Leapfrog Engineering PLA
Filament for more than prototyping
Prototyping has been the heart of 3D printing for the past years. However, with the increasing amount of professional 3D printers entering the market, 3D printing is also moving towards more functional ends. Nevertheless, FDM 3D prints produced by these professional machines are often not perfectly suited for function yet, due to an absence of the right material.
Increasing the 3D printer and material
A FDM 3D print is build using two components and both of these have been improved over the years. The first is the 3D printer itself. Improvements of the 3D printer have transformed operating a 3D printer into an easier task and has increased the print quality. The second component is filament; which is the material a FDM 3D printer uses to create a 3D print. Filament influences the print settings as well as the quality of the print. Moreover, if the right filament is chosen, the purpose of the 3D print can be expanded and increased.
An increase in professional users
The use of 3D printing for prototyping has increased and reached the level of producing functional models and products. For instance FDM 3D printing is maturing into a more and more versatile tool, which is resulting in a wider range of professional FDM 3D printers available in the market. Therefore, the more professional users use 3D printers, the higher is the demand for more durable and reliable filaments.
Why ABS filament is not the solution
Normally, ABS filament is advised for strong and durable prints, but PLA is still used far more often than the ABS. This can be explained by the ease of printing PLA and the favourable print properties of this filament itself. While ABS tends to warp and delaminate, PLA prints flawlessly, providing a sharp end result. Nevertheless, ABS was still the strongest filament if compared to PLA. Until now.
Leapfrog Engineering PLA
Leapfrog 3D Printers introduces a new, high-grade and durable filament: Engineering PLA. It is an enhanced version of the familiar PLA, meaning meaning that it has similar printing properties as PLA, but with a stronger end result than ABS.
As a material, ABS can be stronger than PLA through conventional production methods, which leads to more homogeneous parts. But 3D printing is different; it builds the part layer for layer for which PLA is better suited for than ABS. So, by improving the material used in 3D printing, a better and optimised product is created. The result is Engineering PLA.
Leapfrog Engineering PLA advantages:
The major advantages for the new Engineering PLA material are:
SPEED: Reduce your printing time by 30%-80%, (depending on printer and object)
STRENGTH: Excels overall beyond printed ABS in mechanical properties
VERSATILITY: One filament that can be tuned towards blazing speed and excellent surface finish
CONSISTENCY: Truly consistent filament, also between colors and batches, it will perform as expected, every time.
The Leapfrog Engineering PLA is a multi-purpose material designed for an efficient and fast result, strong parts and excellent quality. You can save at least ~30% in printing time. In order to achieve this high speed we recommend to set your printer in the temperature range of 220°C to 230°C*. Professionals can create high stress printed objects and still have an easy printing experience due to the strong layer adhesion.
Hard data and test on Engineering PLA
In order to find out the true potential of our newest filament we take into consideration a Filament elastic strength test done in a controlled environment - in the workshop of the Hague University on a tensile tester. You can download the full report here including the precise measurements and data we got from the experiment. [link report]
Want to test Engineering PLA?
We printed a few carabiners for a comparison test - PLA vs Engineering PLA - and we are now looking for suggestions on how to test them. Have any ideas? Share them via private message on our Social Media Channels Messages or send us an email: [email protected] We will pick one suggestion and test it. The winner will have the chance to be among the first who tries our new filament so share your thoughts!