3D printing? ABS or PLA for RC Parts?

[norco kid]

Im about to buy a 3d printer and I'm trying to decide what type of filament to buy with it with specific regards to RC parts. Does anybody have any experience or recommendations? From what I understand ABS is more flexible/durable but harder to work with. Maybe better for structural parts (shock tower, knuckles). Although ABS tends to warp so perhaps not as good for something like a shock tower as one might think? PLA prints better and is stiffer but more brittle so may be better for scale accessories and such?

[Joshs4x4toyz]

You are right on track. ABS is great but only after you have really found good settings. Is your printer enclosed or located in a cabinet or somewhere you can maintain a high temperature? those parts would benefit from ABS for sure and you will also benefit from getting used to you your slicer. I use simplify 3d and wont use anything else now. It will take some work getting used to so just give things shot. worst case use PLA and carry spares (i would with abs anyway) for the price of filament get both, youll use it up..... After awhile youll forget you have rc's.....

[Dezertdirt]

josh is right abs is good once you get set up for it, but that stuff stinks(literally,you need to be in another room separated by a closed door ). If your willing to spend a little more on filament, I highly recommend pet+ by made solid, it is so strong it is ridiculous. I use pla to make prototypes, then pet+ for permanent parts. I have made wheels, axle tubes, shock hoops. so far no breakages. It is almost as easy to work with as pla and no stink.
ps: pla is excellent for scale accessories.

[norco kid]

Ok so my printer comes with 2 rolls of filament I was thinking 1 black PLA 1 black ABS? Any reason to choose otherwise? Should I go both PLA?

[Helios RC]

Definitely start with PLA. It's easy to learn the basics on. Don't even buy anything else until you know what you're doing. Remember "wax on, wax off"? If you get other stuff you'll be tempted to try it.

Once you understand the effect of extrusion temperature, extrusion speed, layer thickness, bed temperature, retract, and the many slicing settings. Then you can go to ABS. I recommend using whatever software comes with your printer and their material recommendations to start. After that you can branch out. PET+ is great stuff, just make sure your extruder can get to the temperature needed. Many off the shelf printers limit you software wise to about 245C (the small one we have in the test lab anyway). PET and PET+ will print in varying levels of temp. Some in the 230's and others north of 245.

Best thing is like I said, learn with PLA first. Then find some forums/groups where people have posted results with other materials and their settings.

Lastly, different manufacturers filament will perform differently than some. For example. I used some black ABS last night and it was 215/90 (extruder/bed) from one manufacturer and black ABS from another printed best at 225/90. Different colors from the same manufacturer can also vary in temp/settings. The color additive will affect the viscosity of the material.

[BigSki]

Is your printer capable of using both materials? One giveaway clue is that an ABS printer will have a fan on the extruder hot end with a duct pointed at the nozzle. You will also need the bed to be able to be heated in order for ABS to work.

I make parts that are used to make cavity core molds, so I use ABS because the final shape can be filled/sanded/painted easier than PLA.

[aver3]

Also consider Taulman Bridge nylon if your printer can use it. I have a Prusa i3 (reprap), and it works well, but it can warp. The parts are more flexible than PLA. I need to set my printer back up and use it more this summer. I never could get it to print ABS correctly. Ninjaflex and wood filaments worked well, though.

[Crawling Calvin]

I have been doing 3D printing now for a while and also do it through 3Dhubs.com so I have experience with various materials. Here is my rundown on them:

PLA is nice as a general plastic although the lack of heat resistance is a PAIN. It will get soft if left in direct sun so keep that in mind! It is easy to print with and has minimal warp. Also there are various blends on the market that allow for higher heat resistance after annealing. ProtoPasta makes a popular version. Really any printer can do PLA due to its simplicity of printing.

ABS is trickier to print as it does NOT like sticking to many surfaces. I have heard G10 (if heated to about 110*C+) works good as a print surface although I print directly onto BuildTak. Not cheap but works . A heated bed is a MUST for parts of really any size with ABS due to its insane warp rate. Also any drafts will cause cracks in a print. Professional machines use a large "oven" for printing ABS so it will not crack. Good strong heat resistant material BUT you need to make sure that you keep the area warm.

PET (and variants) are great materials although I find they need HIGH temps to print and some hot ends can't hit the temps needed. 245*C is a minimum for printing it and getting any kind of layer bonding. I do have to say it makes some tough parts. One of my 3D hubs customers likes PET for high strength parts and I don't blame him

There are others like flexible filaments. I use FilaFlex by Filaflex Filaments - Recreus.com and love the stuff. Super soft material and makes great items like lens caps and so on. I used some to make "feet" for my CNC mill to help cut noise when cutting. There is NinjaFlex and others but I have had bad results with NinjaFlex on my printer so I gave up on it

Hope that is some help

[Helios RC]

Originally Posted by aver3

Also consider Taulman Bridge nylon if your printer can use it. I have a Prusa i3 (reprap), and it works well, but it can warp. The parts are more flexible than PLA. I need to set my printer back up and use it more this summer. I never could get it to print ABS correctly. Ninjaflex and wood filaments worked well, though.

I have some bridge and it's supposed to be able at printing around 225C. Heated bed is a must from what I've read as well. Can't wait to try it out.

May have to get one of those v6 hot ends and flash the machine with Repetier so I can get the extruder temps over 245C.

[Helios RC]

Originally Posted by Crawling Calvin

ABS is trickier to print as it does NOT like sticking to many surfaces. I have heard G10 (if heated to about 110*C+) works good as a print surface although I print directly onto BuildTak. Not cheap but works . A heated bed is a MUST for parts of really any size with ABS due to its insane warp rate. Also any drafts will cause cracks in a print. Professional machines use a large "oven" for printing ABS so it will not crack. Good strong heat resistant material BUT you need to make sure that you keep the area warm.

This is ABSOLUTELY true! One other thing to try is to use Kapton tape with the heated bed. I've found that some geometries print perfect on the Kapton tape and 90C bed. I've found other geometries need a thin coat of purple glue stick (washable kind). Cheap and effective.

[Shoei1]

My Lulzbot mini so far has had no issues with printing ABS. I did enclose the opening with card board for now to keep the heat more even in the build area. I am actually liking printing out of ABS the most. As for the smell I dont really get a bad smell. I really looking forward to trying out the Alloy 910 filament once I get my encloser finalized.

[Crawling Calvin]

Originally Posted by Helios RC

This is ABSOLUTELY true! One other thing to try is to use Kapton tape with the heated bed. I've found that some geometries print perfect on the Kapton tape and 90C bed. I've found other geometries need a thin coat of purple glue stick (washable kind). Cheap and effective.

Being I have used BuildTak forever it is my go-to but hey each to their own as they say I know it isn't RC car related but these were printed in MatterHackers ABS at 235C nozzle 110C bed (with a raft) and turned out great on my UM2. I did stick a piece of plexi in front of the machine to stop drafts and it seems to help a lot in general with stopping prints from cracking! The tall piece is about 7.5" tall and printed just fine . Points to anyone who can identify it

[Shoei1]

Originally Posted by Crawling Calvin

Being I have used BuildTak forever it is my go-to but hey each to their own as they say I know it isn't RC car related but these were printed in MatterHackers ABS at 235C nozzle 110C bed (with a raft) and turned out great on my UM2. I did stick a piece of plexi in front of the machine to stop drafts and it seems to help a lot in general with stopping prints from cracking! The tall piece is about 7.5" tall and printed just fine . Points to anyone who can identify it

Firefly but thats because I follow you on Instagram. Said that show was canceled.

[Crawling Calvin]

I put this together if anyone is interested. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFmI...ature=youtu.be