9
votes
Accepted
How do I know when filament is getting old, and what things can I do to correct for it?
The primary issue with long-term exposure of filament to the environment is that it will absorb water moisture from the air. When a filament that has absorbed water is passing though the hot end of a ...
- 808
5
votes
Accepted
How important is the dimensional accuracy of filament relative to the detail of a print?
Dimensional accuracy is not as important as dimensional uniformity. I can print with undersized (or oversized) filament, adjusting the flow appropriately, provided the filament has a consistent ...
- 2,440
5
votes
Accepted
Stone-look surface via painting?
It's totally possible to achieve but the result vastly depends on your painting skills and your spray paint quality.
Your can look at this page for a concrete example.
How it compares to stone ...
- 66
5
votes
What is causing 'droplets' on first layer?
Mine is more of an educated guess than a definitive diagnosis, but it looks to me like if your printer may be overextruding (it's difficult to say with certainty with this particular picture, but your ...
- 4,775
5
votes
How do I know when filament is getting old, and what things can I do to correct for it?
Moisture creeps into the filament when PLA is exposed for a long time to a humid environment. This is audible like popping bubbles when heated in the hotend and does worsen the print quality. The ...
- 37.1k
4
votes
Filament long term storage
In theory, most filaments don't go bad within a year. However, praxis shows, that averse conditions can impact the filaments over time and age them to unusability.
Among the damaging factors is heat, ...
- 22.5k
4
votes
Humidity sensor says drybox isn't that dry - are my expectations unrealistic or is something wrong?
Track humidity graph over days (one measurement every 3 hours is fine). Be careful that polling the sensor too often may warm it up and cause inaccuracies, the temperature dependence is quite strong. ...
- 4,600
4
votes
Why does my PLA filament keep snapping?
PLA seems to become brittle with age. Micro-fractures develop on the surface, and they will grow if filament is taken off the spool and held straight. This behaviour does not seem to be linked to ...
- 3,190
3
votes
Why does my PLA filament keep snapping?
When water gets absorbed into the filament, it causes some of the long chain polymers to break. This is a permanent reaction that cannot be fixed by baking the filament, which typically results in the ...
- 2,448
3
votes
Are black filaments more brittle?
Not inherently.
There are two things at work that might cause one color to test weaker than others even as its properties otherwise are functionally identical:
A bad print among good ones.
A bad roll ...
- 22.5k
3
votes
Mystery filament cleaning fluid
That's a filament cleaner/oiler combo. The black bottle is a variety of machine oil.
The effect of oilers on prints is heavily disputed in the community. The suggestion of plant oils is a very bad ...
- 22.5k
3
votes
Accepted
What is causing 'droplets' on first layer?
First of all, thanks for all the help, it really is a nice community!
But none of them actually helped and I finally find out what to actually do to fix the problem so here it goes:
Extruder ...
- 914
3
votes
How important is the dimensional accuracy of filament relative to the detail of a print?
Put it simply: they say 1.75 mm with a ± error of 0.05 mm. Which means your flow may vary ±2.9 % while you are printing creating blobs and such.
The smaller the ...
- 31
3
votes
What is "HDPLA", and why is it so hard to find out more about it?
So, low-teck, old-style investigative work from my side.... I contacted a company selling HDPLA and they got back to me with the following reply.
We created HDPLA as an industrial PLA with special ...
- 4,775
2
votes
MakerFlex Spool has bubbles?
Bubbles are a defect. Two problems can occur:
The air in the bubble will be under pressure when heated and can cause a little blow-out when the plastic sides of the bubble are soft enough that they ...
- 4,591
2
votes
Are black filaments more brittle?
Your heading is about how brittle the material is, but the question is asking about layer adhesion. I'll go ahead and tackle the layer adhesion portion. There are many variables at play here but ...
2
votes
Creality CR-10 extruder clicking and/or nozzle clogging
Turns out the filament was the problem, I tried printing a model with a high quality sample PLA filament I had and it printed perfectly; one of the cleanest prints I've had. Never skimp on filament.
- 139
2
votes
Which is the right filiament type to print breakable children's toy parts such as small gears
I won't even ask why you need this and I assume you've done your homework about the issues. 3D printed gears are notorious for failing even when designed well, so the idea in general should be pretty ...
2
votes
Which is the right filiament type to print breakable children's toy parts such as small gears
deliberate/planned obsolescence is the term you look for
If you design parts that break after some time, you plan their obsolescence. That you do by a deliberate choice of material and working ...
- 22.5k
2
votes
Humidity sensor says drybox isn't that dry - are my expectations unrealistic or is something wrong?
Alright, there were some good suggestion in the comments, and I gave them a look, but I think I solved this myself.
I think, after a lot more testing, that it was some combination of stratification ...
- 161
2
votes
Looking for 3D filament thats compatiable with HHO-oxyhydrogen and NaOH sodium hydroxide -lye
Polypropylene should be good, and relatively easy to print. Prinsco rate its resistance to NaOH as A-Excellent.
Ultimaker provide a useful guide to the chemical resistance properties of 3D printing ...
- 3,190
2
votes
Accepted
My Hatchbox PLA filament only allows me to use rafts
PLA is a forgiving filament, you can even print such filament without a heated bed. Although there are differences in quality between brands, PLA shouldn't need a raft to be printed. Hatchbox filament ...
- 37.1k
2
votes
My Hatchbox PLA filament only allows me to use rafts
It is unlikely this is a filament material issue since many of us have used Hatchbox PLA without this issue. This is a first layer adhesion issue.
Your bed may not be clean, or the bed may have had ...
- 2,376
1
vote
Accepted
Can a print test be performed to determine nozzle and filament quality?
Mostly a Relative measure
Assuming you have a well-known, well-printing nozzle and filament combination, then you can print a benchmark print, change one factor and then test with altered settings.
...
- 22.5k
1
vote
What is a good filament for a frame for holding high amp copper busbar?
I would use ABS, but you shouldn't rely on the filament. This is a job for insulation to take care of. You don't expect the holder to do any more than hold the component in electrical applications.
- 1,440
1
vote
Why does my PLA filament keep snapping?
PLA snapping is pretty universal. The best countermeasure is to always remove the filament from the printer after a print and place it in a low-humidity chamber. Other answers speak of moisture-...
- 4,591
1
vote
Accepted
Are black filaments more brittle?
I have some experience in the textile industry and it is known that items, whether piece goods or yarn, which are black (for most fibers) it is likely an over-dye; colors that failed to match the ...
- 26
1
vote
Filament storage?
If you don't want to use silica beads, or can't get any (it seems to be a very American thing, you can't buy any here in France except if you go through a specialized reseller), you can put them in a ...
- 524
1
vote
Filament long term storage
I expected more than a couple months but perhaps I am wrong?
It depends on the filament, the shipping and the local conditions. I'm on an Island, so very high humidity.
We have several useless spools ...
- 1,440
1
vote
Filament long term storage
The answer is that it depends on the climate you are in or the climate in your house. The more humid, and the higher the temperature, the faster the moisture is taken up in the filament (note also ...
- 37.1k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible