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  1. #1

    what filament do you use and why

    Hi everyone, I'm new here at soli forums. I'm really a student in 3d printing industry and just learning. I was just wondering what brand of filament you use, material type, and size etc.? What made you choose it and how much filament do you use (in kg) per month?

  2. #2
    Super Moderator Geoff's Avatar
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    I probably go through 2-3 kg's per week, depending on how many printers I've sold. I always try different suppliers unless I need a specific colour - but truth be told, most of them come from the same suppliers overseas, they just throw their sticker or badge on the box. I buy it of Ebay now pretty much, I would recommend my usual supplier but have recently cut them off as they don't seem to understand the difference between a transparent red filament and a solid red filament (as in they refuse to believe there is a difference... yeah, weird I know... but i've had that argument... )

    It also depends on what you print.. Eg. A kossel mini printer takes a little over 300 grams of plastic to print if done properly (including Vrails), print 3 kossel mini kits and there is 1kg almost, Per month, depends, if I have sold alot, probably on a good month I'll go through 15kgs of plastic.
    All of mine is 1.75mm, was a die hard ABS person but have found PLA is not so bad really for making printer parts and quadcopter parts.
    Hex3D - 3D Printing and Design http://www.hex3d.com

  3. #3
    Engineer
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    Been using Pla and ABS. Both standard 1,75 and 2.85mm(often named as 3mm).
    Also tried Taulman and Ninjaflex, but those are just pain if you don't have the right materiels or know the right settings.

    The biggest prints I ever done was using the complete filament roll (350ish metres) for printing 10" diameter aerospace components. That was only 30% infill, my boss asked me to print at 100%, which obviously I said no....

  4. #4
    usually use ABS and PLA, PLA use a little more, ABS smell bad and PLA is healthier. filament brand is my own brand, cwill 3d, i have factory produce the filament for me, and i need print items everyday, so.. about 2kg for 1 week. (i print small items)

  5. #5
    Student
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    I use ABS and PLA in 1.75mm. I was using makerbot for my first two spools but then I realized it was overpriced junk. Now I use the cheap Frys stuff because even though its not great(still better than makerbot) it does get the job done and I can afford to have a large selection of colors without spending crazy amounts. I also use taulman tglase.

  6. #6
    Student
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    I have to throw in a shout for filamentdirect. I've just gone through my first kg of PLA from them and it's pretty good, and I have another in the mail. And they have free shipping, so it's actually cheaper than fry's with ground shipping. They only have 13 colors so far, but that's good enough for most of what I do.

  7. #7
    Student
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    I probably burn 1 spool per week. Mostly new variety such as color-changing, new colors etc. Not really targeting any model but mostly just want to know the characteristics. Recently got stuck in flexible and I am working on modifying extruder so that it can be smoother. Flex is really tricky. Someone recommended a teflon tube for my modification.

  8. #8
    Student
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    Frys kills it with the shipping price. If you lived local to a Fry's you would have to buy 12+ rolls to get it at the same price as Fry's. Although it might be worth the extra 5 bucks in quality, I can't say having not used it.

  9. #9
    Staff Engineer Davo's Avatar
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    ABS from http://www.sainsmart.com/3d-printing/abs-filament.html Sain Smart. Great consistent diameter, shipped sealed with desiccant. Some color variation from one shipment to the next, but great material.

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