Other filament?

[Kram]

I did type out a post but I've lost it so just a quick one... I've got a reasonable amount of PLA and PETG to play with, ordered a TPU and some ABS but would like to try others. They all seem to be priced very high! Where do you get the better filaments?

On that note, Amazon have a "hauliday" thing at the moment, yesterday gave a tenner off, spend 15 for free delivery (prime doesnt work). Today £11 off..
I ordered another patterned build plate for £3, a roll of tpu and abs came to £6 each, with d
elivery thurs/friday.

 

[Screwdriver]

Just for fun get some luminescent PLA.



For science, get some bone coloured PLA for doing bones! Sounds obvious but it took me a few rolls to find one that didn't just look like yellow plastic...



PS that's a Gaboon viper skull. The fangs are tucked in under the cheekbone and printed at the correct scale, about 2 inches long! It delivers the largest volume of venom per bite of any snake which is an important fact for any 6 year old...

 

[Kram]

@MattF since you appear to have the most printers, what filament do you use?
Also @My Old Landy ,@Onoff , @Dr.Al

 

[Dr.Al]

I pretty much exclusively use PETG at the moment. I've never really felt the need for anything else. At some point I'll probably get round to trying TPU and ABS/ASA but I don't see them as being things I'll use often enough to worry unduly about the cost.

Most of the PETG I've used has been this stuff: it's fairly cheap and I'll like the matt finish. The colour's okay, but I'm honestly not that fussy about colour really. For stuff where I want it to look good, I fork out for the Prusament Galaxy Black, which is about twice the price but looks lovely.

I've recently bought a load of Bambu filament because they are offering big discounts if you buy a lot (£10.26 a reel for 10 refill reels of PETG or ABS or even cheaper if you buy more).

There are all sorts of more expensive types of filament, but I haven't come across a situation where I think I'd need them. PETG just works.

 

[MattF]

@MattF since you appear to have the most printers, what filament do you use?
Also @My Old Landy ,@Onoff , @Dr.Al

I generally just use PETG. Sunlu is my filament of choice, though I will use other brands occasionally.

I've always found Sunlu the most consistent in quality, & well spooled so no tangling on the roll etc.

 

[My Old Landy]

Sunlu petg for me too. Very little pla these days.
I use Bambu abs on the odd occasion.

 

[Onoff]

@MattF since you appear to have the most printers, what filament do you use?
Also @My Old Landy ,@Onoff , @Dr.Al

Mainly PETG. Used to use Ziro which was cheap and just worked. Colours became limited. Then Geeetech. So it varies.

If you use Bambu filament on the X1C (not sure ref the PS2) then the reels have an RFID chip in or something. Means the printer just knows what it is and automatically adjusts the parameters.

However Bambu is marketed as high flow rate so needs drying first.

Creality refills fit the Bambu spools...

 

[awemawson]

I pretty much exclusively use PETG at the moment. I've never really felt the need for anything else. At some point I'll probably get round to trying TPU and ABS/ASA but I don't see them as being things I'll use often enough to worry unduly about the cost.

Most of the PETG I've used has been this stuff: it's fairly cheap and I'll like the matt finish. The colour's okay, but I'm honestly not that fussy about colour really. For stuff where I want it to look good, I fork out for the Prusament Galaxy Black, which is about twice the price but looks lovely.

I've recently bought a load of Bambu filament because they are offering big discounts if you buy a lot (£10.26 a reel for 10 refill reels of PETG or ABS or even cheaper if you buy more).

There are all sorts of more expensive types of filament, but I haven't come across a situation where I think I'd need them. PETG just works.

That linked stuff seems very reasonable. How WIDE are the spools? I've a Bambu Labs PS1 Combo in transit to me and I understand that the reel handler AMS accepts widths from 50-68 mm. Looking at my existing stock of filaments several are wider than the upper limit. The spool width is a parameter that suppliers don't seem to quote!

 

[Dr.Al]

That linked stuff seems very reasonable. How WIDE are the spools? I've a Bambu Labs PS1 Combo in transit to me and I understand that the reel handler AMS accepts widths from 50-68 mm. Looking at my existing stock of filaments several are wider than the upper limit. The spool width is a parameter that suppliers don't seem to quote!

On the basis of a sample of two (one empty and one full), they're 64 mm wide (assuming you mean the amazon ones).

 

[awemawson]

Yes those are the ones AND they'll fit - thanks.

You'd think it would be a standardised dimension by now.

 

[Kram]

Most of the PETG I've used has been this stuff: it's fairly cheap and I'll like the matt finish.

Good to know, my open spool of petg is from them as well as a red abs, which seems to have disapeared from their shop now. Only dislike with the red, its a bit pale, not pink but its far from being a strong red.

Yes those are the ones AND they'll fit - thanks.

You'd think it would be a standardised dimension by now.

I can confirm they fit the AMS2.

I can also confirm that if you rewind a spool, particually the fancy self printed ones with lots of holes, they can spread to the point that they wont fit. 68-70mm seems about the upper limit.

Esun PLA appears good enoughfor PLA. I have been using their 3kg red but the yellow slightly cheaper.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/eSUN-Filament-Enhanced-Toughness-Dimensional/dp/B0D4YX77W3

 

[Kram]

Anyone tried PET, without the glycol modifier?

I saw some listings for Esun PET on amazon, it is said to have higher temp resistance and some other improved properties, with the disadvantage of needing similar temperatures to ABS, 265-280c nozzle. However it doesnt appear to have noticable fumes or smell and can be printed on open printers like the A1. Reviews appear to be good. Its a bit more stringy.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DP4KYBDF

This video suggests it has some modifiers, so perhaps is PETG with much less G than normal

My first print went ok however Bambu doesnt appear to have a setting for it on the printer. The closest I could find was under Bambu's PET-CF, however it refuses to print with that through the AMS2, perhaps as CF can make filament brittle?
So for my test had to use it external, which is a pain (loading and unloading are not automatic). It seems to have very low moisture absorbsion so might be ok to leave external, but for now I'm not going to risk it.

I've ordered another 3 spools.. 4kg for roughtly £28, should last me a while..

 

[MattH]

Anyone tried PET, without the glycol modifier?

I saw some listings for Esun PET on amazon, it is said to have higher temp resistance and some other improved properties, with the disadvantage of needing similar temperatures to ABS, 265-280c nozzle. However it doesnt appear to have noticable fumes or smell and can be printed on open printers like the A1. Reviews appear to be good. Its a bit more stringy.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DP4KYBDF

This video suggests it has some modifiers, so perhaps is PETG with much less G than normal

My first print went ok however Bambu doesnt appear to have a setting for it on the printer. The closest I could find was under Bambu's PET-CF, however it refuses to print with that through the AMS2, perhaps as CF can make filament brittle?
So for my test had to use it external, which is a pain (loading and unloading are not automatic). It seems to have very low moisture absorbsion so might be ok to leave external, but for now I'm not going to risk it.

I've ordered another 3 spools.. 4kg for roughtly £28, should last me a while..

I just received a couple of kgs of white PET today, at £6 a roll it’s a no brainier to use it for prototyping etc.
I haven’t tried it yet, are you sure you couldn’t override the warning? I had a warning when trying to print PETG-CF through the HT-AMS but I just hit print anyway and had no issues (most people report zero issues).

 

[Kram]

On the AMS page, pressing the save button with pet-cf did nothing until I changed it to something else.
Tried it on Studio

I then attempted to edit or make a profile and gave up for now. On the Bambu forum somone said profiles can be downloaded from Esun's website, to import, so I will try that.

 

[m_c]

PET-CF not AMS Compatible?

Thanks for that - however PETG-CF, PA-CF, PLA-CF, etc are all abrasive as well… yet they OK to use in the AMS. So is it the brittle nature?.. What is “so unique” about the PET-CF material that makes it different and specifically not compatible with AMS?

forum.bambulab.com

Appears PET-CF has retraction issues, so Bambu must block the AMS from using it.