Where are you buying filament these days?

[KevinAllan542]

I heard its you can buy cheaper filament on amazon i mean its a good start to buy it there

[BoozeKashi]

You mean you are going to start posting affiliate links here...

[curious aardvark]

hell as long as that's not all he's doing, why not. At the end of the day, this post is about where to buy filament.
And on that note :-)

I've currently got a new supplier: www.3dexfilament.com
Uk based, decent prices and up to 6-7 rolls on the one postage charge.
The stuff that arrived today is Y&S filament - which I've been looking for, for a couple years, ever since they were giving out mini-spools at tct 2015, I think. Unusually for samples, I've actually used it all up, which says a lot.
Great stuff, but this is the first time I've actually been able to find someone selling it over here :-)

3dexfilament.com also does metallic filaments that use metal as a colourant - it really does look like metal. you get a real shine and glint in sunlight.

Indoors

indoorsaluandcopperfilament_800x419.jpg

In the sun, might be a bit bright for the camera on my tablet - but it really catches the light :-)

copandalufilamentimsun_401x600.jpg

The copper in particular does look exactly like a roll of thick copper wire !
The other one is aluminium. Or Alu-mi-num if you happen to be american ;-)

[DaveB]

MakerGeeks Makes their own filament in the USA and ships direct, so you know who to credit/blame. I am extremely favorably impressed by their Raptor PLA series. The Raptor PLA carries a premium price, but gives excellent results. I love how it prints, and it's much stronger than standard PLA after you heat treat / anneal it. I've also used their standard Maker PLA, Crystal PLA, and ABS filament. The Maker PLA works great, the Crystal PLA turns some really beautiful pieces, and ABS is well, ABS. Iv'e not tried their PETG series.

[KevinAllan542]

Check out our site we have information for filametns and 3d printers see our site here

[LuckyImperial]

I buy PushPlastic since it's the most inexpensive Nature Works PLA I can find.

[BoozeKashi]

DaveB, mind if I ask what time/temp are you using for annealing?

I have discovered 1) my oven temp dial is not accurate. 2) it is easy to make PLA puddles 3) when it does work, it really does increase strength noticeably.

I'm just trying to get more consistent results now

[BoozeKashi]

CA, how do those compare to ColorFabb BronzeFill, or BrassFill, or AluFill? Are they polishable? Do they have the metallic weight and oxidation effects or is it more just a color effect only?

[DaveB]

BoozeKashi: I have a gas oven that poorly regulates temps near 100C, so I have a developed a different approach. I put my finished pieces into a pot of water and boil them for 5 or 10 minutes. For smaller parts, I have even tried using a coffee cup full of water in a microwave oven.

Boiling water has a fixed upper temperature of ~100C. I believe that the steam above the water in a covered pot could be higher than 100C, but that has not caused me any issues so far. The water supports / floats the piece, so any warping at elevated temperatures that might be caused by weight stress during annealing is eliminated. IMO, the parts do seem to warp less often than when I use an oven based annealing process. This does not mean things cannot warp, just that they would do so for different reasons. I've also read that the parts may shrink slightly as the result of being heat annealed. I've not made the measurements to check, but after hundreds of parts it has not caused me any problems (so far).

I wrote and asked Makergeeks for their opinion of my "boiling" approach to annealing and they endorsed it, even posted my enquiry email on their website. I've seen a video that someone else had created that applied this "boiling in water" approach with apparently excellent results.

[wendy]

You can get many kinds of filament in this link
https://he3d.aliexpress.com/store/gr...608.0.0.38w1SY