Desirable Filament Properties

Hi All,

I am currently working on the manufacture of filaments for FDM type rapid prototypers/3D Printers with the company I work for. And I am also most of the way through building my own Prusa Mendel.

What I Would like to find out is, what are the most desirable properties of the filaments that are being used to print 3D objects, specifically for Reprappers/opensource 3D printer people. I have a material science background and do a lot of polymer processing as part of my job, so I know what can be achieved, but it is a question of what people would find most useful.

Here are some questions to get things started:

Is ABS or PLA more popular/ in greater demand?
Is more viscous or less viscous better?
Higher or lower melting temperatures?
Is there any other material that you would want to be able to buy spools of?
What type of filament do you think would be great but isn't currently easy to source/available at all?
Is there any interest in functional plastic filaments such as conductive ones? (not metal conductive, more in the sensor range of conductivities)
Is there a preferred filament diameter? (I know that 1.75mm and 3mm are fairly standard, but would you like to see others or stick with these?)

Any other input is much appreciated.

I should explain that this is aimed mainly at the UK as I work for a London based company. If there is interest then we could easily be a local uk supplier of filaments made in house and aimed at reprappers specs.

Thanks very much

Lambda25 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi All,
>
> I am currently working on the manufacture of
> filaments for FDM type rapid prototypers/3D
> Printers with the company I work for. And I am
> also most of the way through building my own Prusa
> Mendel.
>
> What I Would like to find out is, what are the
> most desirable properties of the filaments that
> are being used to print 3D objects, specifically
> for Reprappers/opensource 3D printer people. I
> have a material science background and do a lot of
> polymer processing as part of my job, so I know
> what can be achieved, but it is a question of what
> people would find most useful.
>
> Here are some questions to get things started:
>

For me consistent diameter is very important. I need it 3.0mm +/-0.1mm, preferable better.

> Is ABS or PLA more popular/ in greater demand?

I use more ABS because I mainly print repraps and PLA doesn't handle the extruder and motor temperatures well because of its low Tg.

> Is more viscous or less viscous better?

Less viscous allows faster extrusion.


> Higher or lower melting temperatures?
Doesn't matter much as long as it will weld to itself at a temperature below the point it decomposes. PMMA is tricky in that respect and will only weld to itself on a heated bed.

> Is there any other material that you would want to
> be able to buy spools of?

PMMA (would need to be 1.75 to be able to coil it I think).


> What type of filament do you think would be great
> but isn't currently easy to source/available at
> all?

HIPS for break away support material, possibly soluble with limonene.

> Is there any interest in functional plastic
> filaments such as conductive ones? (not metal
> conductive, more in the sensor range of
> conductivities)

Yes for printable resistors, etc, but fully conductive would be much more interesting.

> Is there a preferred filament diameter? (I know
> that 1.75mm and 3mm are fairly standard, but would
> you like to see others or stick with these?)

I can't see any reason to have more than those two.

>
> Any other input is much appreciated.

How much it shrinks between the temp it becomes hard and room temp is very important as that affects how much it warps.

>
> I should explain that this is aimed mainly at the
> UK as I work for a London based company. If there
> is interest then we could easily be a local uk
> supplier of filaments made in house and aimed at
> reprappers specs.
>
> Thanks very much

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/01/2011 08:14AM by nophead.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

I understand that PLA can be dissolved with a product known as beta solution, but have not heard much about people using that technique.

Are their any other filaments that can be used in our extruders that can be dissolved? Needs to weld to itself and also stick to abs, or pla. The PVA water soluble filament i guess is a failure because abs wont stick to it.

Maybe if you mess around with polymers, you can look into adding something to fix this problem with PVA.

Email me if you have any ideas or leads on this.

ABS will stick to HIPS, and it can be dissolved with limonene.

---

[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

Lambda25 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Is there any interest in functional plastic
> filaments such as conductive ones? (not metal
> conductive, more in the sensor range of
> conductivities)

Absolutely, if it is conductive enough to act as electrical shielding material,
while being strong enough to make a good-quality product case.

Then it would be possible to print shielded cases for electronics projects.
(Rather than using an expensive and usually ugly aluminum box.)

I found this page because I was searching for filament made of conductive plastic, and I did not find any.

Personally I would like to be able to print with TPU (thermoplastic Polyurethane) or something similar, it should be possible to have a grade that is stiff enough to print but still make stiff but flexible items like shoe soles, shock bushings, end bumpers and stiff springs etc. as well as phone cases etc.

I have no idea how well it would print but an ABS/PC blend would be nice too.

Acetal/POM (for bearings and gears etc)

A material that can be used for support and washed away, ideally with simple water. Dual head printing with easily removable support without anything too "nasty" has to be the future.

It would be good if different colours were still the same diameter and printed well at the same temperatures as each other so you didnt have to change all the settings just to change the colour you are using.

It would be nice if there was lots of information available when the material was being purchased, more specific info on the exact grade of the material, recommended print settings (temperatures etc). Also if you sell over the web then the ability for people to review the material and post tips or discuss it right on the page would be very nice.

George

TPU Filament for 3D Printing will become available this month

Its an engineering grade of product .

Extrusion at 240-250c

Stay Tune!

Hi, Where did you purchase the TPU filament? from Airwolf？