Hey guys, I got my printrbot a while ago, and I decided to test out some weed wacker line from ACE hardware. I am pretty sure it is NYLON, but it could also be polypropylene. Not really sure since I am extruding it at 225 C. [www.acehardware.com] It was around 5 bucks for a spool. Not sure how much it is compared to ABS, but it doesn't matter since I will be buying it in bulk for much cheaper here: [www.amazon.com] This is around 3 times less than ABS! Anyways, I know you guys want some pictures of prints so those are attached. The box is a little warped on the corners, but not bad. I have the heated bed at 100 C right now so that might need to increase. Not sure how high my bed can go... As for the setup, The 0.105 inch trimmer line works fine with the 3mm extruder. (It comes out to be around 2.65 mm). I am using Pronterface with Slic3r, using a heated bed with blue tape on it. Really nothing special about the setup. There are some screenshots attached of the settings I used for the best results (so far). Haven't tweaked the bridging settings yet, as you can see by the pic. Here are some unusual things about the trimmer line. 1. The plastic is extremely stringy. If the nozzle starts dragging or extruding too much, there will be little hairs everywhere. Keep your nozzle clean. 2. See the guide I made a while ago here: [reprap.org] In fact I am pretty sure that drying it will prevent the nylon will prevent it from emitting the fumes, which are the bubbles in the stream. I don't know if this specific line is nylon, but I dried it anyways. 3. This stuff is way more flexible than ABS, and also stronger I think. If anyone could tell me what plastic it is or how to tell what kind it is, that would be great. I want to find out before I go buy a 3 lb spool of nylon trimmer line. By the way, if you haven't seen it already, here is a guy who did NYLON: [www.instructables.com] https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,141946#msg-141946 Sat, 13 Jun 2026 20:14:17 -0400 Phorum 5.2.23 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,143636#msg-143636 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,143636#msg-143636 It acts exactly like the last stuff I had.
It oozes like crazy, and warps quite a bit, but other than that it seems to be fine! I am going to get another nozzle with a longer orifice to fix the ooze, and get some perfboard to stop the warping. Maybe whatever is mixed with the nylon makes it melt at a lower temperature? I really don't understand, but hey, it works!

Here is the link to the trimmer line i bought:

[www.amazon.com]]]> galaxyman7 General Thu, 19 Jul 2012 19:55:16 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,143618#msg-143618 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,143618#msg-143618 Anyways, do you think it would even be possible to extrude plastic at 250 C? Would the force required be too great?]]> galaxyman7 General Thu, 19 Jul 2012 19:01:10 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,143543#msg-143543 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,143543#msg-143543 nophead General Thu, 19 Jul 2012 04:20:16 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,143530#msg-143530 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,143530#msg-143530
In his instructable he said "There are of course differences in how we print with NYLON as opposed to ABS. One of the main differences, is that we will "melt" ABS, PLA and PET but we will "cold extrude" Nylon, Nylon polymers, Acrylic and polycarbonate. "

So this is an average temperature of around 172 C, well below the melting point. With a heated chamber at 100 C, you should be able to print at around 250 C and get the same temperature average. The force to extrude, like he said, would be much greater though.]]> galaxyman7 General Thu, 19 Jul 2012 01:39:46 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,143523#msg-143523 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,143523#msg-143523 galaxyman7 General Thu, 19 Jul 2012 00:29:15 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,143522#msg-143522 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,143522#msg-143522
Another option:
I was also going to make a heated chamber for it anyways, but I am not sure how hot that can get. I guess if I get it up to 190 C Then I could actually stay in the range of the melting temperature without having to get above the breakdown temp @ 300 C. It would also keep my PEEK hotend from melting and save energy by keeping the heat in. Anyone know if I can get that hot, using a turkey bag type heated chamber? Seems like it should be able to do it considering ovens can get up to 260 C. I could possibly line the inside of the turkey bag with aluminum foil to reduce heat loss. Maybe use a hair dryer to heat it up?

It could also be a combination of these two, since the PEEK insulator is outside the heated chamber.

If anyone has experience with printing in these very high temperatures, that would be awesome. By the way, only the build will be exposed to 190 C. The motors and all the plastic parts will be outside the heated chamber.]]> galaxyman7 General Thu, 19 Jul 2012 00:25:43 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,143301#msg-143301 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,143301#msg-143301
Arcol V4 is a great hot-end if you want to go hot. 300 C is no problem at all.]]> ttsalo General Tue, 17 Jul 2012 14:04:57 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,143211#msg-143211 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,143211#msg-143211 nophead General Tue, 17 Jul 2012 03:33:16 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,143162#msg-143162 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,143162#msg-143162 galaxyman7 General Mon, 16 Jul 2012 21:54:20 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,142915#msg-142915 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,142915#msg-142915
1) To reduce the viscosity enough .
2) To get it to weld to the object being constructed. My understanding is the average of the the object temperature and the nozzle temperature (i.e. the interface temperature) has to be above the melt point for a successful weld.

PLA is a bit of an exception because it viscosity falls very rapidly above the melt point and its low glass transitions seems to allow it to bond at lower temperatures.

If you can extrude it at only 220C, and it bonds to itself, my thoughts are it isn't nylon 6 as described in that MSDS. Does it actually start to melt at a lower temperature?

Perhaps you can identify it with a burn test like this one: [www.boedeker.com]. Does it float on water?]]> nophead General Sun, 15 Jul 2012 11:50:27 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,142829#msg-142829 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,142829#msg-142829
[www.sidepinchclamp.com]

It says that nylon emits HCn at 300 C. I am extruding it at only 220 C. I don't even think my extruder can get up to 300 C. So I think its perfectly safe to print.]]> galaxyman7 General Sat, 14 Jul 2012 20:35:39 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,142639#msg-142639 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,142639#msg-142639 Buback General Fri, 13 Jul 2012 11:27:48 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,142483#msg-142483 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,142483#msg-142483 james glanville General Thu, 12 Jul 2012 14:54:01 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,142188#msg-142188 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,142188#msg-142188 galaxyman7 General Wed, 11 Jul 2012 03:46:33 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,141954#msg-141954 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,141954#msg-141954
Also, I would not experiment with extruding nylon unless you have a fume hood.]]> NewPerfection General Mon, 09 Jul 2012 23:03:10 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,141948#msg-141948 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,141948#msg-141948 Sublime General Mon, 09 Jul 2012 22:42:30 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,141946#msg-141946 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,141946,141946#msg-141946
[www.acehardware.com]

It was around 5 bucks for a spool. Not sure how much it is compared to ABS, but it doesn't matter since I will be buying it in bulk for much cheaper here:

[www.amazon.com]

This is around 3 times less than ABS! Anyways, I know you guys want some pictures of prints so those are attached. The box is a little warped on the corners, but not bad. I have the heated bed at 100 C right now so that might need to increase. Not sure how high my bed can go...

As for the setup, The 0.105 inch trimmer line works fine with the 3mm extruder. (It comes out to be around 2.65 mm). I am using Pronterface with Slic3r, using a heated bed with blue tape on it. Really nothing special about the setup. There are some screenshots attached of the settings I used for the best results (so far). Haven't tweaked the bridging settings yet, as you can see by the pic.

Here are some unusual things about the trimmer line.

1. The plastic is extremely stringy. If the nozzle starts dragging or extruding too much, there will be little hairs everywhere. Keep your nozzle clean.

2. See the guide I made a while ago here:
[reprap.org]
In fact I am pretty sure that drying it will prevent the nylon will prevent it from emitting the fumes, which are the bubbles in the stream. I don't know if this specific line is nylon, but I dried it anyways.

3. This stuff is way more flexible than ABS, and also stronger I think.

If anyone could tell me what plastic it is or how to tell what kind it is, that would be great. I want to find out before I go buy a 3 lb spool of nylon trimmer line.

By the way, if you haven't seen it already, here is a guy who did NYLON:
[www.instructables.com]]]> galaxyman7 General Mon, 09 Jul 2012 22:36:05 -0400