Best affordable filament?

[polar8]

Hey guys,

Just got my Up Mini 3 days ago and have been printing non-stop. It's a huge step over my previous RepRap.

Anyway, I'm quickly burning through the included 700g ABS roll, and I'd like to find a source of good quality ABS that works with this printer. I've read some things about the PP3DP filament having a higher melting point.

Any suggestions?

[Marcus]

Hello Polar8,
the original stuff seems to work best, as the UP is a bit "picky" regarding constant filament diameter and as you mentioned melting point. Without (hacked) adjustable temperature it can influence the print quality, and if the diameter is too big the nozzle may get clogged.
There are some national vendors in many countries that supply the original pp3dp plastic filament and without import duties/fees it's even a bit cheaper then ordering one or two packs yourself directly.

There have been a few threads about sourcing different plastics (as at the time people wanted different colors and materials);
http://www.pp3dp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=4257

Though what kept me from ordering some place else so far is the reports of fluctuating quality.
You order at shop X in January and everything works, and then in June the filament has a large variance in diameter for example.

If you want to try other filament make sure to search the forum for reports on sources, different extrusion temperature and problems in general.

Good luck!

[roller]

Marcus offered some really great advice. The general quality of 1.75mm filament is improving but if you are considering non genuine filament (ie not made by PP3DP) you need a temperature mod. They are easy to make (search the forums - or re ask if desperate) or you can buy them from places like Octave. With the mod it's easy to get excellent quality prints and removable support from any decent ABS and it will only cost you about 2/3rds the price and tends to be a lot more available.

[polar8]

Thanks for the tips. I went over the Octave's site to check out the temperature mod kits you mentioned, and saw that they sell filament that is supposedly formulated for Afinia / UP printers. Here it is:

http://www.octave.com/3D-Printer-Filame ... index.html

Anyone have experience with this stuff?

[Marcus]

Seems like the OEM stuff
If you order some other ABS, make sure to check for reviews and measure the filament diameter of it to avoid clogging the nozzle.

[roller]

Yup, that's the genuine stuff. That's why it's so expensive (but way cheaper than here) but no temp mod needed.

[ikumajp]

My problem is (besides the blood sucking people here selling the OEM filament for $60 without delivery cost) heww

there's no Glow in the dark (Green or Blue), Temperature color changing fun filament from OEM.
I would buy OEM even if I had a temperature mod if the options were there.

[ftdesigns]

I'm not really a fan of the OEM plastic. It tends to burn and I'll end up with a few dark burn marks in long prints without fail.

My advice is to use a switch to bring temp to 240 degrees and use Octave filament or from filamentsupply.com

[Haha3d]

I recently ordered from Amazon red and blue filaments for about $31+ and was sold by Octave, I had prime so shipping was inclusive, wish filamentsupply can lower it's shipping cost then it's worth buying from them or if they can sell via Amazon .... Any other deals pls do share ....

[NielsJL]

I had thought about ordering the same brand of filament from Amazon too, but then the customer review (especially the ones from the last 6 months). Don't be surprised if you have problems with inconsistencies in the filament thickness and jamming. I hope you don't get these problems, but I just wanted to point out that other folks have reported problems.

I went with filament from Inventables [http://www.inventables.com] (based on my father's advice, he has an UP! Plus 2 as well). It is more pricey at $39 per reel (700g), but it sounds like the quality and consistency is better. Just my $0.02


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Have Blue]

Since PP3DP filament was the best bang-for-the-buck filament I had found for running on my Stratasys, I wonder if Stratasys filament will work well on the Up! printer? A local filament extruder is now offering Sabic MG94 filament, which is the resin that Stratasys sells as P430 and ABS-M30: http://coex3d.com/product/royal-purple- ... -abs-mg94/

No idea if it will run well on the Up! but it may be worth a try.

[Lann]

Since PP3DP filament was the best bang-for-the-buck filament I had found for running on my Stratasys, I wonder if Stratasys filament will work well on the Up! printer? A local filament extruder is now offering Sabic MG94 filament, which is the resin that Stratasys sells as P430 and ABS-M30: http://coex3d.com/product/royal-purple- ... -abs-mg94/

No idea if it will run well on the Up! but it may be worth a try.

For 27 dollar I think is quite cheap but at the moment there is only one color (why purple?). I will definitely try it once white is available. Thanks for sharing.

[Have Blue]

For 27 dollar I think is quite cheap but at the moment there is only one color (why purple?). I will definitely try it once white is available. Thanks for sharing.

Not sure why they went with purple, but they didn't want to have a whole bunch of colors to begin with and risk nobody buying them. If the MG94 sells well, I'm sure they'll add additional colors. I will say, though, the purple looks quote nice - I started running a few test pieces on my Stratasys, and it prints just as well as the MG94 I had custom extruded a few years back.

[wilsonj]

For 27 dollar I think is quite cheap but at the moment there is only one color (why purple?). I will definitely try it once white is available. Thanks for sharing.

Not sure why they went with purple, but they didn't want to have a whole bunch of colors to begin with and risk nobody buying them. If the MG94 sells well, I'm sure they'll add additional colors. I will say, though, the purple looks quote nice - I started running a few test pieces on my Stratasys, and it prints just as well as the MG94 I had custom extruded a few years back.

Given that white and black are the most popular colours, purple just seems weird. Just saying..

[ggeezer]

Low cost filament...how about free!

My friend's company has a Stratasys Dimension printer that uses the same diameter filament as my Afinia (re-branded Up). The filament prints fine on my Afinia although it's extrusion temp range is lower than the Afinia premium filament and more like their economy brand. I use a cheater switch to lower the temp. for this filament.

Now what's this about free filament? Well, those horribly expensive cartridges of filament supplied Stratasys usually still contain from 50 to 100 grams of filament when the machine says it is time to change cartridges. This filament is usually discarded along with the empty cartridge. The surplus filament can be pulled out and used on these low cost printers. I get this stuff for free since it would just go into recycling. So if there are Stratasys owners in your area, check with them, they might be happy to let you have the left-over filament.

[DrewPetitclerc]

Hi All,

Thought it was time to begin to offer some of my experiences with all the different plastics I use on my "UP Plus Pro", my printer has mechanical mods to the extruder to adapt to filament size issues, a temperature mod/upgrade that allows me to change the temp and an air supply injection to cool the extruder gear to prevent pre-softening/strip-outs to get the best quality out of all the plastics I use, I print on standard float glass (picture frame) coated with washable glue stick.
I purchased my personal printer back in February of 2011.
I currently personally have purchased 65 spools of plastic from 10 suppliers.
My office/day job has 4 printers, all modded to match my home printer to support over 100 engineers/designers.

I'm going to use a simple 1 to 5 grade, low to high, for different categories, all ratings are a comparison to the original OEM ABS plastic, http://www.pp3dp.com/index.php?page=sho ... &Itemid=37.
I will also list the temp I use on each and if air cooling was needed.

a. extrusion issues (low=clogs, pre-soften, High=no issues)
b. surface quality (low=rough, High=smooth)
c. support removal (low=grinder/chisel, High=easy snap)
d. cost per gram (low=high cost compared to OEM, High=low cost compared to OEM)
e. temp level + air on or off

I will post follow ups one at a time, one supplier at a time, so watch for more.

Regards
Drew

[awan2008]

Hi Drew,
Any good news on your rating execution? I think it will be very useful for all of us. I tried different filaments, but so far, only OEM and Octave filaments fits my UP Plus 2 (without temperature mods at all).