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There are so many variations of PLA on the market now.

Discussion in 'Off Topic' started by BrooklynBay, Jul 1, 2024.

  1. BrooklynBay

    BrooklynBay Moderator
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    Every time I go to my local Micro Center I see another variation of PLA. They have the regular one, plus, pro, lite, tough, matte, high speed, and various blends with carbon fiber, and polycarbonate.I've used several so far, and I could see the difference as far as strength, UV resistance, flexibility, temperature resistance, layer adhesion, bed adhesion, etc. Their Website has limited information except for reviews. Here's what I'm getting at. They frequently run out of what I using at the time, and the online system is also out of stock at the same time. This happens while I'm in the middle of a project. Does eSun or another company manufacture their filament? If so, it might be available directly through that manufacturer or on Amazon. Other brands have confusing descriptions such as PLA pro plus with enhanced 5x strength. Does that mean that it's tough PLA, pro or plus PLA?
     
  2. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    ColorFabb has been my go-to for years.
    Not just PLA, but pretty much anything.
    If they don't make something specific I need -- Taulman usually has it :)

    Our (6 foot tall) delta printer is very picky and ColorFabb was one of the few it it will work with correctly.
     
  3. cursorman

    cursorman New Member

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    I totally get where you're coming from — the number of PLA variations today can be overwhelming, and the naming conventions don’t help at all. It’s frustrating when you find a filament that works perfectly for your setup, only to see it sold out everywhere right in the middle of a project. From what I’ve seen, some Micro Center filaments are indeed sourced from larger manufacturers like eSun or Polymaker under different branding, but supply chains can be unpredictable.
     
  4. BrooklynBay

    BrooklynBay Moderator
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    Inland now has another PLA series called PLA Basic which is a few dollars less than their standard PLA series which is just marked as PLA. So this means that they now sell the basic PLA, regular PLA, PLA Plus, lightweight PLA, High Speed PLA, wood PLA, color changing PLA, various blends of PLA with carbon fiber, Matt PLA, PLA Pro, Tough PLA, and some SLA fomula which is supposed to be similar to Tough PLA. Proto Pasta in their store has high temperature PLA, conductive PLA, PLA with metal, and other blends as well.They should print a PLA usage chart on their Website or on their products to help customers decide which one is for their application.A sign with a usage chart will also be helpful in the filament section of their store.
     
    mark tomlinson likes this.

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