Strongest filament that can be reliably printed?
I have a MK3 and have been looking for the strongest filament we can reliably print with our machines. Any input would be greatly appreciated. So far I've tested a few materials that could fit the category and have more on the way for testing.
What I'm looking for is toughness, rigidity, thermal resistance and ease of printing. Looks are nice but I am primarily looking for the ultimate material pairing for engineering parts, to print on an unmodified MK3.
I am working on rigs to test relevant material properties so I don't have any results yet, other than ease of printing.
Colorfabb XT-CF20 - warps a little. With 3DLAC my success rate is as good as PLA but requires A LOT more effort. I have found that the first layer tends to cause blobs to form on the nozzle which will be deposited on the print if you don't periodically remove them. It's incredibly rigid but I have had the occasional piece shatter or break under load.
Colorfabb HT - It likes to warp, but with 3DLAC I can get roughly 2/3 prints to succeed well enough. It has very high thermal resistance and is very rigid for an unfilled PET variant. I used this material to print the R3 extruder parts and have used them for well over a month of non-stop printing without any degradation or sag.
The following materials are either being delivered soon or waiting to be tested.
Colorfabb PA Neat
Colorfabb PA-CF Low Warp
Fillamentum Nylon FX256
Fillamentum Nylon CF15
I haven't printed with Nylons yet but it is clearly a go-to for many who print tough functional parts. Having to take extreme measures to keep it dry before printing is a downside though.
Priline PC - I've read plenty bad stories about Polycarbonate being nearly impossible to print. Can't wait to find out though!
Carbodeon uDiamond PLA / Tiamet Ultra Diamond PLA+ - This material is available under 2 names. It was developed in partnership and each company apparently sells it under their own brand. There's barely any information available and it looks like very low volume production.
They claim the nano-diamonds embedded in the PLA significantly increase strength, rigidity, thermal resistance and even reduce nozzle wear. The science seems plausible but I will have to see when the spool arrives. They also claim much higher thermal conductivity which should allow for extremely high printing speeds?
Any suggestions for other materials to try would be great! I'll be updating this as I do more testing.
EDIT:
As per suggestions (and local availability) I'm also ordering Treed Carbonium and Polymaker PC-Max to perform tests on.
Re: Strongest filament that can be reliably printed?
Hi Jonathan,
this site may help!
regards Joan
I try to make safe suggestions,You should understand the context and ensure you are happy that they are safe before attempting to apply my suggestions, what you do, is YOUR responsibility. Location Halifax UK
Re: Strongest filament that can be reliably printed?
Check out this thread:
https://shop.prusa3d.com/forum/awesome-prints-hall-of-fame--f15/carbon-fibre-t23927-s10.html
Best information on high performance filaments I have seen.
Treed Carbonium and Treed Carbonium PAHP look realy interesting.
Very expensive though.
Polymaker PC-Max is another very interesting option and should be reasonably easy to print.
I haven't used any of those materials, so aove information is based on research only.
Please report back when you have experiences to share.
Re: Strongest filament that can be reliably printed?
Toughness, rigidity, thermal resistance and ease of printing notwithstanding, "strongest" is still a bit abstract & subjective. In addition to the links already cited, lots of articles & vids have been posted to YT and elsewhere exploring this topic.
https://www.google.com/search?q=strongest+3d+filament&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1-ab
https://airwolf3d.com/2017/07/24/strongest-3d-printer-filament/
Tom Sanladerer (#filaween) and CNC Kitchen (strength tests) have done some comparison videos with "eight-by-ten color glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one was"* (kind of like some posts/threads on this forum 🙄 😀 ) on filament strengths (and other properties).
*Yup-another of Rufus' obscure quotes/references... 😛
That's "MISTER Old Fart" to you!
Re: Strongest filament that can be reliably printed?
I am really curious if the SL1 will provide significantly stronger options. It seems like there are options for ceramics or embedded metals with really good wear resistance. Not sure about tensile strength.
Steve
Re: Strongest filament that can be reliably printed?
Thanks all, for the responses!
I'm having a look at the Treed filaments but am not sure I can get the Carbonium PAHP without unreasonable shipping fees where I am (The Netherlands). So, I'll be ordering the Treed Carbonium and Polymaker PC-Max.
Once I have some serious testing done with all the filaments I mentioned I'll be doing a comprehensive write-up for us MK3 owners. Might take me a while 🙂
I do understand that "strongest" is subjective so I'll try to rate them as objectively as I can on the relevant material properties.
Re: Strongest filament that can be reliably printed?
Check out PC/PBTP filament from Herz and PCTPE from Taulmann.
Unfortunately I was not able to find a datasheet for PC/PBTP.
For Taulmann: http://taulman3d.com/pctpe-spec.html
Both are not the easiest to print but they're very tough. A enclosure is recommended for both.
Re: Strongest filament that can be reliably printed?
I am really curious if the SL1 will provide significantly stronger options. It seems like there are options for ceramics or embedded metals with really good wear resistance. Not sure about tensile strength.
Steve
I'm not sure if those are really options with resin printers. It's my understanding that most resins are weaker than the usual FDM options.
Re: Strongest filament that can be reliably printed?
Now your thread just cost me >100€....
Looked some more into the available material and the Treed Carbonium products really stand out with their specs.
Got a roll of CA-PET and CA-Nylon each, and a sample pack with some CA-PAHP.
That Carbonium PAHP really has crazy high specs, according to the product sheet it is 50x stiffer than Taulman Alloy 910 and has 4x higher tensile strength. But with a price of 156 Euro/kg and 220€/dm3 due to the high density it really only makes sense it you really need the specs.
I am looking forward to the CA-PET, which should be easy to print and very strong.
No good for moving parts though (too abrasive) and temperature sensitive.
At 64 €/kg and 90 €/dm3 it is reasonably priced.
The Carbonium Nylon (CFPA) should be a very good compromise in terms of cost, performance, heat resistance and wear.
I'd like to try some wear parts like gears with it. But expect it to be a little challenging to print.
At 120 €/kg and 130€/dm3 it also sits in the middle between the PET and PAHP filaments.
Re: Strongest filament that can be reliably printed?
Thanks all, for the responses!
I'm having a look at the Treed filaments but am not sure I can get the Carbonium PAHP without unreasonable shipping fees where I am (The Netherlands). So, I'll be ordering the Treed Carbonium and Polymaker PC-Max.
Once I have some serious testing done with all the filaments I mentioned I'll be doing a comprehensive write-up for us MK3 owners. Might take me a while 🙂
I do understand that "strongest" is subjective so I'll try to rate them as objectively as I can on the relevant material properties.
As treed come from Italy why would shipping be excessive. I just had 1 roll carbonium nylon and 1 roll of the lonchain nylon couriered to Australia!!,
i3 Mk3 [aug 2018] upgrade>>> i3MK3/S+[Dec 2023]
Re: Strongest filament that can be reliably printed?
[/quote]
As treed come from Italy why would shipping be excessive. I just had 1 roll carbonium nylon and 1 roll of the lonchain nylon couriered to Australia!!,
[/quote]
Indeed, shipping is free for orders over 99€ in the EU
In that price range that's 2 rolls of filament... 🙄
Re: Strongest filament that can be reliably printed?
The Carbonium Nylon (CFPA) should be a very good compromise in terms of cost, performance, heat resistance and wear.
I'd like to try some wear parts like gears with it. But expect it to be a little challenging to print.
At 120 €/kg and 130€/dm3 it also sits in the middle between the PET and PAHP filaments.
I suspect that since the filament wears out nozzles it may be quite abrasive on other printed parts. If that is true would it be suited to gears?
Also you might wish to review a thread of mine https://shop.prusa3d.com/forum/awesome-prints-hall-of-fame--f15/carbon-fibre-t23927.html
but in particular posts from sergey.s4. including;
https://shop.prusa3d.com/forum/awesome-prints-hall-of-fame--f15/carbon-fibre-t23927-s20.html#p106605
https://shop.prusa3d.com/forum/awesome-prints-hall-of-fame--f15/carbon-fibre-t23927-s30.html#p109997
i3 Mk3 [aug 2018] upgrade>>> i3MK3/S+[Dec 2023]
Re: Strongest filament that can be reliably printed?
I suspect that since the filament wears out nozzles it may be quite abrasive on other printed parts. If that is true would it be suited to gears?
Also you might wish to review a thread of mine https://shop.prusa3d.com/forum/awesome-prints-hall-of-fame--f15/carbon-fibre-t23927.html
but in particular posts from sergey.s4. including;
https://shop.prusa3d.com/forum/awesome-prints-hall-of-fame--f15/carbon-fibre-t23927-s20.html#p106605
https://shop.prusa3d.com/forum/awesome-prints-hall-of-fame--f15/carbon-fibre-t23927-s30.html#p109997
Thanks - that discussion in the Carbon thread started me getting interested in the material. Very good info there from Sergej.
Regarding the gears I have been wondering the same, whether the carbon fibers could potentially increase the wear on the gears.
I think it can't be compared to printing where the liquid plastic with fibers flows through the nozzle and grinds away on it.
In the gear application the increased stiffness should actually help reducing the wear, but the question is if the friction is higher with the CF filled material and if the particles that break off create an abrasive film.
To be tested and to be seen...