The 5 Filament Types You Need to Know (And What They're Good For)

[@thenextlayer]

OH HEY THERE! Thank you SO MUCH for watching the video. I'd love to hear your feedback. Feel free to comment below to let me know any ways I could IMPROVE my videos for YOU!

[@binyominmartin3308]

Are you Jewish or just Israeli

[@startide]

PLA+ from sunlu works great for armor making at least, minus the low tolerance to high temperature of course. It's quite sturdy, can't break it with my bare hands with proper settings. And way easier to print than PETG which always got me troubles.

[@MrGerhardGrobler]

Have you printed with SBS filament yet? Styrene betaduene Styrene. Smooths with D'lemonine, made from the oils in citrus fruits. It is also used to recycle polystyrene.

[@thenextlayer]

@@binyominmartin3308 both but i'm pretty much an athiest

[@thenextlayer]

@@MrGerhardGrobler Printed with it? I haven't even heard of it! Who makes it

[@fjlaboratories]

Would be great if you could discuss the more engineering grade polymers like Nylon, PC, PP, etc…

[@thenextlayer]

I can do that! I just got a bunch of great samples from Bambu Lab, Plastics App, and more :)

[@Magnous06]

Adding another comment for the algorithms. I’d definitely watch a followup on nylon and PC!

[@automaticprojects]

I haven’t tried PP yet, but use PC and Nylon a lot, although for opposite applications. PC is super strong and stiff whereas nylon (especially without an abrasive filler) is slippery and durable, perfect for gears and moving parts.

[@QuangNguyen-wb5kd]

@@thenextlayer If you end up covering engineering grade polymers, please include glass filled/ carbon filled pp. It such an underrated filament.

[@MumrikDK]

Zack Freedman has a video or two going through a ridiculous amount of exotic/engineering filaments.

[@Tashtegoo]

Advantages PETG: - Good sliding properties and thus useful for guides. - Chemical resistance - It's a little bit easier to get something watertight than with PLA

[@meky0]

dirt resistant too, better for handling, better translucency, and if u cant print it fast thats a you problem- Dry it and get a better hotend xoxo ma voron does petg at 23mm cubed fine

[@lonewolfsstuck]

I love printing in PETG. I needed a longer spool holder for my Ender 3 V2 Neo and printed it out of PETG (i needed the holder for a 3KG spool of petg) and it rolls *so* much better than the stock spool holder.

[@ipdjbt]

@@meky0 Good for you.

[@aidanyork1018]

I'm right there with you. Any moving parts get PetG for me

[@jaydekaytv]

Are you saying PETG slides better than ABS, PLA or both?

[@allenellismusic]

Fun story: we had a 2002 Toyota Corolla with no glove compartment latch. Unable to find one online, I decided to design and print a solution. I was kind of a beginner, designing in Tinkercad and printing in only PLA so far. After finally putting out a widget that worked, we ran an errand on a fine summer day. When we got back to the car, the glove compartment was mysteriously open. The mystery was solved when I found the black PLA latch on the floor, in the consistency of licorice. I didn't taste it. That's when I decided to get some ABS.

[@chrisstrout90]

Just a random comment here but i work at a plastic factory and i seen a new guy put a bowl of chille in the microwave. I was tired and not paying much attention then i heard him say "wtf" thats when i realized he had used a bowl made from APET which is not microwaveable.....his bowl turned into a plate with way too much.......chille.....the whole microwave was now his bowl.😅

[@Nick-79]

Just a random comment, but my favorite one 😅

[@peterbeater012]

Did he eat it still?

[@chrisstrout90]

@@peterbeater012 lol no

[@802Garage]

Just my notes based on my experience so far: Basic PLA may not be that fantastic, but some of the advanced blends such as Inland PLA+ can be phenomena in pretty much every way, including having absolutely insane temperature resistance when annealed. I have printed functional oil caps that live in an engine bay under tension with this material. TPU isn't really as hard to print as many people think, even with a bowden tube. It mostly takes turning down speeds a little bit and adding a ton of retraction. I have had very successful clean prints on a basic Ender 3 Pro with no extruder or hot end mods, and I have had no failures yet, even printing at about 2/3 normal speed. PETG definitely doesn't deserve to be put on a pedestal, but unless you need the smoothing ability of ABS, it's still probably a better option in general, and basically just depending on temperature and UV needs it makes sense to use over PLA. ASA is the new hotness over ABS and I think it will only grow more popular. I have yet to print with it, but I will likely skip ABS and go straight for it. Prices have come down recently and I have seen rolls for $21 on Amazon in recent weeks. Solid video!

[@feelsxaadman9559]

There's something worth noting about Stefan's analysis for PETG. His point of failure was the moment the material began to deform. While PLA did survive a higher strength, its far more brittle. In general brittle materials are "stronger" before their ultimate breaking point, even for metals and steels, but brittle materials are avoided because of their inability to survive consistent loads. Over time any material begins to form micro-cracks within in structure and those will introduce massive stress raisers. This is especially common for cyclic loads (like gears and shafts). Brittle materials will fail much faster in the long run because their cracks will propagate a faster, while ductile materials will be able to take a lot more and handle the continuous load for longer. This is especially true for 3D printed parts since they are notorious for lack of uniformity and have tons of pores and stress cracks. In general if you're producing something which will take a sustained load, you're better off with something ductile vs brittle. Using a shelf as an example, over time it a PETG shelf might begin to sag and slightly deform before giving out if its overloaded, vs a PLA or brittle shelf which will just fall apart very quickly. Also one thing I don't remember being tested for PETG was its behaviour after a few weeks. Hygroscopic materials tend to become stiffer over time, nylon filemant for instance will generally take two weeks before it settles into its final strength. It would be worth seeing how PETG behaves as well over time once it's absorbed mosture to saturation as it will affect its mechanical properties.

[@WhyNotDogie]

@@feelsxaadman9559 i aint readin allat

[@GalacticTommy]

@@WhyNotDogie I did read allat 👍

[@Heiserton]

I literally have zero of these issues with PETG that you’ve stated, and I print 30-40 kilos of it a month in 4 printers including 2 X1C’s.

[@echo-hotel]

Yeah I print mass volumes of PETG. I don't agree with this guy or Stephan's tests of PETG.

[@josephotterby9871]

Pretty much similar experiences for me. Once you dial in your settings, PETG offers an easier time than PLA in my experience. It's far easier to deal with stringing than warping, IMO, and PETG has about the least warping of any filament, including PLA. When you add in the fact that the thermal expansion of PETG is the best in class of these filaments, (leading to the most dimensionally accurate prints) great layer adhesion (leading to prints that don't break along layer lines as easily as the rest on this video), and solid outdoor performance, you have what's become my go-to filament over PLA. (I do however bring out the ABS when I need the temperature resistance or smoothing ability, however)

[@Noxoreos]

@@echo-hotel The truth is, that it very much depends on additives in the filament. This is why anybody doing such tests will be wrong. This always only applies o that specific brand and color tested. Never to the whole family of a material. The only takeaway is some broad tendencies which are usually common. E.G. PLA being more brittle than PETG in most castes (but not all).

[@StuartJ]

Another reason to use PETG is that it doesn't catch fire easily. Perfect for electrical boxes.

[@RobLudwick]

@@StuartJ Prusament makes a PETG V0 fire retardant filament.

[@patt.1607]

One huge plus on PETG is it's chemical resistance including oil and petrol which makes it my No.1 material in the workshop

[@thenextlayer]

True.

[@StuartJ]

Another reason to use PETG is that it doesn't catch fire easily. Perfect for electrical boxes.

[@DejitaruJin]

PETG is great for outdoor items, like brackets to hold a small solar panel on the gutters, or custom wire clips for Christmas lights. According to my spreadsheet, I've only paid over $12 for a roll one time: $12.23 for a light grey that matches the siding of my house. I have never seen ASA at a price I'm willing to pay.

[@versus023]

I printed my patio light clip ( the stringy type) with PLA, its been a full canadian years (cold and hot cycle) and they are holding fine.

[@pbft.j]

@@versus023 Yeah, the channel "3D printing nerd" has this experiment that he's running where he buried a PLA benchy in his garden and he takes it out every 6 months to see if it has changed at all but it has been perfectly normal for well over a year. It's a common misconception that PLA degrades very quickly. Although I wouldn't trust it to not deform under direct sunlight, it's definitely not as "biodegradable" and weakened by the elements as people used to say.

[@sibaroochi]

I'm new to this space. How often do you find yourselves printing things you need instead of buying something from the store? Is there a noticeable cost savings to printing vs buying products ?

[@ZERONEINNOVATIONS]

@@sibaroochi It's an old comment but if you're thinking that way, you should definitely buy 3d printer. I just solved my washing machine's drain problem with 3d printer and it cost only $1 for filament and 1 hr of measuring/designing time. Sure I can go to home depot, buy some PVC piping, cut, and put together with glue but it may costs $10-$20 and takes the same or much longer time to build the parts in my garage. I would rather spend the same time in my room with a computer. One day I made a leg extension for my dining table. It can be done using some wood and drill, but then I have to have a circular saw, drill, and large drill bits. Instead, I measured, designed, printed in 24hrs and the material cost was only $2.

[@xSKALBER]

old comment, but hopefully you see it and have time. what do you use the spread sheet for? obv, you track costs. I am always trying and failing to think of ways to use my computer and phone to help me keep track of stuff

[@TOCZEKX]

PETG has also awesome thermal stresa resistance. I have printed small "train cart" with superconductor in the cavity inside (stop the print, insert the superconductor, continue with prinitng). It had double walls and over the superconductor there was chamber for liquid nitrogen (-195,6 deg C) the cart survived over 150 tosses into container with liquid nitrogen without any cracking or leakage.

[@joeschmoe3815]

Yeah, I think I also do not share his opinion on this one. PETG - at least for my work environment - is the only filament that's chemically resistant enough for prototyping, while simultaneously being cheap enough to eff up some prints or doing redesigns. Imagine prototyping with PEEK where 1 kg costs about $ 600. I thank the gods for PETG!

[@michaeleitel7186]

m5c. I'm printing mostly ASA since years. Yes bed adheasion is the big problem. Not impossible with open printers but quite challenging. Big rafts help. Much easier since I use closed voron 2.4... The trick is the bed temperature and there also a equally temp distribution.. And I always start at least with 100C. I always have the first layer to the max thickness the noozle can do. Nobody cares if your first layer is 0.5 or 0.2.... Good video. Thx

[@roknboker]

I just bought my 3D printer this past weekend - this video has been super helpful in really understanding when and how I should use these different print types. Thanks!

[@Oddman1980]

I'm glad you pointed out that PETG doesn't do well in high-speed printers, I recently upgraded from an Ender-3 to a Creality K1 and PETG was the only material it was having problems with. It prints ABS like a boss, though.

[@BiffsEquipment]

Good to know. I just bought the Adventure 5m pro and unfortunately I bought 4 rolls of PETG cuz I heard (it was most popular) but didn’t realize it wasn’t good for high speed printers like ours. Thankfully I also bought 4 rolls of abs and 4 rolls of pla. So far have only printed with pla but tonight I’m gonna try the petg and see what happens cuz if it sucks im gonna sell the other rolls before I open them to my buddy with an ender 3

[@jespero94]

But if you are on a faster printer you can just turn the speed down a bit when using petg? 😉

[@mehmeh533]

It's a point but speed isn't important to everyone. Quality is #1 for me.

[@im_linus]

I'm printing ~10kg a month of PETG using my K1 Every print looks crisp even though I use the cheapest PETG I can find, usually around $90 for 10kg Sure it took a bit of tinkering in my slicer (outer/inner was a big one for my prints), but now once I got the gcode I can print 16 lamps a day and have a nice little sidehustle

[@JustKeepLivingFPV]

There is high speed petg, also I've printed basic ender petg fast just buy trial and error slicer settings, don't believe peoples words in most cases do your own research and find out.

[@stevedoktor1766]

Yes please make a part 2 covering the other filament options. I’d say even do a part 3 covering exotic filaments as well!

[@thenextlayer]

Noted! Let's see how this video does :)

[@byrons5674]

As a newbie to 3D printing I found this to be a fantastic materials tutorial to get me up to speed. Can't thank you enough. Like comments from others, I'd love see another video reviewing other materials like nylon etc.

[@peterkiss1204]

One of the best properties of PETG is it has relatively low friction coefficient that makes it suitable for gears and moving parts where wear resistance is essential. That neon green roll is mesmerizing.

[@KevinATJumpWorks]

PLA has another great advantage: It burns out with very little residue at temperatures of around 500°C. Lost PLA-casting uses this very property. Great stuff!

[@MattThePrintingNerd]

Very informative video! I always get big eyes when I tell people that my printer frames are printed out of PLA because it's the most rigid polymer! I really like it that more and more people talking about material properties to fight the myths that are out there. Good Job!

[@METAAL01]

The print orientation and the adhesion of the layers to each other are of great importance

[@kmemz]

I have a three year old roll of PETG that's been sitting in opem and/or semi open air the whole time, I finally fixed my printer up and started using it, it's working (mostly) fantastic. I have to baby the prints a bit because I haven't dialed in my settings completely, butit sticks to my PEI just fine and makes mostly consistent prints, with very minor bubbling going on causing some buildup I have to peel away from the printer at times on big flat spots, and some small dimples on the walls. With some cleanup, every print I've run using this blatantly wet filament has turned out almost perfect and plenty strong, so I could probably happily use the whole roll like this. I do plan on sticking it in a drier though, I want to see if and/or how much it improves when dried.

[@MAcDaTHo]

Did you know: The tricks that work for ABS also work for ASA! You can put a few ASA cuts into some acetone and let it dissolve. Now you have a super tough bed adhesion "smear". When done, you print on a layer of ASA. I don't really measure, I just dissolve filament cuts, until I have a sticky paste that I can apply with a brush.

[@NinjDS]

@@MAcDaTHo You should have mentioned that this tip for great adhesion is not suitable on PEI beds. They are damaged from acetone.

[@MAcDaTHo]

@@NinjDS Since I use Pertinax or GFK PCB material as buildplate, I didn't really expect anyone to coat a coating with another coating. It almost sounds counter productive, to me.

[@NinjDS]

@@MAcDaTHo Sure, but it could be used as glue for hotbed

[@clscale]

I have been printing PETG with a Bambu Lab P1S enclosed printer with good luck. I have considered other materials but the smell of ABS makes it a non-starter for my household even though I vented the fumes from the printer out to a window with a fan unit. Great information, thanks for going thru that! My stuff has to be able to sit on hot asphalt in the sun for hours so I have been using PETG instead of the PLA. The PETG has proven strong enough for my items.

[@thewebmachine]

I got my start with PETG (got into PLA second) and my first Prusa Mini+. I loved the transparent options and, as someone who lives in the southern United States, heat and UV resistance is a *MUST* for just about anything you'd wanna print and take outside for more than 30 seconds. haha Anyone who wants to truly enjoy PETG absolutely needs a PEI textured build plate, as that's about the only surface that offers that beautiful pop-off-when-cool ease of use.

[@peterkiss1204]

"Anyone who wants to truly enjoy PETG absolutely needs a PEI textured build plate, as that's about the only surface that offers that beautiful pop-off-when-cool ease of use." Smooth glass beds have the same pop-off-when-cool feature. Although they aren't that popular since flexplates flooded the market.

[@thewebmachine]

Glass beds have their fair share of drawbacks that led flexible steel sheets to take off. The biggest annoyance for me was how much longer glass beds take to preheat evenly. Plus, I despise having to use glue stick under any circumstances. Textured PEI works for so many filament types without much fuss. Definitely the most used plate in my ever-growing collection of plates (love me some H1H etched, too).

[@IngenuityGuy]

This is both valuable and accessible for beginners like me: I'm keen to hear about the more exotic filaments!

[@riveraarts]

I'm a beginner in 3D Printing. Thank you so much for this video! Subscribed. Cheers!

[@BiffsEquipment]

My basic rule of thumb is I use PLA for anything that’s going to stay inside that isn’t going to be in direct sunlight or under a high load and for outside prints I use ABS and PETG. I have a Flashforge 5m pro and ABS is my favorite material to print. Because of the dual filters on my printer there is almost no smell, it prints at the same high speeds as the PLA+ I always use and just as effortless only with even better bed adhesion than my PLA. PETG I have gotten away from as it’s too slow to print and too sticky and stringy but iv been wanting to try the new high speed PETG to see how that is.. but basically I only use PETG now if I need some flexibility in my prints. ASA is over priced and not worth it if your printer prints ABS like a dream like my printer does.. TPU is awesome for anything flexible.. and nylon I have a roll of but havnt tried it yet. I plan to use it for gears and other high strength parts I may need to print in the future along with my own nylon nuts and bolts for various projects. Never tried PC either or anything carbon fiber though as I hear it just makes it more brittle

[@dionking8184]

Yes, I am interested in videos explaining the more obscure filaments. Thanks!

[@mekanism1200]

I bought an X1 Carbon for the company I work for 6 months ago. While we had an issue with one of the circuit boards, Bambu labs replaced it for free within a few days. Their support has been great. The machine prints so fast and well it paid for itself in 2 months over using our resin printer. All of the engineers that use it love it. I will be saving up to buy one of these machines as my personal Creality CR10S doesnt even compare. After using the X1 Carbon I wont be buying anything else. Bambu Labs is killing it!

[@thenextlayer]

Agreed.

[@BrickEngines]

No bragging

[@davehrcfpv]

I have only just bought my first 3D printer - K1C - So this video is a great and informative reference source for the filament material basics.

[@independent900]

Excellent video and very helpful. One suggestion for future comparison bids would be to finish with a summary. It's hard to keep the pros and cons straight for several products, well, for me anyway.

[@Nexus3DPrints]

TPU is an amazing filament for endurance creations. Just bump it up to 30-50% infill and it’s not as bendy as normal, but endures more. This use for TPU is very interesting, because it actually ties back to real studies on how flexible materials are more difficult to break than the hardest thing on earth: diamond.

[@koma-k]

So far I've only used TPU for two things: A replacement cap retainer for my Camebak Chute (the original one used a too stiff material, so it broke after less than two years), and when an old wheelbarrow needed a new tyre+tube which I was unable to find in the right dimension: I ended up buying a complete new wheel, but the original axle was a "non-standard" dimension so I printed two bushings in TPU at 50% infill. Seems to work fine so far - if they fail I'll try again with higher infill.

[@802Garage]

​@@koma-k Dude I printed some gaskets from cheap TPU and it is INSANE how tough it is, including trying to cut it.

[@PAPO1990]

the only issue with that is TPU can only be printed so fast, especially on extruders with a less well constrained filament path. Heck, I'm printing TPU quite fast now on my new Sovol SV06+ but it will still print PLA 2-3 times faster

[@802Garage]

@@PAPO1990 I really want an SV06 Plus. On my Ender 3 Pro I can get up to around 30-40mm/s with TPU. Obviously I know flow rate is the key factor, but as a general point of reference. Have gone up to 0.24mm layers.

[@armorhide406]

Well yes, hardness != toughness

[@DavidReynolds-kr6yh]

I’m glad I came across this video. I have a snap maker artisan 3 in 1 printer and wanted to do upgrades to make it even better. You’ve convinced me to try abs for some of my prints for its added durability. Plus those other filaments offer great versatility as well.

[@TerryTalton]

I'd definitely love to see the same video on the more exotic filaments. Thanks!

[@Maoushin]

Agreed this video was very well done and informative and would love to see another covering more materials

[@boromoose]

I’m just getting into 3D printing and have started following The Next Layer. Appreciate the detailed explanations of the filaments and their relative strengths and weaknesses. Would also like to see information on additional filaments like nylon and carbon filled.

[@thenextlayer]

Glad it was helpful!

[@guyfranks4354]

Yes, I would like to see a video on nylon, polycarbonate & carbon fiber blends. I'm thinking about getting started in 3D printing. Also I'm a relatively new subscriber and I find your videos informative.

[@thenextlayer]

Noted!

[@Chad.The.Flornadian]

Very nice and informative video. I liked how thoroughly you explained the pros and cons of each filament, along with their usefulness. Based on this I, and the rest of the 3D printing community, would benefit greatly if you continued the series with more of the "exotic" filaments available. Oh, and huge bonus point for giving Stefan @CNCKitchen plenty of props when showing his data. Always good to see the community coming together for the greater good.

[@thenextlayer]

I'll do it :)

[@meyou9369]

Yes pls

[@biggboysouth]

Hmm I've only ever used Polymaker for ASA and have never had an issue with build plate adhesion. Printed on an Ender 3, CR10 Pro both with enclosures and bambu Labs X. Printed on both stock build plates for all of them and eventually upgraded all of them to gold textured PEI sheets and have had no issues with those either. I highly recommend Polymaker.

[@vrnuts1880]

Yes! Please do a follow up video on lots of exotic filaments! :)

[@zalllon]

You released this video just in time, as I just received my Bambu Lab X1 Carbon last night as my first 3D printer

[@NinjaPylon]

Thanks! This video is the best simple explanation of the most popular filaments I've been able to find. I've exclusively been a resin printer for years. My X1C comes in friday. I've spent the last few days learning about filament. This video could not have dropped at a better time. Would love to see your next video on more advanced/technical materials.

[@echo-hotel]

PETG is much better than this guy seems to think. It's my go to cheap filament for indoor and outdoor parts. Definitely try both. Its insanely easy in an X1C.

[@aaalan9898]

Hello friend, I am a filament manufacturer, I think I can provide you with this aspect of help, if you want to know, I am always looking forward to your reply

[@WolfWiz99]

Just ordered my Elegoo Neptune 3 Plus the other day: this has really helped me decide which filaments to keep my eye on; thanks!!

[@kozynthetaquito5506]

I just recently bought my first roll of ASA and I'm printing on a QiDi xPlus3, and honestly, bed adhesion is great. I'm using dark purple polymaker ASA at 275C nozzle, 90C bed, and 50C enclosure. yeah its overkill, but I've had LITERALLY ZERO problems thus far, with about $5 worth of filament printed.

[@SparkyBrownCow]

One benefit of PETG is that it is considered to be biocompatible, so I use it for parts that have extended contact with skin; preferring pigment-free or black to limit potential contaminants.

[@thenextlayer]

Interesting...

[@libregisin9878]

Thank you for this very instructive video. I used three ASA filament, from three different manufacture. One has a lot of warping and doesn't stick well to the plate. I have to print a brim to have acceptables results. But using the ASA from ProFill is perfect. The first time, I didn't notice that it was not PLA. It's as simple to print as PLA, just the printing temperature should be 240 °C or 250 °C and bed temperature 70 °C or 80 °C. The I tested the ASA from Sprectrum, which is also very good. It is also as easy to print as PLA. So the kind of ASA you use can change the result a lot. I would like to see comparisons to find the "strongest" material, sometimes I need one.

[@MarkLenkner]

I'm not sure if this would be of benefit to you, or others reading these comments, but I used to have issues with ASA bed adhesion as well when using the default bed temps in the Bambu Studio slicer....bumping those bed temps up to 100c literally solved ALL of my adhesion issues..... give that a try, if you've been using the stock settings of most slicers, which I believe is usually 85-90c

[@DannyTheMaster]

Nice job my friend, u gived me finally a technical and clear analysis on "when choose some or else" in base of the final product. Well done! THANKS!

[@The3DPrintingGrandad]

It's always nice to get someone who has sponsors to do material testing.

[@JiriHolba]

I'm glad you mentioned the harmful fumes from ABS. I would not recommend staying in a room where an open printer is printing no matter what material is used. Regarding ASA print bed adhesion, my experience with Prusa ASA is that it sticks too well. I'm having a hard time getting it off the heatbed.

[@thenextlayer]

Bingo. I'm doing an upcoming video on air quality for just this reason.

[@christopherlyons7613]

Thanks for your videos. I would love to see a video on the more exotic engineering filaments (like carbon fibers (and more traditiona fiilaments with CF additives) and nylons). Would also like to see a general comparison table showing the +s and -s of all filament types. I'm using an X1 Carbon with AMS so would love to know exactly which brands (other than Bambu of course) print the best on the X1 and the AMS. Always tough to keep up to date on the specifics of each filament type and things change so quickly.

[@ronaldprovencher7570]

PLA+ is an improved version of PLA with better strength, toughness, and layer-to-layer adhesion

[@peterbeater012]

It’s a funny way of describing your mom 😂

[@jeffburkholder202]

Very good first phase of explanation. It would be great to have a part 2 or 3 to go over all the other materials. You did a great job explaining them all. .

[@thenextlayer]

There are 3-4 videos in the series by now!

[@jeffburkholder202]

@@thenextlayer I'll have to look them up. Just looking to get a 3D printer and doing the research learning. Thanks!

[@zaqwsx121231234]

Yes. Interested in another video talking about those other filaments please.

[@JTCF]

I've got 2 kgs of PETG in two colors, sicne they cost around 2 times less than even PLA. That was an easy choice for me, this amount of material will be enough for a long time considering my printer's speed. My next type of filament will be TPU, and I'll try to get some PLA (I enjoyed printing with the test sample that came with my printer)

[@DrCJones]

Thank you! And yes, please make another video covering more printable materials.

[@SB-rp8sn]

Would love to see a video on engineering-grade filaments such as carbon-fiber blends, pc, pp, etc.

[@JTCF]

Yeah, PETG sticking too much actually killed my stock bed that came with the printer, a perforated bed. I used raft there, because all sample gcode files used it, and eventually parts of top perforated surface started to come off with the raft. And it was a pain to remove as well! I think I got this issue on my 5th or 6th print, I now use the flat smooth bed that the magnetic sticker used to be on and just a brim, much better quality and material usage!

[@s0d4c4n]

If you go slow and print on PEI, PETG is amazing for functional prints. It's cheap, easy to print on anything, and the parts will survive most conditions that humans and their things tend to experience - resistant to temperature, uv, friction, staining, strain, impact, chemicals, water. And if you want more stiffness, in most cases you can just print more walls. If you prefer printing functional things and don't need speed, it's a great default material.

[@galbleier2004]

A few more positive point about petg, is that it bends without deforming or breaking (at least to a certain extent, and way more compared to pla in my experience), and most importantly, petg can come in clear variation, which is worlds apart when compared to clear pla. It also doesn't release toxic fumes (to humans, please dont have birds in the same room as a printer printing petg), and has way less of an odor compared to abs / asa

[@thenextlayer]

That's very true, thanks for sharing

[@Sembazuru]

I was also going to drop a comment about the fume issues of PETG vs either of the Styrene based materials (ASA and ABS). This is an important consideration for open frame printers such as non-enclosed bed slingers and the stock Bambu P1P.

[@joseantoniodiezgonzalez1645]

Hi there, I use a lot of ASA (in an enclosed printer). The bed adhesion is solved using a G10 (garoçite bed) heated ovre 100 celcius (I use 105)

[@atchipmunk]

Great, informative video. Would definitely love to see a follow-up that covers nylon, PC and carbon fiber variants.

[@tenchuu007]

Good summary. You should discuss Pet, the only easily recyclable filament .

[@echo-hotel]

He mentioned PETG. You don't find any of the others in hobby printing. And recyclers aren't telling you how horrible it actually is to use.

[@Bandit.Designs.Videos]

Thank you, I stubbled upon your channel well looking into filaments and I’m glad I did. Just ordered my first 3D printer and your video was a wealth of knowledge. You gained a subscriber tonight for sure. Looking forward to more great informative content in the near future. Thank you from 🇨🇦🤙🏼

[@rinyotsu2.0]

I have actually used PLA in my car that sees ~100°F in summer to replace the OEM mirror with a smaller, lighter blindspot mirror with a cheap windshield GoPro suction cup mount after I decided I liked having more windscreen space. It did deform slightly within the first summer, but not enough to be an issue and it worked for over 2 years until I sat on it when the suction cup mount failed and fell into my seat.

[@kieranproven4874]

This was very helpful, I'm just looking into 3D printing now.

[@ZhuJo99]

Petg CF - best material I ever printed from (apart from Luvocom/Innovatedil/Spectrum PA-6 CF15 Nylon for higher price). For boxes, covers, holder, etc pretty great material. Prints great, and very easily. For more demanding stuff CF Nylon from above. Be aware that mist CF Nylons out there are just marketing bullshit, but Luvocom is really really strong. PLA? Well I print it only for my father’s trains modelling hobby.

[@1supertec]

Grest vidio i keep coming backbtobit from time to time just to remind mysef about what i should be printing for projects 👍

[@thenextlayer]

Nice! You're going to really like the one I just released: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXyQZ2SEYsl4bqc&lc=UgwEYHT1uijRzv2G7bx4AaABAg

[@pekonipilvi116]

Couble of good things about PETG: - Extremely good chemical resistance. - More resist to abrasion than PLA ( can be good or bad thing if u want smooth finish but makes it harder to sand ) - Can handle early summer heat in car way better than PLA (50-60c vs 70-80c) ( door speaker extenders, some fanducks, gauge mounts etc) - Can handle nordic winter colds (like -20c or lower while PLA starts to crack at 0c) - Cause PETGs impact resistance its better for mechanical parts like gears that get fast hits or have clap between parts - Layer adhession is one of the best (fuses to kinda solid, it can be more watertight cause of it) - Its coloring. Glossy material can turn to matte depending on temperature. Makes it possible to print 5/6 sides to be extremely smooth and slidey surfaces Couble cons too: - There is bad addition components on some manufacturers that make it way more hydroscopic than others ( had multiple rolls out of box that were like glue and stick to everything (from clas ohlson in finland...JUST F THAT STORES MATERIALS...always cursed) - Yes its slower than PLA/ABS but its doable to print at 200mm/s 7k acceleration as long as u dial your cooling just right. - Cause its "low cooling" needs it needs addition layertime depending how small the object in question is to let earlier layer "slowly" cool down for next layer - It can fuse with glass so separator layer of glue or hairspray is needed if u want glass glossy first layer - Cause its way to ooze out it can hit different infill types...but it can be compensated by adding more travel and print speed ( most people compensate it with gyroid infill but i found it working just fine by giving it just tid bit more speed to not have time to ooze out) - BIGGEST PROBLEM IS THAT WHEN STARTING PRINT...you have to take that oozed filament out when doing prime line to not interfere with first layer and cause bumps :D

[@LordPhobos6502]

Thanks for the great vid! Very helpful for someone wanting to start in 3D, as all the options become overwhelming. Would love to hear more about nylon & carbon fiber 🙂

[@sarbartha88]

Awesome video. Please create another video on other materials and its use cases.

[@collectingretrotech]

Excellent video, very well explained, I am new to 3D printing but was hesitant about buying and trying PETG due to all the troubles associated with it, PLA seems to the right material in most cases then

[@automaticprojects]

I use PLA for anything decorative and have more than a dozen colors. For functional parts, in order I use PC, ASA, Nylon (with and without composites), TPU & TPE, and PETG, depending on the application. They all have pros and cons.

[@thenextlayer]

Wow, PC? Hardcore. I've never tried it yet but I jsut got a roll in case people want a follow-up video to this one. Never tried TPE either... who makes TPE?

[@automaticprojects]

@@thenextlayer With an enclosed printer, I find PC no more difficult than ASA and less of a pain than nylon. It is also stronger and more chemical resistant than both. (eg even cutting brims off or tapping holes requires noticeable force.) But the main reason I use it so often is its transparency. There’s just a lot of household parts that are transparent, from LED covers to coffee ground containers. As for TPE and TPU, my understanding is all TPUs are technically TPEs, but not vice versa. I’m told as a rule of thumb TPE is generally softer than TPU and slightly harder to print with, but ideal for wearables or anything that touches your skin. NinjaTek Chinchilla is TPE with a shore hardness of 75A while their tougher versions are all TPU. On the other hand, MatterHackers ProFlex TPE has a shore hardness of 98A so is actually a tiny bit stiffer than their ProFlex TPU, which is 95A. (I’ve used both pretty interchangeably.) Great work on your chanel by the way. Have really enjoyed its evolution and even checked out your non-3D printing ones.

[@PhFolghera]

​@@automaticprojects Same experience. No problem with the Xc1. Also transparent PC works very well. maybe a little strining sometimes

[@Noxoreos]

@@thenextlayer TPE is the broad term for flexibles and TPU is just part of the TPE family. Therefore saying "if you print flexible filament it's TPU" is simply wrong. The softer the filament the more chance it is not a TPU at all. But a TPU is always also a TPE.

[@kimnach]

My FT-5 is now only partially enclosed--the two lower sides, lower back, and the top. This means it pretty open. It's also in a draft-free cool room. I have recently been printing with ABS semi-successfully. I say this because I had a couple of layer shifts, skewing issues, and a failed print, none of which is enclosure related. Other prints are great. I use 5 lines of brim and no fan. But I am now intrigued by ASA for interior car parts.

[@Noxoreos]

Even when there is no draft in the room, the printer causes it's own draft around the printed part due to convection currents caused by the hot air escaping to the top due to the heated bed, meanwhile creating low pressure that suck is cold air from the outside towards your printed part. That means your part is going to warp unless you can reduce this by enclosing it from all sides and the top. You can leave some gaps open when the heat is trapped inside at the top and can reach down to the print (very much like an air pocket within a sunken ship).

[@jamesm4603]

I love ASA but as you say it is hard to keep it stuck to the bed. I find smaller prints work better than larger ones.

[@dalektrekkie]

I personally have the opposite experience with ASA. If I have a large, flat area to get stuck on the bed then its great. Getting a small print to stay put is a nightmare, though

[@MADEbyAP]

This is great info. I’ve been on the PETG bandwagon forever. I need to give this ASA stuff a shot!

[@alex8642b]

Grest vid. Im definitely interested in PC and CF materials. Such a video would be really applicable for us growing group of Bambu X1C owners.

[@scrook1985]

Some things that might be good in a follow up: 1. PLA+ filaments are a totally different beast in terms of durability & impact resistance than regular PLA almost to the point that I don't bother using the regular stuff. For a high quality PLA+ (3dFuel, Atomic, Polymaker and many others) just about the only real problem is low heat deflection temp if you don't heat anneal your part. 2. For ABS, something like Atomic Filaments carbon fiber ABS solves a lot of the warping problems. Getting small charcoal filters like what is commonly sold for resin printers will kill the overwhelming majority of the smell if you have an enclosure.

[@moulton_astro3659]

Great video for newbies like me. I would love a video on when and if to use carbon fiber variants of the various filaments. I'm especially interested in nylonx.

[@thenextlayer]

Great suggestion!

[@ThetaPower]

Great video! Thank you. I would love to see a video on more filaments. There are now so many and so many blends. One of my favorites fir strength, stability, ease of printing, and toughness is PC-CF. I see so much nylon and CF but I doubt it is as good as PC-CF.

[@StefanoUngarelli]

Yep, please! create a new video with all the other materials. this video si amazing! thanks!!!

[@dylanlasky2389]

Strength and toughness are two similar but distinct properties and that's where petg shines. It's not as strong as pla but pla is very brittle. PETG is very tough and can bend and return to shape without breaking.

[@thenextlayer]

Yep, that's very true.

[@AriWeismanchester]

Aaaye, perfect timing! I just ran out of PLA and want to branch out to new materials.

[@thenextlayer]

NOICE! As you can see, I like to keep a variety. I love jle.vi/overture jle.vi/polymaker and jle.vi/bambulab filaments, as well as Fillamentum :)

[@AriWeismanchester]

@@thenextlayer You convinced me a while back to buy a Bambu Lab printer now you just need to convince my wife. Also super cool to see other English speaking Israelis/American Israelis blowing up on the platform. Feeling represented.

[@Rok_Satanas]

Used PLA to make my whole pc case. And had no issues so far 2 years later

[@sald2of6]

Great video on when to use different types of filaments. Would appreciate the use of nylon filaments on open air printers.

[@marcosgomes3140]

Amazing video!!! Stephan channel have lots and lots of cool stuff!

[@justinchamberlin4195]

PETG is pretty great, especially from one of the better manufacturers. I've tried a few that weren't that good for me (Overture, TreeD, and Filamatrix come to mind) but GreenGate3D, Atomic Filaments, and especially Coex3D all make really nice PETG filaments. I've lost track of how many kilos of Coex PETG I've printed with, and their "mystery" color (produced when they switch from making one color to another) is priced super reasonably. Add me to the list of people excited to see another video in this series for some of the more exotic filaments; although I don't (yet) have an enclosed printer, I would one day like to dip my toes into the wide world of PP, nylon, PC, and more...in fact, one print that I'm inordinately proud of is a screw-top bottle made from a sample coil of PVDF. I still haven't really used it for anything, it was more of a test of just how far I could push a relatively unmodified (at the time) Ender 3 with printing advanced materials.

[@pbft.j]

Hey I just ordered some Coex PETG mystery. It seems like a premium PETG but the mystery discount is huge. That's a great tip actually, thanks for sharing. IF you upgrade to an all-metal throat (a cheap heatbreak upgrade for $10) - you can go up to about 280° (with a software update or some slicer magic) I found that Polymaker's "Polymax PC" and "Polymide COPA" are easy to print.. As long as you can get to the required 250° - 270° (safely...a regular bowden tube throat starts to degrade at 240° I think) and you keep the printer away from air drafts, you can 100% print it without an enclosure. Reliably. That's what Polymaker designed those filaments for. Also, Polymax PC is stronger than nylon if annealed after printing. They have a ton of variations of those filaments as well. I recommend PC over nylon every time. Nylon is just too hydroscopic and requires that you print is straight from a dryer - which is not my favorite. Those PC-based filaments can be treated like PETG in that as long as they're dry and stored properly, you can take them out to print with and dry in between prints. It's a great introduction to those types of filaments, in my experience.

[@justinchamberlin4195]

@@pbft.j 240 is definitely a hard limit for me with PTFE-lined heat breaks, even with the excellent tubing from Capricorn. Before I switched to an all-metal hot end on my first printer, I noticed that I could go roughly three weeks in between trimming the end of the PTFE tube when printing in PLA (at 200-210 ˚C) and only about three days when printing PETG at 230-235 ˚C. Health concerns from the release of hydrofluoric acid aside, metal heat breaks are just simpler to use and maintain provided you are using the right retraction settings.

[@pbft.j]

@@justinchamberlin4195 Absolutely. All metal direct drive is something you should really look into. My normal temp for PETG never goes below 240. That would explain your issues with certain brands.

[@yornav]

My Ender 3v2 is located in our garage, which during very sunny days can become pretty warm, and in an enclosure. Last year I got a whole lot of issues during the summer while printing PLA. Failed prints which I later discovered were due to heat creep. Even opening up the enclosure didn;t help a lot. So I have to print PETG or ABS during the summer and keep the PLA prints for the colder times of the year.

[@imyourocd]

I'm printing a part in ASA on my cr10 max, i made an enclosure with insulation board and lifted frame with wheels so the underside also has the insulation board but is cut around the electronics to give it air also the underside has dryer duct with a pc fan inside going to the window. the setup causes the entire chamber to heat up from the build plate, the results are that it's printing that part at 120mm per second, to do that I increased the hot end temp to 180c! { side note my cr 10 max also has the upgraded ddxv3 and the MOSQUITO so it can handle thew higher temp}

[@werpu12]

PetG is my material of choice due to UV resistance! And yes it has its downsides, but the end results for outside stuff are worth it!

[@timothyfickett9072]

i got a bulk deal on PETG for about $140 for a dozen colors. The end cost was just over 1 cent per gram. So when I'm trying new prints or letting the wife and kids use it I don't worry about blowing through material.

[@pigpill]

Perfect timing. Thank you. I just received my first fdm printer, a neptune 3 pro, your videos have been great.

[@thenextlayer]

That's awesome - that's what I'm here for :)

[@pepperoni-prepper]

once i purchased my 4th printer...which was an enclosed with heated chamber, I found ABS was my new filament of choice. Its properties lend it to many applications which are not easily possible with other filament types and it is a budget filament.

[@draggy76]

I LOATHE PETG, it makes swapping filaments a nightmare if you're trying to go back to PLA.

[@kregertooker]

if you ever have bed adhesion issues, i cannot speak highly enough of using blue painters tape on the build plate to help the filament adhere. i've had so many issues in the past with things adhering before i got my flex plate, even using that i've had issues when everything is perfectly level and the filament is just being a pain. i throw down a layer of blue painters tape and it sticks perfectly with no issues of pulling up from the build plate or anything.

[@Kuba_62492]

6:44 I think it depends on the hotend you have and on a brand of filament, I'm printing PETG from Polsih brand F3D on a K1C and I am printing at 20mm³/s and 245°C without any problems

[@danielgranda896]

Thank you for the great video! I am new to this increasingly world and I feel I have a much better idea of insane number filament spools I see…

[@SenZubEanS]

Definitely would like a further video on other filly types.

[@DaveEtchells]

*Definitely* want a similar vid (or vids) on nylon, cf, etc!

[@naseerahkhan2969]

Your videos are extremely helpful to me as a novice thank you sooo much I would like to know more about carbon Fibre filament

[@mechaform]

Tremendously useful presentation! Only used PLA so far but I’ll need some impact resistant parts soon.