Filament recommendations? (UK)
Since getting my Mini+ in late May, it has only been fed a diet of Prusament, and as much I'd like that to continue, shipping to the UK costs the same as a roll, so single roll purchases are out of the question, and multi-roll purchases aren't always practical.
Looking on Amazon, there a ton of brands to choose from but in true Amazon fashion, they all have polar-opposite reviews - one user says, great; another says, terrible - so I'm bit stuck .
Am I overthinking this? Are other brands (eSUN, SUNLU, Eryone, Amazon own-brand) just as good as Prusament, or can it be a minefield?
(edit to correct typo)
Its a minefield.
You basically need to find a reputable brand you can get regularly in the UK. Even then suppliers can go downhill. For example I've had upwards of 50 rolls of Spectrum filament and it was my go to, I even bought direct from their factory, but last year every new roll I had from them caused me jams and clogging issues. Their QC has really gone down so I wont buy any more.
As for suppliers, 3dJake is good, even though they are in europe the shipping is fast and free if 2 rolls or more. UK manufacturer 3DTommorow I've also had good results with but I had to print their pla 10 degrees hotter with their filament.
Filaprint is a decent supplier and their own brand stuff is ok when in stock.
I've also had success with Fiberlogy and Extrudr brands (both from 3dJake).
RE: UK based filament.
I'm in the UK and have mostly used SUNLU, tried the PETG and PLA without issue, if you do use them go direct to there website, its a lot cheaper that Amazon, PLA is £13 and PETG is £14 , postage is free by Royal mail 48, i have also used 3dqf, they are UK based and made in the UK, they only have PLA at the moment though, postage is free with them also with PLA running £16 or so.
confused
These seem to be expensive compared to just buying direct from Prusa and eating up the shipping/duties.
@AndrewTerry how did you get on with your decision in the end ? I also just use Prusament and live in the UK so similar circumstances.
3dJake
@BrettG - I ended up ordering a couple of reels from 3DJake, but haven't tried them yet - two rolls, shipped from Austria with free shipping worked out at a shade under £40.
I'll be printing a couple of bits & bobs with their PLA later in the week, and can report back then, if that helps?
Yes please
@BrettG - I ended up ordering a couple of reels from 3DJake, but haven't tried them yet - two rolls, shipped from Austria with free shipping worked out at a shade under £40.
I'll be printing a couple of bits & bobs with their PLA later in the week, and can report back then, if that helps?
If you wouldn’t mind that would great thank you
Eryone, Sunlu and 3DQF
I've used a few brands in addition to Prusament. Eryone (matte gray PLA) was ok once dialed in, but I could not get their glow in the dark to work as it is increbly brittle. Buying from their site was cheaper than from Amazon, but one of my orders took weeks or months to show up.
Sunlu (white PETG) was fine too, may have ordered it directly from their site or on AliExpress.
On the cheapish end of the scale (£15-18) I've used a few rolls of 3DQF (yellow, regal purple, grey) which was mostly fine but their spools are not as well spun as Prusament. 3DQF is based in Manchester and the availability of their filament is very spotty as they give preference to wholesale customers.
To keep track of the different settings for each filament I have a spreadsheet tracking info like bed/nozzle temp so that I've an idea of where to start when changing rolls or for future reference. Technically you can do that on the slicer of course but my guess is that the list of filament profiles could become unwieldy quite quickly.
If you don't bother installing most of the prebuilt filament profiles and just have ones for the actual filament you use its actually very manageable. I only ever use my custom ones now as they are tweaked for my setup anyway (nozzle x).
I buy a fair amount from Hobby King, it's lower quality but cheap and good enough for early prototyping.
Cheerio,
Test Prints
@BrettG - as promised, I had a go with the 3DJake eco PLA (in matte purple!)… I had mixed results, tbh, but I think that’s mostly due to my lack of experience with non-Prusament filaments.
I got a lovely first layer 75x75 square right off the bat, with only minimal adjustment to the Z-height, so ran a Benchy. This is where I hit problems with stringing. To cut a long afternoon’s story short, I played with different temperatures from 190 - 215, although the 190 print didn’t look at all right, so I abandoned it at the point the gyroid infilled pattern stats printing.
Amongst the Benchys, I also ran 3 cube/vase mode prints to get the extrusion multiplier just right, did another Benchy, but still couldn’t eliminate the stringing.
In the photo below, from left to right the temperatures are 193, 195, 205, 210. The 193 version completed and had seemed to have the least amount of stringing, but split along the bottom when I removed it from the plate and showed signs of under extrusion/layer separation), I didn’t grab a photo of the 215 version, but I couldn’t see any noticeable difference between it and the 210 version.
As I say, I think the problem lies more with my lack of experience with fine-tuning than with the filament itself - I’m going to read-up some more, and keep trying, because despite the stringing, the surface finish is really lovely.
Its possible for even new unopened filament to have acquired some moisture, depends on the manufacturer and conditions when it was made. if you have the facility to dry it i would try that first before playing with other settings. The low temp tests were weak probably down to being too cool to get proper inter layer bonding. I'd go for the higher 215 temp and live with the stringing as that will give better bonding.
Fine stringing like that can be removed very easily with a very quickly pass with a butane lighter (blue flame). Hair thin strings just shrivel right up.
Moisture
It's funny you mention moist filament... With every roll of Prusament I've opened, there's been a pop followed by a hiss as the pressure balances. With this roll, the plastic wrapper wasn't tightly vacuum sealed, and when I snipped off the end of the filament to load it into the printer, it felt "squidgy"(compared to Prusament)... I noticed this at the time, but didn't think anything of it until I read your post. Looks like I'll need to bake this roll in the oven for a bit, or invest in a dedicated dryer.
RE: DIY Dryer
It's funny you mention moist filament... With every roll of Prusament I've opened, there's been a pop followed by a hiss as the pressure balances. With this roll, the plastic wrapper wasn't tightly vacuum sealed, and when I snipped off the end of the filament to load it into the printer, it felt "squidgy"(compared to Prusament)... I noticed this at the time, but didn't think anything of it until I read your post. Looks like I'll need to bake this roll in the oven for a bit, or invest in a dedicated dryer.
This has worked well for me:
https://letsprint3d.net/how-to-make-a-filament-dryer/
The attached is a 1/3 segment of the extensions that will fit on the Mini, sturdier than the 1/6 in that website.
Regards,
Mark
Polymaker
I can recommend Polymaker filaments. They're not UK-based, but readily available at 3D Jake, and very reasonably priced.
I regularly use their PETG and PLA and have had no issues and print quality is great.
RE: DIY Dryer
I made filament drier of a similar food dehydrator, it also has 5 round trays. I took two of the trays and cot of the grill to get just the round frame. I placed one of the original trays on the bottom to ensure good airflow, stacked the two empty frames on top of that and put the lid on top. Cost me less than 40€.
I have this dehydrator: https://www.sencor.com/food-dehydrator/sfd-742rd
It is easily available in many supermarkets here, and was cheap. Modification was very simple, I used side cutters to remove the tray from frames. Trays are acrylic.
RE: Filament recommendations? (UK)
A bit of a late post but I've been using 3DQF for a while now and love it. They are based in Manchester, source materials nationally, and have a great range of colours including some pretty esoteric ones as well as some new pastels. 1kg reels of PLA are typically £17 (currently) direct from their factory shop with free delivery (even with 1 reel). ABS is £22 currently of which I've also used a few reels and am happy with. The ABS colour range isn't as wide but I understand they are expanding colours as well as materials to include PETG and PLA+. The spools are genius although some may not appreciate the cardboard construction. They have stl files for ring and rim reinforcers if required. I have no problem with them but I have cabinet wall-based spool holders so I haven't tried running them on their edges with rollers. I've not used that many brands and particularly like Polymaker PolyTerra, but the bulk of my stuff is now printed with 3DQF.
RE: Filament recommendations? (UK)
3D Filaprint - and specifically their cheaper "own brand" filament - has been my go-to PLA for over a year. But thier colour range has been contracting a lot over recent months, and some colours can only now be bought in their "premium" line. And guess what - the last 4 out of 5 rolls of their premium filament has been a Clog City nightmare. Even after hours in the dryer.
So I'm now looking for a RELIABLE PLA.Bonus points if they have some sort of eco credentials.
[I'm also looking for someone to take PLA for recycling, whether or not into new filament. Found one place that wanted nearly £200 to take away a box of teh stuff; heck, at that price my dustbin looks attractive!]