Colorants (masterbatch) (Page 5 of 9)

**DePartedPrinter** · 2013-08-07 21:26:38

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Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

bteeter wrote:

Tim - is the ratio based upon volume, weight or pellet count. Or do we really care and just figure that a 50::1 ratio in any measurement come close enough.
Bob

volume

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**CaptCrash** · 2013-08-14 16:03:44

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Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

I have some universal masterbatch to test this weekend.

Once I have produced some filament, Ill post some images of the results.
i499.photobucket.com/albums/rr351/dnancarrow/Filastruder/F90A3672-3EFA-4F31-9EC0-0C4D94516DFD-1941-000003A33F9FA62A_zpsbccb4fa4.jpg
(sorry, I dont have enough posts to show the image).

The photo doesn't show it well, but there are two separate shades of blue, red and brown.

This should work for both PLA and ABS, I only have ABS to test with at the moment.

**laird** · 2013-08-28 15:18:03

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Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

I just ordered pigment from an art supply house (Amazon product /gp/product/B000BGSZFU/), which is sold for people to use making paint, for sprinkling onto objects, or for mixing their own colors of clay. According to the specs it's durable to 500 degrees F, so I'm hoping that it'll be good in extruded plastic. If nothing else, it looks like a great deal - 32 one oz bottles of different pigment powder, for $45, including shipping. Tiny bottles aren't enough for large scale production, but should be enough to see whether art pigment is usable to color ABS filament.

**IanJohnson** · 2013-08-28 17:19:44

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Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

If you are going to use pigment, it might be a good idea to buy some Asaclean - http://www.ebay.com/itm/ASACLEAN-PURGIN … 35b8142c60

It is designed to purge extruder barrels by bonding to whatever is inside of there and dragging it out. Powder pigment seems to take a lot longer to purge, and you want to make sure it is all gone so there isn't any unexpected color mixing. I ended up taking my barrel off after the plastic was run out, and there was still a lot of powder left behind that I had to clean out by hand. I haven't tried powder since I got the Asaclean, but I would expect it to make a much shorter purge time. It's probably a good idea to use it between ABS and PLA as well.

**laird** · 2013-08-29 02:29:02

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Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

IanJohnson wrote:

If you are going to use pigment, it might be a good idea to buy some Asaclean
It is designed to purge extruder barrels by bonding to whatever is inside of there and dragging it out. Powder pigment seems to take a lot longer to purge, and you want to make sure it is all gone so there isn't any unexpected color mixing. I ended up taking my barrel off after the plastic was run out, and there was still a lot of powder left behind that I had to clean out by hand. I haven't tried powder since I got the Asaclean, but I would expect it to make a much shorter purge time. It's probably a good idea to use it between ABS and PLA as well.

Thanks! Ordered. It's fun learning new stuff...

**Ralphxyz** · 2013-08-29 14:31:59

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Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

Ian is that ASACLEAN recycleable? Can you use it over?

Thanks I ordered some but wondering about reuse.

Ralph

**IanJohnson** · 2013-09-04 17:44:43

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Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

1 tsp Red and .5tsp Blue in 1 cup of natural. Blue seems to be stronger than red, I expected a more red purple. There is also a fair amount of variation in hue, but I like the effect. The pellets need to be smaller to make a more consistent mix. I wonder if a burr grinder would work.

**elmoret** · 2013-09-04 17:50:15

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Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

That's pretty neat. Did you use your winder to make that filament?

Burr grinder might work. The blade style doesn't, at least not with hunks of plastic. Might work with pellets.

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**Ralphxyz** · 2013-09-04 20:17:58

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Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

I have a couple of coffee grinders I suppose one would want a course grind not a fine grind or would it matter?

Ralph

**elmoret** · 2013-09-04 20:22:23

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Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

I would say the finer, the better. Powder would be perfect - it would coat the pellets and therefore disperse evenly.

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**HockeyDR** · 2013-09-12 00:32:59

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Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

I was using a Red colorant with PLA purchased from osprinting and the red pellets were not melting at the PLA's extrusion temperature. (145-150). Is there any way to fix this? The red pellets were coming out whole.

**elmoret** · 2013-09-12 00:45:56

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Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

What red colorant were you using?

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**2n2r5** · 2013-09-12 04:59:06

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Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

Ralphxyz wrote:

I have a couple of coffee grinders I suppose one would want a course grind not a fine grind or would it matter?
Ralph

just sayin'

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**Ralphxyz** · 2013-09-12 15:36:47

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Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

Funny how Blendtec comes up whenever someone mentions coffee grinders. Is there a key word trigger for spamming Blendtec or do you actually use and like the device?

It is a nice video but I have seen it at least five times.

But never have spoken with a actual user so I'd like to hear a personalized testimonial, preferable in a new thread.

Ralph

**HockeyDR** · 2013-09-12 19:19:35

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Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

elmoret wrote:

What red colorant were you using?

Red colorant that came with the 4 lb PLA package on OS Printing.

**OSPrinting** · 2013-09-13 13:45:57

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Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

For the PLA colorant, set your temp to 160-170 C. You should see results at that temp.

Rob

**DePartedPrinter** · 2013-09-13 17:47:59

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Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

Ralphxyz wrote:

I have a couple of coffee grinders I suppose one would want a course grind not a fine grind or would it matter?
Ralph

This probably wont work. I tried it with no success.

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**elmoret** · 2013-09-13 17:49:27

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Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

DePartedPrinter wrote:

Ralphxyz wrote:
I have a couple of coffee grinders I suppose one would want a course grind not a fine grind or would it matter?
Ralph

This probably wont work. I tried it with no success.

Same, though it was a blade type grinder, not burr type.

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**DePartedPrinter** · 2013-09-13 17:54:05

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Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

elmoret wrote:

DePartedPrinter wrote:
Ralphxyz wrote:
I have a couple of coffee grinders I suppose one would want a course grind not a fine grind or would it matter?
Ralph

This probably wont work. I tried it with no success.
Same, though it was a blade type grinder, not burr type.

I also used a blade type.

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**elmoret** · 2013-10-24 02:54:08

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Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

A new approach to producing master batch:

http://forums.reprap.org/read.php?70,256779

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**laird** · 2013-10-25 03:32:55

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Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

elmoret wrote:

A new approach to producing master batch:
http://forums.reprap.org/read.php?70,256779

Very cool!

I'm wondering if there's an easier way to get powdered pigment to mix evenly with base resin pellets. For example, while I can't test it until my 'struder gets back up and running, I've gotten powdered pigment to stick to pellets with a light misting of water, then it sticks decently well when it dries, though I'm not sure yet whether it'll stick well enough to result in even filament. I might also try spray adhesive, though I'm a bit apprehensive about what will happen with the glue - will it burn off? gum things up?

Any other suggestions to try?

I'm hopeful this will work, because there are lots of interesting pigments that are powdered, which you can pick up at any art supply store in a wide range of colors.

**IanJohnson** · 2013-10-25 04:13:07

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Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

It seemed to me that powder stuck well enough just from the static generated by shaking the pellets. I think the key to even mixing in a Filastruder would be a masterbatch pellet size that is small enough to distribute more evenly in the hopper.

**printalot** · 2013-10-25 10:09:20

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Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

Use a small amount of mineral oil and mix. It's what the big guys do.

**laird** · 2013-10-26 04:21:39

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Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

printalot wrote:

Use a small amount of mineral oil and mix. It's what the big guys do.

Nice. I have a bottle of ABS+pigment ready to try as soon as the replacement PID arrives.

**laird** · 2013-10-27 02:11:33

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Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

laird wrote:

printalot wrote:
Use a small amount of mineral oil and mix. It's what the big guys do.
Nice. I have a bottle of ABS+pigment ready to try as soon as the replacement PID arrives.

I'll know more in a few hours, but the first thing I noticed is that the pigment is very fine powder so it sticks to the pellets, the bottle, the pencil I used to stir it, and likely everything else in sight. So I'm a little concerned that the Filastruder might end up blue forever. At least it's a very pretty blue. And it's feeding through a Filabottle so it won't actually touch the hopper, but will feed straight into the feed screw, so I'm hoping it'll be OK. We'll see.

Colorants (masterbatch) (Page 5 of 9)

Posts: 101 to 125 of 206

101 Reply by DePartedPrinter 2013-08-07 21:26:38

Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

102 Reply by CaptCrash 2013-08-14 16:03:44 (edited by CaptCrash 2013-08-14 16:07:43)

Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

103 Reply by laird 2013-08-28 15:18:03

Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

104 Reply by IanJohnson 2013-08-28 17:19:44

Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

105 Reply by laird 2013-08-29 02:29:02

Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

106 Reply by Ralphxyz 2013-08-29 14:31:59

Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

107 Reply by IanJohnson 2013-09-04 17:44:43

Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

108 Reply by elmoret 2013-09-04 17:50:15

Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

109 Reply by Ralphxyz 2013-09-04 20:17:58

Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

110 Reply by elmoret 2013-09-04 20:22:23

Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

111 Reply by HockeyDR 2013-09-12 00:32:59 (edited by HockeyDR 2013-09-12 00:33:16)

Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

112 Reply by elmoret 2013-09-12 00:45:56

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113 Reply by 2n2r5 2013-09-12 04:59:06

Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

114 Reply by Ralphxyz 2013-09-12 15:36:47 (edited by Ralphxyz 2013-09-12 15:37:04)

Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

115 Reply by HockeyDR 2013-09-12 19:19:35

Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

116 Reply by OSPrinting 2013-09-13 13:45:57

Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

117 Reply by DePartedPrinter 2013-09-13 17:47:59

Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

118 Reply by elmoret 2013-09-13 17:49:27

Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

119 Reply by DePartedPrinter 2013-09-13 17:54:05

Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

120 Reply by elmoret 2013-10-24 02:54:08

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121 Reply by laird 2013-10-25 03:32:55

Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

122 Reply by IanJohnson 2013-10-25 04:13:07

Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

123 Reply by printalot 2013-10-25 10:09:20

Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

124 Reply by laird 2013-10-26 04:21:39

Re: Colorants (masterbatch)

125 Reply by laird 2013-10-27 02:11:33

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Posts: 101 to 125 of 206