Specialist 3D Printing Filaments
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ProtoPasta is a new American brand leading the way in Special Materials and Filament for 3D Printing
They specialise in high quality, market leading materials such as stainless steel, carbon fibre, magnetic and conductive materials
Some of these filaments are abrasive (as marked) - we have tried many different brands before settling on ProtoPasta and found them all to be the same in terms of abrasion.
We strongly suggest using a nozzle with a long-life coating or stainless steel - regular brass nozzles wear very quickly with these filaments.
We have a range of coated nozzles available, please see the
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NEW! Matte Fibre - Properties close to Carbon Fiber without the wear. Has the same matte finish, but in a range of colours!
- Stainless Steel is a blend of PLA and Stainless Steel powder. This results in a filament you would with normal PLA
- Carbon Fiber PLA is a mix of carbon fibers and PLA
- Magnetic Iron PLA responds well to magnets. Our magnets stick on strongly even through the packet!
- Conductive PLA is slightly conductive
- PLA v2 a new formulation of PLA which can be annealed (heat soaked) after printing to raise the temperature at which it softens and warps
- Matt Fiber a new formulation of PLA v2 plus Cellulose Fibers
- PC-ABS Alloy is a mix of ABS and PolyCarbonate, so it is compatible with the UP series of printers, and when printed at a higher temperature (260+) than normal, gives a better print finish
Matte Fiber High Temperature PLA
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Proto-Pasta Website
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If Carbon Fiber and Wood Filament got together, Black Matte Fiber HTPLA would be the result. Great for both artistic and technical parts with no special hardware required!
Printed parts have a low luster, textured surface which creates a highly desirable contrast between light and shadow.
Texture, color, and sheen can be somewhat manipulated by printer settings as well as post-processing.
Printed parts can also be smoothed or weathered with paint for alternate aesthetics.
Based on Proto-pasta's HTPLA resin, Matte Fiber HTPLA can be heat treated for higher temperature performance.
The addition of plant-based fibers, reduces dimensional change during the heat treating process compared to standard HTPLA.
Matte Fiber HTPLA can also be smoothed by carving or shaving with a sharp edge as well as glued, sealed, and painted more easily than most plastic thanks to it's more wood-like characteristics.
No abrasive fillers so expect normal wear with standard nozzles.
Use standard PLA parameters with standard build surface preparation (blue tape, glue stick, or BuildTak). No heated bed required.
Non-Abrasive
High Temperature PLA or PLA v2
More on the
Proto-Pasta Website
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Proto-Pasta PLA version 2 OR HTPLA - a new formulation of PLA which can be
annealed (heat soaked) after printing to raise the temperature at which it softens and warps
This new formulation is higher performing, more obviously heat treatable, and lower cost. This tough PLA prints with ease but has a potential Heat Deflection Temperature (HDT) of as much as 140C (285F) depending on post-processing. This means parts retain more stiffness and form at higher temperatures (no warping on your sunny car dashboard).
For maximum performance, your prints should be heat treated (i.e. crystallized) in an oven until you see a change from translucent to opaque. There is an obvious visual change indicating the improved performance! We had good luck in a lab oven at 110C (230F) for an hour or less. We recommend leaving the supports on your parts, placing them on a non-radiating surface (like glass, ceramic, or composite), and letting them cool in the oven to minimize distortion. Parts can be baked at a lower temperature (though must be above 60C for any change to occur) for a longer time with less risk of unwanted deformation.
No abrasive fillers so expect normal wear with standard nozzles.
Use standard PLA parameters with standard build surface preparation (blue tape, glue stick, or BuildTak). No heated bed required. Some shrinkage may occur in the annealing process, so dimension critical parts may need to be scaled as much as 2.5% to compensate.
Non-Abrasive
Stainless Steel
Proto-pasta Stainless Steel PLA is a dense material that prints as easily as standard PLA but results in heavy prints that can be finished post-print to achieve amazing results. Perfect for jewelry, costumes, props, figurines, crafting, robots, and more!
Proto-pasta Stainless Steel PLA is a compound of Natureworks 4043D PLA and finely ground, powdered stainless steel. In filament form, it is rather brittle, and should be handled with care to avoid breakage.
We only had it break when we were heavy handed during filament loading, though if we had tried this on a Bowden Tube style of extruder (those based on the Ultimaker design) we may have had problems.
Print with standard PLA settings. We found it stuck to the print bed stronger than standard PLA to BuildTak and needed to lower the bed slightly
Can be polished with wire bursh, rock polisher or wheel polishing with cut and polish compound for best results.
Abrasive
Carbon Fiber PLA
Prints made with ProtoPasta Carbon Fiber PLA are demonstrably more rigid, providing excellent structural strength and layer adhesion with very low warpage. It has a beautiful matte black finish with a slight sheen due to the embedded carbon.
Proto-pasta Carbon Fiber PLA is made from NatureWorks 4043D PLA Resin compounded with 15% (by weight) chopped Carbon Fibers. It is more brittle than standard PLA in its filament form, so handle it carefully to prevent breakage.
We found it easier to use on standard PLA settings than the ColorFabb equivalent. Recommended Temperature between 195 and 220 degreesC
Abrasive
Magnetic Iron PLA
Proto-pasta Magnetic Iron PLA - as its name implies - responds to magnets and behaves similarly to pure iron, even to the point of rusting! Magnetism opens up a new world of practical applications and fun creations, and is an especially great choice for costume pieces and props!
Proto-pasta Magnetic Iron PLA is a compound of Natureworks 4043D PLA and finely ground iron powder.
In filament form, it is rather brittle, and should be handled with care to avoid breakage.
It is recommended to drop the temperature by 10 degrees from what you would use for standard PLA
To age the Iron, sand the surface to expose more iron particles and soak for 2-3 days in salty water
Abrasive
Conductive PLA
More on the
Proto-Pasta Website
Have you ever wanted to create something with your 3D printer that includes electronics? Maybe an LED, touch sensor, or some other genius invention to solve the world’s problems? Then Proto-pasta Conductive PLA is the perfect material for you.
The resistance of a 10cm length of 1.75mm filament: 1.8Kohm
The Volume resistivity of 3D printed parts along the layers is 30 ohm-cm
A higher printing temperature of 215-230 is recommended to improve layer adhesion and thus conductivity
It is very low shrinkage/warping and works in dual material prints with PLA, allowing more uses!
Non-Abrasive
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PLA Blend Filament - 1.75mm - Conductive - 500g Spool - UNTIL SOLD OUT
Have you ever wanted to create something with your 3D printer that includes electronics? Maybe an LED, touch sensor, or some other genius invention to solve the worlds problems? Then Proto-pasta Conductive PLA is the perfect material for you! Prints at standard PLA settings on a non-heated bed.
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PLA Blend Filament - 1.75mm - Conductive - 125g Coil
Have you ever wanted to create something with your 3D printer that includes electronics? Maybe an LED, touch sensor, or some other genius invention to solve the worlds problems? Then Proto-pasta Conductive PLA is the perfect material for you! Prints at standard PLA settings on a non-heated bed.
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PLA Blend Filament - 2.85mm - Conductive - 125g Coil
Have you ever wanted to create something with your 3D printer that includes electronics? Maybe an LED, touch sensor, or some other genius invention to solve the worlds problems? Then Proto-Pasta Conductive PLA is the perfect material for you! Prints at standard PLA settings on a non-heated bed
PC-ABS Alloy
A fan favorite, our Polycarbonate-ABS (PC-ABS) Alloy is an incredibly tough material designed for strong, resilient parts. This unique material provides vast improvements (over standard ABS) in heat deflection, impact resistance, rigidity, and flexibility.
PC-ABS is a high performance material that produces excellent prints, but it is a finicky material prone to warping during the printing process if temperatures are not consistent. A heated bed (120° is optimal) and 260°+ hot-end are required, an enclosure to is highly recommended.
Non-Abrasive
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Polycarb-ABS blend Filament - 1.75mm - Natural - 500g Spool
This great filament is a blend of 10% Polycarbonate and 90% ABS, made by ProtoPasta in the USA
Nozzles
Our nozzles are coating with a Wear Resistant High Lubricity TwinClad XT Coating for longer life - this is most important with the abrasive filaments listed above, or your brass 0.4 nozzle soon becomes 0.8mm!
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0.4mm Nozzle - M6 Thread for MK8 Extruders - Twin Clad Coated
This wear resistant nozzle by Micro Swiss is the standard size for a range of printers
It has a Wear Resistant High Lubricity TwinClad XT Coating this makes it a excellent choice when printing with abrasive/wearing material such as Bronze, Copper, Alumininium or Carbon Fiber filament.
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0.4mm Nozzle - M7 Thread for MK10 Extruders - Wear Resistant Twin Clad Coating-FFptfe
This This wear resistant nozzle by Micro Swiss suits a range of printers has an M7 thread and 0.4mm hole.
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0.4mm Nozzle - M6 Thread - Wear Resistant Twin Clad Coating - 3mm Filament
This wear resistant nozzle by Micro Swiss is the standard size for a range of printers has a 5mm long M6 thread and 0.4mm tip hole. Total Length 13mm. The main hole is for filament with 2.85/3mm diameter or 3mm OD PTFE tube.
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TwinClad Coated 0.4mm nozzle for Zortrax M200 + UP Plus 2 printers
This nozzle from US firm MicroSwiss fits Zortrax M22, Afinia and UP! style printers, it is made from a 360 brass base material and plated with TwinClad XT coating.
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0.4mm Nozzle - M6 Thread for Ultimaker or E3D Hotend - Twin Clad Coated - 3mm Filament
Nozzle for the E3D Hotend with a Wear Resistant Twin Clad coating for long life
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0.5mm Nozzle - M6 for Hexagon Hotend - Twin Clad - 3mm Filament - UNTIL SOLD OUT
This is LulzBot / Hexagon hotend style nozzle. With M6 thread for 3mm Filament or PTFE Tube
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0.4mm Printrbot Style Nozzle - with Twin Clad Coating
This is Nozzle Upgrade for Printrbot Ubis Ceramic Style Hot End
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Stainless Steel Barrel with TwinCladXT Coating
This tube is an improvement over the stock MakerBot Replicator 1 and MakerBot Replicator 2 thermal barrier tube. Also used on many other types of 3D Printers
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All Metal Hotend kit for MK10 extruders-FFD-FFtc
Genuine Micro-Swiss all metal hotend upgrade for MK10 style extruders.
MK10 Extruders most notibly used on the FlashForge Dreamer, Inventor1 and Creator Pro 2016 and Dremel Idea Builder. It also fits the Wanhao i3 and Cocoon