ABS or PLA filament? Which is better? I’m trying abs for the first time
If youre doin it right abs is nicer for me. To me pla is useless. Maybe use cheap pla for prototyping. But not for a final print. I do mechanical stuff so I need ABS or PC or nylon and such
@VolksTrieb have you tried petg?
PLA is much easier to print, ABS lasts longer and is stronger and more heat resistant
PLA is my favorit, easier and faster to print.
@Greg_Copeland havent heard of that one. Im still fairly new to types if filament but whats different about petg?
@Nate_Bee Prints almost as easy as pla, easier to print than abs, is very strong like abs, doesn’t stink, less shrinkage. My petg prints at 260. It’s also a food safe material. Though you need to make sure the color is also food safe.
Petg tends to flex before breaking,which makes it more shatter resistant than abs.
The down side is slower print speeds, longer retractions, and a tendency to string, which requires extra tweaking of profiles to manage. Though stringing can be well managed as you can see in the video.
Basically petg is being promoted as a pla and abs replacement. I believe this is generally true unless you need the speed of print allowed of pla.
Edit: oh yes, can be printed without a heat bed.
Here’s an review of an example petg filament.
Neither is better than the other, they each have their own applications.
PLA+ is worth checking into. it kindof has the best of both worlds.
@Nate_Bee do you have a heated bed? Are you printing for strength or decoration? Do you have drafts in the room that your printer is in?
@NathanielStenzel I do have a heatbed and there’s a slight draft in my basement where i have it set up but i also preheat the room before printing. Actually printing for both mostly
@Nate_Bee the draft is a!problem for ABS plastic. If your ABS prints look okay, maybe you have some plastic around the printer or you are just lucky. I would suggest fixing those air drafts. Caulk, rags and a $2 roll of painters plastic can do wonders. Since you say you do want strength, I think you may want ABS, so the drafts are a problem. At least rig up a simple enclosure for the printer.
PETG isn’t as nearly problematic as ABS is with drafts. Just saying…
Can he print at 260C and will he like the price are two questions for PETG consideration.
@NathanielStenzel That’s a fair statement and perhaps I misled there. Mine (maker geek’s) prints at 260 (black). In general, you can find petg which prints at roughly the same temps as abs, without bed heat, or at 50-70 with heat. Most petg prints at 230-250. Basically the same as abs, with lower (or no) bed temps.
Sorry if I misled anyone into thinking petg requires higher temps than abs. For most uses, petg is an excellent replacement for abs.
@Greg_Copeland with a liner, 230C might be bad. Opinions on that?
+Nate Bee does your extruder have a liner in the hot end.
@NathanielStenzel I’m not entirely sure I understand, but I’ll take a stab. If I miss, please set me straight. By liner, I assume you mean PTFE. PTFE is not considered a concern until over 260. Many say 250-255 is where you should stay but mechanically it’s not an issue until over 260.
My printer has a bowden extruder and it’s not been an issue at all with my PTFE tubing. As is commonly the case. So 230C should be okay. But I would defer to the expertise of your hot end manufacturer. If you have PTFE actually in the hot end, I can’t speak to that. Again, I defer.
But, if he’s already printing ABS, I can’t imagine he can’t find PETG with a like-minded temp range. Everything I find for ABS print range says 230 is the default temp and with a general range of 210-240. In contrast, 230-250 has a large overlap, well within the ABS temp range.
If you’re currently printing ABS, you should be able to find some PETG. For example, eSun says their print range is “230_ to 250_”. And a review comment from Michael New says, “You won’t realize how much you hate ABS until you start printing with this stuff. No stink, no warping, and no shrinkage.”
@Greg_Copeland yes, I was concerned about the idea of a PTFE liner too close to the hot zone.
@NathanielStenzel no liner in the hotend. I was recently printing with. PLA that i bought a while ago and it kept clotting around the hotend unless I was at 220 or higher sometimes still. I tried with the bed heated and unheated but got the same result. I have a prusa i3 and didnt have any probs with the original PLA that came with it. At one point i toom the hotend off and cleaned it but got the same result. Printer problem, user problem, or bad filament? Lol
@Nate_Bee do you by any chance have a chinese copy of an e3d hotend? If so, you may have a bur in your nozzle. If you want to debur a nozzle, you can get drill bits of the appropriate size at Harbor Freight. A strand of copper thread flossed through the nozzle might work to some degree too. I prefer to use the dull end of the drill bit in the hotend after gently using the business end.