3D Printing

RichRap’s Adventures Continue With 3D Printing — Tie-Dying & Printing Nylon 618 Filament

Tiki Rostock Nylon 3D PrintedRichard Horne, aka RichRap, has garnered many keen followers on his 3D print at home adventures as a result of his ability, his talent and his endless capacity for openly sharing everything he learns. We last heard from Rich on 3DPI when he shared his Rostock Delta 3D printer build and first prints. Since then he has been experimenting with colours — nothing particularly new there you may think, there are loads of filament options available now. But Rich has been creating his own colours for the Taluman Nylon 618 material, specifically tie-dying them with spectacular results. Nylon is a very versatile printing material and does not require a heated bed, has low warp and cooling fans are not required for any size part. And according to Rich it has great potential for adding colour: “From the moment I spotted the 618 Nylon was available I wanted to try colouring the raw filament with more than one colour, something I have always wanted manufacturers to make is a range of filaments that have changes of colour during the roll or even across the roll, now I had a way to do it myself.” Important to mention that the material manufacturer (Taulman 3D) states that colouring of the Nylon filament is entirely possible, but recommends dyeing the parts afterwards for best results. Ever the tinkerer and tester though, Rich wanted to try something different. And he did …

Taluman Filament Nylon 618 Magenta part dyed

“I used powder based Rit dye, this is compatible with Nylon, if you try anything else, do make sure it’s suitable, some Dye’s state they are not, and some (Dylon for example) don’t seem to give any real advice on Nylon. Other specific acid based dyes are designed for Nylon, but getting hold of them is not all that easy in the UK, seems a little easier in the US. After ignoring the instructions for the dye and most other information I could find, I just boiled a kettle of water, and added around 200ml to the Rit Dye sachet in a glass jam jar – stirred for 1 minute until dissolved.” Then it was a case of applying the dye to the filament – rinsing, cooling and printing. Rich has printed parts large and small with some really rather beautiful results.

Nylon Sack Yellow Pink 3D printed NYLON Pots 3D Printed Rostock Delta Rostock Nylon Printed parts

An intro video (part 1 of 2) can be viewed here:

But for a full set of instructions, including all the tips and tricks Rich has to offer, as well as part 2 of the video, head over to Rich’s blog.