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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)


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


More to come...


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