3D printer filament

Introduction

This article should list the major 3D printer filaments that are available for 3D printing machines

For each plastic, slicer settings must be adapted. In addition, adjustments should be made for the kind (or the kind of the object part) In particular general parameters like:

• Extrusion height (related to z-axis movement, typically between 0.1 and 0.5 mm).
• Extrusion width (related to feed and flow rates)
• Temperature
• Feed rate (speed of print head)
• Flow rate (amount of plastic extruded)

In addition, other parameters like the following must be adapted.

• Wall thickness
• filling (density and pattern)
• horizontal floors
• first layers

For the moment, this page doesn't include too many details. Also, information about some filaments I did not try out may be wrong. I do report some concrete experiences in other articles, e.g. as of Jan 2016 the Felix Pro 1 3D printer - 19:03, 17 February 2016 (CET)

Physical properties of printing materials

Printing materials (filament) can be characterized in various ways. Below is a list of general properties that may be of interest to hobby 3D printers.

General properties

Property name	Comments	Testing method	Units
Processing temperature	Typical filaments are processed between 180 and 260 degrees, often in a range of 30 degs. E.g. PLA prints from 180 to 220.
Melt flow index	How well it floats at typical processing temperature	ASTM D-1238 (ISO1133)
Thermal expansion	Material expands when heated (or not) and shrinks when cooling. Expansion makes printing difficult. E.g. ABS does expand and warp. To print ABS, it's a good idea to use heated chamber (that will inhibit the plastic to cool down too much).
Recommended print speed	Recommended print speed depends on the quality you want to achieve, layer thickness, nozzle size and the plastic itself. PLA, for example can be printed very fast, whereas NinjaFlex or PETG should be printed at much lower speed.		mm/s
Density	How heavy it is.		mg/m3
Odor	Smells good or bad (related to fumes)
Toxicity of fumes	Fumes can be dangerous: Some are not problematic (PLA), others somewhat or rather dangerous (ABS). However, while PLA can be considered to be safe, the colors and other additives used in the PLA may not be safe !
Size	Most printers either use 1.75mm or 3mm filament
Size variation	Filament should have little variation in either diameter (< 1mm) or roundness (< 0.5mm). Larger knots can block the filament and too thin filament can loosen the grip. This implies that you should buy from a reliable vendor (or at least keep track of what you bought).
Water absorbtion	Most filaments absorb Water. When full with water printing quality will decrease since water bubbles with explode, sometimes a lot, e.g. in the cas of Nylon. Therefore it is recommended to keep the filament in a sealed plastic bag or even preheat in an oven.
Solvability	Most plastic are soluble with respect to some chemical. E.g. HIPS will dissolve in Water, ABS and PLA in Acetone.
Food safe	Most plastic is not food safe, i.e. can fusion with food molecules. PET(G) is food safe and water proof in addition.
Surface gloss	ABS for example is fairly glossy, PET is very glossy, PLA is less. In addition, one can play with temperature and coating. ABS is more glossy when printed very hot and with a ''small'' amount of Acetone paint.
Colors	From none (natural) to many. Some plastics also allow for "glow in the dark".
Translucency	From totally opaque to very translucent. Some plastics have both kinds, e.g. PLA exists in opaque, semi-opaque and translucent form.
Adherence between layers	This important property tells how much hot filament will bond to each other
Adherence to print bed	Depends on the type of coating of the bed (Metal, Kapton, Blue tape, etc.), the bed temperature and the interaction with the plastic. Different materials require different bed coatings and different temperatures.
Strength and flexibility	See below. One of the strongest materials is Nylon (but printing is a bit more difficult and the result looks ugly, i.e. needs some processing). The weakest ones or HIPS (disolvable) and laybrick. Some flexible ones are also quite weak. ABS, PETG and PLA are in the middle. Elasticity
Durability	How long does it last (some plastic degrade much faster when exposed to use, light, water, etc.)

There are several formal standards with respect to strength testing

ISO created in 2011 the ‘Technical Committee 261 Additive Manufacturing’ (ISO/TC 261) to develop standards for Additive Manufacturing. Tasks of this committee are terminology, file standards, and quality standards.

• ISO 527 defines tensile strength for all sorts of materials (not just Additive manufacturing). "ISO 527-1:2012 specifies the general principles for determining the tensile properties of plastics and plastic composites under defined conditions. Several different types of test specimen are defined to suit different types of material which are detailed in subsequent parts of ISO 527. The methods are used to investigate the tensile behaviour of the test specimens and for determining the tensile strength, tensile modulus and other aspects of the tensile stress/strain relationship under the conditions defined." (retrieved feb 2017)
• ISO 178 defines flexural properties of plastics. "ISO 178:2010 specifies a method for determining the flexural properties of rigid and semi-rigid plastics under defined conditions. A standard test specimen is defined, but parameters are included for alternative specimen sizes for use where appropriate. A range of test speeds is included." (retrieved feb 2017)
• ISO 179 defines impact properties, i.e. a way of defining toughness and brittleness. In technical terms it measures the "Charpy impact strength" of plastics under defined conditions. It has two parts. Part 1 defines how to test it generally. Part 2 defines e.g. what happens when you hammer on it in a precise location.
• ISO 868 defines shore hardness defining the resistance of the material with respect to the penetration of a needle. There are various "Shore" scales, "A" and "D" are popular in 3D printing. Type A is for flexible filament (TPE, TPU), and type D for rigid filament such as PLA, PETG, or ABS. "Higher numbers on the scale indicate a greater resistance to indentation and thus harder materials. Lower numbers indicate less resistance and softer materials." (Wikipedia). The "D" scale just starts fairly hard values and therefore can better discriminate between similar hard materials.

Method of "Shore" hardness with a Durometer. Type A needle has a blunt edge. source: wikipedia

Shore hardness

Filament examples	A (flexible filament)	D (rigid filament)	Comments
ABS, e.g. a Lego (TM) block	100A	100D
ASA		75D
PET and PETG		85 to 87D
PLA		48 to 87D	Most PLA has a value above 80D
Soft PLA	85 A
TPU, e.g. Ninja Cheetah, Sunlu TPU,	90A to 98A		95A is typical. 95A is still flexible but does not stretch much. 98A does not bend much (e.g. hard wheels of roller skates)
TPE, e.g. Nijna Flex, Filaflex	85A		Soft, "rubber feeling" with high flexibility. A bit difficult to print
Ultraflexible TPU	60A

AThe American manufacturing association (ASTM) has two sub-committees related to additive manufacturing technology: F42 for Additive Manufacturing Technologies and F42.05 for materials and processes. Aaron M. Forster from NIST (the US standards agency) provided an interesting overview of standard testing methods: Tension, flexure, compression, shear, creep, fatigue, fracture toughness and impact.

Below is table that includes some of testing categories. For each testing category some standard material form plus some precise testing method is defined. Testing methods do not seem to take into account how a piece was printed (i.e. in which direction the strings of filament point).

Filament strength properties

Property name	Comments	Testing Methods	Measure
Tensile (or elastic) modulus, (Young’s elastic modulus)	Measures the stiffness of a material (how much can you pull it or compress it before breaking). According to Wikipedia: The Young's modulus enables the calculation of the change in the dimension of a bar made of an isotropic elastic material under tensile or compressive loads. For instance, it predicts how much a material sample extends under tension or shortens under compression.	ASTM D638 (ISO 527, GB/T 1040)	MPa
Tensile strength	The capacity of a material or structure to withstand loads tending to elongate, as opposed to compressive strength, which withstands loads tending to reduce size. (wikipedia)	ASTM D638 (ISO527, GB/T 1040)	MPa
Elongation at break	How far can you pull before it breaks ? Also known as fracture strain or ''elongation to break'', it is measured as ratio between the changed length when it breaks and the original length.	ASTM D638 (ISO527, GB/T 1040)	%
Hardness	Resistance to deformation (various scales)
Bending modulus	Also known as ''bending stiffness'' or ''flexural modulus'' it defines the resistance to bending deformation. Bending and beam theory can be very complex...	ASTM D790 (ISO 178, GB/T 9341)	MPa
Bending (flexural) strength		ASTM D790 (ISO 178, GB/T 9341)	MPa
Fracture toughness	Does it break completely or not.
(Izod) Impact strength	How easily does it break on impact in vertical position ? E.g PLA is fairly brittle compared to ABS.	ASTM D256 (ISO 180, GB/T 1043)	kJ/m2
Charpy impact strength	How easily does it break on impact in horizontal position ?	ASTM D256 (ISO 179, GB/T 1043)
(Vicat) Softening temperature	Temperature when it becomes soft (e.g. ABS between 90 and 130, PLA at ?? degs)	ASTM D-1525 (ISO306B)

Strength and elasticity are very important properties. It can be defined in terms of pulling, bending and shock.

Interestingly, 3D hobby printers can perform as well as industrial machines. Tymrak et al. (2014) in their Mechanical properties of components fabricated with open-source 3-D printers under realistic environmental conditions article “The results show that the average tensile strength of RepRap printed parts are 28.5 MPa for ABS and 56.6 MPa for PLA with average elastic moduli of 1807 MPa for ABS and 3368 MPa for PLA. These results indicate that the 3-D printed components from RepRaps are comparable in tensile strength and elastic modulus to the parts printed on commercial 3-D printing systems.”

Rigid polymers and co-polymers

ASA

As of 2020, ASA (Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate) is relatively new polymer that has interesting properties and can both replace enhanced PLA and ABS. According to to 3DNatives “The ASA (Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate) material is an amorphous thermoplastic similar to ABS, although the main difference is that it is an acrylic elastomer and ABS is a butadiene elastomer. ASA is a petroleum derivative and is considered an engineering plastic because it maintains its appearance and resistance to impact even in adverse conditions, such as air, rain, cold, heat, etc. For this reason, it is often used in everyday objects that need to be more resistant, such as electrical installations, car parts or even toys. It was created by the manufacturer BASF Forward AM in 1970 under the trade name Luran® S and is now increasingly being used by people who have an FDM 3D printer.”

Variants do exist, e.g. under the brand name ASA-X and Apollo X. Some are reported for easier printing than default ASA brands. Information about toxicity of fumes does not seem to be available (see the data sheet for ASA-X). We don't know when to choose ASA-X over PET-G for example.

ASA-X from mcpp features: •UV / Weather resistant •Zero warp technology •Excellent interlayer adhesion •Great strength & aesthetics •Reliable bed adhesion (Glass, tape & other adhesives).

Recommendations:

• Heated bed = 80 to 90C
• Printing temperature = 245±10˚C (higher seems to be better)
• Melting temp = 230±10˚C
• Softening temperature: 98C

ABS

• ABS ((Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) is used for Legos and car parts for example. It is solid, but warps when printed a room temperature. I.e. it is difficult to print objects that have a larger than 4cm footprint. When hobby 3D printers emerged, ABS was the material of choice. As of 2015, it is still popular, but there are other similar alternatives.
• Temperature: 220 - 260 (temperature depends on both type of ABS plastic and the kind of object your print).
• Bed temperature: 65

Nylon

• Nylon (a kind of Polyamide) is a very strong material but more difficult to print than PLA. It doesn't stick well to Glass or Aluminum platforms surfaces and may warp. You can try printing on wood. It sticks very well to Polymide tape (Kapton), i.e. removing the part can pull off the Kapton tape.

Various Nylon variants exist and some of them are suitable for filament printing. Nylon 12 is used in "low cost" laser sintering machines, e.g. the Sintratec S1 or Formlabs Fuse 1.

Taulman 645 was the first popular make/brand. Since it is fairly expensive and difficult to use, you also can consider the Bridge filament which is not as strong, but cheaper and easier to use. It does work fairly nicely with a modern printer such as the Felix Pro 1, i.e. an "open air" design with a 0.35mm hotend.

Printing tips for Taulman Bridge Nylon

• Print slowly
• Print larger layers (e.g. 0.2 to 0.3)
• Fan = off (50% for small objects)
• Temperature = 255C
• Bed temperature = 45C or more (e.g. I use 65)

A little duck printed with Bridge Nylon was much stronger than the PLA version.

Problems:

• Nylon warps a lot or a bit in the case of Bridge Nylon. Use the same strategies as for ABS.
• Nylon soaks up water from the air (within a few days) and then will sputter and make your prints uglier. Some people will heat it in the oven at low temperatures. I put a halogen lamp on top of the roll.

Polymaker PolyMide™ CoPA is based on a copolymer of Nylon 6 and Nylon 6,6. According to the manufacturer (not yet tested ourselve), the filament combines excellent strength, toughness, and heat resistance of up to 180˚C and printability. The material exhibits near-zero warping with no heated bed/chamber required.

PLA

• PLA (polylactic acid) is made of starch (i.e. plants). It doesn't warp, but it's not very solid and starts deforming (melting) at relatively low temperature. PLA is probably the most popular filament.
• Temperature: 180 - 220
• Bed temperature: 55

Variants

• There are many variants of PLA. Some is very cheap. Cheap does not nessarily mean worse.
• Be careful buying PLA that is irregular (i.e. will have knots what will not fit into the hotend)
• Be very careful buying PLA that has a lot of paint, i.e. PLA that will look like ABS. This type of PLA is much less brittle (which is good since you won't have to remove the filament from the hotend after printing) but it also bonds less well, and may have a tendency to expand more or to flow more. As a result, when printing flat objects like terrain models, the printhead can get stuck. It also may emit more harmful substances than PLA with less paint inside. Since there is no precise information on the substances used, I cannot tell. Curiosely, brands like ProFill advertise that this type of PLA is easy to print. Not true in my opinion.

Therefore:

• Semi-transparent PLA or "dull" PLA = good, easy to print
• "Brilliant" PLA with lots of paint = problematic, more difficult to print, may create a mess on large and flat structures and finally may be a bit harmful to your lungs (I will have to check the latter hypothesis).

PEEK

3D printing technology is still in its nascent stage. It is used for making simple parts more than it is used for making complex mechanical parts. New materials are being explored day in, day out as part of the research that aims to find mechanical, thermal, and chemical resisting properties that are outstanding.

PEEK is one of those rare materials that has struck the right chords. The glass transition temperature of the PEEK filament is 143 degrees Celsius which is suitable for most 3D printer’s print beds. Being inherently flame resistant, it is safer to print parts and functional prototypes with this filament material.

According to Pick 3D Printer, its extraordinarily outstanding mechanical, thermal, as well as chemically resisting properties have made it one of the most suitable 3D printing materials for manufacturing intricate gearboxes.

These some of the recommended print conditions:

• You need to ensure your printer’s extruder and the bed can withstand temperatures ranging between 375 to 410 °C, and 130 to 145 °C respectively.
• It is recommended to print this filament at a print speed that ranges between 10 to 50 mm per second for achieving the best print results.

PEEK Material uses: Showing excellent resistance to chemicals, it is highly preferred for making parts and functional prototypes for oil or gas, automotive, aerospace, industrial as well as chemical processing industries.

Strong PLA

As of 2019, may brands offer strong PLAs. Some are as tough as ABS, but easier to print. Some also have a considerably higher melting point (one of the weaknesses of PLA) and some can be printed faster (up to 120mm/s). Some come under names like "Pro", "Tough",

Below are just examples. There exist many others:

Polymax

• Polymax PLA is the commercial name of a PLA that is much stronger (up to 9 times the impact resistance of normal PLA). It also claims better overall mechanical properties than ABS.
• FactSheet

PLA tough

• mechanical properties close to those of ABS, but similar printing as PLA
• Product Page

Ultra Diamond PLA

• Very strong and rigid (6300 Mpa)
• Does not absorb water
• Product home page / fact sheet.
• A similar, cheaper product is [https://www.mcpp-3dp.com/products/pla-x3/#1509707124780-f5e3b7a4-cb44 its PLA-X³. "Prints like PLA, performs like ABS".

PLA/PHA

• PLA/PHA is a PLA / PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate) mix from Colorfabb. It is stronger and more bendable than ordinatry PLA. As strong as weak ABS and as easy to print as PLA it seems.

PET(G/T)

• PETG is a combination of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) aka polyester and different concentrations of glycol (G). PETG is a strong filament similar to ABS in strength, but it prints more like PLA.

Properties of PET (The "G" or "T" will modify this)

• Is the most recycled plastic (e.g. softdrink bottles). It is not biodegrable like PLA, but recyclable.
• No shrinking or warping
• No smell
• It does not degrade in water or absorb water, also since it bonds very well, objects should be watertight. That is at least the case with T-glase
• It is US FDA approved for food contact
• Unlike PLA, it is not brittle and it is a bit more flexible than either PLA or ABS

General print properties:

• Temperature: 210 - 260
• Bed temperature: 55

There are very different variants, e.g. see the T-glase below.

• PETG by Prusament is very easy to print. Maybe a little less precise than PLA, but the result is more solid.
• Amphora™ 3D Polymer, made by Eastman and Helian Polymers. A popular brand is XT sold by Colorfabb, a Dutch company
• T-glase made by Taulman (see below)
• PET+ by MadeSolid

T-glase

T-Glase is a co-polymer very similar to PETG. T-glase is polyethylene-co-trimethylene terephthalate (PETT)

This pretty plastic made is somewhat translucid, has a rather good surface finish, and it shimmers. T-glase (aka "Tough Glass") can be used as replacement for ABS. It's stronger and it does not warp or split while printing. This article by Mike Adams (March 11, 2015,) makes a good case for t-glase: It's solid, safe for (cold) food, watertight, both rigid and flexible, etc.

• It seems to have low shrinkage and no warping.
• It sticks to acrylic, glass, and Kapton.
• Unlike ABS, bonding between layers is very good (i.e. makes cups watertight).
• It doesn't produce fumes or smells when printing.
• Material density: ?
• Bending temperature: 78 C

Parameters below were taken from here and here

• Print temp = 240 (maybe 250)
• Nozzle = any size, but maybe more than usual extrusion ?
• Extrusion width = about 90% of the Nozzle diameter, e.g. 0.315 mm for a 0.35mm nozzle
• Print speed, about half speed of ABS
• Retraction = .5mm/.1mm nozzle or for a .5mm nozzle = 2.5mm
• Print bed = glass with a PVA coat, Kapton,
• Print bed temperature: 45C

This worked for me on a Felix Pro 1 printer, but I probably have to optimize some stuff.

Other tips:

• To reduce glass breakage, don't cool the bed before removing the part (have it at least at 35 C).
• When you forcibly remove it, a shattered piece can reach your eye

Carbon Fiber

Carbon Fiber allows to create tough and lightweight objects. It seems to require a lot of infill (delamination problems ?) . Not tested yet.

Solubles

These are great for printing support structures with a dual head printer.

PVA

• PVA (Polyvinyl Alcohol) can dissolve in water

High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS)

HIPS has similar structural properties as ABS, but warps less during printing. According to a Lulzbot tutorial, “the most practical characteristic of HIPS is its ability to be sanded, glued, primed and painted with acrylic paints once the print is completed.For anyone printing scale-models, miniatures, and even cosplay items, this is a outstanding feature of an inexpensive material. HIPS is also very light-weight, making it even more ideal for wearable objects.” (Feb 2016).

Some properties:

• HIPS is like ABS, a petrochemical synthetic polymer and not biodegradable
• It is often used to pack food, i.e. it is not toxic. Examples are styrofoam or yogurt containers.
• Although it is a fairly strong polymer, it is often used for support of ABS prints, since it is very easily dissolved in limonene (a strong but easily available chemical).

Printing tips (not tested): Print temperature: 220 to 240 Bed temperature: 100 to 120

Limenene can be a by-product from the citrus juice industry, since it can be extracted from the rind of lemons and oranges. It can replace more aggressive solvants like turbentine. Read more at BioChemcorp. It can be bought from on-line stores like this offer from Amazon. We didn't try using Limene. There are conflict reports about its use, e.g. read this challenge by DBrowny3 (2015).

From what I understand, using HIPS as support is ok if one can remove most of it by breaking it out, then use d-limone to remove the rest. To do so, use gloves and do it outside !

Flexible

Soft PLA

Is a kind of PLA that is flexible, cheaper than most TPEs

• Temperature: 220-230
• Bed temperature: 60 ? In principle this plastic sticks well to most surfaces. Maybe no need for heating if you use blue tape of similar.

Thermoplastic elastomer (TPE)

There are several variants of TPE. As a general rule, TPE must be printed with less speed than PLA (e.g. 20-30 mm/second). It is also important to have a strong extruder that does not heat in the upper part. Bowden extruders will not work, since one cannot push very flexible filament over a long distance.

Well known variants of Thermoplastic elastomers are:

Arnitel

• Arnitel is a flexible filament that produces very strong prints (e.g. bracelets for watches are made with this), but difficult to print since it doesn't stick well and since it warps like ABS. Use it to print mechanical parts that must resist to high temperatures and strain.
• Temperature: 220-230
• Bed temperature: 65

NinjaFlex

• NinjaFlex is a thermoplastic polyurethane
• Similar to Arnitel, maybe not as strong and more reactive to solvants, but easier to use
• Print temperature 245 °C at low speed (e.g. 30 mm/s)

NinjaSemiFlex

• Harder (less elastic) than NijaFlex (not tested)

3D Prima TPE

3D Prima TPE is a flexible filament that produces "rubber" like objects (if you print with little fill you can create "squeezy" things)

• Much cheaper than NinjaFlex.
• It is a easy to print, if your extruder can handle it (see next item). The result looks good enough and feels great.
• This filament is very easy to print, if you can manage to extrude. I believe that you need a hotend that is only hot near the exit area. Since the filament is really flexible (before printing), pushing through the extruder can be tricky. Works OK with my Felix 2 and Felix Pro printers. With the Felix 2.0, only works if the hot-end doesn't have any "PLA balls" (rests) inside. It cannot push these down. Extruding some ABS before inserting the Prima TPE does help.
• Prints between 190 and 240 degs., Print bed at 50-80, low speed. I used 220, 55 and a speed of 10 up to 45mm/s .... however I don't have enough experience to provide any solid information.
• Since the plastic is flexible and takes time to cools down, you may encounter problems if you use larger structures with little infill (e.g. 10%). The fill may drop and contact with the filament may break, i.e. there wont't be enough pull from the deposited plastic. To avoid this:
• do something to cool down the print by printing something aside, e.g. use the "auxiliary structure" in Felix Builder)
• Use some extra extrusion for infill, e.g. 120%
• Use more infill or add some internal structure, e.g. a few sticks.

Plasticized Copolyamide TPE (PCTPE)

Nylon-based TPE, made by Taulman sold by 3D Prima, also available on amazon.fr (not yet tested).

FilaFlex

• ?

Nunus TPE

• Nunus Flexible Rubber Filament
• Temperature 210 - 230° C
• Platform temperature: 20 - 50 °. For my first successful prints I added glue plus a raft - Daniel K. Schneider (talk) 14:05, 7 September 2015 (CEST)
• Speed 30 mm / s. Maybe you could print faster, but it's important that the plastics bonds when hot. Otherwise the object will be brittle, e.g. the infill will be weak, layers will not stick together.
• This filament is by no means like rubber. It just feels much more flexible than PLA, i.e. you can bend but not stretch this. Unlike Arnitel, you also have to use some "decent" fill (5% fill will not bond IMHO).

Thermoplastic ester elastomer (TPEE)

Primalloy

Primalloy is made by Verbatim.

Primalloy black: Quote “it provides high-performance characteristics in terms of mechanical strength and resistance to oil, base, solvents, chemicals, flex fatigue and heat, in addition to offering excellent low temperature properties and a high level of hardness stability across a wide temperature range, making PRIMALLOY particular suited for outdoor applications.” (press release, sept, 2017)

Thermoplastic Polyurathane (TPU)

Usually a bit more rigid and easier to print than TPEs

Sunlu TPU

Sunlu TPU is fairly easy to print, but like all TPU/TPE it does not extrude well. To address this problem you can: augment the temperature, augment layers, slow down speed, augment extrusion factor.

• Shore: 95A
• Temperature range = (selon le paquet: 205 to 230, according to Amazon: 190 to 210. Most users seem to print between 210 and 230. I use between 220 (0.35 layers) to 230
• Bed temperature = 0, I use 30
• Ventilator 50
• Small layers are more difficult.
• Official Speed range = 30 to 60 mm/s
• I recommend much less, (e.g. 18mm/s with a 0.7 nozzle and 2.5mm or 3.5 layers).
• Extrusion rate = 115%. I use 140% (!!) for a 0.7 nozzle and 225C.
• Infill: Small infill percentages do not work well, maybe no infill is better. Otherwise 20% to 30% seem OK
• Infill extrusion rate: For small infill percentages (e.g. 5%) I recommend to make it fatter, e.g. 150%
• First layer: Add 25 to 50% extra height
• Retraction distance = 1 to 3mm (in some cases maybe no retraction since it can inhibit the flow)
• If there is space, use a skirt to get the filament flowing (3 loops)

The biggest problem with TPU is underextrusion. There are three strategies that help:

• Print slower
• Print hotter
• Set extrusion higher.

My solution (Felix Pro 2, 0.7 nozzle): 20mm/s for everything except the first slower layer, 225C, 140% extrusion rate.

Composites

Composites are often based on PLA or ABS (e.g. 80%) plus other ingredients (e.g. 20%) like metal particles or wood fibers.

Over the last two years (2014/2015) the most creative inventor of composite filaments has been Kai Parthy. He invented laywood, laybrick, laywood flex, bendlay and so forth. A full list of these is available here.

In the meantime, other manufacturers offer their own blends, in particular combinations with wood.

Laybrick

Laybrick, according to Simon J. Oliver is a thermoplastic with fine-milled chalk as a filler, and so it prints with a decidedly ceramic look and feel, and an off-white putty color. In his blog post (2013), he writes that laybrick is an “easy-to-work-with and forgiving material that has a striking but neutral appearance that easily hides the tell-tale layering that mars many 3D prints, without needing to resort to ultra-fine layers. I’ve found that the attractive texture and warm feel work well for sculptures and bowls that invite handling, and also for printing 3D scans of people, where the ability to hold detail and yet not look overly layered is a great combination. Architectural models are another area where I expect to see a lot of potential. LayBrick is clearly not designed for harsh environments of high temperature, solvent exposure, or mechanical wear, so its applications will be mostly aesthetic and artistic – but for those, it opens up whole new vistas compared to traditional plastics.”

Properties:

• A mixure of sandstone (milled chalk) and binding polymer (PLA??)
• Printed at 195°C it should have a fairly realistic sandstone effect (after cooling down for at least 2 hours!)
• No warping
• The result is fairly brittle, e.g. Lego walls easily break.

Print considerations:

• No heated print bed is needed it seems (however, I use the same as for PLA)
• Print speed should be low, e.g. about 40mm/second.
• Use large layers, e.g. 0.25mm or more. Maybe, add some extra-extrusion factor if you got a 0.35mm nozzle.
• Print temperature: 165 - 220 ?. Best is probably between 180 and 200. Changing the print temperature changes the results. With higher temperatures one can print faster, but with lower temperatures one gets better quality, in particular with overhangs. In addition, the look of the object changes, lower temperature will make it smoother in theory. In practice, I suggest printing at least at 190 with a 0.35mm nozzle. Most web sites report that up to 195 C, the skin should be smooth. This is not the case with our 0.35mm nozzle printer. Printing at 170 to 180 C gives rough results, probably due to bad plastic flow.
• Since the filament can break, it's probably not a good idea to print it with a Bowden extruder (motor far away from the hotend)

Other tips:

• Laybrick breaks easily and cannot be re-spooled since it may break. You could use a flat wide spooler or hang it "as is" on a chemistry stand. The inventor of this filament has a picture on his website of a new spooler that one probably will be able to buy (Y_COIL-PACK-HOLDER)
• If the object has fragile parts (e.g. walls, feet, etc.) do not remove it from the print bed before it is hardened, e.g. wait for 2-4 hours ! However, you also should be aware that laybrick can stick fairly well once cooled down, so there may be a tradeoff.
• Keep it inside a plastic bag
• Make sure that the filament does not run out. Even a printer that waits printing after the filaments stops coming and allows you to reinsert filament cannot prevent an ugly missing layer.

Laywood

Laywood is a wood-polymer composite made from 40% recycled wood particles mixed with binding polymers, i.e. the principle as laybrick.

(to do)

Bendlay

Bendlay is also made by Kai Parthy who invented Laywood and Laybrick.

Feeding and storing filament

Reels and spoolers

Most 3D printers do not come with an acceptable spooler and for two reasons: They offer too much resistance and there is a high chance that some rolls will not fit.

• Mount hole diameters range from 19 to 74 mm. Frequent ones are 31mm, 39mm and 52mm.
• Outersize diameter ranges from 12.5cm (e.g. Taulman T-glase) to 30cm
• Inner coil diameter is 5cm to 8cm
• Typical outer width if from 6cm to 12.5cm.

The best and easiest solution I found is to use a chemistry stand and then print adapters. However, in that case some systems that filter the dust are no longer there (e.g. on the Felix Pro 1 it's on the side) and you would have to come up with another solution. Also, a chemistry stand cannot be carried easily.

• Hollow cylinder for filament holder made with a stand

Read Universal 3D printing filament spool standard 2014, One spool to rule them all... by Richard Horne, 2014.

Storing and reusing old filament

Moisture

Some plastics are extremely sensitive to moisture. Prints fail or print not as nicely as they could if there is too much humidity in the filament.

• Very sensitive: PVA and Nylons
• Somewhat sensitive: PLA (you still can print with 2-year old PLA left in the open, but the results are not as good) and Bridge Nylon.
• Not very sensitive: ABS
• Not sensitive: T-glase

Therefore it is crucial to store both Nylons and PVA in an airtight bag or container that includes Silica Gel. Better in a vacuum bag (but then you need equipment for that). This must be done immediately after printing

It is possible to dry most plastics again by putting them into an oven at low temperature (e.g. 50C) for a few hours.

Particles

Polymers attract dust and when dust gets in the hotend, the filament will not flow as well as it should. Therefore it's a good idea to pass the filament through some felt (or similar) before it enters the extruder. Otherwise, clean the dust from the surface of the roll.

One can "clean" a hotend by extruding a plastic like ABS at fairly high temperatures (e.g. 155 C). One reason to buy a printer where the platforms moves in the z-axis is the possibility to force the plastic down a bit. Using ABS is also a good method to open an extruder that is clogged with PLA or other low temperature plastics (heat for a while before you attempt to do this). Using a drill is more delicate. Try acupuncture needles first. A last solution is buy some "cleaning filament" (not tested).

Reusing plastic

Some plastic can be reused. There exist devices to produce new filament from pieces of old plastic

A new development (as of 2017) are extruders into which one can either fit typical pellets (much cheaper than filament) or recycled pieces of plastic

• Universal 3D extruder
• Direct3D Pellet extruder

Links

Principles

• 3D Filament Guide: Popular 3D Printing Filaments, Pinshape Blog, sept. 2015. Includes some practical "what for" and "how to charts" for PLA, ABS, HIPS and PVA
• Exotic filaments to try out! : 3D Filament Guide Pt. 2, Pinshape Blog, oct. 2015. (PET, Nylon, Woodfill, Sandstone)

Filament makers and suppliers

See:

• Printing Material Suppliers (RepRap Wiki)

The ones below are randomly chosen as examples, no endorsements here !)

• Colorfab
• Matterhackers
• Lulzbot
• Fenner Drives (NinjaFlex)

Suppliers for Switzerland

We don't have time to compare shops, but we are satisfied with the ones below. Both deliver via regular postal service.

• Fabberworld (offers special conditions to education and accept payment after shipping)
• 3D-Printerstore.ch

Tip: If you buy a printer with institutional money, e.g. for a school, include filament in the printer "package". This way it will be financed by "investment" money which is always easier to get at than money for buying smaller supplies. Most often, the company selling printers offers a decent enough choice of plastics...

Filament comparisons, introductions, etc.

• Prusa knowledge base, materials/filament guide
• The Creative’s 3D Printing Filament Guide: ABS vs PLA vs many new, innovative materials, October 30, 2014, by Nick Lievendag.
• Filament comparison Guide at MatterHackers, 2015
• 3D Printer Filament Types Overview, 2015
• What Material Should I Use For 3D Printing?, feb 2015

Specific

• What Material Should I Use For 3D Printing? – Advanced Materials Review #1 – BendLay, Laywoo-D3 and LayBrick]. This web site has other nice introductions, see [http://3dprintingforbeginners.com/category/materials/ materials]

Bibliographie et référence

Bibliographie

• Aaron M. Forster, Materials Testing Standards for Additive Manufacturing of Polymer Materials: State of the Art and Standards Applicability, NISTIR 8059, http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.8059