3DPrinting @lemmy.world Redkefy @lemmy.world 1y ago

Any electroluminescent filaments for 3D printing?

Do you know if there are any electroluminescent filaments and where to buy them?

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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):

How to make Electroluminescent Paint

Applied Science Rolls An Electroluminescent Controller

Electroluminescent paint and multi-channel control circuit

Electroluminescent paint kits from LumiLor

Electroluminescent surface on a 3D printed part made with conductive filament
- 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.
  
  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.
  
  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.
- Thanks, i hoped there was a filament that could do that without extra steps. Maybe in the future
  
  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
  
  You won't see it in your lifetime.
  
  The closest you can get is glow in the dark filament.
- There's also these shirts that have phosphorus printed onto a surface which is then reactive to a light panel mounted behind it.

13 comments