3D Printing Materials

What and Why: #

ABS #

WHAT IS ABS?

ABS is one of the most widely materials used to make plastic filament for 3D printing . It is a particularly robust and impact-resistant plastic that allows you to print durable and resistant parts for wear and tear.

This type of plastic is very versatile and slightly flexible and can withstand temperatures up to about 85 ° C without deforming it. The prototypes created with ABS plastic filament are pleasing to the eye thanks to the ability of this material to be smoothed and painted.

ABS plastic is a very popular thermopolymer due to its lightness and rigidity but also to the fact that it can be extruded or injection molded. It has good mechanical properties, is less friable than PLA and more supports higher temperatures.

It is commonly used in all domestic, semi-professional and professional printers based on FDM technology, but also in industrial ones.

The objects built in ABS have the ability to preserve the original mechanical properties in a wide temperature range, they are not affected by humidity, they can be variously colored and even painted in post-production.

The ABS plastic filament can be used in a temperature range between twenty degrees below zero and up to 80 degrees. It resists the action of concentrated acids such as hydrochloric and phosphoric, but undergoes attacks of concentrated sulfuric and nitric acids.

Moreover, this material has a poor resistance to atmospheric agents (unless specific additives have been added to ABS), so it is not particularly suitable for applications exposed to the elements.

SUMMARY OF ABS FEATURES:

ABS (abbreviation of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) is a thermoplastic derived from petroleum; The extrusion temperature can vary between 220 and 260 degrees Celsius; The parts molded in ABS do not adhere to the printing bed if they do not adopt particular measures, such as the heated surface or using the so-called blue-tape; Parts printed with ABS have a glossier finish than PLA parts; The parts molded in ABS begin to deform (point of inflection under load) at about 100 ° C; ABS has a lower coefficient of friction than other materials and requires less force during extrusion; It resists impacts; It resists heat. *WHY CHOOSE ABS

ABS is a material that has a very low cost and furthermore its extreme resistance allows this material to be used for prototypes that must guarantee durability over time and rigidity.

Compared to other materials it is a less crumbling material, it is subjected to generally higher temperatures and has a lower coefficient of friction, thanks to which the material is more easily extrudable.

The use of this material has some cons: during the extrusion the ABS produces a pungent odor and it is recommended to work inside a ventilated environment.

*ABS APPLICATION

Lego bricks are made with ABS, many toys, protective helmets, car dashboards (and in some cases whole car bodies), control panels for household appliances, interior linings of refrigerators, suitcases, musical instruments such as flutes and clarinets, tubes blacks that carry water (white, orange or gray are PVC), boxes for electrical components and so on.

*TIPS AND TRICKS

The adhesion of the bed can be improved using an ABS suspension. You can make this dough by just mixing small pieces of ABS filament with acetone and applying the mixture on the printing bed.

*EXTRUSION WITH FELFIL EVO

These are our results with Felfil Evo:

ABS temperature: 205 °C

rpm: 6

motor duty A: 0,6

drying needed: YES

NYLON #

*WHAT IS NYLON?

Nylon is a synthetic plastic, polyamide, with considerable mechanical properties. It is also used in textile and fabric-like mode for many purposes, from clothing to industry;

Nylon is applicable to FFF / FDM, SLS and SLA printing; one of the most interesting features with respect to this application is the flexibility of the material: nylon, in fact originally used to produce fabrics, is used with additive printing to produce fabrics with characteristics similar to silk.

It is used by many manufacturers all over the world, nylon (polyamide) is known for its impressive durability, high strength / weight ratio, flexibility, low friction and corrosion resistance and ability to withstand significant mechanical stress. Nylon is an excellent choice for 3D printing tools, functional prototypes and end-use components.

It is equipped with particularly interesting mechanical properties, Nylon makes it possible to produce resistant, flexible and long-lasting objects.

Nylon plastic filament requires temperatures that often exceed 250 °. It is particularly sensitive to humidity: the coils must in fact be kept in closed containers, and preferably dehumidified before use. Because of this it tends to warp during printing, and does not require the use of heated floors.

This material is hydroscopic that means that it absorbs liquids: a curious effect of this functionality is that users can leave it in dyes of liquid fabrics and take that color.

*SUMMARY OF NYLON FEATURES:

Strength: nylon printed models have a strong mechanical strength and less deformation Print results: thanks to the self-sealing properties of Nylon, it has a better surface finish Versatility: It does not require a heated bed or cooling systems Personalization: Ability to make small and large objects equally well, the possibility of dyeing the filament Odorless: It does not give off odors and fumes

*WHY CHOOSE NYLON?

Nylon plastic filaments can be used successfully in 3D printing. Compared to traditional ABS, nylon has several advantages: greater mechanical resistance of the minute and less tendency to delamination. Thanks to the self-sealing properties of nylon, better surface finish, no heated bed required or cooling systems.

Less deformation and possibility of achieving just as well small and it does not give off odors and fumes.

*NYLON APPLICATION

Nylon is an ideal material for the mechanical moving parts: hooks, gears and mechanical components resistant to wear.

*TIPS AND TRICKS

Nylon is a hygroscopic material, this means that it easily absorbs water from the air. The Nylon plastic filament must be dried before printing: printing with a non-dry nylon filament could be dysfunctional because of the water in the filament. It infact can explodes causing air bubbles during printing that prevents good adhesion of the layer, also ruining the finish of the print.

*EXTRUSION WITH FELFIL EVO

Our result with Felfil Evo filament extruder:

temperature: 240 °C

rpm: 9

motor duty A: 0,7

drying needed: YES

TAGS: 3D printing material, Nylon plastic filament

PETG #

*WHAT IS PETG

PETG is a transparent polyethylene tereflato capolyester: it is a modified version of PET. The “G” stands for “modified glycol”, which is added to the composition of the material during the polymerization. The result is a lighter filament, less fragile and easier to use than its basic form of PET.

It is used in the exhibitors of sales points, signs, luminous signs, signage and numerous kinds of construction details, etc. This material is difficult to attack by chemical agents, as shown by the containers in which it is stored gasoline, naphtha, solvents of various kinds.

It is an extremely resistant material that allows to obtain sturdy and long-lasting prints. Thanks to the low shrinkage coefficient it makes this material excellent for 3D prints that have large flat surfaces.

*SUMMARY OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF PETG

Odorless: it is completely odorless, fundamental characteristic for domestic use, even if odorless does not mean non-toxic. Low shrinkage rate: keeps measurements faithfully cooling, ideal for large prints. Hydrophobic: Does not absorb water, and therefore does not substantially deteriorate High impact resistance: the high resistance makes it the ideal material for everything that moves, including quadcopters, remote-controlled cars and robots (although it can be scratched easily). High mechanical strength and excellent flexibility: ideal to be used for objects subjected to mechanical stress, it is a hard, extremely resistant and flexible material. This is also due to an excellent coefficient of adhesion between layers. This characteristic makes it unsuitable for printing with too many supports. The very strong adhesion between layers means that these are not so simple to detach when finished. High chemical resistance: extremely resistant to the action of chemical agents, acids and alkalis. Typically PETG is translucent, giving the object a glossy finish on the surface.

*WHY PETG

PETG is a 100% recyclable thermoplastic product, allowing the creation of resistant but more flexible ABS objects. It has a low shrinkage coefficient, is transparent, it does not absorb water and has excellent impact resistance. It also satisfies the requirements of DIN 52290 which concerns the production of protective glass, it is suitable for thermoforming and for screen printing it is suitable for contact with food, it is glued and welded.

*APPLICATION OF PETG

This material is used in the furniture sector, as for example the shelters/skylights (use anti-U.V. version), viewers, food containers (even at low temperatures), exhibitors, machine guards. In other cases, even greater flexibility may be needed, with the need to resort to TPU, flexible PLA or Nylon.

One of its best features, the impact resistance, makes it ideal for example to create objects that can be subjected to impacts such as drones.

*PETG VS ABS AND PLA

The PETG in recent times substituting the ABS, manages to have the same characteristics of strength and strength, however, being much easier to print.

The PETG filament has the reputation of combining the functionality of ABS (more resistant, resistant to temperature, longer lasting) and the reliability of the PLA (easy to print) in a single material. The adhesion of the layer is generally excellent.

The ABS has its problems, especially warping and separation of the layers, for this reason it needs a closed printing chamber. PETG is not immune to problems, in fact it suffers a bit of stringing, but in general, the difficulty of printing is much more similar to PLA.

We can say that:

PETG is particularly durable, and considerably more flexible than PLA and ABS, but also softer. It’s hard to break it. If the object to be realized is a container or a wrapper which must have characteristics of high resistance, PETG is the most suitable material (with the exception of Nylon 12, which however has greater printing difficulties and higher costs). PETG is also very robust, and at all fragile, but can be scratched with ease, being significantly less harsh than ABS. TIPS AND TRICKS: EXTRUSION WITH FELFIL EVO Adjust the temperature accurately. The first attempts can be made between 205° and 210°, depending on the type of extortion. The PETG requires an extrusion rate equal to the PLA and lower than the ABS. Unlike ABS and PLA it does not need to be dried.