Material Philosophy Overview and Testing Process
Material Philosophy Overview
Fusion3 offers an Open Materials Philosophy where our in-house material testing division will go out on the open market to test, certify, and approve different 3D printing materials from different brands and suppliers. Verified customers of Fusion3 printers also can request post sale Fusion3 test different materials they are interested in printing with that are currently not on Fusion3’s certified materials list. Each material that is approved will feature a unique material profile in our F3Slic3r slicing software with several different quality presets based on our results when testing the material. Fusion3 currently has over 150 different materials by roughly 40 different suppliers approved for use with its printers.
Fusion3 does not manufacture any 3D printing filaments and believes our customers should have the ability to 3D print a wide range of quality filament available on the open market. However, customers should not have the burden of having to test and create optimal settings for each filament with any Fusion3 3D printer, especially with the unique high-performance characteristics of our hardware.
Fusion3 Filament Testing Requirements for Material Manufacturers:
- Material must melt at 320℃ or lower
- 1.75mm diameter filament ONLY
- At least 1.5kg of each filament to test
- Must be compatible with the number of different build surfaces we offer
What We Look for in Material Partners:
- High quality (material composition and extrusion)
- Properly documented (manufacturer provides sufficient technical and safety documentation)
- Properly supported (company willing to provide customers with appropriate support)
- Compatible with our 3D printers
Fusion3’s Rigorous Testing Procedure
Fusion3’s rigorous testing procedure will determine whether a material is approved or fails to meet our standards and expectations. We will measure multiple samples of the material to ensure consistency of extrusion, as too much variation can have detrimental impacts on the performance of your high-performance Fusion3 3D printer. The process will include roughly 30 hours of printing while testing different model sizes, geometries, angles, and support structures to ensure the quality of material and its suitability for 3D printing with the Fusion3 hardware. Fusion3 will also test each print head size offered across our different platforms. Fusion3 will be willing to test on any printer we have released. This will include EDGE, F410, F400-S & F400-HFR, and F306.
To have your filament tested and certified for Fusion3. please ship the filament for testing with a cover letter to:
Fusion3 3D Printers
Attn: Filament Testing
18A Oak branch Dr.
Greensboro, NC 27407
Please include a cover letter with two contacts (if applicable), including the business contact or requestor and a technical support contact. This information will enable the Fusion3 team to streamline our inspection process if any additional information is needed.
Fusion3 Customer Request:
Current Fusion3 customers can view all currently approved materials on our certified materials list that is published on our website. View Certified Materials List.
Please note, this list will change roughly once a quarter where some materials will be removed due to being discontinued, and some will be added after approval.
If you are a Fusion3 customer and wish to have a material tested that is not on the current approved list. Please send materialtesting@fusion3design.com an email with:
- A link to the material.
- A color preference if there is one.
- Main reasoning for having this tested (currently have a lot of stock, pricing or lead time advantages, certain properties advantageous to your application that cannot be found on the current list, etc).
- The current printer model you have along with the serial number.
Want more information? Email us today!