. It appears not to be that much more rigid than PLA though.

[LePaul]

For my scientific friends, I found this write up about carbon fiber and signal blocking. I noticed some quadcopter/drone guys complaining their devices would loose contact and crash.

Carbon Fiber and Radio Signals

[Titus]

Guys help, I've been printing XT CF20 but it stays stuck on my bed like hell. I used a bit of the TESA gluestick with water and microfiber cloth to spread it out, but I couldn't get it loose after it was cooled down to room temperature, I even broke my tools:
https://ultimaker.com/en/community/2052 ... ply-143913

What is your experience with it? Do you use glue, water, nothing? I had no trouble with the print itself whatsoever, it printed nice.

[Izzy]

Hi Titus, I haven't printed with it for a little while, but my favourite is to spray some hair spray on the bed. I have only printed a few small parts so no real problem with bed adhersion.

[Neotko]

I think his problem it's just the opposite Izzy, it sticks wayyy too much

[reibuehl]

I have had some success in the past freeing stuck prints by using a compressed air spray can. If you spray it up-side-down, you can use it like a freezing spray. The shrinking in the part is usually enough to make it loose the grip.

Since you used TESA glue - which is water solvable, you could also try to remove the build plate and then soak it in water.

[Titus]

@Izzy, yeah, it sticks way too much
@reibuehl. Actually, when I tried to remove the last parts that were broken off and still stuck I soaked it in hot water and it came off relatively ok. I wonder however, isn't water bad for the print? I have no experience with CF20, so that's why I'm wondering. As you might have seen I'm printing parts of Neotko's ultimaker dual fan.

I'll try it again with TESA glue, and afterwards fridge(no freezer) first, and otherwise water

[reibuehl]

Water shouldn't harm your print as long as you do not soak it in water for days. CF20 is based on PLA which is said to be somewhat bio-degradable but we are talking about months or years here.
So the worst that can happen is that if your print is not water tight, some water might get into it but that should also come out afterwards. It might just take a few days if the holes are small

[darkdvd]

CF20 is based on XT...