Easy-to-print, water-soluble support material from BASF Ultrafuse

BASF Ultrafuse BVOH (Butenediol Vinyl Alcohol Copolymer) is a very special filament. BVOH is a PVA-like filament that is 100 percent water soluble. BVOH dissolves in water twice as fast as PVA. It is used solely as a support material that disappears entirely after the printing process after spending some time in a water bath. Consequently, the filament can only be used with Dual Extruder FDM printers. The great advantage of BVOH is that a designer does not have to consider any geometric limitations when creating a 3D model.

It is also possible to create support structures with the building material of a model. However, there are 2 major disadvantages. First of all, the material is difficult to remove. Unsightly residues occur at the break points, which usually have to be reworked. The even greater disadvantage is that internal support structures of the model cannot be removed, since there is often no possibility of accessing them with tools. It is therefore particularly problematic to create moving components. For this reason, BASF Ultrafuse developed the BVOH filament. You can easily dispose of the material dissolved in water down your drain.

please note BVOH is highly hygroscopic, meaning it draws moisture from the air. It is therefore important to use up the roll as quickly as possible or to store it in a resealable vacuum bag with Silkagel.