We drink plenty of caffeine as we push as hard as we can to bring you new Proto-pasta materials. After all, it’s a Northwest tradition and caffeine fuels innovation, right? We took that statement literally! You can’t imagine how amazing it is to print with the invigorating aroma of coffee. With print ease similar to standard PLA and better performance than PLA, ABS, and Polyesters like PET, you can’t go wrong! Might not be made from World’s Best Coffee, but it might be World’s Best Filament!
Proto-pasta’s Aromatic Coffee HTPLA is the first specialty blend is based on our more tough (flexible and durable), “Heat Treatable” HTPLA. More durable than standard PLA, HTPLA can also be “heat treated” post-print for “higher temperature” performance than standard PLA, ABS, and Polyesters like PET!
This otherwise odorless plastic releases an invigorating roast coffee scent when heated. Beyond this novel feature, the color is a beautiful pearlescent, translucent bronze when printed. The color turns opaque when heat treated for a more wood-like finish. Aromatic Coffee HTPLA has a potential Heat Deflection Temperature (HDT) of as much as 140C (285F) depending on post-processing. This means parts retain more stiffness and form to higher temperatures. No warping on your sunny car dashboard!
For maximum performance, your prints should be heat treated (i.e. crystallized) in an oven until you see a change from translucent to opaque. Yes, there is an obvious visual change indicating the improved performance! We had good luck in a lab oven at 110C (230F) for an hour or less. We recommend leaving the supports on your parts, placing them on a non-radiating surface (like glass, ceramic, or composite), and letting them cool in the oven to minimize distortion. Parts can be baked at a lower temperature (though must be above 60C for any reaction) for a longer time with less risk of unwanted deformation.
- Available in 1.75 & 2.85 (3) mm diameter on a 500g diameter recyclable cardboard spool
- Usable on most PLA-compatible printers, such as Lulzbot, Makerbot, FlashForge, Dremel, Ultimaker, Printrbot, and more!
No abrasive fillers so expect normal wear with standard nozzles.
In our experience, good results were achieved using standard PLA parameters with standard build surface preparation (blue tape, glue stick, or BuildTak). No heated bed required. Some shrinkage may occur in the annealing process, so dimension critical parts may need to be scaled as much as 2.5% to compensate.