Filament vendor details

Where does everyone buy their filament?

I just bought 1kg spool of 3mm silver PLA ($42) from OnlineFilament.com. It's is my second spool from them. I finished my first spool in 2 months.
(Update) I am located in Florida, USA. I think (not sure) onlinefilament.com vendor is US based.

Are there any other reliable and inexpensive sources of filament everyone uses?

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/12/2012 01:03PM by peddiparth.

You should really read the other threads before posting. You could have put that post here.

At the moment that thread is two slots below yours on the forum.

---

-Tom

That is probably not the right thread for my question. Thanks for the info though.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/11/2012 11:04PM by peddiparth.

What's your geographical location Peddipath? What's "inexpensive" in the US might not be so in the UK and visa versa (not to mention all the other possible locations)

I am located in Tampa, FL, USA.
Since I could not find any local vendors, I have to get my filament online.

I am hoping that a community created list of reliable filament vendors per region will help everyone

Understood. Our problem then is that shipping costs have to be accounted. It's all well and good to get filament for N dollars per pound, but then one has to add in the shipping.

An example is a set of 5 motors I bought from a vendor in china for a "reasonable cost", but unfortunately, when the dust settled, I realized I'd essentially paid double the cost due to shipping (which was actually slightly more costly than the motors themselves. I would have been better off purchasing higher rated motors from a US distributor who had them in stock than waiting for a month of delivery of motors that ended up with a per unit cost higher than the three (other) 70oz-in motors I bought from a US distributor...(and received within a week of purchase...)

I'm puzzling through the filament issue myself, as well as trying to figure out how to deal with the shoddy tactics of many sellers and manufacturers wrt filament quality and chemical makeup, so I'm in a similar boat.

FWIW, I'm located up near Cleveland, OH. The friend who got me into this runs 1.75mm filament and the stuff he gets from Octave is very nice (They only sell 1.75mm). You might also check out MakerFarm (?Utah?), (?~$39/kg) althoughcan't say anything about their filament quality. They DO have both 1.75 and 3mm filament though, and I'm happy enough with their other products that I will probably end up at least buying my first rolls from them (I have a 3mm extrusion head).

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/12/2012 06:07PM by xiando.

peddiparth, I'm in Naples, FL. Two reliable venders are UltiMachine and Printbl.com .
And you can always get advise from the RepRap IRC chat .

---

__________________________________________________________________________
"I like to be, what I like to see, in you and me.
I am the Stallion, Mang."

ISTAR Scope Club

I received my second PLA filament spool from OnlineFilament.com today in a tattered ziplock bag.
[forums.reprap.org]

Since I live in a humid part of FL, I hope the PLA did not absorb moisture during shipment.

Thanks for the list of other vendors.

Peddipath, you might consider purchasing some bulk desiccant. Although I don't live in FLA, where it's hands down more humid than where I live, It's definitely not a bone dry environment around here, and I bought several pounds from McMaster to keep mine in tiptop shape. Nice thing is, it can be packed into cannisters, (coffee cans with holes drilled in the sides or fancier if you want) the cannisters can easily be re-activated every few weeks by cooking them in an oven, and keeping your filament stock in a closed cabinet with the desiccant will go a long way to retaining best print characteristics. I purchased color changing desiccant to make it easier to know *when to reactivate @$14/lb, I figure it's a solid investment...

Silica gel kitty litter is a great inexpensive desiccant that you can buy in bulk quantities.

The filament I got from OnlineFilament printed fine for the first few prints. But now it has reached a horrible state where filament gets stuck in my brand new Budaschnozzle v1.2 hot-end. I feel embarrassed to post a failed print with this PLA.

I found this other site [www.protoparadigm.com] that was recommended to me by jamesjaz (ebay seller) who sold me Prusa i2 green ABS plastic parts printed with ProtoParadigm filament, that has an amazing finish.
I just ordered 1Kg 3mm silver PLA filament from them for $42 + 13.54 shipping. Fingers crossed.

I get most of my filament from www.protoparadigm.com and have yet to be disappointed. Quality and consistency have been excellent through probably 15-20 pounds of material. They are in Oregon so shipping is cheap and fast if you're out west. They also offer reusable spools now and filament coils that fit them perfectly so I'm not ending up with wasted/worthless empty spools.

Vic Oliver from Diamond Age Solutions There is a USA distributor, check the website out for contact info. I am not associated with the company, I just live in the same city.

Chris NZL: Yeah the printbl.com link I posted above is Vic's stuff. They're out of L.A.

---

__________________________________________________________________________
"I like to be, what I like to see, in you and me.
I am the Stallion, Mang."

ISTAR Scope Club