Fusion3 Printers’ Unique Design

Fusion3 printers work differently than hobbyist printers. Our equipment runs hotter, runs faster, and has an enclosure. So while our equipment is FDM/FFF, as are many hobbyist printers, our approach to energy management in the printed part is dramatically different. This means the approaches, rules of thumb, normal settings, etc. that hobbyist printers/users use are not necessarily correct for our equipment, even if you’re printing the same material (or the same print) on both. And common quality/troubleshooting tests from the hobbyist world don’t work as well. AND, if they do “work,” the results you get and the correct corrective actions to take, may be different than what you’d do in the hobbyist world.

How to Run Common Calibration Prints on Fusion3 Printers

If you want to run these common calibration test prints and have them stand a chance of working well and providing meaningful information, here are some tips:

• Run them in higher temperature materials (ABS, ASA, etc instead of PLA)
• Print two or more of them at once, spaced apart 50-100mm
• Start on the “standard” or “default” quality setting. “High” quality presets don’t always mean your part is going to look better
• Pay attention to how they are oriented on the bed – orient overhangs towards the blower side

How Should I Solve Print Issues Without Calibration Prints?

We understand that without these calibration prints, you may feel a bit lost on how to tune your print settings. Here are some helpful tips for solving print quality issues with your Fusion3 printer:

• For printing temperatures, use our slicer-supplied settings and IGNORE the manufacturer’s settings (on the spool or on their website)
• If you encounter a situation that you think will be solved by printing a temperature tower and adjusting print temperatures, STOP and get in touch with us. 90% odds it’s not the print head temperature causing your problem
• Some print quality guides online are OK. They are good for giving you the direction to look at but don’t blindly apply all their recommendations
  • Check out this link for troubleshooting steps: https://www.simplify3d.com/resources/print-quality-troubleshooting/
• When in doubt, contact our support team and let us help. We know our equipment in and out and have been doing this for a decade. Odds are we have seen something like your situation before

Part of what you pay for with your Fusion3 printer is our expertise and experience to help you get the results you need. Don’t feel like you need to figure out everything by yourself. And in 99% of cases, we’ve already done the work that these calibration tests are designed to help with. At Fusion3, we take pride in providing our customers with high-quality 3D printers to meet every application and integrate seamlessly into your process.

For more information on our 3D printers and how we can address your business 3D printing needs, please Contact us today!

Our Goal Is Your Success

Our team takes customer fulfillment seriously, which is why we are so excited to offer these changes and updates. Download the Reactor updates.

Our goal is your success and we look forward to implementing the most cutting-edge tools to help you get there. Learn how Fusion3 can help you get started on your next project.

Materials List Reorganization

With the addition of our new EDGE platform, our material landscape has become more complex. Our updated materials list has some additional information to help you print successfully including:

Print Surface: What surface should be used with this material? Most of our materials use glass, but some new materials for EDGE require special removable/interchangeable print surfaces.
PLEASE NOTE: For EDGE, we’re only listing our “officially recommended” print surface for each material. Many materials are compatible with other surfaces (such as the PEI flexplates) but in the interest of keeping the list legible, we didn’t include this info. Feel free to experiment and see what works for you!

Bed Prep: How should the print surface be prepared? Most materials use gluestick (1, 2, or 3 layers), but for some materials there are acceptable alternatives. Other materials may use a removable surface which has its own rules.

Expertise Required: Previous material lists have included this and we haven’t changed anything here. This info is our attempt to communicate how difficult it is to work with a certain material.

Printer Compatibility: What product platforms is this material officially supported on?

ONE FINAL NOTE: There are two versions of the material list. The “web” version is what’s on our website and has all this info. To increase legibility in the printed version, we’ve omitted some of these columns.

Transparency and Customer Service Are Our Priorities

Our goal is to continue to meet our customers’ changing needs with the most current products and services available. If you have new materials or suppliers you’d like us to add to our approved materials list, please reach out to our support team.

GETTING HELP WITH THE UPDATE

If you encounter issues with applying this update to your EDGE printer, or have questions, please reach out to our support team:

• support@fusion3design.com (preferred)
• 877-452-0010 x2

To watch the video in FULLSCREEN, please click on the outline of the box in the lower right hand corner of the player window.

Should you have any QUESTIONS from the training class, please send them to support@fusion3design.com and we will promptly respond.

Two identical PLA parts with maximum infill. One shows the heat distortion from being left in a car on a hot summer’s day. (Source: Reddit)

WHY CONSIDER OTHER MATERIALS BESIDES PLA?

Now that you own (or are considering purchasing) a Fusion3 3D printer, you have the ability to print large parts quickly using higher strength, higher temperature materials with features not found on most 3D printers.

A 3D printed part in ABS, showing real-time removal of breakaway supports (less than 10 seconds) and a very clean finish underneath.

Oil Filter Wrench Funnel 3d printed on the Fusion3 F410 in ABS

Outdoor antenna mount printed in ASA, taking advantage of the material’s weather and UV resistance

Set of Four Small Gears Printed in Taulman3D Alloy 910 Nylon on the Fusion3 F410 3D Printer

CARBON FIBER, FIBERGLASS & KEVLAR REINFORCED COMPOSITES

In recent years, we have seen a trend towards composite plastics reinforced with carbon fiber, fiberglass and Kevlar. The base plastic could range from any 3D printable plastic, including ABS, Nylons, Polycarbonate as well as PLA and PETG.

The addition of these reinforced materials, in small bits or commonly called “chopped” fibers, modifies the base plastic and provide additional benefits.

Structural Stress: The fibers absorb some of the structural stress within the printed part, enhancing the capabilities of the base material.

Stiffness & Dimensional Stability: By adding fibers, you shore up the part, adding additional stiffness and providing stability to the shape and dimensions of the part.

Thermal Properties: The addition of fibers improve the thermal stability of the base material, often upgrading the useful operating temperatures of the base material.

Different manufacturers will vary the size and percentage of the chopped fibers in the formulation of their filament to achieve different performance characteristics. Smaller fibers at a lower percentage will achieve a better visual quality, while sacrificing the performance characteristics mentioned above. Larger fibers at a higher percentage will result in a coarser finish with a less accurate part, but achieve higher potential theoretical material performance. Also, larger fibers may result in higher chance of print head jams and require use of a larger print head / nozzle.

Specific benefits of each material include:

Milling Fixture 3D Printed on the Fusion3 F410 in Polycarbonate

Dear Fusion3 Customers, Prospects, and Business Partners;

So much has transpired around the world this year, socially and economically as a result of the pandemic. Its impacts are being felt in families impacted by the illness as well as by the economic impacts of shutdowns to assist in slowing the spread of COVID19.

PREPAREDNESS

Fusion3 was aware early on of the potential of a pandemic and its impact on the world economy and took steps to protect our business (and customers), especially in our role as an essential business as part of our country’s manufacturing infrastructure.

PRODUCTION CAPACITY

Our Greensboro, NC production facility, is running with no interruption.

Over three years ago, we decided to keep our supply chain close and source very few parts from overseas. Two months ago, with the prospect of the pandemic approaching, we made a point to secure inventory of critical components that would last us through the end of 2020 if needed.

STAFFING

We have an incredible, high-performing team here at Fusion3 and are taking every reasonable precaution to protect their welfare.

Those employees in roles that do not require their physical presence in our facilities are working from home (our sales & technical support teams, for example). Customers should not notice any difference in the quality of service and professionalism of our staff.

Our factory production staff have a number of precautions in place to ensure their safety, including required hygiene, sanitation across all steps of the manufacturing process, and increasing social distance when employees are working together as well as split shifts.

LEAD TIMES

Thanks to the hard work of our team to ensure business continuity, increased demand from customers, and our designation as an essential manufacturer / supplier, we are currently at a 3 day lead time and often we can ship WITHIN 1 BUSINESS DAY WITHIN RECEIVING PAYMENT OR A VALID PURCHASE ORDER.

Please note this may vary dramatically as we continue to see surges of orders that cannot be predicted at the time we quote your order.

We are continually working to increase production capacity and maintain our standard 3-5 day lead time, however, we must be careful to ensure that our staff remains healthy first and foremost.

Please reach out if we can be of assistance with your 3D printing technology needs? We are one of only a handful of US companies that manufacture 3D printers within the 50 states. With the surge in on-shoring our country’s manufacturing capacity, we are ready and eager to assist your company.

Sincerely,

Chip Royce
CEO / VP Sales & Marketing
Fusion3

Are you a filament manufacturer, interested having your filament certified for Fusion3’s 3D printers?

For more information, please email: materialtesting@fusion3design.com

Customer Requests

Our customers often bring new filament manufacturers to our attention and request that we certify their favorite materials. This is one of the many features our our industry leading technical support. Here’s 5 different PLA formulations that we’ve recently certified for our users:

Are you a filament manufacturer, interested having your filament certified for Fusion3’s 3D printers?

For more information, please email: materialtesting@fusion3design.com

Treed Filaments

Treed Filaments out of Italy is now available in North America, thanks to securing a new distributor out of Canada. Treed focuses on both engineering-grade materials as well as a number of really unique materials focused on the design community. Their ‘Architectural’ line of filaments has plastic infused with various materials (Clay, Brick, Stone, etc…) which provide designers a wide variety of looks for new design applications.

Proto-Pasta

Another prolific manufacturer of filaments is Proto-Pasta, out of Vancouver, Washington. At the request of a few customers, we’ve tested and certified a number of Proto-Pasta filament, incluing a conductive PLA, and a number of design-oriented, metal infused filaments. According to Proto-Pasta’s site, their Copper, Brass, Bronze and Iron-filled PLA’s can be treated a number of different ways to create patinas ranging from polished, to rough, and oxidized.