IC3D has been producing Filament in the United States for over 12 years! Big thanks to the team for having me out. Let me know if you would like to see more tour videos, especially in the 3D printing space!
Thanks for doing this. I’d love to see more tours. I do this for my company, tours of our sponsors and builders. It’s always great to get an insight into what makes America run, supporting American made and buying from American companies. Looking forward to more tours!
I would love more stuff like this. Personally I would also like a focus on operator safety. Like gasses, burns, or other work safety stuff. That is, those considerations probably apply to all of us. For instance for printing say ASA or ABS, what needs to be in place? Not to absorb carbon fiber into your skin, how is that handled? Just be careful, as some shops really have poor workers safety, and asking for this, will only get you in trouble. But for the businesses that actually have strong routines in place, I would really love to hear what they do to implement safety. And what they don't have to, because the risk is considered low.
Thank you Maria! I had a great time as well :). Flo it feels great seeing how passionate you are about 3D printing, it really sparks joy and it feels like you're on a great path!
Your visit was truly eye-opening! I was particularly impressed by IC3D's vertically integrated production model and their focus on eco-friendly materials, especially their contributions to government projects. It really showcases the potential of the 3D printing industry. I also loved their improvements to the CFS system, which address many of the pain points in AMS systems. They seem to be leading the way in multi-material printing.However, I've been closely following the FLSUN T1 Pro recently. This machine not only breaks new ground in multi-material printing but also focuses on noise reduction and efficient printing. I previously used the FLSUN V400, which had excellent print speed and stability. I'm planning to get the T1 Pro during Black Friday, and I'm looking forward to seeing more reviews of FLSUN products, especially in industrial applications and eco-friendly materials!
This is what we call an advertorial just in video format. But in essence an advertisement with more details in an article or video format. But it does allow you to get an insight of the products though without the sales pitch. Way better than an informercial.
Id love to see a colab or cross interview with IC3D and Slant3D. Slant isnt a filament manufacturer, but they make their own and sell the extra. And IC3D isnt a dedicated 3d print farm but had printers they use for large format options. Id love to see some kinda interaction between these guys.
Awesome tour Dr. D! I've used IC3D's pellets in the past but they're hit and miss on availability (last time I was shopping anyway, admittedly it was a while ago) but it was consistent, which I'll invest in better end product over getting cheap and/or dubious quality when it truly matters.
I was trying to remember why I recognized the name IC3D, then I realized that R-PETG was actually the second material I printed when I started 3D printing. So cool to see how they make it
Hehe, (I'm assuming) Your wife called you out, "You haven't stopped being jealous!" To be fair, I'd be hecka jealous taking tour of that place. I'm jealous of the cool stuff just watching the video! Thanks for doing this tour and sharing this with us!
We used Novatec for the Saturn injection molders in Polymers. They kept up with the UBEs (pronounced "Ooo-bay"). So they shouldn't have any problem here. And Hi David!
Really curious what the big red balls crew driven machine really prints on a day to day basis there. The nozzle diameter seems very large so I can only imagine. Maybe entire interior panels if not made of foam? I'm actually a bit curious about how all the massive foam mockups are made like if there is a large hot wire cnc or if it's just milled traditionally and gone over with a ballnose
Appreciate this one. They kind of argue different from their competition on the use of tons of steel needed on crossbars of 700mm. Then you talk about your rig struggling with rigidity. I would love for you to fill us a bit in on this one. To me is seems like there is a limit to using aluminum, as when they are too thin and you accelerate too much. I would really love to understand what those limits are. Also, you did speak about the corner braces on the Giga. But isn't crossed bars, joined in the cross, the better solution for that? Like used in furniture for like hundreds of years? Not mentioned here, but Prusa is talking about only using steel, on all parts, as the thermal expansion then remains the constant. I guess that is not as much a consideration on these huge format printers? Or do they to heat to 100C? There seems to be some limits at to where practical application and market segments start making sense. For instance, a heated chamber to me, seems like something only the industry should be using, once the build volume reach a certain point. There is just a ton of wasted heat. Sorry if you actually have spoken about this, I have watched a lot of your videos, appreciate them, and might have missed something. But I just have to say, that this current race in the industry for speed, heated chamber, and size, might have some hard physical limits. I am not sure if I want to join in on that race. I also take note, that even for these guys, there do not appear to be any special considerations for toxic gasses. Also an issue on the rise in the consumer market. Have you done any work on that?
I thought the same about the steel … what are the limits for when it’s needed. Like building something like motorcycles steel is always better there is no substitution. With 3d printing taking into account the vibration from speed when should steel be used. I’d also think too that steel would maybe hold a steady higher temperature range than anything else. I would like to see your points addressed in a future video. They are very interesting.
It is always more complex than just material choice and when dealing with Aluminium vs Steel where both materials are actually pretty sane choices and material properties wise not miles apart it is just the designing for the materials differences rather than one being really superior. The biggest problem with Aluminium as used most often in these machines is they are built from those 20x20 style extrusions, which is great for tinkering, customisation and flexibility type reasons. But those extrusions only look huge and strong they are actually pretty terrible mechanically as its only really the core tube really providing the structure. So that inch cross section extrusion seemingly full of metal is often going to be performing more like 1/4 inch tube that runs down the centre. But if you actually used a 1 inch square tube with similar weight or wall thickness... The most likely reason to pick Steel over Aluminium once you go to building more high quality end results is how easy steel is weld and machine (in general Stainless steels as a rule are not fun at all), perhaps followed by material costs as steel will usually work out massively cheaper for comparable mechanical performance. But you could go Al and it brings its own potential gains - your thermal management is probably easier, corrosion is less of an issue, the thickness required for the mechanical reasons can be a boon for mounting the rest of the parts as its thick enough you can just tap decent threaded holes right into it - so instead of having to spot weld a heap of nuts in place... Probably the biggest problem to mixed materials with heat is the bending the different expansion rates will cause, but you can engineer around those problems for instance simply set your machine up so that once it is at temperature everything is where it should be and its actually a bit warped or in the case of SR-71 leaks like a sieve while cold... On the subject of speed, heat and size there absolutely are limits, but only really on cost - make the print head heavier so it can manage to extrude faster and you end up having to add more mass to the frame, perhaps larger motors and definitely pumping more power through the motors just to accelerate that print head at the same rate as the old one. There is a sweetspot for you where the price:performance ratio is right for you and anybody else with similar needs - so if your with the machines you have there is probably no reason to change at all.
@@foldionepapyrus3441 There are sections creating planes, two planes perpendicular to each other in a 2020 profile. Along them planes, these add a ton of strength. Actually, I specifically design using the strength of such planes in almost all my designs. It is your loss, if you have no idea how to reap their benefits or to ignore them. As in lame design.
@@FrodeBergetonNilsen And those giant slots in the outer edges that make a 2020 useful mean those planes are really quite free to move as the gap opens and closes etc - the outer parts of the 2020 do add some meaningful structure in certain load directions but they are practically worthless in others. So your machine as a whole in nearly all cases will end up really floppy as you just can't constrain all the load to being only in the very very narrow directions the outer shell of the 2020 is really helping across the whole thing. Consider the gantry for instance that print head hangs down beneath it to give your so much inertia trying to twist an extrusion gantry as you accelerate - and that is a force direction extrusions are really bad at! You are way way better off structurally in practice with a square profile tube, T or C cross section to suit the location than an extrusion - the extrusion is just convient..
@@foldionepapyrus3441 You know this has been tested to death? Right? In testing, the v-slot or the T-slot, generally do fine, but of course not optimal. Nor did I ever claim that, but you lied and claimed I did. You claimed that apart front the inner tube of the slot, nothing else offered any strength, which i wrong. You know that, and lie about it. Like you just did. Slotted profiles do just fine in builds up to about 600x600 mm, as they have proven to do. That is why I find the claims in this video, interesting. In difference to you, I don't claim that they are wrong, I just don't understand their claim. I just don't lie about it.
I think that's their "bright green" IC3D hasn't produced a batch of that specific color in a long time. Maybe Lulzbot gets custom batches made. Every "new" roll of that color I have purchased have all been new old stock in their old box style.
Of course, we have had a long relationship with Lulzbot which led to many great things such as our release of the only open-source certified filaments on the planet as well as our offering this color in ABS and PETG.
Thanks for your concern. Tthe only place in our facility that requires hearing protection is inside the compressor room and you get a taste of that when we are showing the grinder.
If you used tool steel on your 3d printer you wouldn't get no vibration on your rack opinion, I have a CNC plasma table made out of tool steel with water it would easily out weight a car the servos you won't stop those and it's a production table so it's decently fast. I'm only commenting because that manufacture 3d printer looks like my CNC table with rack opinion . I would just need to fabricate my gantry to raise but that's like 200lbs to 275lbs. lol
Oops, sorry. We don't show off the old E-Class printers much anymore. They still put in the work but mostly people are asking about the Virago 700 and 1200 which are both all ball screws on the X and Y.
Yeah, we feel you. We are focused on elevating American 3D printing as a manufacturing platform and so while our 1kg product may not be price competitive with other available options, as you move into large spool sizes and production volumes our prices become very competitive even with foreign-produced filament.
Despite our lack of diversity requirements, a large portion of IC3D's horsepower comes from the female gender including one of our owners/founders. If you haven't been, I'd suggest you find a way to sneak into a Women in 3d Printing meetup. They are a force and they usually have free drinks.
IC3D has been producing Filament in the United States for over 12 years! Big thanks to the team for having me out. Let me know if you would like to see more tour videos, especially in the 3D printing space!
Thanks for doing this. I’d love to see more tours. I do this for my company, tours of our sponsors and builders. It’s always great to get an insight into what makes America run, supporting American made and buying from American companies. Looking forward to more tours!
I would love more stuff like this. Personally I would also like a focus on operator safety. Like gasses, burns, or other work safety stuff. That is, those considerations probably apply to all of us. For instance for printing say ASA or ABS, what needs to be in place? Not to absorb carbon fiber into your skin, how is that handled? Just be careful, as some shops really have poor workers safety, and asking for this, will only get you in trouble. But for the businesses that actually have strong routines in place, I would really love to hear what they do to implement safety. And what they don't have to, because the risk is considered low.
I wish lecture on 3d printing materials, like plastics, concrete or liquid metal maybe
Thank you Maria! I had a great time as well :). Flo it feels great seeing how passionate you are about 3D printing, it really sparks joy and it feels like you're on a great path!
Your visit was truly eye-opening! I was particularly impressed by IC3D's vertically integrated production model and their focus on eco-friendly materials, especially their contributions to government projects. It really showcases the potential of the 3D printing industry. I also loved their improvements to the CFS system, which address many of the pain points in AMS systems. They seem to be leading the way in multi-material printing.However, I've been closely following the FLSUN T1 Pro recently. This machine not only breaks new ground in multi-material printing but also focuses on noise reduction and efficient printing. I previously used the FLSUN V400, which had excellent print speed and stability. I'm planning to get the T1 Pro during Black Friday, and I'm looking forward to seeing more reviews of FLSUN products, especially in industrial applications and eco-friendly materials!
I have a feeling you were in heaven during this video. Looking forward to seeing more!
What a brilliant video. Kinda makes you want buy their product. Their large machines are awsome
That's what an advertisement is for I guess
This is what we call an advertorial just in video format. But in essence an advertisement with more details in an article or video format. But it does allow you to get an insight of the products though without the sales pitch. Way better than an informercial.
Your video projects are always so ambitious. This is a very inspiring channel.
this is the coolest 3d printing video ive seen in a long time. thanks for that ;)
Id love to see a colab or cross interview with IC3D and Slant3D. Slant isnt a filament manufacturer, but they make their own and sell the extra. And IC3D isnt a dedicated 3d print farm but had printers they use for large format options. Id love to see some kinda interaction between these guys.
Awesome tour Dr. D! I've used IC3D's pellets in the past but they're hit and miss on availability (last time I was shopping anyway, admittedly it was a while ago) but it was consistent, which I'll invest in better end product over getting cheap and/or dubious quality when it truly matters.
I was trying to remember why I recognized the name IC3D, then I realized that R-PETG was actually the second material I printed when I started 3D printing. So cool to see how they make it
Hehe, (I'm assuming) Your wife called you out, "You haven't stopped being jealous!"
To be fair, I'd be hecka jealous taking tour of that place. I'm jealous of the cool stuff just watching the video!
Thanks for doing this tour and sharing this with us!
Haha yes! She always speaks the truth
Does the bath wet the filament? (its not a water bath?)
We used Novatec for the Saturn injection molders in Polymers. They kept up with the UBEs (pronounced "Ooo-bay"). So they shouldn't have any problem here.
And Hi David!
when i see the big printer i see a project in my head. need one of these. . . or more thwn one of these.
For D-Flo's ext project, he should try 3D printing a Tiny Home.
Really curious what the big red balls crew driven machine really prints on a day to day basis there.
The nozzle diameter seems very large so I can only imagine. Maybe entire interior panels if not made of foam?
I'm actually a bit curious about how all the massive foam mockups are made like if there is a large hot wire cnc or if it's just milled traditionally and gone over with a ballnose
How are you gonna have a name like Dr D-Flo and not have a music video
Bro out here asking the real questions 😂
Frfr
more like dr deez nuts
Have you heard my voice? 😂
dr dees keeps deleting my comments, so rude
What kind of controller do you use in these big 3D printers? Thank you, excellent video
They are using the Duet3 mainboards for both the 700 and 1200 series printers 👍
@@DrDFlo Thanks!
can you 3D print a life size model of Medabee from medabots?
Appreciate this one. They kind of argue different from their competition on the use of tons of steel needed on crossbars of 700mm. Then you talk about your rig struggling with rigidity. I would love for you to fill us a bit in on this one. To me is seems like there is a limit to using aluminum, as when they are too thin and you accelerate too much. I would really love to understand what those limits are.
Also, you did speak about the corner braces on the Giga. But isn't crossed bars, joined in the cross, the better solution for that? Like used in furniture for like hundreds of years?
Not mentioned here, but Prusa is talking about only using steel, on all parts, as the thermal expansion then remains the constant. I guess that is not as much a consideration on these huge format printers? Or do they to heat to 100C?
There seems to be some limits at to where practical application and market segments start making sense. For instance, a heated chamber to me, seems like something only the industry should be using, once the build volume reach a certain point. There is just a ton of wasted heat.
Sorry if you actually have spoken about this, I have watched a lot of your videos, appreciate them, and might have missed something.
But I just have to say, that this current race in the industry for speed, heated chamber, and size, might have some hard physical limits. I am not sure if I want to join in on that race.
I also take note, that even for these guys, there do not appear to be any special considerations for toxic gasses. Also an issue on the rise in the consumer market. Have you done any work on that?
I thought the same about the steel … what are the limits for when it’s needed. Like building something like motorcycles steel is always better there is no substitution. With 3d printing taking into account the vibration from speed when should steel be used. I’d also think too that steel would maybe hold a steady higher temperature range than anything else. I would like to see your points addressed in a future video. They are very interesting.
It is always more complex than just material choice and when dealing with Aluminium vs Steel where both materials are actually pretty sane choices and material properties wise not miles apart it is just the designing for the materials differences rather than one being really superior. The biggest problem with Aluminium as used most often in these machines is they are built from those 20x20 style extrusions, which is great for tinkering, customisation and flexibility type reasons. But those extrusions only look huge and strong they are actually pretty terrible mechanically as its only really the core tube really providing the structure. So that inch cross section extrusion seemingly full of metal is often going to be performing more like 1/4 inch tube that runs down the centre. But if you actually used a 1 inch square tube with similar weight or wall thickness...
The most likely reason to pick Steel over Aluminium once you go to building more high quality end results is how easy steel is weld and machine (in general Stainless steels as a rule are not fun at all), perhaps followed by material costs as steel will usually work out massively cheaper for comparable mechanical performance. But you could go Al and it brings its own potential gains - your thermal management is probably easier, corrosion is less of an issue, the thickness required for the mechanical reasons can be a boon for mounting the rest of the parts as its thick enough you can just tap decent threaded holes right into it - so instead of having to spot weld a heap of nuts in place...
Probably the biggest problem to mixed materials with heat is the bending the different expansion rates will cause, but you can engineer around those problems for instance simply set your machine up so that once it is at temperature everything is where it should be and its actually a bit warped or in the case of SR-71 leaks like a sieve while cold...
On the subject of speed, heat and size there absolutely are limits, but only really on cost - make the print head heavier so it can manage to extrude faster and you end up having to add more mass to the frame, perhaps larger motors and definitely pumping more power through the motors just to accelerate that print head at the same rate as the old one. There is a sweetspot for you where the price:performance ratio is right for you and anybody else with similar needs - so if your with the machines you have there is probably no reason to change at all.
@@foldionepapyrus3441 There are sections creating planes, two planes perpendicular to each other in a 2020 profile. Along them planes, these add a ton of strength. Actually, I specifically design using the strength of such planes in almost all my designs. It is your loss, if you have no idea how to reap their benefits or to ignore them. As in lame design.
@@FrodeBergetonNilsen And those giant slots in the outer edges that make a 2020 useful mean those planes are really quite free to move as the gap opens and closes etc - the outer parts of the 2020 do add some meaningful structure in certain load directions but they are practically worthless in others.
So your machine as a whole in nearly all cases will end up really floppy as you just can't constrain all the load to being only in the very very narrow directions the outer shell of the 2020 is really helping across the whole thing. Consider the gantry for instance that print head hangs down beneath it to give your so much inertia trying to twist an extrusion gantry as you accelerate - and that is a force direction extrusions are really bad at!
You are way way better off structurally in practice with a square profile tube, T or C cross section to suit the location than an extrusion - the extrusion is just convient..
@@foldionepapyrus3441 You know this has been tested to death? Right? In testing, the v-slot or the T-slot, generally do fine, but of course not optimal. Nor did I ever claim that, but you lied and claimed I did.
You claimed that apart front the inner tube of the slot, nothing else offered any strength, which i wrong. You know that, and lie about it. Like you just did.
Slotted profiles do just fine in builds up to about 600x600 mm, as they have proven to do. That is why I find the claims in this video, interesting.
In difference to you, I don't claim that they are wrong, I just don't understand their claim. I just don't lie about it.
30:50, I wonder if that specific lime green is for Lulzbot
I think that's their "bright green" IC3D hasn't produced a batch of that specific color in a long time. Maybe Lulzbot gets custom batches made. Every "new" roll of that color I have purchased have all been new old stock in their old box style.
Of course, we have had a long relationship with Lulzbot which led to many great things such as our release of the only open-source certified filaments on the planet as well as our offering this color in ABS and PETG.
Would love to work here if they are hiring, got a few years of Giagbot X pellet printing and about to graduate with a bachelors in ME next semester.
500mm^2 that’s a nice flow volume 😂. I’m struggling with reaching 90-100.
The desktop printers they use are the Daedalus
14:16 why aren't you guys wearing any hearing protection??
Thanks for your concern. Tthe only place in our facility that requires hearing protection is inside the compressor room and you get a taste of that when we are showing the grinder.
God I really wish they’d start making 10 kilo ASA spools.
can we talk about how uncomfortable those chair armrests look?
Cool
If you used tool steel on your 3d printer you wouldn't get no vibration on your rack opinion, I have a CNC plasma table made out of tool steel with water it would easily out weight a car the servos you won't stop those and it's a production table so it's decently fast. I'm only commenting because that manufacture 3d printer looks like my CNC table with rack opinion . I would just need to fabricate my gantry to raise but that's like 200lbs to 275lbs. lol
Those giant boxes are called Gaylords
Says, ball screws, zooms in on what is obviously not a ball screw.
Oops, sorry. We don't show off the old E-Class printers much anymore. They still put in the work but mostly people are asking about the Virago 700 and 1200 which are both all ball screws on the X and Y.
$31 for a 1kg spool of recycled PETG 🤣🤣🤣 HELL NO
Yeah, we feel you. We are focused on elevating American 3D printing as a manufacturing platform and so while our 1kg product may not be price competitive with other available options, as you move into large spool sizes and production volumes our prices become very competitive even with foreign-produced filament.
I know you might find it tempting, but please don't print (an airtight) coffin around yourself!
LOL
Odd because steel flexes more than aluminium.
Steel is ~3x more stiff than aluminum
Where are all the female DEI employees?
Half the people in the video were women, on Tuesday Dr. D Flo is a woman, on Thursdays “they” are a tree. Meow.
Despite our lack of diversity requirements, a large portion of IC3D's horsepower comes from the female gender including one of our owners/founders. If you haven't been, I'd suggest you find a way to sneak into a Women in 3d Printing meetup. They are a force and they usually have free drinks.