Whether the colour of the 3D printing filament affects the mechanical strength.
If affected, which one of the colours has a higher strength?
The colour affects the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of the 3D printed specimen.
You can search for references in literature; as an example, the UTS of PLA has been investigated in:
DOI: 10.3390/polym14101978
Interestingly, the UTS can be higher or lower than base material, depending on temperature.
Moreover, the final 3D printed part volume and friction coefficient are affected by the colour, too.
About Your question, I think that for a given material (and grade of that material), the best UTS still depends not only on the exact colour (here, a sistematic investigation is needed) but also on extrusion temperature.
Best regards,
AP
Nekin Joshua This is a very important question that comes to our mind whenever we start to procure the raw filament for FDM-related experiments. I was also in the same situation trying to find out, a few years before.
Answer:
Yes, the colour of the 3D printing filament does affect various material properties including mechanical strength. The common colourants used in the filaments can be pigments, dyes, masterbatches, or pearlescent powders. In FDM 3D printing, where various colours of filament are used, it is possible that some of the colouring agents present in the filaments may also act as nucleating agents, thus, influencing the crystallization rate of the material being printed. The modified crystallization rate can result in variations in stiffness, strength, and other mechanical characteristics. Therefore, the impact of colouring agents on crystallization rate and mechanical strength can vary depending on the specific material and colouring agents used. Colourant additives in FDM filaments can also play a role in the gap size or the flow characteristics of the material during the printing process, thus showing different properties for different coloured filaments. Therefore, it is important to consider the composition of the raw filaments and conduct appropriate testing and analysis to assess the effects on material properties when using colored filaments in FDM 3D printing. For better results, consider the pure form of genuine pallets (Free from colourant) and create your own filaments to be used for experiments.
One of the important literature considering PLA and its various colours impacting the material properties is : Article The Effects of PLA Color on Material Properties of 3-D Print...
Yes, the pigment content affects the strength properties even very much. Our recent research (in press) showed that the differences in tensile and flexural strength are of the order of 20%, and for impact strength even 50% (!). PLA differed only in the color of the pigment. The reasons for these differences are another matter. Here, the research results did not clearly explain these reasons.
I agree with the former writers and want to add:
Even the extrusion is influenced by the color and the materials used to color.
We saw different extrusion forces and extrusion rates, depending on the colors of the same material of the same manufacturer. Hence, there will be a different amount of material in the printed part, thus having a big influence on the mechanical properties.
Colorless material does not show better values than colored material. This is more complex. As already mentioned, thermal conductivity, thermal capacity and crystallization will be affected by the coloring materials. We assume, that depending on the color, additional additives might be used when producing the filament, thus having even more influence? To answer this, a cooperation with a filament producer would be needed.
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