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Material Comparisons

We live in a fantastic world to have literally hundreds of colors available in dozens of different materials for hobby 3D printing

TPU "Thermoplastic PolyUrethane", TPE "ThermoPlastic Elastomer", Flexible-PLA, etc.

  • Softest material straight from a filament printer
    • Has more in common with rubber than plastic
  • Best impact resistance
  • Adequate temperature resistance
    • Innate flexibility allows its use well above the glass transition temperature
  • Moisture
    • TPU and TPE filaments MUST be dry!
    • Moist filament has horrible print quality
    • Weaknesses are created in each layer by Steam bubbles
  • Uses
    • Anything that needs to be flexible or survive regular & significant impacts
    • If the low temp and flexibility aren't problems, this can be used in place of many other plastics
  • Issues
    • Flexibility, stretch, compression, etc. are REAL problems for some extruder styles
      • Bowden systems can usually deal down to 95a shore hardness materials if printed SUPER S L O W
      • Multi-Material systems can RARELY deal with 95a materials (MMU, Palette, AMS, etc.)
  • My Opinions
    • Medium to poor aesthetic print quality when compared to other filament materials
    • Printing flexible materials can offer many new possibilities for home 3D printers
      • Rubber mallet, corner bumpers, cane tips, protective cases, etc.

ABS "Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene"

  • Requires higher temperature "All Metal" hot end
  • Negative issues
    • Warping - Ambient closer to Tg helps
    • Possible layer delamination- Ambient closer to Tg helps
    • Noxious off-gassing - Enclosed printing with internal carbon filter or after-print venting helps
  • Prefers enclosure/print chamber to be kept around half it's glass transition point (~50c)
  • Any plastic containing Styrene stinks when printing and reacts with Acetone
  • Post-processing

    • Can be Vapor Smoothed using Acetone for glassy smooth prints

    • Sands nicely by machine if kept cool, sanding by hand can be dusty
      • Recommend wet sanding when possible
    • Painting protects the plastic from UV deterioration and fills in layer lines
  • My Opinions
    • Mostly seal a 3d printer into an enclosure to keep both Heat and Stink inside while printing
    • Thin nylon photography tents might be OK if the room is already REALLY warm but they loose heat quickly
    • Thin plastic sheeting works better than nylon but suffers from poor insulation qualities if ambient temp is cool
    • Large cardboard box worked great but I didn't like unfolding the flaps to touch printer each time
    • IKEA LACK table with foam-core craft board walls/door made for excellent insulation


ASA "Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate"

  • Requires higher temperature "All Metal" hot end
    • Negative issues
      Warping - Ambient closer to Tg helps
      Possible layer delamination- Ambient closer to Tg helps
      Noxious off-gassing - Enclosed printing with internal carbon filter or after-print venting helps
  • Prefers enclosure/print chamber to be kept around half it's glass transition point (~50c)
  • Any plastic containing Styrene stinks when printing and reacts with Acetone
  • Post-processing

    • Can be Vapor Smoothed using Acetone for glassy smooth prints

    • Sands nicely by machine if kept cool, sanding by hand can be dusty
      • Recommend wet sanding when possible
    • Painting protects the plastic from UV deterioration and fills in layer lines
  • My Opinions
    • Mostly seal a 3d printer into an enclosure to keep both Heat and Stink inside while printing
    • Thin nylon photography tents might be OK if the room is already REALLY warm but they loose heat quickly
    • Thin plastic sheeting works better than nylon but suffers from poor insulation qualities if ambient temp is cool
    • Large cardboard box worked great but I didn't like unfolding the flaps to touch printer each time
    • IKEA LACK table with foam-core craft board walls/door made for excellent insulation


PLA "PolyLactic Acid", PLA+, PLA-Pro, etc.

  • Stiffest material
    • Generally bends less easily than other materials
  • Hardest material
    • Resists deformation by a pointy thing better than most (at least to start with...)
  • Very poor temperature resistance
    • Prints left in a hot car will likely deform
  • Very poor impact resistance
    • PLA Hammer + Nail = Plastic Shrapnel
  • Very poor creep resistance
    • PLA shelf bracket + (insert time) = Shelf on floor
    • I use PLA for a ton of things, but when it MUST hold weight, I use PC or PA depending on impact requirement
  • "+" and "Pro" modifiers vary wildly between manufacturers
    • Test EVERY new material; Make no assumptions about the modifiers or their expected properties
  • Deterioration
    • Increased stringing with more moisture typically, but usually very mild compared to PETG, TPU, etc.
    • Embrittlement with extended moisture or Ultraviolet light exposure
      • These traits seem to follow the base material rather than the additives or colorants
      • Some transparent, translucent, or silk filaments seemed to be significantly less affected
  • Post-processing
    • Sanding PLA is SLOW! - If sanded too briskly the dust melts back onto the part, ruining the surface
    • 3D Gloop is the only "consumer accessible" smoothing agent for PLA - Industrial chemicals are available
    • Painting protects the plastic from UV deterioration and fills in layer lines
      • Lighter colors absorb less heat
      • Glossy finishes absorb less heat
  • Uses
    • Anything that will live inside a home (No UV and low heat)
    • No large physical stresses placed upon it (Creeping over time)
  • Known Exceptions (to the normal rules)
  • My Opinions
    • Best for aesthetic print quality
    • Seems to "creep" under any significant stresses
    • Favorite material for prototyping $$$ (prototypes become finished products when they work the first time)

PVB (PolyVinylButaral)

  • Printability is VERY similar in detail and off-the-printer surface quality and detail representation to PETG.  Seems to also have similar susceptibility to taking in moisture prior to printing, and therefore needs to be dried at <45c for 12+ hours.
  • Temperature response being ~50cTg leaves it down with PLA in terms of usability in hot environments.
  • "Vapor smoothing" can be done to some parts by simply hosing the part down with isopropyl alcohol, shaking off the excess and setting the part out to dry, produces very acceptable results.
  • Transparency can only be achieved using a single wall vase mode print, unless I'm willing to jump through lots of hoops in slicing.
  • Vase mode is ideal since it guarantees a single wall that I have access to BOTH sides of with alcohol.
  • Post Processing for Transparency
    • Inside of "vasemode" part
      • Heavily spray/mist/dip the part in isopropyl alcohol
      • After ~30 seconds of alcohol exposure
        • Dump out, shake off, and/or blow the excess alcohol from the part 
      • Set the part on it's base for a couple minutes to "melt"
      • Heavily spray/mist/dip the part in isopropyl alcohol
      • After ~30 seconds of alcohol exposure
        • Dump out/shake/blow off the excess alcohol from the part 
      • Make certain that all "puddles" have been minimized
    • Outside of "vasemode" part
      • Heavily spray/mist/dip the part in isopropyl alcohol
      • After ~30 seconds of alcohol exposure
        • Dump out, shake off, and/or blow the excess alcohol from the part 
      • Set the part on it's base for a couple minutes to "melt"
      • Heavily spray/mist/dip the part in isopropyl alcohol
      • After ~30 seconds of alcohol exposure
        • Dump out/shake/blow off the excess alcohol from the part 
      • Make certain that all "puddles" have been minimized
    • Set the part aside for a couple hours to dry
      • Will be "floppy" for a few days
      • May take a couple weeks to fully harden, depending upon environment
  • My Opinions
    • Fantastic for "Glass" reproduction using 3D printing
    • Takes FOREVER to completely harden back to original stiffness after smoothing with alcohol

PETG, PETG+, PETG-Pro, etc.

  • Prints on most printers capable of PLA
  • Adequate temperature resistance

PC

  • Requires higher temperature "All Metal" hot end


PP

  • Requires higher temperature "All Metal" hot end


PA, Nylon, etc.

  • Requires higher temperature "All Metal" hot end


PE

  • Requires higher temperature "All Metal" hot end

PVB (PolyVinylButaral)

  • Printability is VERY similar in detail and off-the-printer surface quality and detail representation to PETG.  Seems to also have similar susceptibility to taking in moisture prior to printing, and therefore needs to be dried at <40c for 12+ hours.
  • Temperature response being ~50cTg leaves it down with PLA in terms of usability in hot environments.
  • "Vapor smoothing" can be done to some parts by simply hosing the part down with isopropyl alcohol, shaking off the excess and setting the part out to dry, produces very acceptable results.
  • Transparency can only be achieved using a single wall vase mode print, unless I'm willing to jump through lots of hoops in slicing.
  • Vase mode is ideal since it guarantees a single wall that I have access to BOTH sides of.
Post Processing
  • Heavily spray or dip the part in isopropyl alcohol
  • Dump out, shake off, and/or blow the excess alcohol from the part
  • Set the part on it's base for a couple minutes to "melt"
  • Heavily spray or dip the part in isopropyl alcohol
  • Dump out, shake off, and/or blow the excess alcohol from the part
  • Make certain that all "puddles" have been minimized
  • Set the part on it's base for at least 24 hours to dry, but may continue to dry over the next week


More to come...


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