Filament

[Mark Millard]

Howdy. Still experimenting (and learning) so don't want to fork over the money just yet for high temp carbon fiber filament.  So, in the meantime would you recommend ABS or PLA?  Also, if I do jump up to carbon fiber, do i need to make any adjustments to my machine? (Am currently running an ender 3 pro printer).

THANKS!

BTW - Love the design. congrats!

[David Perry]

Hi Mark,

Welcome to the group, and thank you! I love the design, too. :-)

I would recommend using PLA for all parts. There may be folks here that disagree, but the inherent stiffness of PLA is good for making a violin. Using a carbon fiber filled plastic will add additional stiffness. Adding stiffness to the neck, tailpiece, and pegbox will make the instrument more dimensionally stable over time, so the parts will warp less over time and will last longer. Adding stiffness to the bridge and body will improve the sound of the instrument, and also will help prevent sagging over time in the plates and in the bridge. 

Yes, if you jump to carbon fiber you will want to use a steel hot end. I use stainless steel hotends from my printer manufacturer (Makergear) and they hold up well. A carbon fiber filament can trash a bronze nozzle in a matter of minutes. Other improvements may be needed for your printer specifically but I can't speak to that. 

Again welcome, and throw out any questions you might have! 

-David

 

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[Mark Doberenz]

I'd suggest PETG if you can get the stringing to a minimum and layer adhesion strong. I've found layer adhesion is strongly tied to nozzle temperature so do some temp tower tests.

PETG is stronger than PLA and it's worked well for me in the past. I've done PLA too but it really can deform a lot, especially if it gets too warm.

I agree with David that carbon fiber is the way to go if you can pull it off. I haven't had a chance to use it yet but I'm hoping to soon.

Mark

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[allen...@gmail.com]

If you do try carbon fiber, you will need to use a 0.6mm nozzle at a minimum.  The particle size of the carbon fiber fill is just to large to reliably fit through a 0.4mm nozzle.  I would also recommend the Olson Ruby nozzle; it's pricey but very much worth the cost.

[Steven Christensen]

All of the above is true but I’ll put in a plug for PLA.  PLA works fine for this application, and is perhaps the easiest material to print, and will likely give you the best finish.  Keep it indoors (like you would a violin) and the heat resistance doesn’t matter much.

If you’re new to 3d printing you really should start with easy materials.  The body in particular is a very large part, you probably don’t want to attempt it in carbon fiber until you’ve had some success with simpler parts in carbon fiber.

My 0.02$

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