Fillament thoughts suggestions  

Re: Fillament thoughts suggestions

Ok first off I am still awaiting my printer to arrive and therefore have no knowledge as of yet,I have literally just purchased the i3 MK3 kit.
The main question I have is what is the best filament out there for general purpose printing and where are people getting it from (manufacturer and seller). I don’t want to cheap out after spending a good amount on the printer but I also don’t want to overpay when there are good options at reasonable prices. I live in the US if that helps.

In your experience what did you use or try to use that did or didn’t work out for you as a new printer and any other advice would be helpful.

Also, I have tried to make sense of the different types and I understand that for now I probably won’t want to mess with the more exotic ones available but moving into the future what type do most people end up at? Or do you all just have a collection of several types for your different uses.

There's not necessarily much of a correlation between cost and quality for filament. You can get excellent, inexpensive filament (I like the Inland brand from Microcenter, if you happen to have a Microcenter near you), and there's some expensive stuff out there that's hard to work with.

Since you're new to 3D printing, I'd find something fairly inexpensive that works well for you and make that your go-to plastic for most uses. Then as you gain more experience you can experiment with new brands and materials.

I've been doing this for several years, and I've worked with ABS, PLA, PETG, TPU, TPE, HIPS, and PVA. PLA is probably the easiest to learn with. ABS is also common but tends to warp and crack on larger models unless you have an enclosure. On the other hand, ABS is more durable and easier to post-process. PETG is becoming more common, as it combines the warp-resistance of PLA with the strength and durability of ABS, but PETG can be really fussy and demands more precise temperature control.

The other materials are more special purpose: TPU and TPE are flexible, which is amazing for certain applications, but need to be printed slowly or they'll do weird things like pop out the side of the extruder. PVA is used as a soluble support material for PLA (if you have multimaterial capability). HIPS is not common, but some people like it; I've only dabbled with it a bit and can't really say how it is better/worse than ABS or PLA.

Most of the really exotic materials (woodfill, metalfill, etc.) are PLA with other stuff embedded in the plastic. They print mostly like PLA, except they can be more prone to clogging and you may need a hardened steel nozzle.

Re: Fillament thoughts suggestions

[...] The main question I have is what is the best filament out there for general purpose printing and where are people getting it from (manufacturer and seller). I don’t want to cheap out after spending a good amount on the printer but I also don’t want to overpay when there are good options at reasonable prices. I live in the US if that helps. Where in the US? If you happen to live within driving distance of a Microcenter, they carry Inland filament which is of good quality and cheap. These days, all PLA filament is pretty much the same provided you buy from a well-known manufacturer. Inland, eSun, Hatchbox AIO Robotics and most of the reputable lower-cost options print very well.

Avoid the really generic no-name stuff on Amazon or eBay and you should be fine. In addition to price, make sure of the weight of material you're getting. The low-priced options are sometimes half the weight of the slightly more expensive options. That said, a pound of AIO Robotics in colors you don't need a lot of is inexpensive. There are a number of non-Amazon great online sources as well. I'm very happy with MatterHackers and PrintedSolid as suppliers. I tried MakerGeeks twice, but they really don't seem to take their orders seriously. I cancelled one after 6 weeks of no response.

In your experience what did you use or try to use that did or didn’t work out for you as a new printer and any other advice would be helpful.Stick with PLA starting out to get a feel for things, but don't be too afraid to try out new materials. Figure out the 1st layer and Live-Z adjustment. Be prepared for your 1st clog and how to deal with it. Get the hang of swapping filament. Read up on doing cold pulls. It's nothing scary, and you want to be able to change materials to suit whatever your whim-of-the-day is.

Also, I have tried to make sense of the different types and I understand that for now I probably won’t want to mess with the more exotic ones available but moving into the future what type do most people end up at? Or do you all just have a collection of several types for your different uses.
At some point, you may want a hardened steel nozzle to print glow-in-the-dark, wood, metal and carbon fiber PLA blends. They print just as easily as PLA for the most part, albeit a bit slower. PETG is a little tricky to mess with, but holds up better if you're doing stuff for outdoors or that requires better strength. I've tried and enjoyed ColorFabb NGEN and XT, but they're a bit pricey.

Depending on what you want to print, different sized nozzles can be handy. 0.25mm nozzles are great for detail if you're doing figures and miniatures, 0.60mm if you want robust functional parts. This cheap kit on Amazon has an assortment of nozzles which are fine for PLA. More importantly, it includes the wrenches to do a nozzle change or removal easily.

Re: Fillament thoughts suggestions

First off, I'm a noob too; feel free to check out anything I say for yourself. Most of what I know comes from doing homework (reading articles and watching YT).

You've asked ONE of the myriad 'million dollar questions'. "BEST" is subjective at best 🙄 , sales/marketing "puffing" notwithstanding. What one person rates 5 stars on Amazon, another may rate 1 star.

That said, I don't disagree with anything said so far.

I'm working on a spreadsheet of filaments available in the US (with customer ratings where/when available), but don't hold your breath--so far I'm just working on what's available thru Amazon (well over 100 brands) and I'm only up to "F" (alphabetically).

FWIW, Inland brand is (I've read in several sources) "eSun with less fancy packaging and spool." That's not an admonition; a lot of brands are likely made by the same companies under different labels.

I'm working with PLA for now (still on the supplied spool) and I'll be ordering more when my spreadsheet is further along. I'll also be getting some PETG at some point to print replacement/upgrade parts for the printer. At some point, I plan to graduate to nylon--reputedly one of the strongest materials out there, but has its own special requirements.

Keep in mind that there is a proliferation of formulas going on out there. It's not just PLA anymore--there's also PLA+ (different depending on brand) HD PLA, HT PLA, and more... Most of the "filled" filaments (metal. wood, glass, etc.) are formulations of PLA. Some have different characteristics/properties. Read descriptions & labels carefully.

Here's one place to start some homework:
https://all3dp.com/1/3d-printer-filament-types-3d-printing-3d-filament/
[EDIT]
AND
https://rigid.ink/blogs/news/156667655-the-12-best-3d-printer-filament-companies-the-ultimate-review
[/EDIT]

Re: Fillament thoughts suggestions

Depending on what you want to print, different sized nozzles can be handy. 0.25mm nozzles are great for detail if you're doing figures and miniatures, 0.60mm if you want robust functional parts. ....

bobstro (or anyone...)
Do you know if 0.60mm is the size Prusa uses to print parts? If not 0.60mm, does anyone know what size is used?

Re: Fillament thoughts suggestions

[...] Do you know if 0.60mm is the size Prusa uses to print parts? If not 0.60mm, does anyone know what size is used?

From the Prusa page:

Recommended print settings:
0.2 mm layer height, infill 20% GRID and material PETG.
All MK3 and MK2.5 extruder parts need to be printed in BLACK

Re: Fillament thoughts suggestions

[...] Keep in mind that there is a proliferation of formulas going on out there. It's not just PLA anymore--there's also PLA+ (different depending on brand) HD PLA, HT PLA, and more... I quickly learned that "enhanced" doesn't necessarily mean "better". The PLA+ formulations tend to be more bendy than regular PLA, and according to specs are stronger. However, my limited experience is that they are far more prone to warping or distorting in warm outdoor conditions. That said, PLA+ prints very nicely, so is well suited to indoor things.

PLA is generally good for about 60C/140F. High Temperature PLAs are typically only higher-temp after annealing, which can cause warpage and is generally a pain. For heat tolerance, I've done better using PETG (80C/176F), or if I want more PLA-like printing characteristics, Colorfabb NGEN (85C/185F) or XT (80C/176F).

Most of the "filled" filaments (metal. wood, glass, etc.) are formulations of PLA. Some have different characteristics/properties. Read descriptions & labels carefully.Good advice. Also, start printing slowly when starting with filled materials. Going too fast is the fast road to extruder clogs. The same applies to flexibles. Slic3r's "max volumetric speed" settings are very useful for throttling extruder throughput.

Re: Fillament thoughts suggestions

[...] Do you know if 0.60mm is the size Prusa uses to print parts? If not 0.60mm, does anyone know what size is used?

From the Prusa page:

Recommended print settings:
0.2 mm layer height, infill 20% GRID and material PETG.
All MK3 and MK2.5 extruder parts need to be printed in BLACK

Yes, I've seen that. Am I missing something (an equation, rule of thumb, secret link 😉 )?
How does that answer the question of what nozzle size to use--or that Prusa uses?

Curiously, that page also begs the question why extruder parts need to be printed in BLACK?
IANAL, but I see nothing in the description of the GNU GPL that would apply (unless I'm missing something there as well?)

Re: Fillament thoughts suggestions

[...] Yes, I've seen that. Am I missing something (an equation, rule of thumb, secret link 😉 )?
How does that answer the question of what nozzle size to use--or that Prusa uses? They no doubt assume the 0.40mm nozzle they ship standard, but parts of that size are likely OK with a 0.60mm as well. You'd have to check it in your slicer preview to be sure. They don't specify number of perimeters, so adjust accordingly.

Curiously, that page also begs the question why extruder parts need to be printed in BLACK?Black so as not to throw off the filament sensor.

Re: Fillament thoughts suggestions

I use 3D solutech from amazon. So far I've used their PLA in a few different colors as well as their PETG( their black PETG is soooooooo close to the Prusa PET they sent with the 2.5 upgrade) and their glow in the dark PLA as well. I've tried hatchbox as well as makergeeks and they are good but I had some issues with customer service and print quality YMMV. But the 3D solutech has turned into my go to filament as it prints well for me and is fast to get when I need more. I have not tried to use any other nozzle than the one that came with my MK2s.

Re: Fillament thoughts suggestions

I figured I was re-inventing the wheel... 🙄

I'm up to the "I"s in my spreadsheet, and whilst running down one brand, I stumbled across this list, FWIW.
N.B. It's also somewhat out of date (January 4, 2017),

Re: Fillament thoughts suggestions

Thanks guys for the suggestions I'll definitely be on the lookout for some of that stuff. I just received my kit today and the building has begun 🙂

RE: Fillament thoughts suggestions

I prefer SainSmart Flexible TPU 3D Printing Filament due its high compatibility.