Why this 3D Printing TPU Filament is full of glass balls.

Video sponsored by PCBWay - www.pcbway.com - PCB Manufacturing, 3d Printing, CNC parts, and more...l
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Models used:
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Vids linked:
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Music: share.epidemic...

[@FilamentStories]

Oh yeah! I'm so glad to see so,some look at this crazy filament up close. I've never been able to do much with mine. The macro super zoom images are just fabulous! More crazy filament videos! If you need ideas, hit me up.

[@LostInTech3D]

I 100% will take you up on that offer, also thanks for the info on reflect-o-lay!

[@Rippthrough]

Underextrusion is common due to the drive gears compressing the TPU - I used to run as high as 130% flow rates on older printers even for 95A with big 1mm nozzles for low backpressure.

[@LostInTech3D]

yeah I've been up to 160% for 60A.

[@eideticex]

I had to design my own extrusion idler assembly to combat this on my printer. It grips the filament only tight enough for the drive gear to engage and no tighter. That was the only way for me to solve the extrusion consistency problem on my printer.

[@nightshaderose]

If you want to go all in and make your own filament, the retroreflective beads are available loose from some pigment suppliers (like for paint, etc). I have a tiny container for art shenanigans purposes and it's always interesting to stare at.

[@LostInTech3D]

That would be pretty cool!

[@SianaGearz]

Ah but what bases is it compatible with. I think you need way different refractive index between carrier and bead, else the beads just disappear.

[@nightshaderose]

@@SianaGearzThus far I've used it with several acrylic paint mediums, PVA glue and hot glue, and it's originally intended for industrial paint applications. I (in the US) get mine from KP Pigments and it's really not very expensive as these things go. I don't have filament manufacture equipment but I'd love to see other people's attempts.

[@_kwak]

I wonder what mixes in the emerging pellet printers you could do with them!

[@SianaGearz]

@@nightshaderose Most of these are not a surprise to me that it works, but acrylic paint medium is a surprise.

[@henrik.norberg]

"This was a waste of time", for TikTok people having zero patience. For me, I love this stuff. Keep em coming! Knowledge is NEVER a waste of time!

[@epithos]

A lot of the break beams I work with are near infrared detectors which are kinda picky about which retro reflective media they get along with. We do print a lot of custom brackets for test product runs. I kinda doubt this stuff will work but ordered and we'll give it a shot.

[@LostInTech3D]

Haha, when I tell people not to buy stuff, they buy it! Good luck with it though :)

[@ScytheNoire]

4:54 "We are definitely staring at balls." 😳

[@ZT_1234]

Damn, beat me to it

[@MakerBees333]

😂 ‘the surprising thing is just how many balls we are looking at’ 👀

[@Reavenk]

Phrasing

[@dtaggartofRTD]

Now that's a niche filament. Neat stuff. Very useful for very particular purposes.

[@JBMetalShop]

As always, beautiful videography and fascinating content. To this day one of my favorite 3D printing channels!

[@LostInTech3D]

Thank you!😁

[@the23er]

I was looking at that filament so often! I wanted to get it, but it wasn't available often and so on. Nice to see this in action and providing some inside.

[@Smokinjoewhite]

The out of focus benchy demolition seems strangely artful.

[@LostInTech3D]

Haha accidental art

[@SianaGearz]

@@LostInTech3D everybody run there's been an artcident!

[@scruffy3121]

I recently bought cf filled tpu. That stuff is great. Only found it from one manufacturer. Suprised no one is talking about it.

[@LostInTech3D]

I'm aware of it

[@clutchboi4038]

How is the outer surface of the cf TPU? Is it less slippery? I tried fuzzy skin on this custom grip I'm making for a tool but it's still kind of slippery. I need more friction.

[@scruffy3121]

@@clutchboi4038 I would say it's more slippery than my 85a tpu. But the surface looks great like most fibre filled filaments.

[@elongated_muskrat_is_my_name]

What's it like mechanically compared to normal tpu?

[@scruffy3121]

@@elongated_muskrat_is_my_name it's a lot stiffer and has a nice typical cf filament surface (a light but nice texture) that makes every print look awesome. But since it's tpu it will flex under excessive load. Think of it as a less flexable tpu that looks good and is easy to print.

[@MakerBees333]

Smooth Jazz, slow macro lense B-roll, and softly read MSDS sheets from top to bottom for every 3D printing material and brand you can get your hands on. It will be a shoo-in for 3D printing series of the year 😉👍

[@MakerBees333]

You’re welcome 😊

[@LostInTech3D]

Hahahaha

[@SianaGearz]

@@LostInTech3D Most successful channels make somewhat repetitive content.

[@LostInTech3D]

Weird thought but yeah, a lot really do

[@algorithmae]

I love these filament deep dives! It would be cool to see some metal-infused filament

[@cle4tle]

the "reflect internally" from wikipedia is total internal reflection. when light hits a medium that has a higher refractive index than the medium on the other side at a larger angle than the critical angle, the light will be reflected instead of refracted

[@Leclaron]

I love the macro shots! I remember when Kai Parthy started pumping out weird filaments, sadly it seems like they’ve disappeared from the 3D printing space.

[@keithhudson1248]

Retro reflective glass beads were used in certain projector screens in the days of cine film projection before we had LED video projectors. I would say the phrase 'silver screen' but that is slightly different, with a wider viewing angle where as glass bead was brighter on axis but less bright for people off axis seated to the side of the cinema.

[@AerialWaviator]

Fascinating. Loved the macro photos! Really appreciate this as was educational. Does beg why not just paint a print with appropriate reflective paint. (stronger print, similar result) Glad it was made at one time, as this video was well worth the filament having existed.

[@MitchDavis2]

I work at a filament company, and I bought retroreflective powder about a year ago and haven’t actually used it yet. Maybe it’s time to finally break it out and make a batch

[@LostInTech3D]

That would be awesome 😎

[@OsRsSavant]

Better call Saul vibes hittin hard

[@willswim4pie]

I wonder if sanding the finished surface would reveal the beads similar to cutting the filament and how effective that would be? Would the sandpaper flatten the exposed side of the beads and how would that affect performance? This stuff is neat but very niche it seems.

[@ads2k2]

I love these explorations. You should see if Zack at VoidStar still has some of that cursed beef jerky filament. I bet that's gnarly under the macro lens.

[@OneHappyCrazyPerson]

I used retro reflectors for data signals in the '90 ( look into them , cool little diy solderjobs) cool to see it being useful for filament 😍

[@Qwarzz]

Before watching the video: glass sounds like a nice way to ruin your nozzle.

[@stevesloan6775]

New subscriber! 🇦🇺🤜🏼🤛🏼😎🍀☮️ That was great, and I look forward to more in-depth filament testing.

[@LostInTech3D]

Welcome! Plenty more to come

[@Enjoymentboy]

I never thought I'd watch a video that clearly shows that the balls are smaller than the nozzle orifice. Gotta feel for anyone addicted with that condition.

[@collie147]

Literally thinking a real world use case for this could be to print on fabric for custom reflective designs.

[@kubburdigital]

i really liked the colour pallete in this video

[@davidboop3550]

Dig the black and white noir intro. Sweet

[@CarterSchonwald]

So an interesting extra modifier would be to add some fumed silica to improve flowability of the mixture

[@SianaGearz]

Improve flowability? I think this will just thicken it up and make it REALLY difficult to push through the nozzle! Plus it may mute the glass bead reflection.

[@zapl80]

Fumed silica probably just acts as a thickener in that case. It helps flow in powders. And due to it's porous structure it might make prints less shiny but could also make it more moisture absorbing. It's apparently used for powder based laser sintering as a de-clumping agent and in resin printing to thicken the resin but I doubt it would help in a material that is already a messy goo. Most additives in FDM printing decrease viscosity or melting point in some way. Would try with less or smaller particles to improve flow.

[@SianaGearz]

@@zapl80 My familiarity is from epoxy work and it's used for thickening. It's why your typical 2k epoxy adhesive isn't as runny as oil. My second concern is that it'll cloud the carrier by presenting a structure of different refractive index to base polymer; in turn its refractive index may be so close to glass beads, that it'll touch and break their total internal reflection effect on incident light, allowing more light to escape into the resin and get diffused instead of being thrown right where it came from. I don't believe hygroscopic property is a concern, it's a feature in air but not when resin has been allowed to fully absorb into it and de-aerated. It can reduce hygroscopicity of polymer. I think also why you can't just have a retroreflective glass bead filament with a better behaved carrier polymer such as PETG or PS is because the refractive index of these is indistinguishable from glass, so it'll just look like normal PETG maybe just a little cloudier.

[@1fareast14]

11:20 I like how the first color we see in the video is you struggling to open a box

[@LostInTech3D]

I'm glad people are appreciating the weirdness of the colour grading in the vid, I was hoping for that 😁

[@bacillus9]

Great video! Your content is always so interesting.

[@stldenise]

Did you check volumetric flow rate in the slicer? Creality slicer does the Prusa thing and might have been slowing it down in the material settings. It really annoys me that they do that, because I can never be certain how fast things are printing now.

[@LostInTech3D]

It's a cura fork, no volumetric control unless they added it?

[@stldenise]

It's sneaky! Click the type of filament, at the bottom there's a "manage" tab. Volumetric Max Speed is in there. Its 3.5 for TPU & 18 for PLA. Not sure if you were over riding it with the regular part of the slicer settings. Creality Slicer is...weird.

[@HairyStuntWaffle]

pretty sure I have seen that clip with the boat being pulled apart in some falmouth art student project. or maybe it's just a style.

[@LostInTech3D]

Haha definitely not me

[@cainzjussYT]

it look like poo coming out of the nozzle, cant unsee it now

[@LostInTech3D]

I can honestly say I wouldn't know :D

[@kimmotoivanen]

Every filament has a right to have uncertain opportunity to be _highlighted_ in KZbin video. So, yes please, weird filaments that gather tired downplaying comments. One of them might be the one we never knew we could have use for 😉

[@LostInTech3D]

my aim is to just make a huge playlist of really weird stuff

[@andrecook4268]

Great camera work!

[@LostInTech3D]

Thanks 👍

[@ZOMBIEHEADSHOTKILLER]

i literally had this idea once, and was hoping it would be a thing. Im sad that its, not really for sale, when it is its price is high, and that it dosnt seam to print well, or last. they should reduce the amount of retroreflective balls, so it is able to have some strength.

[@anon-means-anon]

We are definitely staring at balls.

[@warmesuppe]

Can you test phaetus nexabs gf 25? it looks really promising for engineering parts

[@TS_Mind_Swept]

I might consider printing it if it didn't look like such a pain in the glass..

[@Peter_A1466]

Can you polish the surface? (Maybe after freezing?) And while I'm conjuring up side projects: Does it gain strength through annealing?

[@ScytheNoire]

Isn't the K1 Creality's new flagship product, competing with the Bambu X1? Aren't you supposed to use a release agent on the hot bed when printing sticky filaments, like TPU? If it's main purpose is for use in the dark and outdoors, wonder how it holds up to the environment and UV rays.

[@LostInTech3D]

Yeah a release agent would have been useful. I don't normally bother but this stuff is weak enough to break off.

[@johndegnan5703]

Which begs the eternal question: Balls, or no Balls?

[@beaconofwierd1883]

I fail to see an application for this filament that isn’t done better with some simple retro reflective paint. My first thought was ”cool, it’s flexible and wouldn’t flake off”, but considering how easy it was to break that doesn’t seem to be the case :(

[@kezyka6775]

This whole video made me think about sin city with how much grayscale and occasional red there was lol

[@LehtusBphree2flyFPV]

I tend to print at 30mm with a 110 flow rate for better results

[@yodasscrotum]

I don't have anything insightful to say I,'m sorry :(

[@SianaGearz]

That's never held me back! And see where I've come.

[@deandavies1462]

Ive got a few of the kai fillaments laygrow & layfelt, I have never had the need or balls to get round to printing with them, one day......

[@LostInTech3D]

Zack Freedman did not have a good time with the laygrow 🤣

[@deandavies1462]

@@LostInTech3DI had all these great ideas of designing & printing something to grow moss & bromeliads on as a backdrop in my dart frog enclosure but never decided what it was I would print and could not find info as to how safe it would be for the frogs. also I wouldnt want to inadvertantly make them poisonous by accident.....

[@deltacx1059]

Just some retroreflective filament, not all that useful in that color but would be good in red and orange.

[@Abihef]

Does that cyanide problem also go for tpe😮 I'm printing it at 280 degrees because below 278 it won't pass through my extruder at all 😮 It handles 95b tpu but 75b tpe just bundles up and blocks the gears below 278 even at 14mm/s

[@LostInTech3D]

check the MSDS I guess

[@Abihef]

As a Dutch person I'm not entirely sure what exactly those letters stand for but the data I do have says not to heat it over 260 degrees however nothing about cyanide. Probably gonna look up more about the material from other suppliers before I'll use it again. So far I've had it running for hours and I'm still alive so so far so good but maybe I do need to finish my fume hood before I proceed using more of it. Bloody hard to get good prints instead of blocked print heads using below 85 hardness filaments though, even with my direct drive extruder.

[@madbuldog]

Hmmmm, this would be great for printing out your own glass files for model making, and if you nead a more coarse option just print with "fuzzy skin" option turned on. Just think of all the diferent custom shapes and forms you can print them in.

[@alpha_pixel_]

The same is used in roads to draw lines

[@aronseptianto8142]

the color grading in this video is making me feel weird, i like it

[@LostInTech3D]

Thanks, that was my aim, although it made my brain hurt while making it haha

[@TechieSewing]

Magnificent, I'll even say... _brilliant_ ^__^

[@MagnificentUsernameGuy]

What?

[@TechieSewing]

@@MagnificentUsernameGuyHere you are!

[@clutchboi4038]

Does this give TPU a less slippery texture? 🤔

[@LostInTech3D]

It does but I'd recommend mattflex by fiberlogy if you want that effect

[@Fillyfishyy]

Saw this on Zack Freedman, awsome to get a bigger dive

[@ClintTheriault]

Pretty sure that this is meant to be printed on a multi-tool type 3d printer. Only using this stuff to add reflective highlights to complex geometries where just adding a sticker would be impractical.

[@Peter_A1466]

Does it become more elastic if you pre-heat the filament a bit? (so, not more stretchy, but more form retaining)

[@LostInTech3D]

Good question, I'm not an engineer but tpu is a strange material in 3d printing as it's already, as I understand it, past its glass point. So heating it might not quite do what other filaments do.

[@Peter_A1466]

@@LostInTech3D I don't dare to assume anything either with such exotic filament 😄

[@purpleblob]

Really interesting video to me! But I must say, that video filter (?) made me feel so blue... Super nice and clean esthetics in here, but somewhy that monochromaticness really got to me

[@LostInTech3D]

Haha, after editing that for 4 days I started seeing the whole world in sepia, so yeah, fun fun. No regrets :)

[@SianaGearz]

I should finish a retroreflective thing. Currently i am using a hat with LEDs and batteries and an IR modified PS3 Eye as my head tracker for simulation type games. Ideally i wouldn't need to wear a battery and wouldn't need a wire either. I know it's not much weight and it doesn't cause discomfort but the LED based build somehow lacks elegance to me. I have bought some retroreflective tape circles from a bicycle store, allegedly from 3M material, but they haven't actually worked that great. Maybe my LED placement wasn't great, even with light quite close to the lens. I think next step is to deshroud the camera lens or build a really tight LED array and ALSO to give the retroreflective targets a bit of a curve, make them at least cylinder shaped if not ball shaped. Yes the tape appears to be made with glass micro spheres. It seemed to work very well straight on but i didn't get enough of a working angle out of it - considering i can't get a ton of distance between my targets and the camera/light. But i have never considered printing an inside corner and applying some chrome paint to it... perhaps i should... I have some Chinese chrome marker pen which is sort of a clone of unobtanium Molotow pen and which turned out surprisingly decent and really really nicely put together, it's actually much better sealed and much smoother action than paint marker pens that you get as store brand around these places... not to speak of the unique paint. And the price was ridiculously low as well. But i still think tape is going to work better. How to determine how much of this filament is balls? Well you could sacrifice some of the filament to a suitable solvent and then wash out the balls... somehow. To then weigh the balls vs. source sample. Modulor will sell you methylene chloride after you give them a signed note that you're going to use it as a plastic welding agent and not say as a paint stripper. Not that i think it's worth it and i'd bet on this failing in a myriad of ways at the filtering stage, but you asked so i had to think about it. I can't see myself printing retroreflective filament. I'd much rather apply a surface treatment like sticky tape, fabric or paint or something of a kind on top of a normal 3D print. But also it's good to know that it exists and is sort of terrible.

[@NeoIsrafil]

.... Thats a lot of balls.... So.... Hmm...more balls than the locker room at LVAC 😂 Also the filament is...really pretty honestly. You could dual filament print with this and use it for text to be very bright and visible.

[@Isissa125]

whats the cereal thing mean 😢

[@TahaSaad]

The intro looks like one from an episode of Better Call Saul

[@jacobkudrowich]

Anyone who doesn't like reading the MSDS isn't my kind of person anyways... You always find something interesting and why not read up on the materials you're using ?

[@MutsUnited]

I like these videos

[@natereinhold6180]

Same problem with every 600x mag microscopes. They are usually @ best 200x

[@peters7413]

what about the plastic you use in grass cutters ?

[@LostInTech3D]

That's PET isn't it?

[@SianaGearz]

@@LostInTech3D If they mean trimmer line, that's usually PA6 Nylon with stinky additives.

[@CrazyT0sser]

wonderful, just wonderful, gonna get couple of kg for next big project

[@JohnLattanzio98]

SIXTEEN HOURS AGO?!?

[@stoinercraft6389]

HMMMM

[@CrazyT0sser]

@@JohnLattanzio98 time traveling is one of patreon perks!

[@LostInTech3D]

yes patrons get to see vids early (most of the time!)

[@WeepinAngel]

TPU becomes CYANIDE if it’s heated too high??? Where are you getting SDSs? My filament from Micro Center has never come with an SDS.

[@LostInTech3D]

I think they have to provide it if you ask for it. I wouldn't be too concerned about TPU though, just don't set it on fire. Or heat it over I think 260.

[@MarkusNemesis]

Was this entire video meant to be strangely de-saturated? Feels like the 'before' in an infomercial 😅

[@LostInTech3D]

Yes 😁

[@ZeeengMicro]

I think they stop manufacturing it considering how cheap and easy to get reflective tapes nowadays

[@ESF19791111]

VERY INTERESTING :) THANK YOU FOR SHARING :) THANK YOU FROM ISRAEL :)

[@thetinguy]

Kai Parthy is a German guy AFAIK. I think he invented wood pla.

[@woodcat7180]

People from Texas must use their ID just to watch this video.

[@WKfpv]

Isn't it abrasive?

[@LostInTech3D]

probably not, the beads arent really being blasted at the nozzle or anything. I doubt anyone's printed enough to find out!

[@CrazyT0sser]

just look how smooth those balls are

[@SianaGearz]

@@LostInTech3D I think you should treat this as abrasive similar to glow in the dark filament and even white filament and pastel opaque colours filament. But like also 100g isn't going to really do all too much damage.

[@SianaGearz]

@@CrazyT0sser Now you've made me want to lick it. Shame on you.

[@duller9430]

Losty so we good now ?

[@Isaacmantx]

The glass is in there to destroy all of your feed tubes, driver wheels, and nozzles….

[@ROGUEAMMO]

I found max speed of 40mms and whenever printing tpu or tpe always spray some isopropyl alcohol on the build plate as a releasing agent. ;) thank me later lol

[@LostInTech3D]

Hmm that would have been useful to know lol

[@privacytest9126]

This was invented for fishing lures....

[@SianaGearz]

Why actually? It's not like fish have LEDs in their eyes? From an off angle away from light source, it just looks dark grey to neutral grey.

[@soaringspoon]

Foo the Flowerhorn vibes

[@LostInTech3D]

Now that looks like my kinda channel!

[@Badspot]

11:20 This was excruciating, even at 2x playback speed. Overall one of the few videos that makes me wish youtube had 3x or higher.

[@LostInTech3D]

You can press the j and l keys to jump forwards if you want to, or tapping on a phone. For a data point though this video has an over average view percent and watch time, so it's clearly a matter of personal preference.

[@garyl6031]

Balls of glass!

[@Palooka37]

This was a waste of time and I would like to watch more of these videos where you waste time with extremely interesting macro photography. Are you using tubes to get better magnification btw?

[@LostInTech3D]

I'm using a few techniques but mostly relying on microscope objectives (finite) for the >10x stuff. Appreciate the comments 😁

[@boy-who-likes-bats]

ahaha greyscale noir video :D

[@LostInTech3D]

As far as I could push it without annoying everyone anyway 🤣

[@Mr.X3D]

Please do OBC Polyethylene!!!!

[@LostInTech3D]

Someone showed me that just yesterday!

[@paintballercali]

Commenting purely for the algorithm

[@hurzelgnurk]

No, no, no you won't farm me for interaction with your waste of time comment.... damn it! (I knew the stuff but considering the price never tried it)

[@fundays1]

Looks almost like a perfect closeup of cannabis.

[@LostInTech3D]

I hate to imagine the smell of that

[@learningtocrash4030]

Lol, his every sentence ends in a....question mark.?

[@LostInTech3D]

It's called upspeak and no I don't think so 🤔

[@learningtocrash4030]

@@LostInTech3D I like it, it's entertaining.

[@firstletterofthealphabet7308]

Balls

[@RandomImpluses]

It's not me but thanks

It's not for me but thanks

[@NewStreamLine]

No, I don't support extreme prices.

[@duller9430]

It’s no for me, but thanks

[@waldfruchttee]

heh balls

[@lykket]

First

[@Dartheomus]

It was a waste of time. Lol i just cant imagine using something like this in its current form anyway

[@rykemapo]

This was a waste of time

[@LostInTech3D]

You can have a full refund of your time, just play it again backwards

[@killpidone]

Please take a look at ninjatek armadillo