3D printer: Favorite Filament

[Munchskull]

What filament do you prefer for printing part and what type of parts do you commonly print? Just got a Monoprice Maker Select and want to know what filament to stock.

[troy_dietz]

At this point, filament is filament (for the most part).
A $25 roll of PLA will act almost exactly like another $25 roll of PLA (the same can be said ABS and others). Several filament brands can be traced back to a single factory in Asia. As long as the suppliers follow standard processing and storage procedures (drying pellets before extrusion, vacuum sealing after spooling , etc) you should notice very minor differences from brand to brand.

Like many others, I prefer to print in PLA when possible and PETG when extra strength is required. ABS has become a bit dated, but it still has its uses.
As for filament brands, I've been particularly fond of Hatchbox for their fast delivery through Amazon and consistent colors. It comes down to personal preference for the most part.

As a warning, Carbon Fiber filled filament is often marketed as "stronger" and "more durable" than traditional "pure" thermoplastics. This is usually not the case. While there are small finely copped bits of carbon fiber in the filament, they are often nowhere near long enough to add any justifiable strength or rigidity. That usually comes from a better formulated plastic base and not the carbon fiber. (machines that lay a continuous strand of carbon fiber are obviously an exception)

Edit: I have the Monoprice Maker Select V2.1 (A rebranded Wanhao I3 V2.1) with a glass build plate.

[marshall]

Originally Posted by troy_dietz

As a warning, Carbon Fiber filled filament is often marketed as "stronger" and "more durable" than traditional "pure" thermoplastics. This is usually not the case. While there are small finely copped bits of carbon fiber in the filament, they are often nowhere near long enough to add any justifiable strength or rigidity. That usually comes from a better formulated plastic base and not the carbon fiber. (machines that lay a continuous strand of carbon fiber are obviously an exception).

I won't tell you you're wrong but there is a lot of anecdotal evidence from the drone/UAV hobbyist community indicating that the CF reinforced filaments do add strength and durability:

http://hackaday.com/2016/09/07/3d-pr...lament-review/

http://www.3dxtech.com/blog/updated-...ber-filaments/

https://www.3dhubs.com/talk/thread/t...ment-colorfabb

I can't find the link from 3ders but there was some stuff released about a month or two ago and a video accopanying it of a part being run over with a truck as well as pulled and yanked on with pliers. Was kinda impressive.

I will add that CF reinforced filaments destroy nozzles so be prepared if you start using them. The CF particles degrade nozzles over time.

[mman1506]

I've had really good luck with ESUN PLA+. It's cheap and stronger than other PLA filaments and prints really well. I prefer it over PETG durability wise but the properties are different so it isn't apples to apples.

[troy_dietz]

Originally Posted by marshall

I won't tell you you're wrong but there is a lot of anecdotal evidence from the drone/UAV hobbyist community indicating that the CF reinforced filaments do add strength and durability:

You are absolutely correct that there are some brands that have significantly increased strength and durability. Protopasta, 3DXTech, and recently, Colorfabb comes to mind. However, these manufactures are already "a cut above the rest."

Recently, the market has become saturated with inexpensive "exotic" filaments which may actually have modified chemical structures or filler materials (like carbon fiber or wood) but only so that they may trap inexperienced customers with fancy names and a slightly lower price than reputable producers. The benefits of these filaments are usually negligible for the increased price over standard printing materials.

If the manufacturer offers a sample, take it. You might be surprised, but it's still quite likely that you'll be disappointed.

[quillford]

Filament quality can make a huge difference. We use atomic filament (atomicfilament.com). The owner of atomic spends a lot of time tuning his line (he recently got +/-0.01mm on his 2.85mm). It's the best stuff I've found for the price - it just prints, no clogs or anything. He also gives a discount to memebers of the reprap irc channel in freenode. As for materials, we use pla and petg.

[Munchskull]

So what are some common parts that you print?

[Cothron Theiss]

Originally Posted by troy_dietz

As a warning, Carbon Fiber filled filament is often marketed as "stronger" and "more durable" than traditional "pure" thermoplastics. This is usually not the case. While there are small finely copped bits of carbon fiber in the filament, they are often nowhere near long enough to add any justifiable strength or rigidity. That usually comes from a better formulated plastic base and not the carbon fiber. (machines that lay a continuous strand of carbon fiber are obviously an exception)

Originally Posted by troy_dietz

You are absolutely correct that there are some brands that have significantly increased strength and durability. Protopasta, 3DXTech, and recently, Colorfabb comes to mind. However, these manufactures are already "a cut above the rest."

Recently, the market has become saturated with inexpensive "exotic" filaments which may actually have modified chemical structures or filler materials (like carbon fiber or wood) but only so that they may trap inexperienced customers with fancy names and a slightly lower price than reputable producers. The benefits of these filaments are usually negligible for the increased price over standard printing materials.

If the manufacturer offers a sample, take it. You might be surprised, but it's still quite likely that you'll be disappointed.

It sounds like you have quite a bit of experience using different printer filaments and how some 'exotics' are just marketing ploys, but fiber reinforced thermoplastics DO offer some amazing properties. I haven't personally used any commercial CF-plastics with a desktop 3D Printer, but I have some experience with large scale manufacturing using different plastics (mostly ABS, but some PLA and nylon variants as well) reinforced with different fibers (mostly carbon fiber, but also bamboo and flax fibers).

Carbon fiber infused ABS has a higher tensile strength than just ABS while also being slightly less dense. This translates to better strength in the x and y directions for printed parts. However, the presence of fibers decreases the adherence between layers if you don't incorporate more advanced temperature control layer by layer. So basically, the part will be stronger in the x and y directions and have a higher yield point, but be more prone to delamination and separation between layers.

One important thing to know is that the properties are sensitive to the weight percentage of the carbon fiber. 20% is a good starting point, but I've never seen a commercial filament that provides the percent weight for the amount of carbon fiber, so I've no idea what they're using. If I had to guess, I'd say most use closer to 10%.


tldr; The inclusion of fibers infused in filament (or pellets, though I'd say for the purposes of this thread, we can assume filament) increases the structural properties of the material. This doesn't mean the CF filaments currently on the market are all they claim to be, but I've heard rave reviews and know that the science behind it works, because we see it work on the large scale.

[Tal_Esh]

PLA & PETG are pretty easy to print and will create practical parts.
For more 'extreme' parts I would check one of Taulman's special filaments at http://taulman3d.com/how-to-choose.html
And you might find Thomas Sanladerer's new series of videos really informative and helpful:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcQH...5ZTi2&index=16

[icecube45]

Originally Posted by quillford

Filament quality can make a huge difference. We use atomic filament (atomicfilament.com). The owner of atomic spends a lot of time tuning his line (he recently got +/-0.01mm on his 2.85mm). It's the best stuff I've found for the price - it just prints, no clogs or anything. He also gives a discount to memebers of the reprap irc channel in freenode. As for materials, we use pla and petg.

+1 for atomic filament, great stuff.
Filament quality definitely makes a difference, and I've yet to have a bad experience with atomic.

[marshall]

Anyone have a preferred source for rolls larger than the normal .5 and 1kg sizes?

[quillford]

Originally Posted by marshall

Anyone have a preferred source for rolls larger than the normal .5 and 1kg sizes?

atomic does 3.5kg spools. matter hackers does 10lb spools but I'm not sure of the quality as I haven't used their stuff

[thedries]

Originally Posted by quillford

atomic does 3.5kg spools. matter hackers does 10lb spools but I'm not sure of the quality as I haven't used their stuff

Matter hackers quality has been pretty good, I use their 10lb PLA spools almost exclusively.

Will echo that PETG is a great material when you need more resilient parts. Prints much easier than ABS. The maker geeks brand prints well and is made domestically.

[maxnz]

Originally Posted by troy_dietz

Recently, the market has become saturated with inexpensive "exotic" filaments which may actually have modified chemical structures or filler materials (like carbon fiber or wood) but only so that they may trap inexperienced customers with fancy names and a slightly lower price than reputable producers. The benefits of these filaments are usually negligible for the increased price over standard printing materials.

::cough::Ekocycle::cough::

[Munchskull]

Originally Posted by maxnz

::cough::Ekocycle::cough::

Funny how you say that. I bought my 3D printer in part so that my team would have something other than the Ekocycle to print on. The other part is because I wanted one.