Yet Another Filament Swatch (but for MMU!)

With multi-material printing more accessible than ever before, I felt it was time to redesign the humble filament swatch to incorporate features that can help those of us using our printers for art in addition to functional prints.

If you have a Prusa XL or MMU/AMS, these swatches provide benefits not present in other swatch models. I've also included a less featured version for single-color printers.

• Transparency at a glance:
  • 3mf files are available for the following variations:
    • Multi: 2x20 grid of 3x4mm steps at 0.04mm
    • Multi: 2x10 grid of 6x4mm steps at 0.08mm
    • Single: 1x15 grid of 17.5x4mm steps at 0.2mm
  • I found that 1.6mm total thickness was more than enough to provide a good visualization of transmission distance for all but the most transparent of filaments. If you need more than this, there are instructions below for generating your own STLs.
  • See below for recommendations on which white/black filaments to use. 
  • Note: this grid is not intended to replace the HueForge “Seashell Test” or use of a TD-1. I still use both of those for precise measurements.
  • 
• Octagram Spiral pattern on top/bottom layers:
  • This pattern is used to highlight color variations in multi-color coextrusion filaments. It's also a fairly complex pattern that can potentially highlight extrusion issues filaments might have in large open infill areas or tight spaces.
  • See Kaizen 3D Prints for why this is helpful for those who print onto textiles.
  • 
• Slot to hold a small segment of the actual filament.
  • A lot of filaments look different on the spool than they do after being printed.
  • This also allows for a cross section view of coextruded filaments.
• Space for a 12mm label, up to 60mm long.
  • I've included my file for the Brother P-touch Label Editor, which you can use with their database field import to easily print all of your labels from a CSV file with the following fields:
    • Material
    • Color (RGB hex, or descriptor like “gradient”)
    • TD (transmission distance)
    • Manufacturer
    • Brand (e.g. Prusament)
    • Product name (e.g. Galaxy Purple)
• Warp/adhesion indicator
  • This is a completely unintentional feature but after printing dozens of these swatches, I've noticed that the corner with the 6mm hole is a good indicator of how print corners might warp and peel away from the print bed.
  • 

Parametric CAD:

You can find the CAD for this model here at Onshape, which includes configuration options to adjust the width of the label section along with the size and number of “steps.”

Printing Tips:

• Make sure your filament is dry.
  • This should go without saying but the extra-thin layers on the steps work a lot better if your filament is dry.
• I recommend printing on a satin print sheet to get the best advantage out of the octagram spiral on the bottom layer.
• I chose the SPEED profile because even with that setting these take a bit over 40 mins each to print on my Prusa XL. However, you may find that the quality is not to your liking and could benefit from switching to STRUCTURAL (prints in about 55 mins). If even that fails, you may have to use the 0.08mm project.
  • See Printing Setup below for more specific information.
  • If you go with STRUCTURAL I still recommend reducing the number of bottom solid layers to 3 to match SPEED so you get one layer of regular infill. This is handy for showing off how infill is visible through many layers on very translucent filament.
  • 
• Recommendations for the black and white parts:
  • black: The most opaque black you can find.
    • PLA: Polymaker Panchroma Matte (formerly PolyTerra): Charcoal Black
      • This is one of the most opaque black filaments on the market.
      • TD: 0.5
  • white: The most translucent white that is still actually white.
    • PLA: Printed Solid Jessie: Quarter White
      • This semi-translucent white allows a reasonable amount of light through for you to hold the swatch up to a light source, but it's still white enough to avoid color bleed you might see from the yellowish tint of a “natural” PLA, and more opaque than you would get from a fully clear one.
      • TD: 6.1
  • PETG, ASA, ABS, etc:
    • I'm still researching this. Send me a DM if you have recommendations.
    • I may also work on a version of the model with interlocking layers so they can be printed in PLA regardless of the swatch material.
• Inserting the filament sample:
  • The fit is intentionally tight, especially on the 0.04 model.
  • Make sure to cut a steep bevel on the end of the piece your are inserting, and start with a length long enough to bend in your hand so you can rotate it back and forth to help feed it through.
  • I've had the best luck start from the side with the “steps,” which is usually tightest, twisting and pushing to feed it through.
  • If you get the bevel inserted into the further hole but can't quite get it through the other side, try cutting the “feed” end down to about 1cm and pushing with a pair of pliers.
  • Once it's positioned how you want it, cut the ends flush.

Printing Setup:

These instructions are primarily for the MMU project. However, if you are printing the single-color model you will still need to follow the instructions below for the modifier part setup.

• I have included Prusaslicer 3mf files pre-configured for the swatch and several modifiers. If you use these, the only thing you will need to keep an eye on are:
  • Which extruder has which filament (I just happened to have my filaments on extruders 3-4-5; you probably don't).
  • Which filament profile is configured on which extruder. You should adjust these based on the filaments you use, e.g. Jessie PLA or Generic PLA Silk.
  • The configured profile of 0.20mm SPEED has been reliable for most swatches that I've printed. If you experience quality issues, you may need to change this to the slightly slower 0.20mm STRUCTURAL. If you do this, just make sure to transfer the overrides when it prompts you to do so (e.g. Interface Shells).
• If you are setting up your own project from scratch:
  • Import all 6 STLs exported from the CAD as a single combined part.
  • Start with either the 0.20mm SPEED or 0.20mm STRUCTURAL profile and change the following settings:
    • Layers and Perimeters
      • Layer height:  0.04mm or 0.08mm to match the value of Step Z you configured in Onshape
        • This is only needed for MMU swatches. Stick with the default 0.2mm layer height for single-material swatches.
        • I tried to set this via a height range modifier but the smallest it will go is 0.08mm.
    • Infill
      • Fill Pattern: Adaptive Cubic or any other infill that doesn't cross layers.
    • Speed
      • First layer speed: Slow down slightly to something like 30mm/s for better adhesion.
    • Multiple Extruders
      • Interface Shells: enabled
  • Set up height range modifiers for:
    • This is only needed for MMU swatches. You do not need to height range modifiers for single-material swatches.
    • 0-2mm
      • Set layer height to 0.2mm
    • 3.6-4mm (distance from the top “step” to the top of the print)
      • Set layer height to 0.2mm
  • Change the type of all of the modify parts to Modifier and apply the following settings to the parts named:
    • modify: solid infill, 1 perimeter
      • Infill
        • Bottom fill pattern: Monotonic
        • Fill Density: 100%
        • Fill Pattern: Rectilinear
        • Top fill pattern: Monotonic Lines
      • Layers and Perimeters
        • Perimeters: 1
    • modify: concentric surface
      • Infill
        • Top fill pattern: Concentric
        • Bottom fill pattern: Concentric
    • modify: octagram surface
      • Infill
        • Top fill pattern: Octagram Spiral
        • Bottom fill pattern: Octagram Spiral