New filaments from BCN3D: Tough PLA and BVOH

New filaments from BCN3D: Tough PLA and BVOH

BCN3D is constantly researching, testing and creating new materials. A recent project with MCPP and BASF led to the creation of two new materials that were added to the BCN3D portfolio. The first is Tough PLA, which is intended for the production of tools and end parts. The second is BVOH, which is used for water-soluble supports.

"We are very excited to have the two largest chemical companies in the world as close partners. Their industry experience and our combined ability to jointly develop new solutions have proven crucial." - Eric Pallarés García, CTO at BCN3D

What is Tough PLA?

You may be familiar with ordinary PLA filament, which is the most popular material for 3D printing, providing stiffness, variety of colors and ease of use. Tough PLA material has the same properties, but is additionally harder and stiffer.

The Tough PLA filament has been designed for high impact and strength, similar to ABS, and stiffness similar to PLA. Tough PLA shows excellent results in terms of layer adhesion and has a very good surface quality. It also enables easy printing at many different temperatures without warping or shrinking.

Good balance between temperature resistance and durability

What can you use it for?

The ease of printing and the ability to adhere layers are ideal for functional prototyping. Due to its properties such as impact resistance and the ability to act as a standard material with more demanding properties, Tough PLA filament is used both for production aids and production tools.

For large prints, Tough PLA acts as an alternative to ABS because it is stiffer, has less warping problems and is more 3D printing friendly as it does not require a closed printing environment and does not emit fumes that would need to be filtered.

Perfect for the production of rigid parts

The Tough PLA filament will initially be available in black and white. Red and blue will also be available soon.

"Tough PLA is a really great alternative to ABS and I would recommend it for applications that require high impact resistance, easy printing and excellent surface quality." - Álvaro García Sabater

What is BVOH?

BVOH is an optimized material for the FFF production process. Its main advantage is incredibly fast dissolution. This water-soluble material is easy to remove from small parts which reduces clogging problems. It has wide compatibility with PLA, Tough PLA, PET-G, TPU 98A, ABS, PA and PAHT CF15.

The BVOH filament is highly hygroscopic, so remember to keep it in an airtight container to prevent moisture absorption.

BVOH vs PVA dissolution time

What can you use it for?

The BVOH filament is ideal for water-soluble supports, partially closed cavities and complex geometries. The higher the water temperature, the faster the material dissolving process. BVOH provides a smooth finish for functional prototypes and excellent surface quality. By using BVOH material, you can obtain moving mechanisms and multi-component models.

"BVOH is a complementary support material (PVA and BVOH) and I would recommend it for parts that require water-soluble supports, taking advantage of the potential of the IDEX architecture; but also when you need a wider compliance with our material portfolio." - Álvaro García Sabater

Wide compatibility with other BCN3D filaments

The constantly expanding portfolio of the BCN3D company

The new Tough PLA and BVOH filaments increase the number of materials available by BCN3D. Both Tough PLA and BVOH are compatible with other BCN3D materials. Two new material profiles can be found in BCN3D Cura. BCN3D has also released a new software update that will automatically be delivered to all Epsilon and Sigma D25 printers.