Filament Dye - Cheap and Simple

thingiverse

So, I was printing some bar clamps for the Prusa Mendel and an odd idea popped into my head and before I knew it, I was rubbing dry erase marker on the filament prior to printing. About half way through the build I noticed that the filament being laid down was changing color. It appears as though the filament is being extruded without any halt, error, or otherwise. The dyed filament adheres to the HBP of my Thing-o-matic just as regular filament would. The layering is identical, and no other errors or anomalies were visible. I am not encouraging anyone to do this due to the fact that I do not know if any residue remains in the extruder mechanism, or if any damage is being done to the machine. More testing will be done to see what is going on in terms of damage, fume addition, etc. This can be a very cool , and cheap way of dying filament especially pink which is expensive as you all know. I am using Expo low odor dry erase marker. I have only tried purple, black, and green. Purple comes out the best in an almost strawberry to a faded pink gradient depending on how much marker fluid you apply, the spacing, etc, etc. I can already see parts produced with national colors, or holiday themes... I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES THAT THIS PROCEDURE MIGHT CAUSE EITHER TO THE MACHINE OR ANY AND ALL PERSONS OPERATING SAID MACHINE! I AM UNAWARE OF ANY POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF THIS PROCEDURE, THUS PLEASE USE CAUTION...and don't blame me if your bot goes up in flames. :) Have Fun! PS - My apologies for the poor image quality (webcam), I didn't have a camera on hand. Instructions Find dry erase marker. Coat several inches of the filament starting at the mouth of the extruder (where you insert the filament). Make Stuff Show off your pieces Enjoy