Filament Recommendations and Reviews

[Serena]

I would really love to hear what filament you guys are using in your FlashForge printers. I know we have some earlier threads on this but they get dated pretty quick as new filament makes and types come and go. I'm having some trouble finding a source of consistently good filament. A few issues I've had:

• Filament isn't consistent in diameter or quality thus causing lumpy extrusion or clogged nozzles.
  
• Filament spool is wound so tight that it gets itself jammed between itself and the spool causing the print to stop (is this a preventable issue? Is is more likely with cardboard spools vs plastic?)
  
• Filament is wound too loosely without enough tension that is tangles itself and breaks off, ruining the print (This happened to me last night at the end of a 12 hour print. Discovered when I woke up this morning. )
  
• Filament extrudes fine and print looks good but handling it shows that the layers break apart and didn't fuse together. Anyone had this happen? I'm assuming its the filament because the same part in another filament is fine. Like you can literally peel apart some of the layers. Really weird.

Here's what I've used with links:

The two rolls of filament that came with my Flashforge which all worked great

Sainsmart brand ABS from Amazon: In the $30 range- Ordered four rolls of this over last few months and it's been great. Red, Blue and White and Silver (which is really grey) However the last roll I opened is the one that tangled and ruined my print last night. Again, not sure if this is preventable or even the fault of the manufacturer. But I have liked the filament and haven't had any issues with diameter or clogging.

Ordered ABS from this ebay store:In the $20 range in white and coffee- this was the one that extruded fine and looked great but fell apart easily. The prints I made that don't need to be handled or glued together are fine. Again, not sure if this is due to the filament quality. Also the coffee color is really pretty.

RioRand PLA in Sky Blue from Amazon- around $30- this has been great. Love the color. Thinking of trying their ABS next time.

I'd love to hear what has worked for you and where you purchased it. Maybe if we can collaborate on reviews and help promote good filament it will help us all get better prints.



((***Also if you are a supplier or distributor of filament please don't post asking us to buy from you. That's not the purpose of this thread. ))

[Bassna]

The 2 roll's I got with flashforge worked pretty good. I am not fond of the size of the actual spool though, it's quite big.

I've ordered about 5 spools from Hatchbox since then. The price is cheap, most of the color's have Amazon prime free 2 day shipping (if you have Amazon prime) and I have had no problem's really!

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_in...&node=16310091

[mikenmel08]

Lately all of my filament has been coming from www.makergeeks.com Both PLA and ABS print great, and they stand behind what they sell....Ive had one roll that the color just wasn't what i thought it should be...1 email later had a new roll on the way and was told to give the roll i didn't like to a friend to use up.....Very good customer service from what i have experienced , and that wins my loyalty.......

[Geoff]

Too many sources to list honestly, I have probably used 50+ suppliers now and can't say any of them out-do the other - they all have their pitfalls but will agree with mike above, makergeeks support is pretty top notch.

[xldyelx]

Hatchbox all the way!

[Serena]

Hatchbox and Makergeeks- check! I've looked at makergeeks site before... their prices really aren't too bad. Hatchbox is one of those that is so cheap that I was afraid to try it. That is good to know. Hopefully people will keep their recommendations and sources coming- it's bound to help others. We all need filament.

My next purchase it to try some of the transparent PLA. The prints that I've seen look great with it. There's so much I want to try! Sigh..... I need another printer. And no life responsibilities to interfere with printing.

[xldyelx]

Yeah I have 9 spools of Hatchbox and I swear by them. Amazon has them on Prime...cannot beat that lol

I want to try T Glase soon, they have amazing transparent filaments apparently

[DrUsual]

The 2 roll's I got with flashforge worked pretty good. I am not fond of the size of the actual spool though, it's quite big.

I've ordered about 5 spools from Hatchbox since then. The price is cheap, most of the color's have Amazon prime free 2 day shipping (if you have Amazon prime) and I have had no problem's really!

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_in...&node=16310091

I've gotten a bunch of both ABS and PLA from Hatchbox, including some of the more "specialty" filaments, like glow in the dark, transparent, gold, and a bronze-ish color. I buy them through Amazon; with Prime they're $26/roll, free two day shipping. All of them have worked great with my Dreamer. They don't fit on the internal spool reels, but I just bought $10 worth of pipe fittings from Home Depot and built a spool mount that sits behind the Dreamer.

I looked briefly at a site called Cheap3DFilaments or something like that, but I didn't see anything at a better price than what I've gotten from Hatchbox.

[Bassna]

I've gotten a bunch of both ABS and PLA from Hatchbox, including some of the more "specialty" filaments, like glow in the dark, transparent, gold, and a bronze-ish color. I buy them through Amazon; with Prime they're $26/roll, free two day shipping. All of them have worked great with my Dreamer. They don't fit on the internal spool reels, but I just bought $10 worth of pipe fittings from Home Depot and built a spool mount that sits behind the Dreamer.

I looked briefly at a site called Cheap3DFilaments or something like that, but I didn't see anything at a better price than what I've gotten from Hatchbox.

Yep, I plan on buying some specialty filament's through a few other company's but I think I will stick with Hatchbox for my normal color's and such. I also got their glow in the dark, love it! Some of the price's are even around $20-22 for a spool, with free 2 day shipping with Prime.

[catalyst]

My local Microcenter carries inland brand for $15 per roll. Seems to be working OK so far.