New to 3D printing (my printer didn’t even arrive yet) but I have a few projects I want to start with and I am unsure of the correct or best materials to use for them.
So here are three things I want to print for sure:
- Adjustable leg for IKEA BROR. This BROR rack already has a ton of stuff on it, likely in the 20 - 30 KG range so it would need to be a material that can stand that weight. It’s also a garage so the expected temperature range is something like 30 to -5C
- Some counter top containers to hold things. One of the things I want to hold are laundry detergents. These can be a bit heavy and some detergent can spill, not sure if this can react with the plastic. Indoor use only so the temp range is like 25 to 20C.
- Mount plate for a post cap light. I will be screwing these into the post and then the light will lock on to them. The post cap light itself is pretty light however it needs to be able to withstand the elements (snow, rain) and also animals like raccoons and squirrels that might try to pry them off. Temp. range is like 30C to -30C.
If anyone has any suggestions please let me know!
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Pla would be fine but petg is my default these days. Petg is a bit more strong and less brittle, which will help at lower temps.
Strength is just as much about design as it is about the filament choice.
I’ve read that PLA will sag over time pretty much no matter what you do. I assume it would be terrible for the first use case. I assume you can’t design around it but I’m happy to be proven wrong.
It’ll only sag if it heats up and starts to deform, like if you leave it in the sun. It’d probably be just fine under a compressive load like that.
This is a fantastic doc https://blog.rahix.de/design-for-3d-printing/
Do you know what temperature range that is? Is 35 to 30C fine?
Yeah. “glass transition temperature” is the term to look up
How difficult is petg to print?
I started with it I think it’s easy but I have seen horror stories about petg with glass beds for petg I would recommend g10 I ordered mine from germany because at the time the only g10 in lithuania was too small. And I got a biscuit with the g10 :D
Not at all.
99% of what I print is PETG. I mostly do functional parts and appreciate the improved temp tolerance, UV resistance, and lower brittleness compared to PLA.
It’s only slightly harder to print than PLA, but it’s still pretty easy. It’s what I started with upon getting back into printing, and the main challenges are the importance of getting the flow factor (extrusion multiplier) dialed in correctly, and getting proper bed adhesion (a clean textured build sheet FTW). Be sure to use a rubber sock on your nozzle - PETG is really sticky.
You don’t NEED a filament dryer, but it’s highly recommended. They don’t cost an arm and/or a leg either. I use a Creality dryer, which holds two spools - The one I’m currently printing from, and the next roll up. The rest of my spools sit open on a shelf.
If you have a plastic tub roughly the size of a spool, you can flip it over on top of a spool and run your bed heater underneath it. Is it perfect? No. But you can get some of that drying capability for very little in terms of money.
True. I’ve also heard people using the kitchen oven to dry filament spools. It’s better than nothing, as long as the spool doesn’t get too hot.
Petg is the best all-around choice for structural applications that is easy out of the box.
I wouldn’t worry about chemical compatibility with laundry detergent, but if you can find the relevant ingredients there are many compatibility charts you can look for. It’s not straightforward for most common filaments though.
For the first case, if you want to push a little deeper I’d suggest carbon-filled petg. You would need to buy a hardened nozzle for it.
For outdoor applications, you could look into Asa.
I’ve read that PETG is susceptible to moisture. If I plan to get PETG, do I need to vacuum seal the filament after use or a filament dryer? It’s not super humid here but it can hit like 70% RH on a bad day.
Every filament - literally 100% of them - will print better when dry. Brand new filament can be wet. PLA, sitting in my printer for a couple weeks, can get brittle enough from absorbed moisture to crack in a dozen places in the ptfe feed tube. So yeah I guess petg is moisture sensitive, but my take is that everything is. So I would recommend a filament dryer, and using it on new spools and spools that haven’t been used in a while.
Vacuum sealing will help, but I still dry filament after storing in vacuum sealed containers.
That said, you could also just wait until you see signs of wet filament before drying (stringing, bad surface finish, etc).
I saw some debunking videos that said the opposite unless you live somewhere extremely humid. But I do remember there are certain filament types that benefit greatly from being dry and IIRC PETG was one of them.
Store filament in a big plastic tub with a kg of colour change silica. But yes a filament dryer is a good investment too. Just a single roll one will do.
Is that better than vacuum sealing them? Vacuum sealers are pretty cheap IIRC.
Your best hope for storage is it not getting much wetter, ziploc bags with silica are fine, a tub is easier to paw through and grab what you need quickly.
A drier will actually refresh a roll and get it printing close to new again. Look for excess stringing for the early signs, and the filament bubbling and/or popping as it comes out of the nozzle for extreme signs of wetness.
I’m in a fairly dry environment, I’ll happily leave a roll on the printer for a week without adverse effects. But always store an opened roll off the printer in the tub.
