3D PRINTING REVIEW – CCTREE CARBON FIBRE PLA FILAMENT AND 3D PRINTER UPGRADES

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The CCTREE Carbon Fibre PLA filament is a 1.75mm PLA filament infused with Carbon Fibre, resulting in a filament that can produce prints that are much stronger than standard PLA. This filament is thus ideal for high-wear and load-bearing prints.

This higher durability does come at two significant tradeoffs. Firstly CCTREE Carbon Fibre filament costs approximately double what CCTREE standard PLA filament costs. Secondly and probably the largest problem with this filament is that it experiences significant bowing as it cools compared to standard PLA filament.

This bowing can result in prints separating from the print bed, which occurred more than once during my testing, and below is a picture of the consequences of one of these bed adhesion failures.

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I found that the Carbon Fibre filament worked best when printing smaller items as the bowing occurred much less on a small surface area.

Here is a picture of some items I printed using the Carbon Fibre filament to upgrade my Wanhao Duplicator i3 Mini.

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On the left in the image is a filament guide that prevents the filament from grazing against the printer body and ensures smooth filament movement. On the right are bed stabilizers that prevent unwanted bed movements that result from slight shifts in the bed leveling springs.

I also printed a tool caddy using the Carbon Fibre filament, and this was the largest item I printed successfully using the filament. Here are some photos of the tool caddy.

As can be seen in the Wanhao logo on the tool caddy a good level of detail is possible using the CTREE Carbon Fibre filament. Also note that all prints required minimal cleanup, with little to no stringing occurring.

Here are a few pictures of the upgrades installed.

The CCTREE Carbon Fibre PLA filament is a very useful filament for printing functional parts that require a level of robustness not offered by PLA, but it does require more care and tweaking to print successfully. It is an excellent filament, just not one for beginners.

On a side note, I recently installed a silicon sock on my printer’s hot end. This is a simple and inexpensive upgrade that offer numerous benefits such as helping to keep the hot end temperature constant and keeping the hot end clean. It also a safety measure and prevents burns from accidentally touching the hot end. It is definitely a worthwhile upgrade considering the minimal investment required.

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3D PRINTING REVIEW – CCTREE CARBON FIBRE PLA FILAMENT AND 3D PRINTER UPGRADES

3D PRINTING REVIEW – CCTREE PLA AND WOOD FILAMENT

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CCTREE PLA Filament

The CCTree PLA filament we will be looking at today is the 1.75mm diameter variety, but it is also available in 3mm. The filament is available in a wide variety of colors, around 25 colors, and is sold in 1kg spools.

The experience with this filament has been great, producing very good quality prints with a great level of detail and only minimal 3D printed object cleanup required after printing.

 During printing the filament has minimal stringing, if any at all, and I have never had a print fail because of a filament issue using CCTREE PLA filament.

CCTREE PLA filament is a very easy filament to print with and offers great value being one of the less expensive filaments available. I would highly recommend this filament for novices and experienced 3D print enthusiasts alike.

CCTREE Wood Filament

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CCTREE Wood filament is a 1.75mm diameter filament consisting of a mixture of PLA plastic and wood fibers that produces prints with a slightly rough wood-like finish, similar to Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF), that can be sanded and stained in a similar way to wood.

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This filament is slightly more challenging to print with and is more prone to stringing (due to the wood fibers) and larger flat surfaces are prone to slight bowing as the print cools down.

It is still however possible to produce prints with a great level of detail, it just requires an extra bit of cleanup and finishing.

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During printing, this filament gives off a subtle wood-like odor.

The CCTREE Wood filament is more expensive than their PLA filament, costing approximately double the price.

This filament is great for prints that benefit from a more natural wood-like finish (for example a baby Groot) and the end result looks fantastic. This is a great filament but is probably not the best choice for a 3D printing newbie to get started with.

 

CCTree filaments offer great quality and value for money, the filaments are available in a wide variety of colors and options and they come highly recommended.

3D PRINTING REVIEW – CCTREE PLA AND WOOD FILAMENT