Filament Brand Preferences and Resellers

CaptNumbNutz

CaptNumbNutz

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Apr 11, 2007
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What brand filaments do you like to use for each type (PLA, ABS, PETG, etc.) and where do you like to purchase from.

I've read sometimes filament can make or break a print.

Any thoughts? Temperature suggestions for particular brands?
 
Just be sure to stay away from Makergeeks.

Ordered $100 worth of filament from them. They charged my card... I waited a month. Nothing. Tried to contact them, nothing. After 6 weeks, tried contacting them again and finally got an email back saying they were so sorry and that they would immediately send me a refund. Waited another 2 weeks, still nothing. Finally had to dispute the charge with my CC company to get my money back. Seems they are a very hit and miss outfit... in that they hit your credit card, but miss on shipping you anything.

https://www.bbb.org/southwestern-mi...facturing/maker-geeks-in-springfield-mo-45380
https://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/www.makergeeks.com
http://www.tomsguide.com/forum/id-2504424/tomsguide-linking-makergeeks-diy-printer-scam-warning.html
 
I've found that PLA is universally the most reliable and easiest to print with. Great for indoor stuff, but PLA isn’t all that great for anything that is going to be used outside or in a hot environment (like a car) as it will deform quite readily if left out in the sun.

I typically purchase filament from my local Microcenter as they have pretty good prices/selection. Inland, eSun, etc. at anywhere from $12-16 a reel. The brand I like best is HatchBox, but I mostly buy it off of Amazon. I've switched/experimented with PLA, ABS and some Nylon. Also tried PETG, but not very happy with it - either lots of stringing or a really rough texture as I guess I just haven't found the perfect temp for it yet. As for temps in general , I usually go with whatever is towards the middle of the range as to recommendation by the manufacturer (what's on the filament reel's label) and have had good success. Even between brands of the same kind of material, some run a lot hotter or cooler as to recommended temps, so I usually never just use one temp for one kind of material, but move it around depending on label recommendation. I also experiment with very small prints first to dial in the best temp for a given material the first time I am using it.
 
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For PLA I just use Hatchbox because it's cheap and reliable. For ABS I typically use IC3D, but will use Hatchbox if I need to, or if I need to run several early runs to get it right before the final print. I print primarily with abs though.
 
I like eSun for ABS, PC, and Nylon filaments; it's good enough for the stuff I print and sells for a reasonable price. I don't print PLA, and I never got good results with eSun PETG.

For temperature, I usually just stick to the middle of the recommendation for my filament then adjust from there - though I tend to adjust upward for supposedly better layer adhesion.
 
Hatchbox ABS and PETG is great. The trick with PETG is to print very slowly. I've generally had better results with transparent colors instead of opaque, but it's tough for me to accept that the colorant could make such a difference.
 
I'm mostly using PLA, from Materio3D (made in Canada). A sample (1Kg spool) is provided by Voxel Factory when purchasing the Original RepRap Prusa i3 from them. It has been working great so far!
 
Personally I'm a fan of ABS which is a perfect compromise between printability, strength and temperature resistance. Another material with outstanding properties is ASA. It has all the advantages of ABS but is resistant to UV light and surface quality looks just unbelivable. In a couple of years it will became a new standard in the FDM world.
 
Over the past couple of years, I've purchased several brands of PLA, ABS, Nylon, and Copolymer. Hatchbox makes good PLA, but I've had moisture retention which will cause layer adhesion issues if too much is absorbed. Their ABS is worth it though. I use a PEI sheet and get low warping with their materials.

eSun PLA+ has been the most consistent for me, and at $23 a kg off of Amazon, its damn good. I've also tried some of the cheap $10 rolls only to stash it back in the box as it comes out chalky and tends to clog the hot end.
 
I've had good luck with eSun. They're a top tier manufacturer if I recall (meaning, they OEM for a lot of other brands). They aren't too expensive. Stay away from the value brands as they tend to clog more. You may save in the beginning, but you lose in time, maintenance, and failed prints. That's especially true for PLA. I find ABS is a tad more forgiving in that regard if you don't care so much about color and just want to print something, you can usually get away with a cheaper brand in ABS without too much fuss.

Simplify put up a good guide here for comparing filament types:

https://www.simplify3d.com/support/materials-guide/
 
I stopped 3D printing for nearly a year because I ran out of stuff to design/print.

Started a computer upgrade and realized I had some things I needed to print so I took a can of compressed air and blew 8 months of dust off my printers (and could still write my initials in the remaining dirt/dust on the bed) threw on some 2 year old Hatchbox red that's been sucking up humidity for ~11 months, and started printing. First part sounded like Rice Krispies (snap, crackle, pop) but the rest of the parts came out great. Hatchbox for every color except Royal Blue...I've had horrible luck with hatchbox royal blue. Bought some el cheapo eSun royal blue and it works great.
 
notarat said:
I stopped 3D printing for nearly a year because I ran out of stuff to design/print.

Started a computer upgrade and realized I had some things I needed to print so I took a can of compressed air and blew 8 months of dust off my printers (and could still write my initials in the remaining dirt/dust on the bed) threw on some 2 year old Hatchbox red that's been sucking up humidity for ~11 months, and started printing. First part sounded like Rice Krispies (snap, crackle, pop) but the rest of the parts came out great. Hatchbox for every color except Royal Blue...I've had horrible luck with hatchbox royal blue. Bought some el cheapo eSun royal blue and it works great.
Click to expand...
I've actually had nothing but issues with Hatchbox so far. I guess I just need to set aside a couple of hours to figure out the exact settings to print it well. I can print on shit tier cheap filament with no problems though, heh.
 
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