What 3D printing material to use for object inside a car? Temperature test

[@leandergarcia5426]

wow the dedication and sacrifice of this man hopefully u did not get burned

[@MyTechFun]

I am fine, thanks, everything for science ;-)

[@ProXinous]

hey, i just want you to know that after 3 years, i still found your video helpful :)

[@PowerScissor]

I will now be calling any warping in my prints "stomachs" from now on....I love it. Thank you good sir.

[@leavoa]

Interesting. "Stomachs" is also the expression in Hebrew. I wonder if that was imported from Europe. Anyone know where the channel owner is located?

[@LoopInnovation]

We sometimes say the same thing in french when something starts to get round, we say "ça ventre". Ventre is pretty much the stomach in english.

[@SwapPartLLC]

From now on I'm going to say "I don't have a fat stomach, I'm just warped."

[@SouthernSpeedVideos]

I'm late but it's common in English to call it a "belly" when something sags or dips, which is probably what he meant to say since English is likely not his first language.

[@otallono]

@@SwapPartLLC no one said it can be used the other way around

[@NWGR]

Dude, you rock. I'm watching this early 2024 after seeing so much conflicting info online as to which filament can actually handle summer in-car temps. I'll use ASA for those but otherwise, PETG is fine for functional prints for me. Thanks!

[@joshmyer9]

I just wanted to say that, even now, people are still learning from the data you sat in incredibly, uncomfortably hot seats to gather. Thank you! (I grew up in that kind of weather, so one of my favorite parts of living in San Francisco is that it basically never gets above 30° here. I had forgotten about all the times I nearly burnt my legs on hot car seats until this video.)

[@lawrencesheppard4820]

I'm kinda new at 3D printing, about 11 months now. Without knowing much I printed a bracket with PLA for my 10" tablet to put in my car. It was great the first day but the next morning it had melted and the tablet was on the floor. Your video helped me out on which filament Not to use. Thanks for all the trouble you went through to make this video. It was a big help for me.👍

[@Platttraining]

I was about to design a modified cup holder for my car and print in PETG. Fortunately after watching your thorough testing filament video I will print the design in ASA. Again, outstanding job. Thanks so much.

[@SirKevinthefirst]

I was about to do the same thing for a friend. Gonna do asa also

[@rolandleyco573]

This is exactly what I was looking for! No lab controlled test, just real life test for day to day use! really appreciate this. I wish youtube pushed his channel up more, I love how this channel resembles what early youtube was like no, fancy equipment no expensive production quality!

[@AEnythingWerks]

Dec 2024, and i found this gem. thank you for your time and dedication doing this experiment. really really helpful !

[@robotthoughts]

I have used ASA for my 4runner's phone dock, umbrella holder and various hooks and parts inside the car. It is an excellent material for this use case and has worked reliably for two years. Temperatures where I live get into the low 100F range.

[@couryrussell7653]

Given this test, would you ever try to use PETG for the same purpose?

[@AlexandreG]

It's people like you that drive knowledge forward, always ready to experiment, a Scientist by definition

[@ahrlo3060]

Well done, thank you!

[@matthewpride179]

Thanks for your detailed testing, time, and effort. This has greatly helped me with my car part making decisions.

[@ytorwoody]

I am new to 3D printing. The very first thing that I drew up in FreeCAD and printed as my first "thing" was a sunshade for a portable GPS receiver. I wondered about the direct sun affecting the PLA print, so I created a frame arrangement that allowed for a paper shade over the PLA frame. That won't prevent the ambient temperature problems, but it will keep the printed parts from receiving the direct sunlight and heat. Now, when my plane is out in the sun for a short time, I won't worry about the frame collapsing. If I know that it will be outside for most of the day, I'll move my sunshade off of the instrument panel and put it in the shady area inside. Thank you for doing this research.

[@hieroben]

ASA is also much more UV-resistant than ABS, which is important if you print something for outdoor or in-car use. Great test, thank you! Unfortunately, summer seems to be over here in Germany…

[@alejandroperez5368]

But if you paint your print, then there's no need for that UV resistance in the filament. Right?

[@leew8812]

@@alejandroperez5368 resistant, not proof

[@otallono]

@@leew8812 further arguing against the original point lol

[@tildey6661]

Regular glass blocks almost all UVB, and usually the windscreen of a car will have a decent (80-90+%) UVA filter too. It’s less clear to me how many cars have UVA filters on the other windows, and how good they are. Also think about how much time the part will actually have UV exposure. Unless your car is parked in direct sunlight all day, and your part is going to be getting that sunlight at peak time, it’s probably a pretty small amount. UV exposure tapers off quickly outside of the ~4 peak hours. Even just parking in the shade of a house could halve the UV exposure of a part Personally, for something inside the car, I wouldn’t worry about ABS not being as UV resistant as ASA. Even for outside the car, I wouldn’t buy a roll of ASA (if I already had ABS) when I’m not even sure if the part will be noticeably damaged by the UV (outside of the basically guaranteed discolouration). If you have ASA already, and you can print it (it’s tricky!), yes it is technically better. But don’t stress about the part getting ruined because you don’t have the magic filament.

[@rb30e]

Great info at 8:00 in. Very happy with your testing.

[@richardmontoya6879]

Thank you for your time and dedication to this experiment. You have saved me (and others) so much time and help us settle our curiosity.

[@AdditiveAvery]

Excellent, real world test without all the BS. Congrats!!

[@Dissocioo]

the temperatures mentioned are not marketing schemes, you need to anneal them to pass the glass transition temp so the molecules in the polymer change their structure and the part remains much stronger, the challenge is annealing them without structural deformation.

[@JoseArevalo-Fester]

Thank you!! That is the most almost scientific test I have found. The last test in the oven was very conclusive. Well done!

[@BlackMetalVengeance]

Just found your channel not too long ago, and I quite enjoy your content. Very informative and straightforward. Your sacrifice of comfort in the name of science is much appreciated.

[@rancidbeef582]

Thanks for the great info. You've probably saved me quite a lot of failed attempts to make something for putting in the car.

[@danteconradie]

Your video deserves a lot more views. Great video. Well put together with a lot of info and really good testing. I cant find a better video testing different fillaments. Hats off to you and thank you for this *thumbs up*

[@EddyT1717]

Carbon fiber nylon has become my primary material for printing now. The CF seems to stabilise the Nylon making it easier to print, warping only an issue on larger parts.

[@keithlett3693]

Thank you for doing this. I need to print a couple items for my Jeep. I was going to use ABS just on a guess. You confirmed it. Again thank you

[@MyTechFun]

You should consider ASA too if the part will be outside, it is more UV resistant.

[@mayjahjay2297]

thanks so much, i almost went for pla and petg for my 3d print for my car, will definetly be going with asa or nylon

[@InspGadgt]

I printed an exterior plaque with raised letters out of PETG that is in direct sunlight every day for several hours. 3 months and it still looks as good as the day I printed it.

[@Flav_M]

I too made plant tags for all my exotics, I live in CA, just went through a few ~110 F weeks....even printed in shiny black PETG(the 20ish usd rolls on Amazon...nothing fancy at all...in fact budget but not too low on the ladder). They all held up great wich is great but none are under any load or stress. I also suspect that anything outside greatly benefits from airflow to aid with cooling...much much different than under glass on a dash. That's how ppl cook without electricity or fire. I'm 99% into useful printing and about 75% of that ATM for me is living outside....so far PETG is so good at most things once dialed in, and pieces have that heft feel...that QUALITY feel lmao Asa is to PETG like PETG is to PLA except PLA still wins the toughness test time and time again.

[@Tarex_]

Perfectly done test with real life parameters, i print a lot of car parts, interior and exterior, i actually drove a test piece on the exterior for half a year, autumn to spring, made from PLA, no fading no deformation, as soon as the summer came it bent out of shape, i also had exhaust pipe covers made of PLA, the color faded quickly but the material held up just fine for over a year

[@gearcheck101]

" i also had exhaust pipe covers made of PLA, the color faded quickly but the material held up just fine for over a year" X DOUBT.

[@Tarex_]

@@gearcheck101 still have them here and you can look me up on insta, have the pictures on there too, in case your doubt is sooo big ;) and i suppose the PLA just was tempered from heatcycling

[@gearcheck101]

@@Tarex_ nothing about a picture on your instagram proves that PLA survives direct contact with your exhaust tip.

[@Tarex_]

@@gearcheck101 well, nobody is forcing you to believe it, test it yourself, but if you do look the exhaust already had exhaust tips and the PLA covered those, if it helps make sense of it, otherwise, fact is it happened :)

[@leonda4817]

Thos test is so helpfull and cleverly designed, thank you very much! It's highly relevant to everday objects! Keep up the good work!

[@elfpimp1]

What a 'cool' way to test those filaments.. 👍😁

[@orionmec]

Good test Igor, I did not know about ASA. Thanks.

[@hansbrinker943]

Thank you for this already 3 year old Information. I started 3D printing about 6 months ago.

[@michaelstraughn3465]

Great Job... enjoyed the experiment immensely. Great information to know. Nylon beat hands down, ABS, ASA second.

[@leonschetters239]

Great test. Awesome videos from you to share with us all. Very helpful.👍🌞

[@marshallwebber9682]

Thank you so much for the testing. This will save me a lot of time on my projects

[@PilotAwe]

I should have watched this video before printing, i just did a 35h print for my car with PLA, we'll see how it holds

[@roycas3]

Good test. I kept PLA print once in my car, it was bent. So was wondering how ABS would perform. Found correct video. Thanks!

[@OneAndOnlyCJonesy]

I’m not even halfway through the video yet and this is the best video I’ve ever seen

[@SlicePrintRoleplay]

Awesome tests and great video, well done!

[@IvyCreek-76]

Very well done,answered any questions I had about what filaments to use for harsh environments or any outdoor kinda use really. Thank You so much for sharing this.

[@timmturner]

Great test, I can confirm in Florida in a car PETG will deform on hot days.

[@MyTechFun]

Thanks for this info, I noticed that PETG heat deflaction temp variates from brand-to-brand. But in Florida probably all would deform in car.

[@TheKd4lyfe]

Thanks for this, I’m about to start printing car parts, will look into abs, asa, and nylon

[@lajosvigh1771]

Nagyon látványos teszt! Köszönet érte!

[@tomaskianicka3343]

HT-PLA requires to be heat treated, usually putting it into oven for it to be able to recrestalize. Then it should have much better heat resistence. Tom Sandalerer did a great video where he used 3d printed HT-PLA coffee cup and even coffee espresso kettle.

[@MyTechFun]

Yes, I know about annealing 3D printed objects, my problem with annealing that object deforms, and if I need some accuracy, that's not the solution. On site I couldn't find this info that HT PLA has to be heat threated, only then it will give those properties.

[@shuflie]

@@MyTechFun Should be possible to make a form to hold the HTPLA in shape while annealing, especially for those test strips you used. Not really so good for more intricate parts though.

[@printnub7585]

Nice setup, good test, useful data, I appreciate your efforts, great video. Thank you.

[@animal_engineering]

Awesome Video, I've been printing some parts for my van lately and have been using ABS as it gets real hot here in Perth Australia, but man is it a pain, ASA seems like a good option, but I must say I thought Nylon would have failed with the PLA. Very good tests Thank you.

[@kimnach]

Glad that I cam across this video, and ABS is what I planned to use but nylon may be the way I go even though it is moisture sensitive. Ez az információ nagyon hasznos. 3D-s kinyomtatni fogok néhány autóalkatrészt. Szerencsés vagyok hogy napközbenleveszem az autóm tetejét!

[@EddieNanakase]

This is the video I have been looking for ! Great job and thank you for the valuable info !

[@iskandartaib]

There's a PLA blend for sale here that prints at 250C. It seems to behave like PETG - it strings, etc. I've put some test prints in the car, some weeks now and it seems to be holding up pretty well. Here it gets very hot during the day.

[@LaLaObeRoT]

You saved me a lot of experimentation. Thank you!

[@NoTimeForThatNow]

Thank you, I am in Florida and we see temperatures like that very typically. I will try ASA, now that you had great results with it.

[@juanvalencia2880]

I´ve tested some ASA 3d printed pieces on the dashboard. 60 days in a row, sunny every day except 10 days with few clouds, exterior temperature between 30ºC and 45ºC, interior between 55ºC and 75ºC (humidity could be around 20%) but I suppose that the ASA pieces (orange) surface temp could be 20ºC more because of the direct sun exposure. After that time they became very very brittle.

[@otallono]

Yeah so do factory plastic parts. Leather too. It's not great to subject anything to direct sun light actually.

[@CrossCultural-c7f]

Thanks!

[@MyTechFun]

Thank you, I am very happy, that you find this video useful. Keeps me motivated :-)

[@jijisniet]

Wow great video! this is exactly what i was looking for! When you're still trying to use petg for in-car use, maybe different brands will yield different results

[@MyTechFun]

I agree. I will test few PETG brands from this aspect soon.

[@grott3n0lm]

Thanks for your research! I'm kinda surprised, that the PETG held up that long.

[@heavensfugitive6447]

Awesome experiment! Thank you for sharing!

[@johncitizen3361]

Nice testing thanks 👍 Here in Australia were I am we get some days that are over 42 degrees celcius and it goes over 46 in some places, I try really hard not to leave my car in the sun but good to know that PETG might not hold up well enough in some applications 😓

[@davoudtaghawi-nejad6780]

My PETG phone holder holds up well in the UAE.

[@Mrtrunks]

Such a great video sir, thank you for all your work and time into this project

[@electronics.unmessed]

Thank you very much for that very interesting real life test!

[@captainmcadams]

Thank you for that informative test... I’ll go get the PLA phone car mount out of my car and print in Petg (uk is always cold) an see if I can get my printer working with ABS!

[@chaponesupergalaxy5169]

thank you for your video and test, it is extremely helpful to my choice of material

[@angst_]

I 3d printed a glasses clip in petg and pla. The pla turned to soup the first day. The petg was better, but if it's under any tension (like clipped to my visor) it relaxes and no longer clips tightly.

[@theglowcloud2215]

Time for PA-CF :D

[@23lkjdfjsdlfj]

Thank you for doing this test and providing this valuable data!

[@nickvas19]

Nice video man. It will be great to make a video with pla and petg with the same test using the annealed method.

[@Ibian666]

Excellent work. Thank you.

[@yousefali3950]

Very great job and lots of useful information you saved me a lot of time

[@Marc42]

Approaching my usecase, thank you!

[@autofctrl]

I think the metal nuts have helped to further increase temperatures as metal heats up more than just plastic - Still the PLA and PLA+ would have lost, that's for sure. Great real live comparison.

[@OwlishGeorge]

Thanks for sharing, helped make a few decisions based on my tools and projects coming up.

[@gymkhanadog]

Great video! Do a follow up! Normally I'd just jump to ABS because that's what's used everywhere in automotive applications already.

[@edgarcardona2751]

I was planning to do this to test but looks like now I don’t have to thanks I got the info I needed

[@rocketboyjv5474]

Thank you so much for the work you did. Very good test!

[@BigDaddyI1I]

Great real world test. 👍

[@paulmarty6280]

Nice work!! Try anneal PLA a test it agains PETG and ABS.

[@tamask001]

See kzbin.info/www/bejne/rH3VeoaooMxnbMk (he also has a recent video about annealing in plaster, which is really intriguing)

[@thiizguy]

Awesome experiment! ABS for the win

[@barrettdent405]

Nylon is typically recommended for in car applications. Though taking steps such as active drying and printing in an enclosure may be necessary to achieve suitable results. Another option is to order your parts from a Mark Forged print bureau. Their Onyx material is essentially nylon.

[@SB_Artsy]

Wouldn't a rainy day completely warp the Nylon?

[@barrettdent405]

Not to my knowledge. The moisture concerns with Nylon for 3D printing are mostly related to the filament prior to printing. When you take a material from room temperature to over 200degC in less than second in a confined space (nozzle,) the sudden conversion of moisture to a gas tends to be quite problematic. After printing, it might depend on the geometry of your part whether a hot day coupled with humidity could cause warping. But generally of the thermoplastics available to us, nylon handles the hot environment better. So far as I am aware, atmospheric moisture (absorbtion) alone shouldn't cause warping of finished prints. As for rain on external parts, I'm not sure. But in most external applications, I would probably prime and paint which would seal the material from the elements. The biggest issue in automotive applications is typically heat tolerance. But UV, moisture and cold can present other problems.

[@stich1960]

Half your plastics in a car are abs, so that's really industry standard. Most of the gears and other hard use mechanical items would be nylon, really either would work fine for most of our applications. I mean even pla would probably survive quite awhile if not under stress and not on the dash. My pla stitch figure has been in my car for awhile now with no visible changes. (Moisture makes nylon bad to print and brittle but otherwise the humidty really shouldn't have any noticable changes)

[@barrettdent405]

@@stich1960 The parts you’re referring to are injection moulded. Different process. Professionally designed, tested, iterated, produced, post processed, potentially surface treated and produced with possible additives or modifiers mixed with the pellet stock. Not saying 3D printed ABS won’t work. It absolutely is an option to try. Just saying that use in one process, doesn’t automatically make it the best for another. Even for the same end-use application. (Testing always required.) I can tell you that I've had a Markforged Onyx sample part in my car for over 2 years. Summer heat, direct sun, winter cold. No deformation or warping. Looks as good as the day it came off the printer. Surface finish remains utterly flawless. Smooth to the touch with no post-processing.

[@stich1960]

@@barrettdent405 I get what your saying but differences are not terribly big. Yes structure would be different and the reduced z strength or nonhomogenous nature of a printed part could be different but talking in generalities here. There are quite a few abs printed parts being used in small run vehicles parts currently. Nylon is great but basicly nylonx is the ok only great filament for high strength applications right now and considering your looking at 20 bucks for abs vs 60 or farming out the printing personally I will stick to abs.

[@elrondmcbong467]

True, in Siberia the problem isn't melting in the sun but become too brittle to be used from freezing.😅

[@borreolsen]

Hi! Very great test, love to watch. Very few car interior parts is white. 3D printing has been very popular in classic car restoraions. And many old cars has dark or black interior. You did a great job, but can you please do the ultimate test: try 2 or 3 of the filament winners and print them in black. If for example ABS in black holds the test, its a big winner. Black absorbs more heat than white. Thanks

[@MyTechFun]

Maybe in future, but so far it's not in my plan to test black colors too.

[@bladder1010]

Excellent and very informative video. Thank you!

[@jocelyndrolet4610]

Man, you deserve much more followers! Good job!

[@MyTechFun]

Thanks, I will forward your message to YT :-)

[@PeterAcrat]

Thanks for all your effort in this test. 🍺

[@spyterpig]

thank you for the conversions to f

[@mertylmaz2179]

Thank you so much for detailed comparison, after watching this I will be modifying my printer for ABS, PLA is crap.

[@abattleborn]

thanks for the video my man, was wandering the same

[@GreyGhost-r4z]

Love your Test thanks !!

[@rfunk727]

Excellent video, thank you so much for making it.

[@DineshSingh-fe9uy]

Really nice analysis...

[@Jacintohilarius]

great video Sr, congrats

[@stevefox3763]

PLA is not necessarily a problem in a car and depends on the shape of the item. I made a phone cradle that was long and relatively thin and it warped on the first hot day but I have large PLA pods on my dash that house 3" compression driver tweeters weighing half a kilo and 4 years on, they have not warped at all.

[@frankgor2476]

Nice test man, thx

[@randywatson8347]

Love these tests thnx!

[@ethzero]

Not gonna lie, I was rooting for PETG for the same reasons: relatively easy to print, improved temperature resistance. Given these results guessing PETG should be absolutely fine on the dashboard of a car in the UK ;)

[@cybyrd9615]

I love this experiment

[@gabor9412]

Köszi a videót, nagyon tanulságos volt!

[@Hi---There]

Cheapest ABS or trimmer line NYLON is my best. Nylon also resistant to solvents and acid, elastic, unbreakable but tricky to print.

[@MagicGumable]

I learned that PLA is not suitable for summer car driving the hard way. My Raspberry Pi Display stand melted in no time. :D

[@elfpimp1]

Did you ever redo it in a different material?

[@oneheadlight8000]

You have to anneal it first.. then it will hold up better than ABS / ASA

[@beikselect]

Amazing experiment. big like

[@Youbite]

ABS material is more rigid (stiffer) than PETG, while PETG is more flexible. ABS will crack if bend or pressed, PETG will bend too but not crack easily. i think this is the reason why PETG have a little "stomach" since it flexible and weightened by metal nut. For long term usage i choose petg because it more resistant to UV. Direct sun to ABS will slowly make it brittle over time, ABS have a tendency to warped during printing process so i can not get accurate dimension and it have poor layer adhesion if printed without heated chamber. PETG easier to print. i think ABS is more suitable for injection molding. if your print need to be very rigid then ASA is your best bet.

[@santiagoblandon3022]

Thanks for testing these materials properties! i can see an impact strength test coming soon hahaahah

[@MyTechFun]

Yes, several tests comming soon, I am preparing 3D printed bolt strength test from 5-6 different materials (so far I tested only PLA and resin)

[@santiagoblandon3022]

that's awesome!

[@TheSuburban15]

Work for a company that makes auto interior parts. Most of our automotive products are either PC-ABS or polycarbonate with a color additive.

[@ColeBerkley]

Thanks for this. I needed to know if ASA would survive in the car so I could print a phone holder for my car.