Has anyone experimented with Ninjaflex flexible plastic?

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posted in Community by the_freakk

http://www.3ders.org/articles/20131002-ninjaflex-flexible-tpe-filament-for-3d-printers.html

Have any of you guys run any prints with that stuff? Any pictures / videos?

10 years, 6 months ago

odiewan - I've got some on order for a customer. I will receive it this week. I will post when I have some info.

10 years, 6 months ago

ericschimel - Can you use this stuff in a Makerbot?

10 years, 6 months ago

harrisdesigns - Haven't used Ninjaflex, but it appears to be the same as the EcoPLA Flex material that FormFutura makes. But twice the cost! I got 1kg at $45.95 instead of 0.5kg at $49.95. It works great on my Makerbot Rep. 2 Work checking out! They sell it at Makergeeks.com for that price (natural and black, no blue or red)! Great product though! See my comment from the PLA vs ABS post for more details.

10 years, 6 months ago

printedsolid - I haven't tried it, but it is a different material than the EcoFlex PLA.

The ninjaflex is a polyurethane thermoplastic elastomer. The polyurethane should be able to handle higher temps than the PLA. It's probably going to be able to recover more of it's shape after being compressed than the ecoflexPLA.

You've also got the makerbot flexible filament in the mix, which is a third material entirely and melts at the very low temp of 60C.

You'd have to consider all that when picking the right material for a customer order. It's great that we're starting to get more material selections!

10 years, 6 months ago

fd_engineer - Yes...you can run it in any of the replicator models. No need for a heated platform, but you do need the spring loaded extruder upgrade for the Rep1 or earlier models of Rep2

10 years, 6 months ago

aricnorine - I'm testing some ninjaflex on a Rep2x right now, and it looks promising. I used a razor to cut open a 100% infilled part, and it looked just like any rubber mold or a bouncy ball inside, no air gaps and a nice shiny sheen. I think it may have some trouble feeding through the stock guide tube however. All my tests so far have been conducted with enough slack in the filament to avoid feed tube problems. When I pull more filament through the tube to create more slack, it's much more resistant than pulling abs or pla.

10 years, 4 months ago

saifprints - Has anyone tried on makerbot replicator 5th printer with ninjaflex? Any pointers or tips?

9 years, 6 months ago

aricnorine - Apologies for the snark, but if you're within the return window, get a refund for the 5th gen printer and buy a Replicator 2 off Ebay.

9 years, 6 months ago

saifprints - I would like to know your reasons about returning the 5th gen.

9 years, 6 months ago

aricnorine - It's a less capable machine than it's predecessor in almost every way. Reliability, print quality, multiple materials, startup time, software (old makerware is better than Makerbot desktop).

The 5th gen machine is the Windows Vista of makerbot's product lineup.

9 years, 6 months ago

saifprints - Oh ok, so would 2x be better than the 5th gen?
and to my original question, will i be able to print on either 5th gen or 2x with ninjaflex or do i need to change the extruder?
thanks

9 years, 6 months ago

aricnorine - 2x is only better if you need to print ABS. It doesn't work well with PLA. Replicator 2 is the best choice for PLA at the moment. Perhaps Makerbot will sort out the 5th gen issues in 12 months and then it will be superior, but for now Rep2 is the best choice.

You only need to print a filament guide from thingiverse to start printing ninjaflex on the 2 or 2x.

9 years, 6 months ago

printedsolid - I give this response to any customer that comes to me looking to print anything other than makerbot PLA on a 5th gen.

My guess is that the 5th gen is entirely capable of printing with ninjaflex, but I'd avoid it until you're out of warranty. As far as I know, they're still working out the kinks on the smart extruder. You're inevitably going to need to exercise it at some point and if they find it loaded up with ninjaflex, wood, nylon, etc. Come back to the good stuff when your warranty is up and report back on the results.

9 years, 6 months ago

vinnie90 - I have printing with NinjaFlex for about 30 hours now. It is really cool stuff. I would suggest change your print speed to 30 and crank up the retract rate a little more.

I print it on my replicator 2's and it works fine. It sticks extremely well to the acrylic. You dont have to worry about warping. Only warpage is on the actual print if it has pointed layers.

9 years, 6 months ago

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evan_lee - Worked great on Makerbot rep2 w/ blue painters tape applied to the build plate. Printed a little frog....strong stuff!

9 years, 6 months ago

elpulpo - I've tried both Ninjaflex and Filaflex. Get pretty good results with both but Filaflex is slightly more elastic and I prefer their range of colours.

9 years, 6 months ago

ardis1938 - often get questions from our audience about Ninjaflex flexible plastic. You can check this https://www.college-paper.org/pay-for-papers/ and learn more new skills about college things. I've had a number of people ask me if they can use the plastic to make a 3D printable rubber band gun, but after having shot one of the guns myself it's just not the right material for that application.

2 years, 1 month ago