Printing Flex Filament with the Flashforge

[curious aardvark]

Well I've finished this first flexible filament experiment.

So to rate the filaments in 4 categories.

1) cost
2) ease of use
3) toughness
4) stretchiness

So in no particular order.

Easy flex:
1) very cheap,
2) Very hard to print with,
3) weak. Printed parts just fall to bits
4) no real stretchiness - NOT RECOMMENDED FOR ANYTHING
I had hopes for this stuff - it's the only one I could have afforded for larger projects. But it's just useless in every category except cost.

Polymakr polyflex flexible pla:
1) Very Expensive - particularly if you live outside america,
2) A real joy to print with, hands down the most user friendly of the batch, prints just like normal pla.
3) Super tough, you can't imagine this stuff ever wearing out,
4) little stretch but enough for super tight push fittings. - BRILLIANT STUFF, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - JUST WISH I COULD AFFORD IT

Ninjaflex:
1) expensive,
2) prints with tensioner wedged, can be a sod to load but once loaded works great.
3) very tough,
4) super stretchy, but thicker parts are more like a hard rubber. - GOOD STUFF, CAN BE TRICKY TO GET PRINTING, BUT ONCE YOU DO IT WORKS WELL.

FilaFlex:
1) Less expensive than ninjaflex - In fact just found it here at almost half the price of ninjaflex
2) Very easy to use, no modifications needed, Just load and print. Cold bed, nozzle 240
3) super tough
4) stretcy but not quite as stretchy as ninjaflex - not a bad thing - I LOVE THIS STUFF. GIVEN THE CHOICE I'D TAKE THIS OVER NINJAFLEX EVERY TIME.

So that's my first flexible filament test. I'm hoping there'll be a whole new set come the next tct show in september, and in the meantime the cost of these will - hopefully - drop.

The next interesting thing, will be how the slinging world reacts to a 3d printed rubber pouch.
I'm off to the second international slinger meeting in mallorca in a couple of weeks and I'll be taking a selection of hi-tech printed sling pouches with me.
Given that the balearic slingers only use traditional braided slings made from natural materials and leather. It could be an interesting few days :-)

Anytime I find a new flexible filament, I'll print a pouch out and add it to this list.