Coffee PLA

PLA café is a filament developed by Francofil, a French filament manufacturer known for its line of biocomposite materials, including PLA Scallop, PLA Oyster, PLA Mussel and PLA Wheat. 

Image 1: Parts printed with Francofil's biocomposite filaments. Source: Francofil.

This filament is considered Bio-composite, as it is composed of a matrix (PLA) and a filling of natural material. Biocomposite products provide an alternative to those products derived from oil.

The matrix of this filament is composed of PLA (polylactic acid), and is combined with coffee grounds.

Several initiatives are currently underway to reuse coffee grounds as a substrate or fertilizer, as it acts as a plant fertilizer. Its use as pellets or briquettes is also being researched and tested, as coffee grounds have an extraordinary heating potential, 20% higher than that of wood.

In the case of PLA coffee, coffee grounds are used in combination with PLA to create a high quality 3D printing filament, being part of these recycling and reuse initiatives of waste materials from the coffee sector.

PLA, which acts as the matrix of the filament, is a biodegradable plastic obtained from natural resources. In particular, it is obtained from starch extracted from corn, beet and wheat. PLA is, together with ABS, one of the most widely used materials in 3D printing today.

Thanks to this PLA base, this filament maintains the mechanical properties and ease of printing of this material. PLA coffee does not require a hot bed, so it can be printed on almost any 3D FDM printer on the market. Furthermore, it does not release any harmful gases during the printing process.

The colour of this filament is given naturally by its filling with coffee residues, while other filaments are added with artificial substances to achieve particular colours or finishes. Thus, PLA coffee has a dark brown tone with a certain translucency that gives it a characteristic and very striking finish.

Due to its nature, the colour of the PLA coffee filament can vary from one batch to another, without implying any manufacturing defect.
Another peculiarity of this filament is its marbled finish, caused by the tiny coffee particles it contains. Due to this particle content, it is recommended to use a nozzle with at least 0.5 mm outlet diameter to avoid possible clogging. Using a nozzle with a smaller outlet diameter could result in a jam and cause a print failure.

Image 2: Filament and piece printed with PLA coffee. Source: Francofil.

Thanks to its composition, this material offers very striking print finishes.

The colour of the material once printed is a beige translucent brown with small particles of darker shade. The translucency of the material will be more visible if pieces without fillers and with thin walls are printed in 3D.

This finish is very interesting for applications in the art, design or decoration sector among others.

Currently, companies from various sectors are looking to generate a lower environmental impact. In this context, the biocomposite filaments developed by Francofil may be a suitable option, as they are made up of bioplastics and are additivated with natural substances.

Image 3: Vases printed with biocomposed filaments. From left to right: PLA coffee, PLA wheat, PLA oyster, PLA mussel and PLA scallop. Source: Francofil.

To read more about the terms related to the environmental impact of the materials, we recommend reading the following article.

Coffee PLA
Eco / Ecofriendly
Sustainable
Biodegradable
Compostable
Biocomposite
Recycled

Table 1: Coffee PLA filament characteristics.

All these characteristics make the brown PLA filament an ideal material for the development of artistic or decorative pieces, although it is also very useful for the manufacture of non-functional prototypes.

* Despite being a biocomposite filament with a coffee charge, this filament is not edible.