Ideally what new 3D printing materials would you like over the coming months?

W A X

I agree wholeheartedly

I believe it's been said, but glow in the dark. Add it to the Sandstone? Add it to the WSF? either way. would be awesome. Now that I mentioned it, especially the sand stone.

A reasonably-affordable material akin to Polyjet HD, but without the severe wallet trauma. Something along that line would be the perfect stuff for making properly smooth-surfaced mold masters, as White Detail is still a little bit too steppy IMO, and the Polyjet stuff costs an arm and both legs.

That, or coloured versions of Transparent Detail - red, blue, green and yellow in particular would be outstanding.

White Detail = Polyjet

I've been using it for masters for silicon molds for going on three years now. The most I ever do to prep it is give it a coat of primer.

For the models that I'm doing now, I frequently find that one of the Detail colors is cheaper than WS&F because it doesn't have the $1.50/model surcharge of WS&F. I personally feel that polyjet is superior to SLS. YMMV.

Back on topic... Invision HD might be a nice product to try, though I believe that would require the purchase of a new printer. It actually has better X & Y resolution than polyjet.

@Youknowwho4eva it'd be cheaper just to buy the paint and paint over it in thin layers for desired effect since a powder doesn't really exist.. its not that hard to do.

As much as i'd like wax, im not sure if it would survive being posted around the world. Has anyone else had wax parts from another source airfreighted to the hotter parts of the world?
It can get awfully hot in an uninsulated truck in Australia.

I'd like to see the Vero Grey (or grey detail) that David mentioned.

Powders Exist. I was doing the research for a project I've been looking at.

Glowinc.com
24 hour 9.29 an oz
12 hour 7.89 an oz
glownation.com
12 hour 6.95 an oz
teachersource.com
5.50 an oz
riskreactor.com
100 hour 19.00 an oz

That's the list of sites I came up with. The hours are the how long it glows at full charge. All are for powder (pigment for paint)

Vero Blue for Objet would be very nice to have because it allows you to see the contrast of the surface a lot better than white detail or black detail. It gets used heavily in the 3d printing of cg characters and sculptures from zbrush and mudbox. When can you get it? Please get vero blue. I'll be your best pal Shapeways

Casting my vote with the people asking for some sort of flexible rubbery stuff. I think it's the main thing missing from the catalogue.

You could use it to print flexible lids for containers, soft shock-absorbing smartphone sleeves and portable harddrive wallets, anti-vibration feet and mountings for consumer electronics, flexible hinges and handgrips for composite pieces ... all sorts of cool things and components become possible.

But some of the applications would need it to be food-safe and perhaps dishwasher-safe (flexible lids for food containers, beakers, etc).

I suppose that for simple shapes, we could print a "negative" version as a mould, and use something like silicone or Sugru to make the components ourselves, at home ... but that means that anything we design that relies on those parts can't be sold in the Shapeways shop.

I know it has been said before, but:

WAX!

My experience has been that shipping wax isn't an issue. It has to get to at least 150 degrees to start showing signs of wear, and is nearly as sturdy as plastic for smaller objects (like jewelry) if it is simply placed in a plastic bag and surrounded by styrofoam peanuts.

Which kind of degrees? Kelvin, Celsius, Farenheit, Réaumur... ^_^

You should try the frosted materials (HD 3000 with SR200), they seem to be castable, melt above 80C and have low ash content... just like many other "waxes" by other companies.

Having RTV molds printed is a genius idea I second wholeheartedly! It would save me tons of time and materials to be able to just order a mold ready to make my parts! I love it.

Also admittedly I'm new to this and somewhat new to casting, but I will throw another vote in for WAX if I can.

What about a low cost option so that larger parts/items can be printed without costing lots of money.

I would like to see a transparent material such as Objet VeroClear. There would have to be a note on the system that the material would need a lot of polishing by the customer to get the object optically clear and that the material does yellow with UV. I have used this type of material in the past from other suppliers to make concept models.

Also a material that simulates polypropylene such as Objet DurusWhite to have snap fits and living hinges in parts with quite high detail and relatively smooth finish.

Direct metal laser sintered materials for making metal parts with higher levels of detail.

And another vote for wax for making molds using the lost wax process. I use molds for making replacement rubber parts on classic vehicles where replacement parts are no longer available.

Count me in there as a vote for high detail wax. I would also like to have access to gold on this system. Yes, gold costs more but you also make more money on gold. And something pink, high detail, flexible and affordable would be very saleable.

As much as wax would be useful for the casters, I'd like to see more materials cast by Shapeways. This is in keeping with the 'product' philosophy and also helps out the guys who have no interest in casting items.

I'm specifically interested in brass, but bronze would also be welcome. I'd expect figurine/model railway guys to die for white metal as a choice.

As it costs Shapeways effectively nothing to print the wax, the majority of costs are in the casting process. The cost of the end product isn't a problem. Brass or bronze casting costs a lot for one of pieces at the local foundry.

Maybe we can simplify the wax discussion. Here's a question for the guys who want models in wax. If you want wax models what metal do you plan to cast those wax models in?

For me, I want wax models because shapeway does not offer casting in gold. If I had casting in gold I would not need wax models.

Well, I for one cast my models in resin or pewter, though I am looking at casting some stuff up in silver for jewelry applications.

To me, the reason behind hi-def wax casting isn't the "wax" part, it's the "hi def" part. Current generation 3d printing technology for wax is light years ahead of where it is for plastics and metals in terms of resolution and print clarity. I do miniature designs and jewelry, and both would benefit greatly from a more detailed, smooth print job.