INprinting A California 3D printing firm sent 3D – PT a sample of their blend of hemp & HIPS to review.
Hemp composite filament have long been a goal of 3D printers. Many 3D printers hope to make hemp composite items. This composite can be made with environmentally sustainable hemp, and would be appealing in states where marijuana is legal.
In talking with the owner Shawn Dean, he sent me his 1st batch of hemp based HIPS to review. This filament was 10% hemp by volume.
My first impression was that he sent me a sample off the end of the production run. The filament was not spooled. INprinting is launching a crowdfunding campaign for spooling and packaging material.
I had to spool the sample myself onto an old spool from another company. There were multiple breaks in the sample as I rolled it, so it took some time to spool enough to print with. The filament itself feels much softer than standard HIPS, and it was far more bendable that standard HIPS as well.
The hemp based HIPS on a spool. The kinks in the filament can be seen on the spool.The filament itself was not extruded well with bends every few cm. This was a initial production issue that has been fixed according to Shawn Dean. These bends made hand spooling hemp based HIPS difficult. When I finished spooling the filament, I noticed that I had a light oil over my hand and arms that smell funky to me (Disclaimer: I have a poor sense of smell). I did get a flashback to my college days and dancing with some dirty hippies.
The main appeal for this filament that it has hemp in it. In states that have legalized marijuana, 3D printing from hemp is a novel way to produce paraphernalia for dispensaries and pot smokers. The State of Colorado has legalize recreational and medicinal marijuana, and this filament can have wide appeal to 3D printers in states where marijuana and hemp is legal.
3Dom USA sold out quickly of their Entwined blend of PLA and hemp, and you can get on a waitlist for the next production run of Endtwined. Their filament show the wide appeal in the USA of any hemp based filament.
INprinting hemp based HIPS looks like virgin white HIPS with flecks of brown throughout the
Close up of the filament. 10% hemp by volume.filament. As it prints the white HIPS turns a more dingy egg shell white / brown, with brown flecks in the print.
It is a good thing that I receive a large sample, because it took me a few tries to get the print to stick to the build plate. The oil in the filament may prevent the print from sticking to a non-porous build surface like glass or PEI.
As I printed, I was not impressed with the hemp based HIPS at all. The kinky extrusion I discussed in the beginning of the blog caused feed problems. The kinks in the filament kept the filament from engaging with the hobbed bolt, so I really had to crank down on the idler arm to make it feed correctly.
About halfway through the test print, the filament snapped twice in quick succession, resulting in a jam in the extruder.
ADDENDUM: The memory card on my camera was full at the time of printing. After clearing the memory card, I retook the pictures of the failed print you see below after digging it out of the trash. The test print is the same file I’ve used in other filament reviews.
Using the grading system from a previous blog I’ll give it this score.
Flexibility: Bent through 180 degrees. 12 pts
Color: Stayed eggshell white – dingy brown through print. 3 pts
Starting quality: Required frequent restarts. 0 pts.
Warping: No warping. 3 pts
End of Print: The test print itself failed. However the print did come clean off the build plate. 3 pts
Environmental: It did leave an oily residue on my hands and spool that had a slightly funky smell. 1 pt
Special Considerations: Requires that you spool it yourself to use. The oily filament may require a more aggressive build surface. Hemp products may not be legal in all states. 0 pts
Processing: This would be finished like a HIPS print. 1 pt.
Total: 23 / 28
In talking with INprinting, they are working on an improved hemp based HIPS formula. They are welcome to resubmit a sample of this filament for testing.
DISCLAMER: INprinting sent 3D – PT a sample of their hemp based HIPS at their own expense, with no expectations given for their review. They are welcome to send a new batch of their filament for review in a future blog.
Hey! Do you have an email address or a way to get in contact with INprinting? I googled but I had a bit of trouble finding the correct site. I wanted to ask them if this filament is food grade. if you could help i would appreciate it!
Thanks!