There are increasingly high numbers of different types of exotic filaments, as well as a number of standard filaments available to print with on your 3D printer. Each type has its benefits and drawbacks, so we've compiled some information here to help clarify the differences between them, and help you find the best material for you.
The easiest filament to print and perfect material to get started with is PLA. This is the most user-friendly filament to work with, prints easily, and comes in a variety of colors. The filament doesn't warp, and shouldn't have any trouble sticking to a standard 55-60ºC heated bed glass bed or textured flex plate. With a little blue tape, it will stick to a non-heated bed like the Ultimaker 2Go or Ultimaker Original just fine. PLA is great for printing prototypes, figurines, vases, and just about anything else you can think of. It prints best between 190 and 210ºC. It's also not an abrasive material, so printing with it will also help prolong the life of the soft parts of your feed path, like the Bowden tube. PLA also doesn't tend to have any noticeable odor when printing.
The only drawback to PLA is that it has a wide melting range, so if you're going to be exposing your print to a high temperature environment after you've made it (I'd say 90ºC or higher--roughly the temperature of boiling water), you might want to try a higher temperature filament.
Since PLA is one of the easier materials to work with, we suggest getting to know the settings and functions of your machine while sticking to PLA usage.
CPE and PETG, are extremely strong, high temperature filament. It prints between roughly 220-260ºC (may vary by brand), and we recommend 70-90ºC for the bed. As a high temperature filament, it has very good durability. It doesn't shrink or warp any more than PLA, making it a good choice for a high temperature, durable filament. PETG also has a bit of flex to it, making it good for functional parts. These materials also have good chemical resistance.
CPE and PETG can be moisture sensitive, so proper storage of opened filament is extremely important, and even well stored material may benefit from drying before printing.
ABS is another high temperature, durable filament. It prints well at 250 or 260ºC, and we recommend 100ºC for the bed. If you're having adhesion problems, you may want to increase it to 110ºC. An ABS print can survive exposure to extremely high temperatures and is very hard.
The drawback to ABS is that is shrinks a lot as it cools, which can cause warping and de-laminating, or cause the print to come off the bed. Keeping the ambient temperature inside the printer warmer and turning off the print cooling fans can help minimize this. ABS should only be printed on enclosed printer, preferably in a well ventilated space due to the odors put off during the printing process.
A number of filament manufacturers have introduced various Tough PLA filaments in recent years. The purpose of these Tough PLA filaments is to provide a filament that prints as easily as PLA, but has more of the hardness and durability properties of ABS. This makes it a good choice for functional prototypes and many tools in the workshop.
Tough PLA still has similar temperature requirements and restrictions to PLA.
There's also a growing number of support material options out there. The best material choice will depend on what material you want to print with (not all materials are chemically compatible) and the shape of your print. If the print needs to be supported somewhere you can't easily reach to physically remove the supports, then your best bet will be a dissolvable support like PVA, GhostForce, or HIPS. Ghostforce and HIPS both work well with higher temperature materials, which PVA does not do as well. However, PVA materials tend to absorb a lot of water, so it's important to be extremely careful with storage when not in use. HIPS will dissolve easily, but needs to dissolve in limonene rather than water.
Breakaway support materials like UltiMaker Breaway and Bambu Lab Breakaway work well for removing support material from a build with a clean interface, but the support needs to be somewhere you can reach easily to do the removal.
Comments
Please sign in to leave a comment.