this post was submitted on 07 Sep 2023
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Do you know if there are any electroluminescent filaments and where to buy them?

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[–] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

If you mean electroluminescent like EL wire, this can't be printed. It is a copper wire coated with phosphorus and then wrapped in clear plastic.

Edit I found some information on DIY electroluminescent paint, so you could maybe coat a 3D printed object (with a fair amount of work and money):

[–] fhein@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

One could try "printing" 1.3mm EL wire using a nozzle of similar diameter, low enough temperature to only melt its outer PVC layer, and thick layer height so that its core isn't squished. And it would of course have to be vase mode.. I'm not saying it would work, but it might be an interesting experiment.

[–] monotremata@kbin.social 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Travel moves wouldn't work, because the wire core has to be continuous.

I think the best bet is to design a model with a cavity that the wire can snap into, and add the EL wire after the print is finished.

[–] atocci@kbin.social 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don't think vase mode does travel moves, does it?

[–] monotremata@kbin.social 5 points 1 year ago

It mostly avoids them, but it doesn't necessarily do that on the first layer, and it does a big travel at the end to park the print head. You could probably get something to work if you wrote it with the FullControl Gcode Designer.

[–] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Maybe, but phosphorus is pyrophoric and it seems like you'd risk stripping the PVC off by running it through a nozzle, especially at the end of the nozzle where the material would bend sharply.. There's not a lot of phosphorus there, but you could have a tiny fire in your nozzle.

[–] fhein@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Yea, definitely keep a fire extinguisher nearby if you decide to do this experiment :) But on the other hand, one should probably already have one of those close to any 3d printer.

[–] Redkefy@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Thanks, i hoped there was a filament that could do that without extra steps. Maybe in the future

[–] huginn@feddit.it 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You won't see it in your lifetime.

The closest you can get is glow in the dark filament.

[–] TheYang@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

Or UV filament with a UV light

[–] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Depending on what you're trying to do, you can get EL panels and EL tape which can be cut to custom size & shape, and the part connected to the wire will still work (even with holes punched through it).

It's also possible to make EL paint and coat surfaces with it, though definitely an involved process and not cheap. Lumilor sells EL paint kits which were used in this youtube video to coat various surfaces. This article from Hackaday specifically mentions painting 3D printer objects, but I didn't see any examples.

Here's a project that used conductive filament as a base for an EL surface

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[–] CmdrShepard@lemmy.one 3 points 1 year ago

There's also these shirts that have phosphorus printed onto a surface which is then reactive to a light panel mounted behind it.