New Filament Sampling Site - filabits.com

[filabits]

Launching today, the 1st filament sampling site in the US - filabits.com.

Filament is pricey! Try our samples before you go buy an entire spool.

We offer 15, 30, and 60 cc samples of products currently available from notable companies NinjaFlex, taulman3D, 3DXTech, and others. More brands and grades are being on-boarded, as well.

Are we missing the latest filament you were hoping to test? Add it to our NEW FILAMENT VOTING PLATFORM where you can add/vote for filaments you want to try next. Ideas with the most votes come to filabits first!

We're based in the US, so domestic shipping is cheap! We ship globally, as well.

To celebrate our launch, all orders are eligible for 25% off until June 27. Use coupon code 3DLOVE at checkout to redeem.Happy printing!

[curious aardvark]

We offer 15, 30, and 60 cc samples

lmao - you're measuring filament in volume not length ?
Umm, WHY ???????????????

I can undeerstand offering it in feet - for some reasons yards never seemed to reach america.

So how long would 15cc of 1.75 mm filament be ? ;-)

[filabits]

lmao - you're measuring filament in volume not length ?
Umm, WHY ???????????????

I can undeerstand offering it in feet - for some reasons yards never seemed to reach america.

So how long would 15cc of 1.75 mm filament be ? ;-)

15cc of 1.75mm filament is approx. 6.24 m long. Now I'm not trying to be smart, but the justification for selling in volumetric units is literally exists that last statement of yours.

For example, say you want to try printing a part using a new filament. How much do you need?

Since 3D printing is an additive process, the quantity of material required to manufacture a part is directly equivalent to the volume of raw material at hand. If the volume of your part (adjusted for infill) is less than the volume of your sample, you may confidently print that part.

The length, diameter, and even density of the filament therefore have no bearing, all of which are HIGHLY variable among brand, grade, lot number, etc. We measure the diameter of every filament before cutting it to length, eliminating those variables to ensure the customer receives exactly the quantity they ordered.

So to answer your question, we did it out of service to our customer. Yes it's a little odd at first glance, but we think tinkerers and professionals alike will come to realize that it just makes sense. If a customer is ever confused, nominal unit equivalencies are always displayed alongside our samples.

Hope that clarifies!

What do others out there think about buying filament according to volume?

[faross]

old dog like me rather see it in feet .

[curious aardvark]

I can see your point. But surely you can just adjust the cost of the samples to account for denser filaments ?
Ie: if I buy 5metres of colorfabb bronzefill, I know it'll cost more than standard pla as it's 3x denser.

Likewise 10 metres of the 3dx nano esd petg by 3dxtech will cost me more as well - because it's more expensive filament.

Plus both the slicers I use give me length of filament used NOT volume.

Why not just sell by volume and/or length ?
I'll make a bet that most people will find it easier to buy by length.
And a lot of your customers will be newly minted 3d printer owners trying stuff out. As well as those like me who just like trying out weird and wonderful filaments :-)

One thing I will suggest. sell each sample in a bag with little silicon sachet with a sticker on stating what the filament is. Like this:

samplebags_800x423.jpg

I added the spools, but otherwise that's how my samples currently come. Otherwise if you've got a lot of samples - it can be real easy to get them mixed up.
Those spools are actually a bit too small. I've got some much better expanding spools that I'll be posting on 3dshare.net. That hold the stiffer, less bendy filaments much better :-)

expandspool_604x600.jpg

[filabits]

I can see your point. But surely you can just adjust the cost of the samples to account for denser filaments ?
Ie: if I buy 5metres of colorfabb bronzefill, I know it'll cost more than standard pla as it's 3x denser.

Likewise 10 metres of the 3dx nano esd petg by 3dxtech will cost me more as well - because it's more expensive filament.

Plus both the slicers I use give me length of filament used NOT volume.

Why not just sell by volume and/or length ?
I'll make a bet that most people will find it easier to buy by length.
And a lot of your customers will be newly minted 3d printer owners trying stuff out. As well as those like me who just like trying out weird and wonderful filaments :-)

One thing I will suggest. sell each sample in a bag with little silicon sachet with a sticker on stating what the filament is. Like this:

samplebags_800x423.jpg

I added the spools, but otherwise that's how my samples currently come. Otherwise if you've got a lot of samples - it can be real easy to get them mixed up.
Those spools are actually a bit too small. I've got some much better expanding spools that I'll be posting on 3dshare.net. That hold the stiffer, less bendy filaments much better :-)

expandspool_604x600.jpg

Our samples are shipped in individually-sealed & labeled bags with desiccant to ensure the factory quality is maintained. I think some product photos should be added to the website to show that, because you're right, different filaments can look alike.

DSC_0006.jpg

Your expanding filament spool is clever. I'll have to check it out when you post it.

But back to sample units...I understand that a given length could be corrected for differences in density, but part of the reason in electing volume units was to not put 3mm dia buyers at a disadvantage. Using Taulman3D's In-PLA for example, 5 meters of 1.75mm dia filament is about 1.5% of a full spool. For a buyer of 3mm diameter filament, the same 5 meter sample would be about 4% of a full spool. So a customer buying a 5 meter sample of 3mm filament would have to pay more than twice the amount the 1.75mm customer does.

This is assuming samples are sold by the same lengths regardless of diameter...which all do currently. One could sell 1.75mm filaments in 5m and 10m samples, and 3.00mm filaments in 2m and 4m to put the two on equal cost terms. Thoughts on that method? There are ecommerce challenges with this method, though

Trust me, this was all deliberated as filabits was being set up. Volumetric units solved the issue.

[curious aardvark]

See what you mean with the 3mm filament.
maybe sell by volume and state the length as well. Covers all options then.

[Wolfie]

And you seriously need a filter or some way to see if its available in 3mm or 1.75. I clikced around and only found 1.75 available so I gave up and left.

[filabits]

And you seriously need a filter or some way to see if its available in 3mm or 1.75. I clikced around and only found 1.75 available so I gave up and left.

Done! Thanks for input. Product filter added so you can sort by material, brand, DIAMETER, sample size, and color.

Are there other categories that would make it easier for you/others to find the right sample? Hot/cold bed, maybe? Extruder temp?

[filabits]

EXTENDED THROUGH THIS WEEKEND - Get 25% off any order from filabits.com with coupon code 3DLOVE !

While you're there, be sure to vote for the next filaments you want to try samples of.

Speaking of new...filabits will soon have two more exclusive filaments to sample!

Ingeo™ PLA by 3DomUSA
Plant-based biodegradeable filament with ultra-precise diameter, ovality, and color tolerances

Purement by BnK Corp.
Filabits is exclusive US retailer of the only filament to feature anti-microbial properties as featured recently in a 3D printed scrubber