Prusament PC Blend - The strongest material I tested!

Prusament PC Blend is Prusa's engineering-grade material, that's strong but easy to use. Let's test this filament and find out how it compares to other 3D printing materials.
Test samples and methods: / filament-test-16238656
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Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:36 Polycarbonate
01:56 Prusament PC Blend
03:42 Print quality
06:53 Mechanical Tests
12:46 Summary
#3Dprinting #toughStuff #filamentTest
DISCLAIMER: None of these tests have been performed with calibrated or verified test equipment. The results are for entertainment purposes only! Inform yourself!

[@CNCKitchen]

Polycarbonate?! Is there a need for these technical materials in 3D printing? Don't forget to like & subscribe and share this video on Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, and other platforms!

[@AwesomeMau5Heads]

It's mixed with pbt per their MSDS.

[@AwesomeMau5Heads]

Also push plastics sells it in America for 50$ a kilo. Goes down to 30$ a kilo of bought in bulk.

[@AwesomeMau5Heads]

I also print with it exclusively.

[@theheadone]

Please check out Priline PC-CF. I've been using that stuff for a couple years now (I think it's only available on amazon) I'm a mechanical engineer and I use this stuff for everything (mounts, brackets, etc.) I print this using my prusa mk3 and Railcore using profiles for prusaslicer for atomic CF-PETG. Thank you for your amazing content! It helps to educate me and allows me to help make proper decisions for my engineering models!

[@joshsekel]

So would you consider using this for Voron parts given the strength and heat properties? I wonder how PC creeps? That would make a great test series, the creep characteristics of different materials. Also how common lubricants effect strength over time. We really need you to become a full time you tuber so you can answer all the questions!

[@coltonmccormack8978]

It looks like Prusa just changed the formula on this 3 days ago and it is now less dense. I wonder how much that affects its properties. From Prusa: "Prusament PC Blend has a new formula since 9. 6. 2021 The material density is now slightly lower than before, resulting in a minimal spool weight of 970 g. The approximate length of the filament is 330 m - the same length as the standard Prusament."

[@wervelstroom]

Prusament PC blend in the original formula was the ultimate filament for gears!!! I hope that changing the formula does not make it less good...

[@CNCKitchen]

Thanks for the information. Might need to consider re-testing a couple of properties.

[@smlkat]

@@CNCKitchen you should also try the new Prusament PCCF (PC Blend+Carbon fiber)

[@gg-gn3re]

so you get jipped 30grams? wow

[@The0nionKnight]

@@wervelstroom Taulman Alloy 910 is the best for gears.

[@forestbirdoriginals4917]

I was always told to increase the temp by 10 degrees for steel nozzles for what that’s worth, I also confirmed my A2 nozzles and Nozzle X benefit from this on all materials

[@stevenmcculloch5727]

Yeah the prints from the steel nozzle are weaker because the extruded plastic is colder. Steel is less conductive so heat transfer into the material is slower.

[@seanwieland9763]

Yes, steel doesn’t retain heat as well as brass.

[@Ebonyqwe]

Interesting, if this is well known then Prusa slicer needs to add in the choice of material for hotend

[@stevenmcculloch5727]

@@Ebonyqwe This could easily lead to confusion if the actual printing temp is set to be different from the one desired.

[@Ebonyqwe]

@@stevenmcculloch5727 im not sure how it could be so confusing.

[@marsgizmo]

Love the in-depth review! It's remarkable how many hours you put into testing.

[@coltonmccormack8978]

I greatly appreciate your focus on exotic engineering filaments and testing procedures. You've been an excellent resource for supplementing my design process for functional parts. Cheers.

[@seanwieland9763]

I hope that polycarbonate blends won’t be considered “exotic” much longer.

[@coltonmccormack8978]

@@seanwieland9763 Agreed. Though I wasn't necessarily talking about this specific filament, but rather his channel in general. I am cautiously optimistic that PC will replace ABS as my "go to" functional filament. I tend to print pretty large prints (machine parts, jigs, robot chassis) and even in my 50C chamber printer I get a bit too much warp for fitment on parts with my current PC. PC-CF is pretty stable, though. Might have to add active heating.

[@kerbodynamicx472]

@@coltonmccormack8978 I want to try PC-CF but it is kinda expensive and requires hardened nozzles. Yeah, I wish polycarbonate should become a common filament along with PLA and PETG. There are some properties of ABS that just suck, its smell and its low tensile strength. PC is far stronger than ABS and should be appreciated more!

[@Bajotaz]

"Not everyone needs a 1kg spool" ... Me looking for 10kg spools...

[@zakariakhamees]

10 kg! Are you printing a house or what? 🤣

[@ogxoutcast44]

@@zakariakhamees 1kg with a .8 nozzle is like nothing

[@zakariakhamees]

@@ogxoutcast44 That makes sense 👍🏻

[@thor_269]

I'm over here ordering multiple 2kg spools of PETG, because I just print so much

[@nukularpictures]

@@zakariakhamees I mean if you do a lot of technical stuff why not? Some projects of mine require several kg of plastic and with a E3D SuperVulcano it is not a problem. With a 1mm nozzle I get over 50mm^3 / s of material flow and over 70mm^3/s with 1.2mm. So given the denstiy of plastics is usually between 1.2g/cm^3 - 1.4g/cm^3 I run between 220g/h (50mm^2/s and 1.2g/cm^3) and 350g/h (70mm^2 and 1.4g/cm^3). In theory the SuperVulcano can go over 100mm^3/s but that requires the 1.4mm nozzle and I find that too big. But yeah for technical prints 1kg spools can be a bit of a joke. Just does not last long enough.

[@infernaldaedra]

Stronger filaments will always be useful for prototyping and functional parts. I'd love to see an engineering materials strength test and comparison. PEEK ,PEKK PEEK blends, PC, Carbon Fiber variants!

[@xxxm981]

Especially stuff like PEEK.... sadly i don´t think he has a high temp Printer you would need for that

[@infernaldaedra]

@@xxxm981 I think slice engineering and volcano make hotends for it but maybe he could have test parts printed by VisionMiner or something because they never seem to do strength tests.

[@Fluffehfox]

@@infernaldaedra i would love it if VisionMiner did standarized test instead of burn crush

[@mophie6941]

Yea but to be fair getting the high temp for PEEK is the least of your problem with this material 😅😅

[@infernaldaedra]

@@mophie6941 Okay but how strong are the parts between the different blends and polymers?

[@alchemistTi]

I’m guessing 10-15 degrees hotter with a steel nozzle will bring the results inline.

[@INSOMNIAC205]

Jup, very likely. On my first printer i usually had to up them by 5-10°C after installing a SS nozzle. But that's what i would expect to be the crulpit in this case too. But i'm sure Stefan will figure that out way more excessive and in detail in the close future. 🤣

[@DrakeMem]

yup, I was gonna say

[@oliversmeeton]

I thought the same, you probably need to re-tune your print temp when using a different nozzle material as well as potentially running pid auto tune to calibrate for the change in thermal property of the nozzle. Also for the best results it may have been better to tune the temp to start with instead of using the stock profile.

[@Lucas_sGarage]

I wonder what would happend with a copper nozzle.... Or if u are rich a gold one

[@namAehT]

In my experiance printing with the E3D Nozzel-X I needed to raise the temps by 10-20 degrees to get good results. Switching to a copper heat block (from the stock aluminium) negated this.

[@HybridRobotix]

I really like your filament analysis videos! They are very useful in helping me choose filament for specific uses.

[@BitSmythe]

All your analyses are more detailed than I could ever have imagined!

[@rohitkrishnan4429]

Dude.. You work so HARD!! WOW. I'm probably a step below beginner at this point and its so encouraging to see the information that you and so many other folks have already put out! Thank you.

[@lovecastle7154]

The brass nozzle wore out and so was wider than the steel, this is why adhesion was improved. If you added an extrusion multiplier to the steel nozzle you’d get the same effect

[@SilkyWayFPV]

I would also say due to the worse heat dissipation you should use 5-10 degrees higher temperature. I also found layer adhesion is worse when same print temp is used

[@JT-Works]

Where is the Prudament PC Carbon Fiber video? You mentioned it was coming soon, 7 months ago. Eitherway, thanks for all you do for the 3D printing community.

[@jaakkopontinen]

Stefan, you're the genuine article 👍 Keep it up and greetings from Finland.

[@axeldios9036]

Keep up the good work, as usual good testing, and through information

[@le_potate3861]

Been waiting for this for a long time

[@Marci124]

I never realized how high PLA rates across the board in total. It's not very often that the "most basic" option is also among the best in most respects.

[@AzaB2C]

Nice! Liked before watching, always a pleasure watching your edutainment content. Cheers!

[@Dave-gf3kd]

Excellent as always!

[@JATMN]

Very interesting results.. Think this is the first PC that I have seen that actually stands up to moisture. Will be keeping this material in mind for future projects.

[@heron5045]

thanks for the great material test

[@randomname4726]

You are truly an asset to the 3D Printing community!

[@BladeWalker91]

So what I'm hearing is that we need a comprehensive guide on different types of nozzle materials and types, from simple brass and steel, to fancy stuff, like brass with sapphire tip, or nickel plated copper. Looking forward to it

[@chuysaucedo7119]

Awesome video!

[@PutTheKettleOnGromit]

Thank you for the video. Great as always. Cheers Mate. I print with PC Blend on my Prusa MK3S eoth the hardened steel nozzle. I had to increase the nozzle temperature by 5 to 10C. I also print within an enclosure as I print large parts and warping is possible without an enclosure.

[@gunnerpetrea3531]

I have noticed the difference between nozzle types before with clear PETG. Using a nickel plated copper nozzle the print is glossy and semi-transparent, while using a steel nozzle the print has a matte look and is almost white instead of semi-transparent. There is also enough of an impact on layer adhesion that I can feel the difference with my hands on thin walled parts. I think the benefit of using a nozzle with higher thermal conductivity vs. just increasing the temperature is that a nozzle with higher conductivity allows you to print with a larger range of speeds during the same print. If the temperature is increased for a steel nozzle, the filament will start to degrade faster at slower speeds when the thermal conductivity is less of an issue. I am also not 100% sure that temperature is the only factor, since after increasing the temperature with a steel nozzle I looked at the top layer surface using a microscope and compared the steel nozzle to the nickel plated copper nozzle. To me it looked like the part printed with the nickel plated nozzle was much smoother at a small scale. Almost as if the rougher surface finish or higher plastic adhesion properties of the steel nozzle caused the layer surface to be rougher. This could then cause tiny air bubbles to get trapped inside the layers as the next layer is put down, reducing the layer adhesion strength.

[@theshiznojudge]

This is why I use tungsten nozzles. Better thermal conductivity than brass (170w/mk vs 110) and it's naturally a hard material. I haven't done any strength tests of nozzle material and temp. Would be interesting to see the showdown.

[@davidg5898]

I'd love to see a comparison of nozzles made of different materials. I never really gave it any thought before, but you're absolutely right that different metals' thermal properties would affect the result.

[@RCGrid]

Have you ever tried testing 3DXTech brand filament? They’re supposed to have some of the best mechanical properties for each type of filament they offer, along with the benefit of being easy to print

[@zakariakhamees]

Its definitely the thermal properties of the nozzle that affects layer adhesion. From your test, the brass nozzle almost got double the performance of the steel one for layer adhesion. This makes sense because the thermal conductivity of brass is about 110 W/mK compared to steel at 52 W/mK. Layer adhesion would even be way better if you used a copper nozzle because it's more conductive at 385 W/mK. I think you should make a video comparing few nozzle materials and see the results 👍🏻

[@alexcourrau522]

I would LOVE to see a video with some comparisons of print strengths with different nozzle types. It surely makes sense that it would produce different results as the different materials nozzles would be made of have different specific heat values, and would probably transfer heat to the plastic in different ways.

[@henricoderre]

The perfect winding is what I noticed when you showed the spool of black PC filament. I thought you rewinded it that way. WOW. Compared to other filament makers this is really neat.

[@nezihmertbolgul3605]

In my opinion, strength decrease due to steel nozzle is because of very low thermal conductivity of steels. Brass has about 120 W/mK thermal conductivity while steels has around 15-80 W/mK. I experience the same problem with my ruby nozzle and to solve that, i print slower and hotter then the normal brass nozzle with ruby. This subject could be a video topic for you :) You may want to catch up brass nozzle printed part's strength by slowing down steel nozzle printed parts speed and compare the results.

[@Crazyates11]

I had this same thought the other day. We know that printing hotter can increase strength, but too hot can degrade a filament. What about printing at the higher end of a temp range, but super slow? You want to melt the plastic as thoroughly as possible, but not destroy it.

[@cruduskellies]

I wonder if a tungsten carbide one would preform the same as a hardened steel nozzle.

[@erikhellman3974]

This is the correct answer. For steel nozzles you have to increase temps 5-10 degrees and sometimes print a bit slower (depends on how fast you are already printing). I wish he had increased the temp for these tests

[@haysoos123]

@@cruduskellies tungsten carbide performs almost exactly like brass, which is why I prefer it over hardened steel. It’s more expensive though.

[@cruduskellies]

@@haysoos123 thats good to know! I definitely think I might do that.

[@FedericoAlbano83]

Thanks for the nice video as usual! I use a tungsten carbide nozzle and to me it was life changing: no thermal issue or difference with brass, but no wear out at all, even after kilos of PA-CF. I see you mostly don t mention tungsten carbide nozzles, but it is a superb addition to my machines

[@malcolmm799]

same, tungsten is the way to go

[@robertfousch2703]

Just found this channel a few days ago...its awesome. I would love to see a discussion on 3D printing molds for vacuum forming, the pro/cons of various materials and how well they hold up after multiple pulls, deformation, materials with good porosity, thermal impacts from the heated plastic sheets of HIPS, PETG, and ABS.

[@InsidiousDr9]

Looking forward to the carbon version - unless it devours ends.

[@bouvardc.2334]

Get a hardened steel end. They dont cost much and work fine.

[@brandonsmoot4056]

Most polymers don't bond to carbon fiber unless you get nano silica. It might make it weaker. Plus most carbon fiber filament is sketchy short fibers not medium to long continuous strands which would be stronger.

[@seanwieland9763]

@@brandonsmoot4056 yeah, I’m not convinced the benefits of CF outweigh the cost or the wear and tear. Other polymer blends like PC-PBT look more promising, but I haven’t done a formal test like this.

[@ivandrago4247]

Carbon is complete nonsense. We need glass filling.

[@properprinting]

Interesting video! I had similar issues with hardened nozzles. Even standard Nylon became brittle and weak. Therefore I use Microswiss's plated nozzles mostly or DyzeDesign's tungsten nozzles. The latter don't fit a regular hotend though. I haven't tried the ruby nozzle yet which might be interesting to put to the test.

[@Sembazuru]

Prusa claims that their PC Blend can be annealed for better temperature resistance. It would be interesting to see how the other physical properties are affected by annealing and how annealed PC Blend compares to annealed PLA in the thermal test.

[@liamthepyro]

I think he made a video about annealing PLA in an oven a while back

[@worldoflard]

Thanks for that review Stefan - I've been wondering when you would get around to it! I've made some fairly large prints using Prusament PC Blend, and found that even if I use a good covering of the glue stick, the part's tendency to warp is strong enough to actually curl the magnetic sheet up away from the build plate. I solved this problem by using bulldog clips - placing one at the very rear centre of the plate, and one each side at the very front - all places where it won't foul the Z-axis motors. I wait until the Z-axis has reached about 5mm before pausing the print and adding these clips (also removing the clip handles). This has given me some success with a part which is a triangular axle mount for a garden cart, about 190mm per side. It's amazing how strong this material is, and I have the carbon fibre variant on backorder as well!

[@mrclown7469]

If the steel nozzle is hurting layer adhesion (presumably) due to lower thermal conductivity compared to brass, I wonder if a nickel plated copper nozzle would do the opposite 🤔

[@Sembazuru]

Intriguing hypothesis. I haven't looked up the thermal resistance values to see how close (or far apart) they are.

[@alexanderdaum8053]

@@Sembazuru Copper is the most thermally conductive material with a thermal conductivity of about 400W/mK. Brass has about 120, but depending on the specific alloy it could be different. For steel it is hard to say, since it really depends on the alloy, but should be more in the range 30-60

[@ronricardo1332]

Hi Stefan, Thanks a lot for the informative video. I would like to suggest making a competitive video of creep resistance of different materials, as this is a very fundamental property for some applications. Keep up the good work, and thank you again.

[@Nerlin]

For the hardened steel, I thought you need a higher temperature to get the same results.

[@yathani]

Yes, 5 to 10 C above brass.

[@spedi6721]

I use a hardened steel one for carbon filament. Printing my standard filament, I have to raise 5 to 10 degrees and also reduce the speed a little bit to avoid clogging

[@wervelstroom]

For PC Blend 10C higher

[@CNCKitchen]

There are some rumors but I haven't stumbled upon any real data.

[@severdislike4222]

@@CNCKitchen what I am hearing is "I have a new materials testing video for hardened steel nozzles" coming out at some point in time!

[@lukesmith9059]

Love these videos! On the topic of layer adhesion, have you tried testing samples printed in a heated chamber? Especially with these higher temperature materials, I would expect the layer adhesion to improve substantially.

[@brisance]

I've got a roll of this and it likes to warp, even in an enclosure.

[@cruduskellies]

I saw a Sidewinder X1. That makes me happy.

[@Dramaican88]

For the nozzle material observation it has been observed in the past and mostly attributed to thermal conductivity. I think it is a combination of thermal conductivity, thermal capacity of the nozzle material and internal surface finish. The process of hardening the steel after machining I think affects the internal surface finish. Less smooth finish internally for the nozzle usually means less fully melted material. You can easily get matt finish PLA prints with a hardened steel nozzle because of this. This is also why I think nickel plated copper nozzles are the best type of nozzles for engineering materials that are not abrassive. It would be interesting if you compared E3D nozzles brass, nickel plated copper, hardened steel, nozzleX and slice engineering vanadium nozzles. Also looking forward to the PC CF Prusament results.

[@squidcaps4308]

110% agree with engineering materials to be offered in 500g spools. It would make it affordable as the most common way to use them, i think, is to print PLA part first, iterate the design using cheap materials and then print it once with the proper one.

[@3DMusketeers]

Great comparison between brass and hardened steel. because steel does not conduct heat as well, this is expected. It is also why we run the hardened nozzles at least 10C above their brass counterparts!

[@seanwieland9763]

This is great! Would also like to see a review of PC-PBT. So wonderful to see the 3D printing community finally start to take polycarbonate blends seriously - especially for functional parts.

[@crystaldragon141]

I'd love to see a series testing different nozzle materials. I'd also like to see a comparison of volcano style vs normal length nozzles with the same heater and orifice specs.

[@alexlux147]

i'm curious about nickel plated copper nozzle, it should have more heat capacity and better heat transfer

[@VincentGroenewold]

Liked before watching as I'm super interested using this for house projects, but was waiting for the CNC torture tests. :) I always print with a steel nozzle actually, needs more tuning but once done seems fine for me.

[@BenCos2018]

Noice Another prusament video I definitely need to get some of this

[@WanderCampesino]

Stoked!

[@percurious]

Still no "CNC Kitchen™"? ;-) Congrats on the trademark and on your contribution to the community being acknowledged by Angus in his latest video!

[@percurious]

P.S. i am all for deeper investigations into the nozzle material impact!

[@garagecedric]

I really like it for automotive use, better temp capabilites than abs/asa, strong, easy to print (in enclosure), not hygroscopic like nylon (big plus), cheap compared to similar spec materials etc, preordered the pccf version to get additional temp properties, looks promising.

[@SodalisUK]

Stefan's scientific approach is extremely valuable - and so far at least apparently unique. Those is the "go to" channel for genuinely science-based reviews.

[@dharmix]

what happened to the prusament PC CF review?

[@michaelhinojosa9665]

looking forward to the carbon fiber version review. the finish looks beautiful

[@santiagoblandon3022]

I'm super eager to watch the carbon fiber PC test!! :D :D :D Thanks! keep it up!

[@gorgonbert]

Looking forward to your investigation of the brass/steel nozzle phenomenon 🙏

[@paulherman5198]

I love the PC Blend. I have a roll of Prusa Orange PC. I print it on my Mini. My bed is already toast, but I still use gluestick

[@MeMyselfAndI33]

Stefan... Respekt !! Sehr lehrreiche und professionelle Videos !! Auch die Tests, die du machst sind gut und nützlich. Neben dehn-, biege-, kerbschlag- und temperaturfestigkeiten vermisse ich die Abriebfestigkeiten im Vergleich unter den compounds. Ganz speziell wurde ich dir gerne folgende Fragen stellen: - Welches Filament würdest Du für z.B. Zahnradflanken verwenden, die einer hohen Reibung ausgesetzt wären? - was muss ich beim Kauf eines Druckers beachten und dieses Filament benutzen zu können - welche modelle an 3d Drucker kannst du empfehlen

[@robbryan3044]

Another great informative video. However, in watching it...particularly having switched between the brass & steel nozzles...an idea popped into my head. I'm certain that the great majority of those watching your comparison videos greatly enjoys the material comparisons...but, I have a strong feeling that there are others who, like me, would really like to see at least one video comparing nozzles, especially in regards to the most popular/common filaments. A perfect example would be the Olson Ruby nozzles. People are familiar with the standard brass & steel nozzles...but, they're probably less familiar (many not even knowing anything about) the various Olson Ruby nozzles, such as the one made with brass, and the one made using a copper alloy. While these 'specialty' nozzles were originally created for use with more abrasive filaments (such as those containing carbon fiber), I don't see why they couldn't be used with the more common (PLA, PETG, etc) filaments. So...how about it? How about doing some nozzle comparison videos, comparing at least one (probably the brass) version of the Olson Ruby nozzles against the 'standard' brass & steel nozzles?

[@shenqiangshou]

I definitely encountered the same difference when going from brass to hardened steel nozzles. In my own testing, I had to up the temperature 20C in order to get similar results. For example, normally I print PLA at 205C, but switching to HS nozzle, I'd up it to around 225C. When I first encountered this I was very surprised. I ended up making up two identical hotends that I could quickly swap between on my MK3S in order to do back to back tests, same gcode, just different nozzle. And yeah, that's when I isolated it down to the HS nozzle being the cause of the poor layer adhesion.

[@internettoughguy]

Brass and hardened steel conduct heat differently. That's why.

[@andreaudio]

I do a lot of prints with PLA and PETG with carbon fiber. They provide great strength and superb print quality. Sometimes they don’t even look like 3d prints. I’ve tried more than 5 brands of hardened steel nozzle… In the end I decided that using a brass nozzle for each 300 grams of fiber filament works better than any of the hardened ones. Even with increased temperatures, print quality and strength are greatly decreased with the steel ones.

[@bentlikeitsmaker]

Love my carbide nozzle

[@matkilla454]

You should get a tungsten carbide nozzle, it has a similar thermal conductivity to brass but is harder and more abrasion resistant than any steel.

[@rpavlik1]

Would love to see more research into the nozzle differences.

[@powersv2]

Now I have to go back and watch the PC+ABS blend filament you made to see how this stacks up.

[@AleksandrEfimov]

I read somewhere that steel nozzles may transfer heat a bit worse than brass, so it's useful to increase print temperature by 3-4 degrees to make them work properly

[@overbuiltautomotive1299]

great video be blessed

[@JorgenLarsson]

I also wold love to see a comparison between different types of nozzles in the same dimension. Hardened, brass, brass with coatings and the ruby nozzles.

[@dertarr8208]

Hey, Stephan! You mentioned that there should be a video about CF-PC that you were preparing in between!

[@Hallslys]

Your experience with a hardened nozzle is very similar to my own. I thought i could have one nozzle on my printer and print everything with it, but i had horrible underextrusion with a hardened nozzle and PLA. The PLA also came out way more matte than with my brass nozzle. Two things help, either slowing down speeds or increasing temperatures. But they don't fix the problem. Now i switch between nozzles when i need to print fiberfilled materials or regular materials. I also always increase my temperatures and reduce my speeds when printing with the hardened nozzle.

[@gusmartin6053]

You should test PVP Polymer (Polyvinylpyrrolidone) as a bed adhesion material. I have been using this for quite a while and it works great on ABS, PLA, and PETG. I haven’t tested other materials. Most impressive is ABS. It will not separate from the bed until the bed has cooled close to room temp. I use standard bed temperatures that you would use with a PEI print surface. Apply the PVP to a PEI bed or better yet use Garolite as the print surface. I dissolve 0.2% PVP in denatured alcohol by weight, then simply wet the bed with this solution and let it dry. PVP is available in powder form as cosmetics materials. You can even get it from Amazon.

[@MG-ct5ju]

generic glue stick are actually PVP/PVA

[@NormalFerrari]

Nice video

[@cander58]

I recently installed a hardened nozzle with a silicone sock. Reduced strength from a lack of "ironing" and direct heat transfer was a concern and it appears my concern was correct. Hopefully we can continue innovating to improve performance from more durable nozzles.

[@shitposter4688]

The nozzle difference probably stems from the different thermal conduction. The gap could be closed via longer nozzles, as found in the volcanoe hotend, though, I think. Nice video!

[@PeterAcrat]

Thank you 👍🍺

[@jeroentorfs113]

Hi, i’ve done some printing with a hardened steel nozzle and noticed i had to up the temp about 10-15*c to get simular layer adhesion as brass nozzles

[@Oddman1980]

Thanks for doing these tests - almost all of my prints are blunt ugly and functional, and I'm always looking for strong materials.

[@physicsquack7660]

The thermal conductutivity of the nozzles is the reason for the different layer adhesions. The steel nozzle has a much lower thermal conductivity preventing the same exit temp of the filament leading to lesser layer adhesion, and it causes the material to flow less easily making the brass nozzle produce more "dense" parts from amount of filament extruded.

[@alexanderthomas2660]

I'd really appreciate an in-depth test between brass and steel nozzles. I've always had the feeling that I need to print hotter with my hardened steel nozzle to maintain a similar layer adhesion as with brass, but it's all guesswork and it would be nice to see this quantified!

[@physicsquack7660]

The Prusament PC Blend parameter settings works wonderfully for Inland PC also.

[@rexhamer4431]

Love your vids …. Keep cooking :)))

[@patrickrenschler5972]

hi Stefan, love the content as always. Are you still planning on a prusa CF filament review? (Maybe you covered it on patreon already I need to check there still).

[@TheAruruu]

For testing the nozzles, it would be interesting to see not only how the material of the nozzle affects the prints, but also how much each type is affected by other factors including fan speeds, silicone socks, bed temperature, and enclosures and heated enclosures. I know this would result in many, many tests, but it could result in finding a combination that creates significantly stronger prints.

[@FrozenByFire3]

I can 100% confirm printing with a steel nozzle requires at least a 10°C difference between a brass nozzle. I exclusively print with nylons and generally print at higher than recommended temperatures for superior layer adhesion. For example Taulman PCTPE requires 235-242°C. I currently print it at 265-275°C depending on print size on my Prusa Mk3S+ and Dyze Tungsten nozzle. I get far better layer adhesion this way. I also pump my flow at 105-115% which dramatically increases small part strength. This will definitely require model adjustments however If you can do a nozzle comparison it would be great. If I were you, I'd swap out all my Steel nozzles and go tungsten. They have as good thermal conductivity as brass but last even longer than hardened steel so it's a win win in my books.

[@tituscassiusseverus6303]

Interesting about nozzles, stay away from proprietary hotends where can't change nozzles, unless you keep a set for each type of filament.

[@digibluh]

definitely thermal, most people know that steel nozzles need a temperature bump over copper.

[@tituscassiusseverus6303]

@@digibluh thermal a big issue with different materials for the nozzle, but also if the filament path is worn so that some areas of the nozzle aren't in contact with the filament then that could be a cause for even less heat transference (air is a relatively good insulator). My point was mainly aimed at 'Prosumer' level printers were the manufacturer refuses to sell cheaper components like nozzles as consumables, but expects the owner to buy a complete hotend, for about ten times the price. Apparently we don't have the skills required to hot change a nozzle, but are able to swap out any other components as long as we buy proprietary. It's also unnecessarily wastefull replacing all those components, for a bit of steel, brass or copper.

[@Todestelzer]

It’s now a favorite of mine. Use it in a dental tool cleaning machine. PC-CF (also from Prusa) got soft and my PA was to expensive (75€, 500g). My last 2 spools came without glue sticks 😢

[@Peter_Schluss-Mit-Lustig]

One filament i'd suggest for an upcoming test is Fil-A-Gehr PPA (polyphtalamide) offering high strength and chemical-resistance at around the price of PC

[@rich1051414]

In my experience, you have to adjust by ~7 degrees to compensate for a steel nozzle, but that isn't 100%, as it effects the melt zone as well. Basically, melt zone is hotter while nozzle tip is cooler, when using a hardened nozzle. It's whether or not that matters significantly vs having to repeatedly change nozzles printing abrasive filaments.

[@remthompson]

I've heard before that with Nylon drying it prior to printing creates best results for quality, but in the printed state to achieve best results, the printed part should be allowed to reabsorb moisture prior to use. Is it possible there is a similar property with PC?

[@BRUXXUS]

Maybe? Although, this stuff seems to have been designed not to absorb much. Worth thinking about, for sure!

[@steffenb3306]

PC will not improve its properties after printing by absorbing moisture. Nylon indeed does not improve uts properties. It just loses stiffness and therefore is less brittle. Which may or may not be an advantage, depending on your application.

[@csdstudio78]

Been printing with pc blend for over a year, it sits out in my basement with no moisture issues. I love this stuff.

[@CNCKitchen]

Water is acting as a plasticiser in Polyamides, so it makes them tougher. Afaik this is NOT the case with PC and also the overall moisture uptake is way smaller.

[@steffenb3306]

@@CNCKitchen Hey Stefan, ich hätte die Möglichkeit zu messen welches Material bei Prusa eingeblendet wird, habe aber kein Filament ;-)

[@anthonyl.4713]

Hello Stefan, thank you for those amazing test you give us, I am a big fan of your content and hope you enjoy doing this as much as i like watching your video :-) Do you plan to add elasticity / plasticity and hardness test for all thoses materials you show us ? You allready test the bending for the stiffness but it does not show the ability of the material to endure non permanent deformation. I think that it would be great to have thoses numbers for chosing the best material to print springs or gears Have a great day.

[@HunterGeophysicsAustralia]

Hi Stefan, did you end up reviewing the Prusament PCCF? I can't seem to find anything on your channel about it... thanks.

[@Mannotaur]

My theory about the layer adhesion differences between steel and brass is that the filament acts the same way pasta does through dies made of the same material. The steel die leaves a shiny clean surface on the extruded plastic while the brass leaves a ragged more irregular surface for the proceeding layers to better adhere to.

[@tafjortoft]

You should test it without cooling fan. I tested polymax PC with and without a some cooling fan. Like most other filament, cooling fan kill the layer adhesion on PC filament.

[@cedriceveleigh]

I'm looking forward to the review of PC Blend Carbon Fiber.

[@DerBen0487]

Ahoi Stefan, What a surprise. Just a couple of days ago I tried to print PLA(!) with my E3D Nozzle X (steel nozzle) at 0.3mm layer height, 0.65mm width with a 0.6mm nozzle on a Voron 2.4 with a Mosquito Magnum. Layer adhesion was awful, I could break the layers with my bare fingers, and increasing the temp to 220°C did not help. After many hours of trying different settings (even measured heatbreak temps and tried different hotend fan settings) I finally switched to a standard E3D brass nozzle and voilá, layer adhesion was superb again. Layers were printed at about 80-110 mm/s which was way below the max rated flow rate of 30-35 mm^3 a Mosquito Magnum is capable of. With the given settings 150+ mm/s should be possible. Tbh I was even more surprised that this isn't a known "topic" on the internet, on Facebook or on the Discord channels I'm in because steel nozzles aren't new on the market. I think that steel nozzles have, due their lower heat conductivity, a limitation of maximum flowrate they can be used for otherweise layer adhesion will greatly suffer. At about 25 mm^3 the adhestion was so bad that the infill began to not connect to the outer walls! Again, with 0.6mm E3D V6 brass nozzle this wasn't a issue anymore. For now, if I have to switch to a steel nozzle, I'll print really slow so layer adhesion won't be an issue. Maybe, for your next test you might also include Slice Engineering's "Bridgemaster" nozzles when you compare brass wih steel nozzles regarding layer adhesion (maybe they'll send you one)? It seems those are made out of copper and are maybe better suited for the job to survive carbon blends and also being able to maintain a high layer ahdesion due their higher temperature conductivity compared to steel . I'm about to try those soon but my scientific "can break layers with bare fingers" test isn't really meaningful :-D LG Ben

[@rubendariovelez]

yes, the thermal properties are really different, with brass nozzle i use 235 and for the steel nozzle 245/250 to get the same strength.