6 Top Trends in 3D Printer Filament

1. 3D Printing Becoming More Affordable

With 3D printers becoming less costly and more affordable, strong advocacy and support from government and industry, and a variety of affordable filaments from different 3D filament suppliers, 3D printing is becoming more popular and more affordable. Many individuals and small businesses are getting their own 3D printing setups to speed up the pace of product development. 3D printing technology is being used by many new types of businesses for a wide range of applications. The more printers on 3D makers’ desks, the more 3D filament will be used.

2. Increased Diversity of Exotic Blend Filament

Exotic materials like wood and metal are being utilized to create specific properties in 3D filament. Using exotic filament blends, you’re now able to create the unique finish, right look and physical properties for your 3D printing projects. Below are some of the hottest filament blends:

Wood: Wood particles/powders in filament create wood-like look and finish, and also gives off a sweet smell while printing;

Metal: Metal particles/powders in filament make your 3D parts strong, heavy and sleek, and may also make your prints magnetic and carry an electrical charge or signal;

Minerals: Elements like glass, sandstones and gemstones can be added to create different finishes, textures and other properties to the filament.

3. Powdered Materials for Custom Blends

Although it takes a longer time to manufacture, powdered feed stock mixes more uniformly for complex filament formulations. Powdered feed material is getting a respectable position in 3D filament production as new filament blends are created. Particularly, higher concentrations of metals and exotic materials can be mixed when utilizing powders, and the filament consistency is therefore far higher for complex blends.

4. Custom Filament Colors

You’ll benefit a lot from a broad array of colors if you want to make lifelike 3D prints with vibrant colors. In the past days, there weren’t as many color choices available for 3D printer filament as now. In order to match branding or visual requirements for their customers and project needs, 3D makers are now customizing their own filament colors. Below is a picture of the most common RAL & Pantone references.

5. Plant-based, Sustainable Filament

With people’s growing awareness of green environment and ecological sustainability, more and more new filaments are made from plants like sugar cane, corn starch and other materials, called bio-polymers or bio-plastics. Ecologically speaking, these filaments are more sustainable and less likely to clog up landfills as they naturally break down over the passage of time. For example, 3D filaments made from Polylactic Acid (PLA) use a plant-based plastic which is biodegradable and compostable.

6. Spool-less Filament Rolls

Filament spools are heavy for shipping and also generate lots of waste for those who 3D print on a frequent basis. In recent days, there has been a push to remove the spool from filament rolls. What’s more, with premium filament extruding machine becoming less expensive, a growing number of 3D makers are extruding their own material around used filament spools, which completely eliminate the need for shipping and disposing of print waste.