PEEK Filament: What It Takes to Print It, and Whether You Need It
Why it is hard PEEK is a semi-crystalline thermoplastic that melts around 340 degC and is printed hotter than that. Three consequences…
Category: Filament
Print and bed temperatures, drying times, enclosure requirements, and how to choose between PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA and the filled variants.
PVA Filament: Water Soluble Support That Is Worth the Trouble, Sometimes
What to look for Buy a named brand and buy the smallest useful spool. PVA quality varies more than PLA quality does,…
The Best Glue for 3D Prints: What Bonds PLA, PETG and ABS Properly
What to look for Buy the gel, not the liquid. Printed mating faces are never flat at the microscopic scale, and thin…
How Much Does It Cost to 3D Print? The Numbers That Actually Matter
What to look for You need two measurements to stop guessing, and both are cheap. The first is a kitchen scale reading…
Food Safe 3D Printer Filament: What the Certification Covers, and What It Does Not
What to look for If you are buying for this purpose, buy PETG rather than PLA. PETG is the same family of…
Bambu Lab Support Filament: Support for PLA, Support for PA/PETG, and the PETG Trick That Costs Nothing
Short answer Bambu Lab sells two support filaments: Support for PLA, and Support for PA/PETG. Both print through the AMS as an…
Filament Brands: What Separates a Reliable Maker From a Cheap One
Short answer Judge a filament brand on three measurable things: a stated diameter tolerance of ±0.03 mm or tighter, vacuum packaging with…
Printing Nylon: What Your Printer Needs Before You Buy a Spool
Short answer You can print nylon if your hotend reaches 260 °C reliably, you have a filament dryer with print-through feed, and…
Resin vs Filament 3D Printer: Which One to Buy for What You Actually Print
Short answer Buy a filament (FDM) printer if you want functional parts, anything larger than a fist, low running cost and a…
ASA 3D Printer Filament: The Outdoor Material, and What It Demands From Your Printer
Short answer Buy ASA for anything that lives outside or in a hot car: it keeps its colour and strength in sunlight…