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  1. #1
    Technician
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    Apr 2014
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    PLA or ABS for Creator X

    Getting in early with this question.

    Does either filament type print better than the other on the CX ?

    Or does it all come down to specific settings for type of filament being used ?

    Steve

  2. #2
    Student
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    Apr 2014
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    BC, Canada
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    I prefer (so far) the white ABS.
    Tried blue transparent PLA, nice finish, but weak plastic (do NOT use for mechanical things, tried that..sux).
    Can glue ABS together with solvent (I use old rafts dissolved in MEK, thick & thin glue solutions..stinks like hell though..use in a well ventilated area)
    IMHO Black ABS (so far) is OK..not as good as the white ABS..but not experienced in a lot of colours (have a few, but haven't played with them yet).
    Can always spray paint white ABS...which I've done..

  3. #3
    Super Moderator Geoff's Avatar
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    Nov 2013
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    Add Geoff on Thingiverse
    Quote Originally Posted by lycan View Post
    Getting in early with this question.

    Does either filament type print better than the other on the CX ?

    Or does it all come down to specific settings for type of filament being used ?

    Steve
    PLA is a different plastic, it will require different settings. There is only one way I know of to dual extrude with ABS and PLA and that's to use Cura or similar where you can set the extruder temps for printing individually. Makerware sets them both at the same, so you can't have one side printing at 200c and the other side printing at 230c. Printing PLA by itself sure, its easy and doesnt require much heat to work - effectively cutting down preheat times in half.

    PLA is not as flexible, but it is very rigid and the prints come out very well - apparently it degrades over time but I'm yet to see that, been flying a printed quad for 6 months, no problems thus far.

    My only gripe with PLA is the inconsistent heating levels, some takes 200c, some takes 170c and so on.. it can be a pain finding the right setting for each roll of plastic but if you write it down at the time it will save you some grief later on.

    Personally, I print in ABS mainly because I am painting my prints and the paint just doesn't stick to the PLA at all, even my primer has issues with it.

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