Prusa brings Noctua's iconic beige and brown to 3D printer nozzleheads everywhere — accurately matching 3D printed parts to Noctua gear is now trivial
Color-attentive DIYers will definitely appreciate this.
There's probably a statistically significant intersection of 3D printing enthusiasts and Noctua cooling users. After all, both groups are into tweaking their machines and DIY in general. Both Prusa and Noctua seem to agree, as the companies have collaborated on bringing out high-end Noctua-colored filament.
The shades for the new filaments are Noctua Beige and Noctua Brown, and they've been color-matched precisely to fit the Austrian company's wares. This should make it trivial for Noctua enthusiasts to 3D-print accessories for Noctua-infused builds and trust they'll be aesthetically compatible. Given that there are already multiple Noctua-themed components out there, this move makes a lot of sense.
Prusa apparently had the idea after witnessing multiple community efforts that attempted to replicate the color scheme with varying degrees of success. Color matching plastics at an industrial level is a much harder enterprise than most would believe, as evidenced by the gasp-inducing price of a "simple" color wheel from Pantone.
The 3D printer maker reached out to Noctua, who apparently said yes right away, as the wind wranglers use Prusa printers themselves, and often employ their own fans for added silence. The outfit went as far as making an entire Noctua Edition Prusa MK4S printer in their own color scheme, thanks to the freely available files. The build is detailed over at a blog post at Noctua's website, if you're curious.
The PLA Noctua Beige and Noctua Brown filaments are available from Prusa3D.com, and they ring in at $32.99 (with import taxes included) or 32.99€, for a 1 kg spool. The price may seem steep at first, but it's the same as Prusa's other high-end filaments. As expected, Prusa says the filament has low warpage and a tight tolerance of ±0.02mm.
Noctua's color scheme tends to divide opinions, but regardless of individual taste, it's immediately recognizable. Having the ability to 3D print any accessory and make it look like it from Noctua itself is a boon for color-conscious constructors everywhere.
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Bruno Ferreira is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware. He has decades of experience with PC hardware and assorted sundries, alongside a career as a developer. He's obsessed with detail and has a tendency to ramble on the topics he loves. When not doing that, he's usually playing games, or at live music shows and festivals.