Arnitel

Introduction

Arnitel is a 3D printer filament‎‎. It's chemical name is DSM Arnitel Eco and it is made by DSM. It is also sold under re-branded names like InnoFlex or "Flex Eco" This elastic plastic is difficult to print since it doesn't stick well to the platform. On the positive side it has some nice properties and it doesn't stink.

According to Arnitel Eco page, “Arnitel® Eco material is a bio-based thermoplastic copolyester (TPE) that delivers high performance with the added benefit of a lower environmental impact. The material is 50% made from renewable resources, based on rapeseed oil instead of mineral oil. Yet…it performs outstandingly for demanding applications ranging from oven pan liners to consumer electronics to sports and leisure, automotive and furniture.”. [...] “The material has a melting point of up to 200°C, making it ideal for applications with peak temperatures close to the melting point. In fact, the material maintains consistent performance across its entire operating temperature from low to high extremes, outperforming other elastomers.”

According to 3D printing blog, “Arnitel is a high-performance ThermoPlastic Copolyester (TPC) that offers you a unique combination of flexibility, high temperature resistance and strength. Arnitel Eco is manufactured using renewable feedstock, in fact 50% of its content comes from renewable resources, and in particular, rapeseed oil instead of mineral oil. This elastic product outperforms conventional rubbers according to the manufacturer across a variety of applications, and is available in hardnesses ranging from 40 to 70 Shore D. The Arnitel Eco 3D printer filament can be used with any 3D printer that supports PLA filaments as you need to have an extruder temperature of about 230 degrees Celsius for the Arnitel when printing, the same as for PLA.”

Variants

Arnitel comes in various variants. It's hardness varies from 40 to 70 Shore D. The names of Arnitel variants (or rebrandings like InnoFlex) reflect that. E.g. "60" has a higher elongation than "40".

Specifications for printing.

Rumours on the Internet vary widely with respect to printing.

• Nozzle temperature is from 210 to 260. It seems that more elastic Arnitel should printed cooler than lesser elastics (makes sense). Melting temperature is between 180 and 200 (probably).
• Bed temperature from 55 to 110
• Print speed: from 40 to 80 mm/s. Faster is OK since flow isn't a problem with Arnitel, but probably produces less nice results.
• You need to use some strong adhesive tape if you plan to print more than a few layers...
• Keep the roll stored in plastic (same is true for most filaments ....)

I'd say, for starters, go as high as possible.

Printing tips

Using a Felix 2.0 printer

• Since Arnitel Eco doesn't stick well to the platform (it gets loose once it cools down), you will have to apply the whole bag of tricks:
  • heat the bed as much as you can, e.g. 90 degrees (however, the bed temperature for Arnitel D-45 rather should be around 110). If you use glue, then the temperature could be lower.
  • make sure that the print head is very close to the platform (1 sheet of paper),
  • Make the first layer compact (e.g. 75% of the usual height). This is to "press" it down.
  • You also should add a raft (underneath and extended at least 1 cm, so you can tape it down if gets loose
  • Print slower than for PLA printing, e.g. at 50 - 75% (but not too slow, or the extruder may clog)
  • Maybe add cooling loops (print circling without printing)
  • Add some sticky tape or some PVA glue stick (so far I didn't try since I don't have any at hand, I used adhesive gum instead) or hairspray with a "plastic base". Alternatively, you could try replacing the Kapton tape of the platform with PET tape. PET tape also seems to work better with ABS.
  • Fan should be on for better results. However, since the object will probably warp a bit, turnin off the fan will reduce the risk of the nozzle ripping away the part from the print bed.
• Temperature: 230 ? ... though some folks seem to print with 205 degrees, other with 250...

• 0.2mm layers

The bottom line is that you will have to find a method to make it stick. It's probably best to use a combination of a hot printbed and some kind of glue. If you don't mind an ugly bottom, you also can try to print without glue, but then tape down the draft after it starts detaching....

In addition, also, consider that you cannot print (I can't at least) all the sorts of objects you could print with PLA. E.g. objects that have a wide bottom plus some height. Something that is thin (less than 10 layers) and wide could be done before the print starts warping. If you must print such objects, consider structural changes. E.g. add holes in the walls that "pull" the object towards its center.

Alternatives

• NinjaFlex and SemiFlex (made by [http://www.fennerdrives.com/ninjaflex3dprinting/_/3d/// Fenner Drives)

• Flex filament (?)

Links

Tips

• How To Print With InnoFlex ? (RepRap forums)
• Printing with Arnitel AKA Flexible Polyester (RepRap forums)
• Arnitel (Felix Printer Forum thread)

Product pages and data sheets at DSM

• Arnitel Eco product page at DSM (producer)
• Arnitel Eco page at DSM
• Arnitel Eco - the next generation of bio-performance materials (2.79 MB)
• Product data sheets (for all variants)

Print bed materials

• How To Succeed When Printing With ABS and ABS Bed Adhesion Tips & Tricks (talks about PET tape and other tricks to have ABS stick. Since ABS problems are similar to Arnitel problems with respect to sticking, it's a good read.)