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Best Filament Suppliers

Discussion in 'Printing Filament' started by Shaun Murray, Feb 20, 2013.

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  1. XavierB

    XavierB New Member

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    Hi to all on the forum. I'm Xavier a new Robo3D user... Completely nut about my printer :) I bought on my side filaments on Filaments.ca. I'm not affiliated to them, for the while happy with the filaments but noticed some little details. I will try soon other filaments than PLA. For the while, I had used mainly PLA and is it possible that PLA may vary regarding their coloration as if the pigment might alter or change the melting, glueing behavior on the bed and the print. I will try a T-Glaze soon and some others. A White PLA seemed to need an higher temp for the printing and a solid green followed other temp...
     
    #21 XavierB, Jan 21, 2015
  2. Printed Solid

    Printed Solid Volunteer Admin
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    Hi XavierB. Welcome!
    Yes, it is normal to need different temperatures for some colors. This is due partially to the pigments as well as some other things like how much recycled materials (regrind). Higher quality vendors don't do much of this so their temperatures are a little more consistent.
    You'll love t-glase. I'd also encourage you to check out colorFabb XT. The Hexagon hot end loves it :) check out voxelfactory.com for a great Canadian supplier of both materials.
     
    #22 Printed Solid, Jan 21, 2015
  3. XavierB

    XavierB New Member

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    Hi Matt,

    I have an eye on the ColorFabb XT. :) For the while I went for a PolyFlex to try as some Laywood... By the way, I plan to upgrade my Hexagon hot end with the E3D V6 as from various comments it will works better with flexible filaments. I might some day try voxelfactory.com but free shipping helps also to make an order on the same material :+) I might email them they should offer this as Filaments.ca may be I didn't see it...

    Cheers,
    Xavier
     
    #23 XavierB, Jan 21, 2015
  4. Rasterize

    Rasterize Member

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    Hi all!
    Truth be told I don't have my printer yet (gets here tomorrow!) but I already have some opinions about filament. They stem from my 30 years experience in the digital print (2D) industry. In digital 2D printing paper is a
    commodity just as filament is in the 3D world. Just as cheap (read bad) paper can waste time and money in the 2D world I believe (at least from what I've read) it can waste time and money with your 3D printer. So for me quality will always trump a low price.
    I have already made my first filament purchase (even before I pulled the trigger on my Robo) from Maker Geeks. I have only heard good things about them, they sell quality stuff at reasonable prices, have a nice selection and are right here in the USA. That and there always seems to be a 10% off your order coupon floating around somewhere for them. Quality counts but a discount never hurts! ;)
    If anyone knows of a similar company I would always be interested in hearing about them too.
    Be well,
    Stephen
     
    #24 Rasterize, Jan 22, 2015
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  5. Mike Glass

    Mike Glass Active Member

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    #25 Mike Glass, Jan 22, 2015
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  6. Rasterize

    Rasterize Member

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    ColorFabb Glowfill and Woodfill Are on my list to try.
     
    #26 Rasterize, Jan 22, 2015
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  7. Robert Choban

    Robert Choban Active Member

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    I'm storing my filament in a pastic container to keep it dry. What is the stuff Called that you can put in the container that takes the moisture out of the air. Some post talked about a canister that you can use.
     
    #27 Robert Choban, Jan 22, 2015
  8. Mike Glass

    Mike Glass Active Member

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    Just do a search for Desiccant for Safe Lockbox, they are rechargeable by placing them in an oven. I use them in my gun safe.
     
    #28 Mike Glass, Jan 22, 2015
  9. Printed Solid

    Printed Solid Volunteer Admin
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    Robert, I keep my filament in a big plastic tote with a damprid container in it.

    Rasterize, I think your paper analogy is probably dead on. There's probably another one in buying cartridges vs buying ink to refill. To continue with the paper analogies, hit me up when you need that resume paper or whatever for special occasions. We've got samples of all of the different colorFabb filaments here: http://www.printedsolid.com/shop/175-pla-pha/colorfabb-sample-pack/
     
    #29 Printed Solid, Jan 22, 2015
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  10. Rasterize

    Rasterize Member

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    Thanks Matt I'll keep that in mind. The three places I plan on trying out first for filament were Maker Geeks, Printed Solid and Printrbot.
    I too am going to keep my filament in a big plastic tote. I like the ones with the "snap over" latches that secure the lid. I'm also going to add one of     these to control humidity.
    And remember...
    "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of ColorFabb CopperFill"
    ;)
     
    #30 Rasterize, Jan 23, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 23, 2015
  11. Rasterize

    Rasterize Member

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    #31 Rasterize, Jan 23, 2015
  12. tonycstech

    tonycstech Active Member

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    WHy ? Its double the price compared to ebay.
    ABS is cheap and very eazy to make.
    It extrudes very even in diameter and at fast speed too. PLA is much slower on extrusion rate and more touchy on the diameter so if any, i would buy PLA for $20 then ABS.

    If you ask me, i think ABS should cost $10.
     
    #32 tonycstech, Jan 24, 2015
  13. Printed Solid

    Printed Solid Volunteer Admin
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    I've purchased one spool of black ABS from inventables. I found it to be well spooled and good consistent quality.

    For ABS suppliers, I've also had good experience with toybuilderlabs.
     
    #33 Printed Solid, Jan 24, 2015
  14. Rasterize

    Rasterize Member

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    My Eva-Dry finally arrived. It's bigger and heavier than I imagined.
    EvaDry.jpg
    This in a plastic tote with the lid firmly clasped on should protect my filament from sucking up moisture like a sponge.
    Can't claim credit for the idea. Learned it from one of you guys!
     
    #34 Rasterize, Jan 24, 2015
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  15. Gonzalo

    Gonzalo New Member

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    I'm trying to find some PETG in different colors ESUN has only four available... I find this company http://www.wb3dprinter.com the filament price is very cheap, but Im not sure about the quality. I quote the shipping to Mexico and the total spool/roll price is not bad US$22 each for 16 spools order. Anyone ever buy from them?
     
    #35 Gonzalo, Mar 5, 2015
  16. hansen644

    hansen644 New Member

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    Hi, I have have great luck with Florida-Filaments.com only $22.00 plus shipping
     
    #36 hansen644, Mar 6, 2015
  17. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Never heard of them and they are almost neighbors :)
    (OK, Jacksonville which makes them COLD neighbors, but still not too bad)

    I'll check them out.
     
    #37 mark tomlinson, Mar 6, 2015
  18. 1nxtmonster

    1nxtmonster Active Member

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    I get my filament from Hatchbox on amazon. The spools are about $25 + $5 shipping. I have used the grey, orange, and green PLA. The grey spool was my favorite and layed down nicely with a beautiful shimmery color. The quality seems good and I haven't had a clog with their filament.
     
    #38 1nxtmonster, Mar 6, 2015
  19. daniel871

    daniel871 Well-Known Member

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    I recently bought some PET+ in Sky Blue over on MatterHackers.com (actual manufacturer is MadeSolid). I paid a little bit more ($38 for the roll including shipping, but they do free shipping anywhere in the US). They seemed pretty competitive to Amazon.com for pricing, but not all of the suppliers on Amazon had free shipping (or Prime shipping wasn't available).

    You can look over everything they sell filament-wise here:

    http://www.matterhackers.com/store/3d-printer-filament

    Instantly fell in love with the MadeSolid roll because they have a label on the roll that spells out the recommended temperatures and printing speeds for the roll in question. Much better than the guessing game I've been playing trying to figure out Taulman 3D's T-glase.
     
    #39 daniel871, Apr 28, 2015
  20. KTMDirtFace

    KTMDirtFace Well-Known Member

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    Justpla and justabs from Amazon is what i Get its cheap and has free prime shipping. Seems to work great too.
     
    #40 KTMDirtFace, May 19, 2015
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