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XT-CF20

XT-CF20

Our first special filament based on the Amphora 3D polymer. Reinforced with 20% specially sourced carbon fibers, this filament is perfect for parts which need high stiffness. XT-CF20 has a beautiful matte surface finish when printed.

CARBON FIBER IS ABRASIVE:

A special point of attention is the abrasive nature of the carbon fibers. In general these fibers will accelerate the nozzle-wear of brass nozzles, much faster than unfilled filaments. Therefore we recommend to use hardened steel nozzles.

Only 179 left

Product Name	Qty
XT-CF20 1.75 / 750	70
XT-CF20 2.85 / 750	90
XT CF20 1.75 / 2200	8
XT CF20 2.85 / 2200	11

Availability: In stock

€49.95

Buy 4 for €44.96 each and save 11%
Buy 8 for €42.46 each and save 15%

XL Spools (2, 2.2, 4.5, 8 KG)

* XL Spools are made to order, each item will have it's own lead-time.

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Details

Details

colorFabb XT-CF20 is a copolyester based carbon fiber composite material that is based on the unique Amphora 3D polymer from Eastman Chemical and is loaded with no less than 20% specially sourced carbon fibers suitable for 3D Printing.
Combining carbon fibers in filaments material is not a new idea, but colorFabb has been able to combine a lot of desired properties into 1 new material :

Extreme High Flex Modulus (6.2 GPa), twice as stiff as PLA/PHA
Moderate strain at break (8-10%), so no extreme brittle filament, but toughness
High Glass Temp. (Tg = 80C)
Very high Melt strength
Very high Melt Viscosity
Good dimensional accuracy and stability
Low odor / Styrene Free solution
Easy processing on many platforms
High attractive matt black surface

CARBON FIBER IS ABRASIVE

A special point of attention is the abrasive nature of the carbon fibers. In general these fibers will accelerate the nozzle-wear of brass nozzles, much faster than unfilled filaments. There colorFabb recommends to use nozzle’s from Stainless steel or hardened copper alloys.

APPLICATIONS :

Just think of all the great applications for a variety industries, that now will have a material that performs according to expectations. Functionality, stiffness, dimensional stability, heat resistant, what more can you ask? Applications in the RC Industry / Drones / Aerospace / Automotive / Prototyping and many more can now be developed on your desktop 3D Printer.

AMPHORA 3D POLYMER

ColorFabb XT-CF20 is produced wih AMPHORA 3D Polymer from Eastman Chemical.

Amphora

Amphora 3D Polymers is a specially developed co-polyester just for 3D Printing. It’s toughness and high meltstrength makes it the perfect material for producing fiber reinforced composites, providing the necessary viscosity for 3D printing, combined with a high toughness in the filament and end application

Reviews

Customer Reviews (14)

Great filament

Quality

I've used many kgs of this filament now and absolutely love it. It's a great functional filament with excellent properties and comparatively easy to print at the same time (e.g. no warping).
The finished products have a very nice, matte look as well.
Obviously you'll need a hardened nozzle and tweak your print settings a little, although I'm using the same profile for this and standard XT filament now. Review by Oliver (Posted on 11/10/2018)

Great results with Prusa i3 Mk2

Quality

I actually can't see any argument for aomeone to complain about this filament. The support by Colorfabb is excellent: very patient and generous and tech support is open to and take the time for trouble shooting and sharing knowledge.

XT-CF20 is only functional and rigid when the printer is well dialed in. Keep the fan speed as low as possible and let the material bond. The oozing is the only downside and requires close attention; you can do the groceries nevertheless. (Perhaps adding a binder/binding agent to this filament will eventually solve this final issue.) For the Prusa i3 the settings below and produced good end results for me...

Printing: 3DLac as primer; E3D hardened steel nozzle (0.4 mm); default extrusion width = 0.44 mm.
Retraction: length = 1.2; lift = 0.2 to 0.4; speed = 45 mm/s; retract before travel and at layer change.
Layers: height = 0.1 or 0.2 mm; shell = 1.6; ensure vertical shell thickness; relative Z-height = off (keep the flow stable to lower oozing).
Bed temperatures: first layer = 85 and 245; other layers = 70 and 245.
Fan: always on; disabled until skirt height is reached; speed between 15 and 30%.
Bridging: fan = 40; flow ratio = 1; speed = 15.
First layer: width = 0.47; speed = 10.
Top infill: width = 0.46; speed = 20.
Other speeds: travel = 140; gap fill = 10; minimal speed = 10.
Perimeters: thickness = 1.6 mm, width = 0.43; speed = 25; seam = nearest.
External perimeters: width = 0.44; speed = 20.
Fill: octagram spiral; cubic at 40%; overlap = 40%; width = 0.42; speed = 35.
Support: honeycomb with sheath; pattern at 30°; contact distance = 0.001 (for perfect snap-off); xy spacing = 0.8; pattern spacing = 1.6; width = 0.43; speed = 25. Review by David van der Weij (Posted on 9/6/2017)

Challenging print, great reward

Quality

This is definitely one of the flagship filaments. The prints are great, strength is extremely high for 3D printed parts, it's not in any means flexible so this will not bend to any degree like I've seen on other carbon blends. Definitely usable for even the most extreme usecases!

The downside is, it doesn't like to stick very well without a heated chamber and does warp, so only some of my printers are able to use it, also the temperature is way too high for most hobby printers, I calibrated mine to 268°C. But if you can get ambient temperatures of around 40°C, a stable heatbed of 70°C and a cooling fan to very moderately pull away the heat then this is a very tame filament that provides very rewarding results. Review by bardiir (Posted on 8/16/2017)

Good Product

Quality

I had great hopes for the carbon fiber reinforced filament and I must confess that I was surprised when I checked the result of my prints. It is really rigid and makes it possible to print parts with demanding mechanical properties. A fantastic product that takes 3D printing to a new level when it comes to mechanical strength. Review by rdsds (Posted on 5/19/2017)

Great properties / Very tricky to print well

Quality

Got a roll of it from E3D along with a 0.4mm hardened steel nozzle. The filament is nearly as extremely rigid but just as durable as a PETG and the combination is very good for quadcopter parts that need both impact resistance and stiffness. On the other hand, I did find this filament very difficult to print with. There is a very fine balance between too high of extrusion rate causing blobs to build up on the extruder versus too low of extrusion rate giving poor layer adhesion and a weak part. Have also never been able to get good fine detail from the filament. Can be great for RC parts but is not for the faint of heart. Review by Jason (Posted on 4/16/2017)

Weak in compression

Quality

This filament is good and rigid for large parts, but the details as well as adhesion between layers with thin walls are weak. The compression resistance is bad (When you tigten strongly a screw, it enters progressively inside the material)
The aspect is good and global rigidity of the part is good as well
But it is not adapted for functional assembled parts Review by Laurent (Posted on 12/30/2016)

Good and beautiful - but maybe not much more

Quality

This material is something you will look at when wanting to find a good, tough material that suits some special applications - and that is definitely what this material promises.

However, what I found was that for stiffness I was much better off with standard grade PLA, maybe even annealed PLA, while this material for me formed a rather weird, soft-ish texture that would bend more than expected, and that with thicker walls.

I was printing with 0.4mm nozzle, 260°C, and speeds around 40mm/s

Another thing to look out for are the "Nozzle blobs". This material will stick to the nozzle and create blobs of itself that grow in size until they get stuck to the print and ruin it. I have no idea why or how, but it makes printing with this over longer times more of a gamble.

However, once thing this material does is look good, and has GREAT temperature and overhang stability while and after printing, as well as appropriate layer bonding!
So at least one thing is somewhat good. Review by David (Posted on 11/12/2016)

Excellent... when you get it right!

Quality

I went through a spool of this before I got the printing right... I settled on 0.5mm hardened steel nozzle, 245c ET and 75c bed temp with 40ms... The trick is to switch off retraction altogether!! In my experience it doesn't clog at the nozzle but in the cool part of the extruder tube... so as long as it keeps flowing its fine... if it retracts it sticks in the tube!! Also keep a pair of tweezers handy and grap those blobs before the nozzle hits them... The finish is exceptional though...I wouldnt use anything else now. Review by Lee (Posted on 10/30/2016)

great but with challances

Quality

I love how the materials looks after printed. I print at 0.2mm layers, 40mm/sec speed, nozzle 290 degrees and bed 90.

The only problem I find is that sometimes with the material a big chuck comes out (something I do not have with any other material) and as this material is super fast very hard and strong, this chuck can be in the way and destroy a print.

On my sigma with a springloaded bed, this usually is not much of a big problem, but on my kossel XL with no spring loaded bed a huge issue and the collision between the chuck and nozzel will force the printer to be out of alignment and ruing the print.
Review by Richard (Posted on 10/16/2016)

I Love This Stuff

Quality

Like most people who use 3D printers, I have tried a whole slew of 3D printer filaments that the manufacturers claim are strong enough to use in structural components of your designs, but until I found XT-CF20, I had always been disappointed in both the print quality and strength of parts made with these other 3D printer filaments.

And naturally, I was a bit skeptical when I ordered my first roll of XT-CF20, but I was (and continue to be) amazed by this product. I use this filament mostly for fabricating or enhancing RC aircraft parts, including landing gear struts.

Before I found XT-CF20, I would have never even considered using a 3D printed part for something like landing gear struts that can take some serious abuse, especially during hard landings. But I have been able to use XT-CF20 for things like this with confidence. In fact, I have found that I am more likely to damage my airframe than break a part printed with XT-CF20.

It's true that you do have to work a bit to get your 3D print job parameters set right for this filament, but once you do, the parts are not only strong but look great too.

So far, this is the most useful, most durable 3D printer filament that I have found, and before I found this filament, I didn't think it was possible to make 3D printed parts that would rival commercial grade OEM parts in terms of strength and durability, but I am convinced that parts printed with XT-CF20 actually do.

I love this filament and always make sure to order more before I run out so that I can be certain to always have some on hand.
Review by John (Posted on 7/29/2016)

Approuved by Copterlab

Quality

As we build a lot of gimbals, we need strong material.
We reviewed lot of 3d printed carbon filament and finally this is the best we used (for the moment) ;-)
Layer: 0.15mm
Nozzle temp: 260°c
Bed temp: 50°c
Speed: 75mm/s
Buy with confidence. Review by copterlab.com (Posted on 11/7/2015)

This is some sexy-smexy stuff

Quality

If you know your printer a little, have a stainless nozzle and are willing to make the necessary sacrifices, you'll be in for a ride. As with any exotic material, it wants to be treated right. This means not too thin layers (I'd recommend 0.2mm or upwards), speeds below 40mm/s, stainless nozzles larger or equal to 0.4mm diameter, a toasty 260°C on your hotend and a cuddly 65°C on a kapton bed. If all goes well this will leave you with a beautifully matt black, grippy surface on a part as rigid as I've never experienced it before. Think much stiffer than PLA, but you can hit it with a hammer and it won't shatter (within reason, of course).

The only question that remains for me is, what took you so long, Colorfabb? ;) Review by Jonas (Posted on 9/8/2015)

Bin enttäuscht

Quality

Das Material ist wirklich sehr sehr Stabil und verspricht lt. dem Video super Druckergebnisse...
Jedoch ist das drucken mit dem CF20 ein Qual. . Jede neue Geometrische Form benötigt ihre eigene sehr sensible Einstellung. 3 Rollen Bestellt. Und nach 5 Tagen dauertest gebe ich auf... Die paar Ergebnisse die nach vielen hin und her gespiele in den Einstellungen erwecken nicht den Eindruck eines Prozesssicheren Materials. Sehr schade.

Reply: Create ticket @ support.colorfabb.com Review by Markus (Posted on 7/29/2015)

Fantastic product

Quality

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