Filament

[Scott Penrose]

Howdy

Where are people buying their filament and tape from for 3D printers in Australia?

Ta

Scott
P.S. Printer arrived Monday... having a ball :-)

[Stuart Young]

There's a number of suppliers about.

Local (in Vic) is Lybina in Bayswater. http://shop.lybina.com/ - They have great ABS, and I believe they are just starting to get into PLA.

I buy all of my PLA (so far) from Diamond Age in NZ - http://diamondage.co.nz/?page_id=253 - Run by Vik Olliver (well the whole family) and have always had a good rep, and have a huge range of colours. Note all prices are in NZ dollars, so make sure to convert! They tend to ship by sea for small volumes as it keeps the price down, which usually takes ~3 weeks.

There's Bilby in NSW, but I've seen weird results with some of their plastic, though that might be due to moisture (see below) - http://www.bilbycnc.com.au/

Not tried myself, but Create3D also sell ABS filament and will be selling PLA soon apparently - http://create3d.com.au/

Notes:
 PLA is susceptible to absorbing moisture in the air (which can cause issues when extruding), so needs to be kept fairly dry. I put a bag of desiccant in the bags the filament comes in regularly, even if they seem sealed, just to remove that extra bit of moisture.
 The biggest issue with filament is consistency (usually diameter/roundness, but sometimes other factors such as melting point). Some of the places that sell online (eg: some Chinese sellers on eBay predominantly, but not limited to) sell stuff that varies widely in it's consistency. Things like plastics that are supposed to be one thing but obviously aren't. Examples: ABS needs usually 220+ deg C whereas there has been some supposed ABS out there that melts at 190 which really points to it being either mixed with something or not ABS at all, or the diameter/roundness varies wildly which makes it harder (or impossible) to extrude in almost all current designs of 3D printers.

--
Stuart Young (aka Cefiar)

[Stuart Young]

Also FWIW: I have a lot of PLA on hand (which I bought from Vik) and if you need a roll fast to get started, I'll have it all at CCHS on Monday and we can organise something.

[Scott Penrose]

On 14/11/2012, at 11:16 AM, Stuart Young <cef...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Also FWIW: I have a lot of PLA on hand (which I bought from Vik) and if you need a roll fast to get started, I'll have it all at CCHS on Monday and we can organise something.

Thanks Stuart. I can't get this this Monday, but maybe the next.

I read that it is a little easier to print in PLA, and less fumes, but not as strong. Mostly I note that PLA seems to cost heaps more. So my question is then. If I am getting ok results in ABS, why use PLA? (note: 1 days printing, makes an expert not) :-)

Scott

[Stuart Young]

PLA is very forgiving when printing, especially when you're starting out. Certain objects you can have real issues printing in ABS that print fine with PLA.

An example is a large object that John Bosha was trying to print in ABS that kept pulling itself apart as the object started to cool (he tried like 5 times from memory). His first attempt at printing the same object in PLA just worked.

PLA can also be used for metal casting (print your object in clear PLA), in place of the traditional wax objects used in lost wax casting. At a high enough temp, clear PLA vaporises completely and leaves no residue, making it perfect for creating a cast for use with metals like aluminium, brass, or even steel. Note that you need to understand that the metal will shrink as it cools, and to take this into account if you want dimensionally accurate cast parts.

PLA is also biodegradable and more natural (comes from corn fibre, not petroleum/oil). When it breaks down, mainly due to excess heat (eg: running it too hot, using it for casting, or if you set it on fire somehow), the chemicals aren't toxic (like you get from ABS and other plastics). Even during operation, ABS produces fumes that aren't nice, and some people (notably people with asthma) can have real issues with ABS fumes.

That said, PLA starts to deform if you leave it in a hot environment for too long (eg: 65-70 deg C), and is useless for holding hot water. If I need something that needs to be used in a hot environment, I tend to use PLA for prototyping the part, and then get someone to print it in ABS for me (as I won't put ABS in my printer, since I use it inside all the time).

Also acetone doesn't really interact with PLA, which means you can't use acetone to "glue" a broken part (or any two pieces) together like you can with ABS. You need to use a more traditional glue suitable for plastics like UHU hart, Krazy glue, or the like.

[Stuart Mitchell]

Stuart

 

Do you have any 1.75mm PLA???

 

StuartM

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Stuart (Auzze) Mitchell

Australia

[Stuart Young]

Unfortunately I only have 3mm PLA. Will let people know when I do another order though, in case anyone wants stuff from Vik that I don't have.

--
Cef

[Scott Penrose]

Thanks Stuart. Good information.

Scott

[Holger]

Hello

On Wed, 14 Nov 2012, Scott Penrose wrote:

> On 14/11/2012, at 11:16 AM, Stuart Young <cef...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I read that it is a little easier to print in PLA, and less fumes, but not as strong. Mostly I note that PLA seems to cost heaps more. So my question is then. If I am getting ok results in ABS, why use PLA? (note: 1 days printing, makes an expert not) :-)

It seems to be easier, because there is less contraction on cooling. This
contraction often leads my prints to tear themselves apart. I have now
started to print PLA, but haven't got it reliable yet. (Also, I need a
better way to unroll it.)

However, I think (others should correct me if I'm wrong) that PLA is
actually stronger, but more brittle. I have had problems with my
micro-extruder, I have now printed a uniX (similar to Greg/Wade) to use a
more traditional one. I printed the gears on that one in PLA because I
think ABS would be too soft. I printed the rest in ABS because it can
withstand higher temperatures.

I'll let you know how it pans out. At the moment I need a M3 grub screw
for the small gear.

Cheers,
Holger

[April Staines]

So while we are on the subject, do we know if anyone makes ABS filament that is either grey, and or has metallic particles in it, eg it can kinda looks sparkly?  Am I asking for too much?  :-) 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

April Staines - Melbourne AU

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[Holger]

Hello

On 15/11/12 11:05, April Staines wrote:
> So while we are on the subject, do we know if anyone makes ABS filament
> that is either grey, and or has metallic particles in it, eg it can
> kinda looks sparkly? Am I asking for too much? :-)

Grey should be possible, but metallic particles would be very bad for
the 3d printing process.

How about printing it in some generic ABS and then spray-painting it?
Barbara did that for buttons for a costume.

Cheers,

Holger

[Clare Sloggett]

I had a feeling I've seen something like this. Googling only turned up
this: http://www.faberdashery.co.uk/products-page/print-materials/galaxy-blue/
which is PLA, not ABS, but it may exist.

To my surprise apparently the glittery effect on this one really is
metallic particles!

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[Paul Szymkowiak]

Hi April,

There is also the "Robot Silver" option:

  http://www.faberdashery.co.uk/products-page/print-materials/robot-silver/

:)

Paul
 

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[Luke Weston]

I'm sure I've seen some metallic colored filament at the space, I think it was Cef's?

Just had a quick look at Vik's site (Diamond Age Solutions) and he's currently got metallic gold, metallic silver and "lilac pearl" (which is a sort of metallic blue) PLA listed.

On Thursday, 15 November 2012 11:05:15 UTC+11, April Staines wrote:

So while we are on the subject, do we know if anyone makes ABS filament that is either grey, and or has metallic particles in it, eg it can kinda looks sparkly?  Am I asking for too much?  :-) 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

April Staines - Melbourne AU

On 14 November 2012 23:27, Holger <holge...@wolffh.de> wrote:

Hello

On Wed, 14 Nov 2012, Scott Penrose wrote:

On 14/11/2012, at 11:16 AM, Stuart Young <cef...@gmail.com> wrote:

I read that it is a little easier to print in PLA, and less fumes, but not as strong. Mostly I note that PLA seems to cost heaps more. So my question is then. If I am getting ok results in ABS, why use PLA? (note: 1 days printing, makes an expert not) :-)

It seems to be easier, because there is less contraction on cooling. This contraction often leads my prints to tear themselves apart. I have now started to print PLA, but haven't got it reliable yet. (Also, I need a better way to unroll it.)

However, I think (others should correct me if I'm wrong) that PLA is actually stronger, but more brittle. I have had problems with my micro-extruder, I have now printed a uniX (similar to Greg/Wade) to use a more traditional one. I printed the gears on that one in PLA because I think ABS would be too soft. I printed the rest in ABS because it can withstand higher temperatures.

I'll let you know how it pans out. At the moment I need a M3 grub screw for the small gear.

Cheers,
Holger

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[Robert Stürzbecher]

I get my PLA from http://www.repraper.com/ and have not had any problems with it, it costs about $15 per Kg roll but as it is send from HongKong via Fedex it costs about $15 per Kg for shipping so about $30 per roll. (shipping time is about 2-3days)

Lybina in Bayswater are good for ABS, They don't list PLA on the site but are very helpful and allow pickup, I would use them but use PLA. (shipping via Auspost or pickup) 

http://store.ozreprap.com/ is another supplier based out of Sydney, they stock ABS and PLA at about $69 fer 2.3kg rolls and shipped via Fastway ($15)  (shipping time was 1 week)

 

Remember that filament does not like moisture. I left my PLA exposed for a few weeks and it became very brittle and impossible to use (after using a hair dryer on the roll it came good again). 

[rob]

[Garry Stone]

repraper do their own version of galaxy blue in abs (and pla as well)

 

http://www.repraper.com/goods.php?id=184

 

there have been plenty of reports that repraper abs isnt very good, or even as good as their pla.  I do have a roll of their black abs, but have yet to even use it so cant comment on the quality or consistency first hand

 

Garry

On Thursday, November 15, 2012 11:05:15 AM UTC+11, April Staines wrote:

So while we are on the subject, do we know if anyone makes ABS filament that is either grey, and or has metallic particles in it, eg it can kinda looks sparkly?  Am I asking for too much?  :-) 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

April Staines - Melbourne AU

On 14 November 2012 23:27, Holger <holge...@wolffh.de> wrote:

Hello

On Wed, 14 Nov 2012, Scott Penrose wrote:

On 14/11/2012, at 11:16 AM, Stuart Young <cef...@gmail.com> wrote:

I read that it is a little easier to print in PLA, and less fumes, but not as strong. Mostly I note that PLA seems to cost heaps more. So my question is then. If I am getting ok results in ABS, why use PLA? (note: 1 days printing, makes an expert not) :-)

It seems to be easier, because there is less contraction on cooling. This contraction often leads my prints to tear themselves apart. I have now started to print PLA, but haven't got it reliable yet. (Also, I need a better way to unroll it.)

However, I think (others should correct me if I'm wrong) that PLA is actually stronger, but more brittle. I have had problems with my micro-extruder, I have now printed a uniX (similar to Greg/Wade) to use a more traditional one. I printed the gears on that one in PLA because I think ABS would be too soft. I printed the rest in ABS because it can withstand higher temperatures.

I'll let you know how it pans out. At the moment I need a M3 grub screw for the small gear.

Cheers,
Holger

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[PandPP]

I use RepRaper.

I have 6 colours of their PLA that I'll bring along on Monday.

I'm looking to put another order in.  The postage gets cheaper the more you buy.  If people are interested, I'll order stuff for them as well, reducing the overall cost.

Peter.

[April Staines]

Peter posted this on the forum with regards to PLA, 

But on closer examination Repraper.com have Gold and Silver 3mm ABS

http://www.repraper.com/goods.php?id=149

http://www.repraper.com/goods.php?id=148

$14 a 1kg spool plus shipping from china.

Totally in on this if you havent already done the order.

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April Staines - Melbourne AU

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[Peter Tipping]

April,

I haven't sent the order through yet.  Still waiting on someone to get back to me as to what they want.

Looking for one of each Gold & Silver?

Postage will probably be $11/roll from PRC.

How is "Kitty" coming along?

PS, I'm Mr Pink from CCHS last Monday, if that makes any sense.

Yours in Scouting,

                                                           

Peter Tipping (Footy)

Assistant Scout Leader

Narre Warren Scout Group

Address: PO Box 2264, Fountain Gate, 3805

Mobile: 0403 173 837

E-mail: pan...@gmail.com

[April Staines]

Yeap, and perhaps a role of pink for good measure as well. :-)

Hello Thingy is coming along nicely, thank you, she is still yet to print, but getting awfully close.

are you paying with paypal? because I can just transfer the funds that way in USD.

thanks

-------------------------------------------------------------------

April Staines - Melbourne AU

[Peter Tipping]

April,

The filament turned up at my door yesterday, just a week behind estimate.

The CCHS meeting is this coming Monday.  Are you going?  Want me to bring it to you there?

Let me know how you want to take possession please.

Yours in Scouting,

                                                           

Peter Tipping (Footy)

Assistant Scout Leader

Narre Warren Scout Group

Address: PO Box 2264, Fountain Gate, 3805

Mobile: 0403 173 837

E-mail: pan...@gmail.com

[Peter Tipping]

Apologies folks, clearly this wasn't meant to go to the group.