PLA or ABS

OK, I'm virtually ready to try my first print with my repstrap. I just need some plastic!

My question is which is better for my first prints? ABS or PLA?

There seems to be a lot of talk about both but I can't get a handle on which one is the easier to use.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am getting far too excited about the prospect of having a 3D printer and almost literally can't wait to start printing!

ABS is easier to extrude but gives off fumes and warps more than PLA.

I find diagnosing problems with PLA very difficult, so if the prints don't look right I switch the ABS and the problem becomes more obvious.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

Wonderful. Thank you!

Just ordered 1kg ABS - wish me luck!

Thanks for the advice, nophead. I've already ordered PLA, but now I'll consider getting some ABS for troubleshooting.

nophead, other forum-folk, would you like to try to tidy up and add to the PLA and ABS wiki pages so that next time we can just point the questioner at the wiki pages?

[reprap.org]
[reprap.org]

(I think this question is going to come up over and over again.)

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-Sebastien, RepRap.org library gnome.

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Remember, you're all RepRap developers (once you've joined the super-secret developer mailing list), and the wiki, RepRap.org, [reprap.org] is for everyone and everything!