FAQ

The main requirement for a successful print is a heated build plate. The printer you select must be able to maintain a heated glass build plate at 100C. We have tried many printers and so have our customers. Collectively we have converged on the Ultimaker models. These are not priced as an entry-level machine, but a generally considered an industrial/prosumer choice. We have found the Ultimaker machines provide very consistent results with almost zero downtime. Ultimaker also provides the Cura slicer software at no additional cost. This slicer is continually updated and improves with every release. Ultimaker machines and the Cura software make a combination that is hard to beat.

• Print on a glass bed heated to 100 C.
• Apply a single continuous layer of Elmer’s disappearing purple glue on the glass build plate for adhesion. Other PVA adhesives have not been as effective.
• Print with a single layer 10 – 15 mm brim attached to the part.  This is often not required for Fluorinar-C™
• Maximize part surface area in contact with the print bed
• .Set extrusion temperature 250 – 260 C.
• Layer height can be 0.1 – 0.2 mm.
• Print speed should be around 20 – 40 mm/s.
• If the part is small it will help to print in duplicate as the most recent layer on the first part is allowed to cool while the layer on the second part is printing.
• Fluorinar-H™ likes to run hot. We never use a fan with this material. 
• When using Fluorinar-C™ for larger prints, a fan can be used to increase print speed up to 70 mm/s depending on part geometry.  Keep an eye on things. 
• If interlayer bonding does not appear to be working then the fan or print speed can be reduced.
• When printing 3DBenchy with Fluorinar-C™ we run the fan up to 100% in order to get the rod holder and smokestack features nice and round.

Additional printing guidance can be found here.

To determine the amount of shrinkage in a printed part, we printed examples of the 20 mm XYZ calibration cube.
This STL file is available from Thingiverse.

Filament: Fluorinar-C™ (white)
Layer Height: 0.2 mm
Infill: 30%
X-axis = 19.80 mm (-1.00%)
Y-axis = 19.87 mm (-0.65%)
Z-axis = 19.65 mm (-1.75%)

Filament: Fluorinar-C™ (black)
Layer Height: 0.2 mm
Infill: 30%
X-axis = 19.82 mm (-0.90%)
Y-axis = 19.98 mm (-0.10%)
Z-axis = 19.91 mm -(0.45%)

If you can print the support directly to the build plate then HIPS or a TPU are possible candidate materials.

With HIPS, you won’t get adhesion between the support and the Fluorinar™ filament, but the HIPS will help bridge a gap between two locations. For instance, if you were printing the letter H, HIPS would help bridge the horizontal gap. If you tried to print the letter F, the two unconnected horizontal parts of the letter would not bond to the HIPS and would lift and curl. We print the HIPS at close to the same temperature as we do the Fluorinar™ PVDF: 240C with a 100C build plate temperature, HIPS dissolves in acetone and limonene. Acetone is a slow-acting solvent for PVDF so you want to be careful. Exposure of your PVDF print to acetone will cause the interlayers to disbond. Limonene has a boiling temperature around the softening point of the Fluorinar filaments, so if you use heat to accelerate the HIPS dissolving process be careful, otherwise the PVDF print will turn into a melted mess at the bottom of the beaker.

TPU is an interesting material. If you have ever purchased the foaming sealant from Home Depot, this is a form of polyurethane and it sticks to almost everything. It can be a real mess. There is a slight amount of adhesion between the TPU and the PVDF, so it does make a better support material. However, there is no easy way to dissolve this so mechanical methods are the only way to remove the support. Again, we print the TPU at the same temperature at the Fluorinar™ PVDF. Also, because of the similar temperatures, there is some cross-contamination between the materials. If you are printing in our white Fluorinar-C™ filament with a black TPU support, you will find it difficult to remove all of the TPU and will be left with small TPU specs and inclusions. If you print with a white TPU then these inclusions are not readily visible.

Follow-up question: Can you print either HIPS or TPU directly onto PVDF?

Yes and no. If you have an extended brim around the part made from the support material then you print the support material directly over the print as long as the support material is in contact with the brim. For instance, if you were printing the letter B you could surround the letter with a brim made from the support material and then fill in the interior regions with support material printed directly onto the Fluorinar™ PVDF.

We get it. Not everyone has the equipment, time or interest in printing. Nile Polymers has teamed up with Noah Kelley at Granville 3D Printing. Printing parts is what Noah does every day. Reach out to him and see what he recommends. His email is

granville3dprinting@gmail.com