Plastic.

[gandyo001]

Hey newbie here. Where is the best place for good inexpensive pla? I am a poor teacher so the better price but I do want good plastic.

[EddB]

I buy it on amazon using my free prime member shipping. On average I buy 2.2lbs (1kg) rolls for $28. Last couplw rolls I bought 2.6lbs (1.18kg) for $30. I really like this stuff and it I like the smell of it. Lots of dealers offer free shipping even without the prime shipping, so that is my go-to place.

[kbowen99]

A great place where I've gotten some plastic from is PushPlastic ($29 a kg, free shipping). Just keep in mind it has a really low melting point (180C)! Makerbot makes really nice plastic (insanely nice at 205C), but it is a little expensive ($48 for 2lbs). Printrbot has pretty good plastic at the normal price of $30 a kg, it is good plastic but shipping makes it overpriced (at least for me). if you have amazon prime, it may be worth looking into, but be careful where you order from on amazon.

[KD6HQ]

If you are looking for PLA for personal use, then you might try this.
I'm using it now and seems to work ok.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/301350446198?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

I live in Calif. so with tax it was $20.47 delivered. Delivery was quick.

Good luck

[orangefurball]

Check out RepRapper on eBay. They ship from New Jersey and have some good plastics. Had one clog in probably about 15-20 spools over the last 6 months. And it was at the very end of the spool. It's less than $20 shipped in the US for the filament and they ship pretty fast.

I ordered 4 kg once and they ran out of one of the colors. They notified me immediately and offered to give me a different color plus another color of my choosing for free, they have excellent and fast customer service.

[Bellus]

Check out RepRapper on eBay. They ship from New Jersey and have some good plastics. Had one clog in probably about 15-20 spools over the last 6 months. And it was at the very end of the spool. It's less than $20 shipped in the US for the filament and they ship pretty fast.

I ordered 4 kg once and they ran out of one of the colors. They notified me immediately and offered to give me a different color plus another color of my choosing for free, they have excellent and fast customer service.

I used to buy there stuff exclusively on Amazon prime, @$20 shipped. They have recently raised there prices on Amazon though. It is in my opinion the best cheap filament around.

[orangefurball]

Check out RepRapper on eBay. They ship from New Jersey and have some good plastics. Had one clog in probably about 15-20 spools over the last 6 months. And it was at the very end of the spool. It's less than $20 shipped in the US for the filament and they ship pretty fast.

I ordered 4 kg once and they ran out of one of the colors. They notified me immediately and offered to give me a different color plus another color of my choosing for free, they have excellent and fast customer service.

I used to buy there stuff exclusively on Amazon prime, @$20 shipped. They have recently raised there prices on Amazon though. It is in my opinion the best cheap filament around.

I wonder why. I hope they don't raise it on eBay. They sure make a good filament!

[mechanizedmedic]

Does anyone have a link to these eBay/Amazon storefronts? The only ones I'm finding don't seem legit.

[orangefurball]

Just checked and RepRapper prices went up..

But wow I can't believe the amount of cheap plastic on eBay. 1kg can be as low as $11 on there!

[JonS]

Just buy Foxsmart's PLA. $18 for a high quality filament.

I was skeptical, but recently I bought some and my print quality shot up.

See here for a review (where I found out about it): http://www.fabbaloo.com/blog/2014/11/4/hands-on-with-foxsmarts-3d-printer-filament

And here to buy: http://www.foxsmart.club/filament-1-75-pla.html

[mechanizedmedic]

Just buy Foxsmart's PLA. $18 for a high quality filament.

I was skeptical, but recently I bought some and my print quality shot up.

See here for a review (where I found out about it): http://www.fabbaloo.com/blog/2014/11/4/hands-on-with-foxsmarts-3d-printer-filament

And here to buy: http://www.foxsmart.club/filament-1-75-pla.html

Thanks, I just ordered two spools! Anyone know where to get GOOD ABS for a decent price. The stuff from Fry's is garbage.

[Bellus]

Will have to check out the fox smart filament. Just recently picked up some Hatchbox PLA and ABS. So far no complaints with the PLA, haven't tried the ABS though. I am hoping this will be my replacement for reprapper filament. @$22 shipped from Amazon. I just hate paying 25 bucks for filament then another 10-15 for shipping. Especially since I am just starting out and wasting a lot of it at the moment.

I was wondering about the Fry's filament, guess it is good that I put it back.

My total for three rolls from Hatchbox on Amazon (2 1kg rolls, 1 ABS 1 PLA and 1 1/2kg of transparent PLA) was 61.88 shipped. I have a ton of Amazon gift cards at the moment.

[orangefurball]

Will have to check out the fox smart filament. Just recently picked up some Hatchbox PLA and ABS. So far no complaints with the PLA, haven't tried the ABS though. I am hoping this will be my replacement for reprapper filament. @$22 shipped from Amazon. I just hate paying 25 bucks for filament then another 10-15 for shipping. Especially since I am just starting out and wasting a lot of it at the moment.

I was wondering about the Fry's filament, guess it is good that I put it back.

My total for three rolls from Hatchbox on Amazon (2 1kg rolls, 1 ABS 1 PLA and 1 1/2kg of transparent PLA) was 61.88 shipped. I have a ton of Amazon gift cards at the moment.

I'm at the end of my first Hatchbox roll. Its not bad, I got the white.

One thing I did notice was that this white is a lot whiter. Like its brighter and glossy when compared to the RepRapper white. It also doesn't seem to age as fast (RepRapper white turned yellow quick)

Would definitely buy again!

[KD6HQ]

Just buy Foxsmart's PLA. $18 for a high quality filament.

I was skeptical, but recently I bought some and my print quality shot up.

See here for a review (where I found out about it): http://www.fabbaloo.com/blog/2014/11/4/hands-on-with-foxsmarts-3d-printer-filament

And here to buy: http://www.foxsmart.club/filament-1-75-pla.html

Thanks, I just ordered two spools! Anyone know where to get GOOD ABS for a decent price. The stuff from Fry's is garbage.

Have you heard from Foxsmart yet? I ordered on the 29th and not heard from them.
So I don't know if they were closed this week or if they are out of stock so I thought
I would ask and see if you have heard from them.

thanks

[JonS]

Have you heard from Foxsmart yet? I ordered on the 29th and not heard from them.
So I don't know if they were closed this week or if they are out of stock so I thought
I would ask and see if you have heard from them.

I placed an order on the 31st after getting a 15% discount code e-mail from them. I received an automatic order confirmation, but wasn't expecting anything else yet.

I would expect the holidays to slow things down, but I have no specific inside knowledge. I'm trying to remember how long it took for the last shipment to arrive. I don't think it was super-quick. Maybe over a week.

[KD6HQ]

My first order was before I registered and they said that there would be and additional e-mail with a tracking number which I have not gotten yet. So I figure they were shut down. Since then I've registered and just went to order some more but now I see that they are out of the color I was interested in so I'll have to wait. Guess the discount did that.

[misellus]

If you have a Microcenter nearby, they have Toner brand filament for $16/kg and Inland for $15/kg, either ABS or PLA. IMO the Inland PLA has a better finish than the Toner, but needs slightly higher temps than the other PLAs I've used. Neither are as nice as Makerbot PLA (the only "name brand" I've tried) but are half the cost or better.

randy

[Bellus]

Just tried out a bit of Hatch box ABS, seems rather decent thus far.

I will have to print some more to be confident. My only complaint is it may be a little stronger smelling than others.

[JonS]

I received my order from Foxsmart this morning.

[kbowen99]

Any Quality Issues? Does it print nicely?

[JonS]

I presume it will print as nicely as the natural PLA I've been using for a while now.

I'll see how it does in my new Metal Plus that should arrive tomorrow.

[KD6HQ]

I received my order from Foxsmart. It was ordered on Dec. 29, shipped on the 30th and received on the 7th. Not bad when you consider this was the economy shipping. On the web site it states, "At the time of shipment, you will receive tracking information via the e-mail address you provide." I did not receive the e-mail.

I printed a couple of test squares and found that it seemed to print best at 185 for the first layer followed by 180. As you can see from the picture it came out very useable. I only have one extruder so the same material was used for support where needed. I have not removed the support material in these pictures.

I will be ordering some more once they get the colors back in

[KD6HQ]

I received this from Foxsmart (1-9-15) 1:30PM Pacific Coast Time.

"Thanks for contacting us! We've actually got a shipment with blue, green, red, and an assortment of new colors on its way to our warehouse here in Oklahoma. We are expecting the shipment to arrive in the next 2-3 weeks."

[Munson]

I originally knocked the inland filament from Microcenter but decided to give it another try.I purchased the Sea Green type color and it has printed perfectly at 200.I did not have any luck with black or white.The black and white were printed with the ubis and sea green with e3dv6.I had very good prints with the ubis using a similar sea green.

[wd5gnr]

I have had good luck with Monoprice's branded filament (probably the same as Microcenter's which I have had good luck with too). Monoprice often has specials or free shipping. The Fry's Shaxon or whatever it is is only so-so, although once I got the temp right the black ABS has given good results.

[orangefurball]

Just figured I would update everyone on my new favorite filament suppliers. WYZ Filament. I've gone through quite a bit of it in a few different orders and it is all really good!

This is there website. I'm going to request some more information from them about their plastic sources, additives, etc.

[mechanizedmedic]

I suppose I'll report back now that I've had time to work with some new stuff... The FoxSmart.club PLA that I bought has been performing quite well. It prints rather cool at 195C, even running at 80mm/s on a 0.4mm nozzle. From the looks of my prints I am guessing it could print as low as 185C at 30mm/s. The filament is nice and round with good tolerances between 1.73-1.78mm. It sticks very well to my heated glass at about 65-70C.

The only issue that I've had thus far has been some curling and warping. If I slow down the print this diminishes, but this filament does like to shrink. This is a particular concern with small radius inside curves where it tends to pull in the walls a bit. I'm okay with drilling a few holes so this isn't a deal breaker for me.

[Desdemona1]

I have been using my 1.75MM PLA from Foxsmart for a few days now and so far its the best quality out of all other brands I've tried.
Quick shipping and great price. Thanks for the info guys.

[mechanizedmedic]

FoxSmart released a few new filaments -- ABS, flexible TPU, and wood filled PLA... I'll probably be ordering some ABS and TPU to test them out.

Has anyone here tried them yet?

[JonS]

I'm about to place an order with Foxsmart and I'm contemplating buying some TPE filament. The only thing is I really haven't found much need for flexible prints and I already have some Ninjaflex samples.

What are people here using flexible filament for, other than to play with?

[orangefurball]

I'm about to place an order with Foxsmart and I'm contemplating buying some TPE filament. The only thing is I really haven't found much need for flexible prints and I already have some Ninjaflex samples.

What are people here using flexible filament for, other than to play with?

I want to use it to make shock absorbers for hard drives in computers. I plan on printing a 3.5mm mount out of flexible filament and screwing it right into the case to reduce vibrations and shock from drops.

That's the only thing I have thought of so far and have yet to order any for it. Another neat thing would be a phone case that has a PLA backing and flexible sides. Not even sure if the materials would mesh well though.

[PxT]

PLA will bond to filaflex, and I believe ABS will as well.

[orangefurball]

PLA will bond to filaflex, and I believe ABS will as well.

Awesome. I'd pick some up if I knew it'd work in my Bowden machines. I don't have any direct drive printers anymore

[bbrown64]

Take a look at http://pushplastic.com/. I have been using them exclusively, since I started printing. Shipping is UPS ground. They have many colors to chose from in PLA, ABS, and some exotics. The melt temperature is accurate through all their colors. PLA is at 200/ 60 for a heated bed.