Polymaker PolyCast 1.75mm 3kg

Formulated for investment metal casting and automatic layer line removal / Features Polymakers Ash-Free™ & Layer-Free™ technology.

PolyCast™ is a filament designed to produce investment patterns for investment casting applications. 3D printing significantly cuts down both the cost and lead time by eliminating the tooling process.

PolyCast™ features Polymaker's Layer-Free™ technology and Polymaker's Ash-Free™ technology:

Layer-Free™ - Layer-Free™ technology involves exposing a 3D printed part to an aerosol of micro-sized alcohol droplets, generated by a rapidly vibrating, perforated membrane called the nebuliser. The aerosol will then be adsorbed by the surface of the 3D printed part and render it smooth and layer-free.
Ash-Free™ - Ash-Free™ technology allows Polymaker’s filament which has been designed for investment casting to burn off cleanly without any residue, enabling defect-free metal parts. 3D printing has been used to produce investment casting patterns as it cuts down both the cost and lead time for small-volume production runs.

Click the 'Quality & Technologies' tab to learn more about these technologies.

Features:

No Ash - PolyCast™ burns off cleanly without any residue, enabling defect-free metal parts.

Low Cost - PolyCast™ is a cost-effective solution, with a lower cost compared to other 3D printing technologies (e.g. SLA/DLP/SLS). 

Effortless Post-processing - PolyCast™ can be effortlessly post-processed in the Polysher™ (sold separately) reducing layering and delivering superior surface quality.

Easy-to-print - PolyCast™ is compatible with most 3D printers, printing under similar conditions to PLA with no heated bed or chamber required.

Uncompromised Quality - Polymakers leading quality control process and rigorous in-house testing, ensure reliable printing and consistency across spools and batches.

To learn more about PolyCast™, click the "Why people are using it", "Technology & Packaging" and "Settings & Specifications" tabs.

Investment casting produces metal parts with excellent surface finish and dimensional accuracy. This manufacturing process is compatible with a large number of metals & alloys, such as steel, stainless steel, aluminum alloy, bronze, etc. Traditional investment casting processes utilise injection molded wax patterns. The tooling required is both time- and cost-intensive. 3D printing has been increasingly used as an alternative method to produce investment casting patterns, especially for small-volume production runs, as it cuts down both the cost and lead time significantly by eliminating the tooling process. In addition, 3D printing enables a larger design freedom as the technology can afford much greater geometric complexities than the injection molding process. 

PolyCast™ is an entirely new 3D printing filament, designed specifically for investment casting applications. It enables the use of widely available filament-extrusion based 3D printing technologies (e.g. FDM/FFF) to produce investment patterns.

• Compatible with Polymaker’s Layer-Free™ technology, delivering superior surface quality while minimising the need for post-processing after casting.
• PolyCast™ burns off cleanly without any residue, enabling defect-free metal parts. (0.003% ash residue)
• Compatible with a wide range of machines, formulated to print with similar requirements and conditions to PLA.
• Exhibits fantastic dimensional stability for large 3d printing projects.
• Lower cost compared to other 3D printing technologies (e.g. SLA/DLP/SLS).

If access to a Polysher™ is not available, or the pattern exceeds the maximum size of the Polysher™, two alternative polishing techniques can be considered: dip polishing and spray polishing.

Critical success factors

Pattern

• Use minimal infill and number of shells
• Maintain the filament dry
• Dry patterns thoroughly before making ceramic shell

Ceramic shell

• Use silica sol/gel or colloidal silica
• Use at least 4-6 slurry coats

Filament
Diameter	1.75mm
Spool Weight	750g

Polymaker is an international team passionate about 3D printing. They produce the very best 3D printing materials by controlling every stage of production. With a diverse portfolio of materials ranging from high performance plastics to unique aesthetic solutions, Polymaker will continue to add cutting edge materials to its ever-growing portfolio.

At the core of Polymaker is their research & development laboratory, this is where all Polymakers materials are formulated and fine-tuned from the ground up to create the best in class 3D printing materials. Polymakers precision testing equipment combines the latest advancements in technology to ensure they are ahead of the game.

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Ash-Free™ technology

Ash-Free™ technology allows Polymaker’s filament which has been designed for investment casting to burn off cleanly without any residue, enabling defect-free metal parts. 3D printing has been used to produce investment casting patterns as it cuts down both the cost and lead time for small-volume production runs.

Layer-Free™ technology

Parts printed in PolyCast™ can be polished in Polymaker's Polysher™ which uses Polymakers Layer-Free™ technology.

Layer-Free™ technology involves exposing a 3D printed part to an aerosol of micro-sized alcohol droplets, generated by a rapidly vibrating, perforated membrane called the nebulizer. The aerosol will then be adsorbed by the surface of the 3D printed part and render it smooth and layer-free. 

Polymakers Polysher™ and Layer-Free™ technology is intrinsically safer than other smoothing techniques:
-  No heating is involved 
-  The nebuliser technology requires only a very small reservoir 
-  Isopropyl Alcohol is safer than smoothing chemicals like Acetone or MEK
-  It is a liquid-phase polishing rather than vapor-phase polishing process (the latter is more dangerous for a number of reasons)

Polymaker have also implemented a number of safety features into their Polysher™ machine: 
- Multiple sensors to detect any sign of malfunction of the nebuliser (e.g. running dry) 
- Chamber open/close sensor (the machine won’t start if the chamber is open, and will automatically terminate if the chamber is accidentally open during polishing) 
- All electronic components (running at very low voltages) are properly sealed, and no spark can be generated inside the chamber.

PolyCast™ 3D printed parts do not print with a smooth and glossy surface, this is achieved by post-processing the part. Polymakers Layer-free™ and Polysher™ technology offers a unique, safe and easy way to post-process 3D printed parts.

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Industry Leading Quality Control

PolyCast™ like all other Polymaker materials is manufactured using state-of-the-art polymer processing technologies and equipment. Polymakers rigorous minimum 8 quality control processes ensure industrial standards of reliability for a consistent customer experience.
Tolerance: Polymakers custom developed extrusion, control and monitoring solutions to ensure filament tolerance and roundness meet Polymakers strict quality standards.
Reliable Mechanical, Colouring & Printing Properties: Every batch of filament products are tested to ensure all quality specs (melt flow, softening point, mechanical, diameter, round-ness) are met.
Drying & Vacuum Sealing: Before packaging, all Polymaker filaments are dried to a moisture level of < 0.1% to ensure the best printing quality and are vacuum sealed to protect the filament from moisture. All vacuum packaged products are left for 24 hours before boxing to ensure they are leak-free.

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Packaging

Transparent Spool: PolyCast™ is wound on Polymakers 1kg transparent spools. With the transparent spool, it is easy to see exactly how much filament is left for your next printing project.
Resealable Bag: PolyCast™ is packaged in a vacuum sealed resealable bag to ensure your filament is moisture free. Like all other PVB based filaments, PolyCast™ is hygroscopic so we recommend keeping this bag for filament storage. 

Printing Settings

Nozzle Temperature	190˚C – 220˚C
Build Surface material	Glass, Blue Tape and more
Build surface treatment	None required, can apply PVA glue to the build surface
Build plate temperature	25˚C - 70˚C
Cooling fan	ON
Printing speed	40mm/s-60mm/s
Recommended support material (optional)	PolyDissolve™ S1

For other tips printing PolyCast™, click to read our starters guide to 3d printing most filament types or contact us!

Storage & ​Drying: We recommend that the material be used with the PolyBox™ to keep the filament at dry conditions (relative humidity of 15% or less) to maintain the best printing results. When not in use PolyCast™ should be stored away from sunlight in the packaged resealable bag. If the filament does absorb moisture, spools can be dried in a preheated convection oven at 60˚C for up to 12 hours. Results may vary depending on the accuracy of your oven so please be conservative. For more information about filament drying please read our user guide.

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Specification