best filaments other than prusa?  

RE: best filaments other than prusa?

In the present situation, PETG is in short supply in any colour, everywhere.

I have recently used Amazon Basics PETG, and had no problems with it. Unfortunately, in the UK, Amazon Basics PETG has run out, and the next batch is not expected until the end of the April.

I am presently using SUNLU PETG, the last batch being delivered from Amazon Spain.

I know this doesn't answer your question, but ...

RE: best filaments other than prusa?

My favorites:

Polylite PLA

SunLuu PLA Plus

Amazon Basics PLA

RE: best filaments other than prusa?

I’ve had nothing but trouble with Sunlu PLA+ as far as bed adhesion goes. Had good results so far with
Hatchbox, eSun, Eryone PLA
Overture and Polylite PETG
Ninjaflex TPU

RE: best filaments other than prusa?

Fiberlogy is my favourite.

RE: best filaments other than prusa?

@mdaneman

I have tried a few of these also:

1. Eryone PLA Filament Steampunk - I like this stuff.  Cheap and prints well.  

2. eSun Black PLA - Decent print quality and works well with standard settings.  

3. Hatchbox PLA- Old standby that is near perfect.  I have never had a bad roll.  

RE: best filaments other than prusa?

I am going to start making filament and selling it.  People say that its not really cost effective making it yourself and selling it.  As long as I make my money back in materials and a percentage extra then it is cost effective for me.  If I can buy a pound of pellets for less than or up to $5.00 and sell it for $20.00, I call it worth it.  People will buy it.  I may not be able to mass produce but any profit whether its a few dollars per roll is still worth it.

RE: best filaments other than prusa?

@mr-b

You are omitting the capex in your equation. People aren't going to buy no-name filament with questionable quality to save maybe a buck or two.

RE: best filaments other than prusa?

@push1235

What is Capex?  

RE: best filaments other than prusa?

Posted by: @charles-h13

@push1235

What is Capex?  

I suspect it's meant to be "Capital Expenditure", the initial outlay for equipment to get started, as opposed to ongoing recurring expenses. The cost of starting to produce a filament line involves not just raw filament materials, but also equipment, installation and startup, so I think that is what's meant.

RE: best filaments other than prusa?

@mr-b

Making filament for yourself and making it for sale are two different things.  Are you adding pigment yourself or just selling natural?  You'll have to buy spools, you'll have to control the environment constantly, how are you packaging them?  Everything is achievable and I'm not trying to piss in your Cheerios, but don't overextend yourself.

RE: best filaments other than prusa?

@push1235

Don't be a pessimistic Paul!

I will check the diameter and the name brand I can use is the manufacturer I buy from.  That is enough name recognition.

Even though I am just an individual with one filament maker does not mean I cannot produce quality product.  It's all in how you advertise.  I will throw in some samples with a roll or even throw in a bag of organic gummy bears. 🙂

RE: best filaments other than prusa?

@smoking_rubber

I will sell as refills with no spool.  I will have the filament spooled then remove the spool and wrap the spooled filament up and will reduce the need for a spool and make packaging minimal as spools take more space.  A person can then either print up a removable spool or buy one for cheap from a manufacturer.  There are manufacturers that sell refill filament with no spools. 

Buddy your not urinating in my cheerios.  Where there is a will there is a way.  There is conventional thinking (procedural) and non-conventional thinking (non-procedural), and I use non-conventional thinking and find a way.  Its about how you go about the journey to get to the destination.  I choose my own journey whether easy or rough, I accept the consequences or the rewards how small they may be.  A penny saved is a dime, quarter, half-dollar, or dollar earned.  Again, it's about the joy of the journey.

RE: best filaments other than prusa?

@mr-b

Again, you're ignoring other capex, like the machines and infrastructure to run them. Then you have opex like spools, training, maintenance, wastage, power, insurance, etc. Not saying it can't be done, but to make a quality filament isn't something you stand up overnight. You'd be better off cutting someone's lawn to pay for a spool than trying to stand up a production line to get yourself "cheap filament." There is a significant opportunity cost here.

RE: best filaments other than prusa?

@mr-b

I'm sure most people have an old used spool around.  Sold as a "refill" I imagine it could work.  I'll buy a roll when you're up and running.

RE: best filaments other than prusa?

I appreciate all the advice on other choices of filament let's keep them coming please 🙂 

RE: best filaments other than prusa?

@smoking_rubber

That's saving him money, but costing the consumer more. It costs to ship that spool to him. So now you are probably more expensive than other known high quality filaments.  Again, not trying to piss on parades, but there's a lot more that goes into it than he's coming off, and those things cost money. You are talking about an investment of $10k+ US for just an extruder.

RE: best filaments other than prusa?

@smoking_rubber

Thanks for your positivity.  Of course people who tell me I cannot do something or it is a bad idea just embolden me more to do it.  Thanks to my mother for that since she never encouraged but discourages me.  It has made me a person who tends to lead and not follow.  Ask people I have worked on projects with they always give an eye look my way to wait and see when I am going to speak up and take the lead.

I will do better than sell you one.  I will send you a sample.  You will be my testimonial to the quality of my product.  Positive testimonials allay any uncertainties from the potential buyer. 

I won't forget the free bag of organic gummy bears either! 🙂

RE: best filaments other than prusa?

@push1235

He's got a huge challenge in front of him, and likely a large investment, but there are a lot of companies already doing it successfully, so who are we to say it's not possible for him?  Joseph Prusa started out on a forum looking for knobs.  He had the gumption to tackle the challenges.

Making and selling your own filament line will take patience, intelligence, money, and then probably a lot more of each.  I say good luck.  I'd be glad to sample your filament.

RE: best filaments other than prusa?

@push1235

My dear push you need to get out of the meeting room and get a bit of fresh air.  The Coronavirus is not air borne; you definitely need some air.  You are taking this way out of proportion.  It's that business mentality!  I get it, I have a degree in Business Administration and I know the ego of thinking you know it all and the forbearance of failure because someone is diverging from the path of the business model norm.  That is called the Entrepreneurial spirit.  Where would great businesses be today if their founders didn't take risks. 

You are also mistaken of my business plan.  I do not plan on making this a large national or global business.  I am just going to be a simple guy who has a product for a certain group of people who respect the business arrangement.  That business arrangement is as follows:

When I make my batch of filament from all the pellets that I have purchased I will offer them for sale.

I will market to individuals that I meet through prusa world network in USA or word of mouth and forums.

For each prospective customer I will make known the availability of the product that I have on hand at the time of sale.

Example 1:  I contact smoking_rubber and inform him that I have 7 spool refills of PLA filament.  I would like to send you a sample after which if your are happy with the sample would you like to purchase two refills at $30.00 and pay priority shipping (usps about $11.42) or ship regular shipping.  Or would you like to purchase 4 at $75.00 at priority(same box with tightly fit spool refills about $11.42 or at about $17.84) or pay regular shipping.  Or would you like to purchase all 7 refills for $120 and pay priority shipping (about $27.47) or pay regular shipping.  I tell Smoking_rubber that I periodically have refills for sale as I work to make a manageable amount of refills that I can sell within a certain time frame before I produce more.  I then tell Smoking_rubber that I will have some more refills ready and if he is willing to wait at the time of availability I will contact him to negotiate the sale.  Or if he feels that his current purchase will cover him for a while then does he know anyone else who will be on the look out for refills since he knows my product (from sample).

Example 2:  I contact "Joe Shmoe(s)" on Prusa world network in USA who(m) has(have) a printer or print farm and discuss possibility of providing him(them) with said filament on hand at negotiable prices (same as in Example 1).  I then evaluate Joe Schmoe(s) needs for turn around time for said number filament refills.  If Joe Schmoe is happy with sample I send and decides to seek my filament services, I then tailor my periodic filament services around his demand.   I now become exclusive supplier to Joe schmoe for (ex. PLA) as I can provide said product at his time of request based upon our mutual supply and demand negotiations. Joe Schmoe feels delighted because he has a individual supplier only for him.

Any other customers would either be referrals from connections I have already made from both examples with the exception of Example 2 if Joe Schmoe (individual and not plural) wants to purchase all my refills per our negotiations then I have no need of new customers.

Cost Comparison based upon 2 main US retailers of filament against my price. 

*Sample rolls would probably be enough to make a benchy so you can critique my filament (ugh! Not another youtube video of someone's critique of  filament). 

Mr B.

2 rolls/1kg = $30.00. About $11.42 priority shipping = $41.42

4 rolls/1kg = $75.00.  About $17.84 priority shipping = $92.84

7 rolls/1kg = $120.00.  About $27.47 priority shipping = $147.47

Protopasta 

2 rolls/1kg = $49.98 Purchase over $49.00 gives free shipping

4 rolls/1kg = $99.96 + free shipping

7 rolls/1kg = $174.93 + free shipping

Matterhackers

2 rolls/ 1kg = $59.99 + free shipping

4 rolls/1kg = $89.97  + free shipping

7 rolls/1kg = $209.93 + free shipping

Savings for my customer

2 rolls =  $8.56 against Protopasta  $18.48 against Matterhackers

4 rolls =  $7.12 against Protopasta  $27.12 against Matterhackers

7 rolls = $27.46 against Protopasta $62.46 against Matterhackers

* Buying 4 rolls will give you almost a free roll based upon Matterhackers price

* Buying 7 rolls will give you a free roll based upon Protopasta's price + $2.47 to buy a soda pop and a candy bar.

*Buying  7 rolls will give you a free 2 free rolls based upon Matterhackers price + $2.48 to buy a soda pop and a candy bar.

Profit I make based upon an average of $5.00 per lb of PLA pellets to make filament

2 rolls - $22.00 roughly cost of product for 2 1kg refills = $8.00  //Consider breaking even as I use the $8.00 to offset the samples plus the organic gummy bears (I have a slight gluten intolerance) to potential customers although it becomes a profit later on as only the first several $8.00 gains will buy enough pellets to make samples and bags of gummy bears.

4 rolls - $44.00 roughly cost of product for 4 1kg refills = $31.00 //Now I'm getting somewhere

7 rolls - $77.00 roughly cost of product for 7 1 kg refills = $43.00 //Now I'm getting somewhere

These profit margins are not a 100% ROI but eliminating Overhead, Space rental/Loan except for electricity and gas to Post office leaves  me with all profit.

I do not count my time as an expense because when you do something you love and can help others with a need, there is no expense for that.

All the profit I make goes into a business account that is used to save and buy more individual sized (newest modernized model) filament makers which means now I can expand my home business into two  filament makers and double my supply.

I only grow to what I can personally handle.

I no way am I trying to compete with the big dogs.  I am just a humble little man who can sell with individualized customer service.

Now that you know Paul.  Stop judging me on metric models for big business!  Keep up the good business advice though, someone may need it someday.